12 to 134a Conversion

[Einhorn Hofmann]

I've decided to do a rebuild on the A/C on my Audi 100, 1990.  The Car’s in
otherwise good shape, and my local VW/Audi independent garage has agreed to
do it if I get the parts.

I’ve managed to located everything I need so far at one company…with the
exception of the Condenser.   I can find condensers on ebay, but ideally
I’d like to order everything from one place  -- reason being that in Canada
we can get hit by some pretty nasty “Customs Brokerage fees” if we’re not
careful.  The shop I’ve sourced everything else at handles the brokerage
fees (unlike your average seller on eBay).



The questions I had:

1.)    If the existing evaporator looks in good shape, would it be crazy to
do a rebuild without replacing the condenser?  I had no plans to replace
the evaporator inside the car, since I assume it’s as difficult a job as
replacing the heater core which it sits next to in the passenger footwell
(?)


2.)    Has anyone located a condenser for another vehicle that’s close
enough in size, to fit the i5 engines, even if it requires some minor
mods?    I'd imagine there might be enough room for a different slightly
different condenser.   The i5’s are at an angle on the driver’s side,
(unlike the V4 and V6 which I believe are perpendicular to the length of
the car and centered.)





The plan is to replace the compressor, receiver/dryer, all seals, and
presumably the mechanic performs a flush prior to drawing the vacuum, and
doing the R134a conversion.  As an aside, he mentioned that he actually had
two cylinders of R12 left over, but if he was caught using them, the fines
were ½ a million dollars.  I asked about the increased pressures and lower
cooling after an R134a conversion.  He mentioned that you typically see a
10-15% lower cooling efficiency after the conversion, which most people
don’t notice, and furthermore its academic since there’s no alternative for
retrofitting an R12 car.


Thanks for any input,

MC