R12a coolant replacement for R12

[Dan]

Does anyone know if R12a coolant replacement is safe for my 1991 Acura Integra. I unfortunately took my car for a radiator R&R and for some reason the technician loosened the line on my compressor and let out my R12 coolant. Needless to say I tore him a new A$$hole for doing that. I thought that a radiator replacement was simple enough but this guy managed to not only release my Freon but also tried to torque my coolant bleeder valve while the engine was a peak temp. Yes that is right he snapped the bleeder valve casing right off the water export flange. Sorry I digress.

I looked into a R134 conversion but many say that it will lead to a failure with the existing compressor because in runs at a much higher pressure.
Also others have said to use the R12a as a replacement, as it is more compatible with the existing systems pressure specs and actually outputs a colder temp. I don’t know much about R12a some say it is more hazardous as it is more combustible and may explode if ruptured in an accident..

Alternatively there are others that are suggesting to use Dust buster cans as it contains Difluoroethane cas#75-37 which is basically R12.

Does anybody have any advice as to what is the best way to go: Conversion to R134a , R12a, or Difluoroethane cas#75-37 from a dust buster kit.

Thanks for the help.

Topic

[Nicholas Clark]

I would go for a R134a conversion. They are so common nowadays that they are also cheap as well. There are probably 100 guides out there on how to do the conversion by now. R12 is outdated and almost impossible to find. When you do find it, it’s big money.

[Bluesnut]

I would suggest converting to 134. There’s a lot of old wives tales out there about 134; higher pressure, cooling not as good, eats hoses and seals, will ruin a compressor, yada, yada, yada.

Main thing is to add some 134 compatible refrigerant oil.

R12a is flammable I believe (never used it…) and the EPA says no flammable refrigerant in an AC system.

Honestly, the guy who hacked your car up should be the one to cover the cost of this.

[college man]

see if this helps.

[Dan]

I checked craigslist and found sellers of R12 and your right the price is around $30-40 for a 12 oz can where R134 runs about $6.. But all I would would have to do is top off the r12 and my AC would be up.
I saw Eric’s video. He kind of glosses over flushing the lines and removing the oil from the compressor. He just says fortunately he did not have to do this but doesn’t explain why he didn’t have to do it. He replaces the dryer but doesn’t explain if that is necessary for the conversion or if he just had a bad one.
So putting on the retrofit R134a fittings and changing the o-rings is straight forward but the bulk of the work seems to be preping the system. After putting in too much oil he vacuums the system and starts over but does not say how much oil he ended up using. So his video leaves a lot of unanswered questions for me to attempt this on my own..

[Dan]

As posted in another reply I found a some R12 being sold by a private party on craig’s list. It cost $35 for about 20oz. I know it is costly for the R12 but less hassle than a retrofit and it will get me through the Santa Ana season in Los Angeles

I couldn’t agree more that he should fix this but after arguing these points with him I feel that he will just break something else. For all I know he did it on purpose to get more work. So I think I will just chalk it up to bad luck.

So I left getting the work done somewhere else and taking him to small claims, which is more time than it probably worth or just filing a complaint with Consumer affairs and hopefully ward others from using this guy buy posting a negative comment on yelp.

[Author]

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