Air Conditioning refrigerant

[PATRICKH]

How about freon in the AC system?

[rlrnr53]

Should be on a sticker on the radiator support.

[HenryJ]

How about freon in the AC system?

R134A
PAG refrigerant oil

[F9K9]

From my understanding, no new R134A is being produced so, what is out there now is allegedly all there is for now. Urban myth? Probably but, this came from my parts guy and it doesn't make me rest any easier.

[HenryJ]

That is the old R12. It was used prior to 1994 for most systems. It is a great refrigerant, but not environmentally friendly so they are seeking its elimination. Every year since 1996 the price has been doubled. That effectively eliminates its use since it no longer and economical replacement.
I haven't seen any "cross the border" deals on black market R12 lately, so I assume the demand has weakened. I have not followed the associations pursuit of this lately, although I am a card carrying member. The US did have agreements with some countries to stop both the use and manufacture, but I am not sure how far that went , or which countries agreed. Sort of like the whale hunting deal.

A converted to R134A system does work. Not as well, but it works. R12 worked very well and its great ability to remove heat was hard to replace. R134A does not do as good a job, but with a better condenser it can work almost as well. The smaller passages and higher fin count of the late model condensers make up the difference. They can be troublesome and tend to plug easier, but today's systems are as reliable if not more than older R12 systems.

R134A should be available for the foreseeable future. Our trucks are safe.

[F9K9]

That is the old R12. It was used prior to 1994 for most systems..............

I will try to split this later unless you beat me to it. What I was told about was definitely the R34A stuff. The reasoning made some sense at the moment but, standing back now, leads me to think it was a paranoid Global Warming urban myth thing. Otherwise, this friend is really knowledgeable and his photographic memory for part and phone numbers continue to amaze me.

[HenryJ]

They would have to ban the Airsoft guns too then. Many of them Use R134A too I hear

He may be confusing the proposal to limit its sale to only those who are certified as refrigerant technicians. Basically banning the sale to consumers. That was proposed in California a few years back. I think the European Union had a similar proposal. It might be more of a reality than anything in the US right now.
I'm not going to worry about converting to CO2 just yet. R-744 (CO2) might be what we are all stuck with. It does not work well in hot climates, so we better hope that the next Ice Age is replacing the global warming scare

[F9K9]

.........................I'm not going to worry about converting to CO2 just yet. R-744 (CO2).................

kerist, I hope not after dumping to many bucks into my CO2 system for just airing up tires and emergency trail repair with impact tools.

[Serge PETIT]

They would have to ban the Airsoft guns too then. Many of them Use R134A too I hear

He may be confusing the proposal to limit its sale to only those who are certified as refrigerant technicians. Basically banning the sale to consumers. That was proposed in California a few years back. I think the European Union had a similar proposal. It might be more of a reality than anything in the US right now.
I'm not going to worry about converting to CO2 just yet. R-744 (CO2) might be what we are all stuck with. It does not work well in hot climates, so we better hope that the next Ice Age is replacing the global warming scare

You are right for Europe R12 is prohibited except for collectors and very difficult to find .
Most of the car equiped with r12 have been modified with kits for R134A (mainly the seals)

[HenryJ]

Most of the car equipped with r12 have been modified with kits for R134A (mainly the seals)

To do a minimal conversion all you really need to do is get adapter fittings for the charging ports and change the lubricant to something compatible with R134A.
The system needs to be cleaned thoroughly. Replacing the compressor , orifice tube and dryer are the best choice as they are not easily cleaned and the compressor may have incompatible seals as you mentioned.
If you live in a hot climate, you may also need to upgrade the condenser to a late model unit with better efficiency as the R134 does not transfer heat as readily as R12.
In a pinch and on a tight budget you can clean the system, install a new dryer , adapter fittings and compatible lubricant. Then charge it with R134A. It works Ok sometimes as long as the compressor holds up.
To do it right you need a new compressor (R134A compatible) , dryer, orifice tube (or expansion valve on other systems) , adapter fittings and R134A refrigerant.
Last one I did ran around $400 for parts.

[PATRICKH]

Thanks for the info. the R134a I knew about. I thought it was PAG, but I know now for sure

[HenryJ]

I use Ester on the retrofits with any chance of residual oils in the system. I have been using PAG on the new compressors.