Need A/C compressor....

[Odlaw]

Thats what I've heard about the flush. I'm still flushing the old school way - with whatever that oily crap was they came out with first....when everybody started converting to 134a.

 

[Acesneights1]

Problem with the 1st generation of conversion was the 134 used PAG oil and that stuff in a system designed for R134 is fine but it eats evrything in site in an r12 system and IIRC if it mixes with even the slightest trace of 12 it turns acidic or something. Once esther oil became availible conversions were much easier and way more cost effective than 40$/can for r12. Of course now r134 on average is about 12-14$/can and up and r12 is about 25$ last I bought some.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

R134A at NAPA is $3.99 a can right now at my local store, but I buy it from SAM'S club(30LB cylinder for $65). PAG oil is a full synthetic and if it comes into contact with mineral oil it becomes a caustic acid and eats EVERYTHING from the inside out, this is why the early conversion kits earned the nickname of blackdeath kits. Within a year the oils would be mixed and become a black caustic solution that was a pretty potent acid. Also R134A will NOT mix with mineral oil, so the original oil stays in the lowest point in the system and the 134 circulates without any oil for the compressor which ends in a very abrupt compressor death. And the same goes for R-12, it doesn't mix with PAG and will end the same way if you use PAG with R-12. ESTER mixes with both kinds of oil and works very well for lubricating, AND it will also work to mix the 2 oils together if you have trace amounts of each after an early style conversion. Another thing to keep in mind is that R-134A will form a black tar if it comes into contact with air inside of the system, so a good vacuuming is ESSENTIAL in making one work properly for a long time.

 

[Acesneights1]

Damn 3.99 a can at Napa ? Not in CT. 11.99 with Town discount. If it wasn't haz mat I'd say ship me some. It'd be worth it. Cheapest I found(and use) is advanced auto store brand which IIRC was 7.99/can. works fine.

 

[mitchedo]

R134 should make no difference. I have done many many conversions. The only time is an issue is if you use PAG oil and the system wasn't spotlessly flushed. I personally don't like or use it. I use esther oil. It can mix with trace r12 without damage. I was under the impression that R134 was ozone freindly but then again I remember reading that R12 wasn't as bad as they thought anyway. I don't use it simply because of cost. They had an r12 sub out for awhile that had propane/r22 and some other crap in it. I used it for a little while and every system I put it in came back next season needing a compressor so that could have biased me towards Sandens. The Yorks didn't. I stopped using it anyway at that point and wouldn't touch a system unless converting to R134. there's nothing wrong with it. I just a conversion last week on a Ford L8000. 41 degrees out of the duct.

I changed my condenser from the tube-fin condenser to a parallel flow condenser that is supposed to be more efficient. I dunno, maybe I should'a saved my money and left the old one in there. I pressure flushed my system with laquer thinner, then blew it out with compressed air. ...pulled a vacuum for several hours with a 7 cfm pump. It works great on the freeway, but just won't cool at idle for squat. ...doesn't work particularly well in town either. I charge it as high as I dare, and even put an aux fan on the front to try to get more air across the condenser when moving slow. It worked like a champ with R-12. I used Texaco Capella oil, which is supposed to blend well with any R-12 leftovers. Of course, I changed the drier too.

R-134 doesn't hurt the ozone (as if R-12 does), but that doesn't stop the power-hungry-control-your-life-do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do-but-don't-do-it-in-my-backyard crowd. R-134 is a greenhouse gas, so once they get ramped up on that crap, the price is likely to go sky high, just like R-12 did. I ain't gonna buy another new truck just because they outlaw another refrigerant.

I buy the 30 lb cylinders at Sam's Club. They're usually around $70 or so.

 

[Acesneights1]

I charge it as high as I dare, and even put an aux fan on the front to try to get more air across the condenser when moving slow. .

That is your problem most likely. Overcharging the system will make it work poorly. Alot of people think putting more in is better. it is a carefully measured charge . If anything a touch low is ok but too much and it will not cool because too much refrigerant gas won't allow the pressure differential between the high and low sides. Also your condensor sounds inadequate. I have changed over many many systems and not one cooled less. the only thing I have ever noticed in some Ford systems is a slight less at idle but very slight.