Howdy all. New guy on the board looking for opinions and suggestions. I just picked up my first 4Runner, a 1991 from Ca. I have had it a total of 6 days and am absolutely convinced that I am going to be rocking the Toyota off-roads until I kick. But....I have a question that I hope someone out there can help with. I am going thru it piece by piece and one of the things I am looking to fix is the AC. I have gone thru a bunch of the threads and im still not quite finding the answer(s) I am looking for. I am really looking for r12 but it is looking like I am going to have to convert to R134. The questions I have are: Should I continue to look under every rock until I find someone who is still dealing in R12 or should I bite the bullet and change over to R134? I have found TONS of R12 on ebay so I know I can get it, but there is always a risk dealing with ebay rather than a reliable source/shop. The other alternative is going with R134. And I am thinking that is going to involve a complete switchover of all the AC related parts (re: PRICEY AS HELL). So, fellow Runner owners...which pill do I take?
AC blues
- Thread starter haus_maus
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R 12 is nasty stuff and you have to be a licensed in most cases to use it.
I won't tell you NOT to, but if you lost your original coolant that means you have a leak, and it is illegal for them to refill a leaking system; which means they would have to fix it.
I did the R134a conversion myself on a 90 4runner and it worked well enough. R134 used in a system designed for R12 will never be as cold as using what it was designed for, but it worked well for several years. Since R134a is readily available it was an easy response for me.
My personal suggestion? Go 134a.... R12 is 1. expensive. 2. Bad for you and the environment and 3. A TON OF HASSLE to work with now days.
Hope that helps.
Edit: You do not need to switch over. You can, but you don't need to.
I won't tell you NOT to, but if you lost your original coolant that means you have a leak, and it is illegal for them to refill a leaking system; which means they would have to fix it.
I did the R134a conversion myself on a 90 4runner and it worked well enough. R134 used in a system designed for R12 will never be as cold as using what it was designed for, but it worked well for several years. Since R134a is readily available it was an easy response for me.
My personal suggestion? Go 134a.... R12 is 1. expensive. 2. Bad for you and the environment and 3. A TON OF HASSLE to work with now days.
Hope that helps.
Edit: You do not need to switch over. You can, but you don't need to.
Thanks for the reply...and that's kinda what I thought as well, but at the same time, I have been hearing horror stories about the "switch" blowing up the AC system, but then again, that may have been the mechanic I was talking to trying to scare a few more sheckles out of me.
As for the leak, I ran a car fax on it and it looks like it had the Head Gasket recall work done in 97, so perhaps (and this is a big perhaps) they drained the system and never filled it back up. If you have done it yourself, a question. I have seen the kits all over the place for the re-charge and re-fitting of the fill valve, but did you have the old stuff "re-claimed" or did you just attach the R134 and give 'er hell? Seeing as WI is having the most evil of heat at the moment, I would like to get this knocked out ASAP and do it as "correctly" as possible.
tundrayetti
New member
I just swapped my '88 A/C over to 134. I wasn't sure if it was going to work or not, as I'm not sure how many years it's been since the last time the system operated.
Works great now, to my surprise. Here's what I did:
1. System had some R12 left in it. Good sign! I tried to recover the R12, but accidentally pulled the schrader valve completely out of the LOW side, and all the R12 escaped.......whoops
2. I immediately installed the LOW side 134 conversion fitting so as not to allow ambient air back in the system.
3. I then installed the HIGH side 134 conversion fitting.
4. Started the engine
5. Next, I emptied the 134 oil that came with the conversion kit via the LOW side fitting.
6. I hooked up the 134 to the LOW side via the gauges and filled her up until there were no bubbles in the sight glass. The sight glass I'm referring to came off of my condenser, to the right of my radiator......not sure where yours is, being a 2nd Gen
7. After no bubbles were visible in the sight glass, I think I had about 40 psi of refrigerant in my system
I'm not sure if I did this correct or not, because I'm far from an A/C man. But she's blowing cold enough to be comfortable with the windows up. I'm very pleased with the results.....now we'll just see how long she goes for....
Works great now, to my surprise. Here's what I did:
1. System had some R12 left in it. Good sign! I tried to recover the R12, but accidentally pulled the schrader valve completely out of the LOW side, and all the R12 escaped.......whoops
2. I immediately installed the LOW side 134 conversion fitting so as not to allow ambient air back in the system.
3. I then installed the HIGH side 134 conversion fitting.
4. Started the engine
5. Next, I emptied the 134 oil that came with the conversion kit via the LOW side fitting.
6. I hooked up the 134 to the LOW side via the gauges and filled her up until there were no bubbles in the sight glass. The sight glass I'm referring to came off of my condenser, to the right of my radiator......not sure where yours is, being a 2nd Gen
7. After no bubbles were visible in the sight glass, I think I had about 40 psi of refrigerant in my system
I'm not sure if I did this correct or not, because I'm far from an A/C man. But she's blowing cold enough to be comfortable with the windows up. I'm very pleased with the results.....now we'll just see how long she goes for....
nevada
Senior Member
there are still shops that deal with r12 around here.
as far as a refrigerant, it is superior to 134, but not in environmental terms.
i had mine pulled down, so i could change my compressor, and then refilled recently. it wasnt expensive, MUCH cheaper than converting.
and, yes to do it correctly, you need to convert.
as far as a refrigerant, it is superior to 134, but not in environmental terms.
i had mine pulled down, so i could change my compressor, and then refilled recently. it wasnt expensive, MUCH cheaper than converting.
and, yes to do it correctly, you need to convert.
This is good to hear. Although I found the sight glass....aaaannndddd it appears to be empty. But, I am thinking that when the engine was rebuilt, it was never filled back up. I can hope anyways. I will have the system vacuum tested and any R12 reclaimed (if possible) and give the do it yourself charge kit a try. Thanks for the info and the step by step....1st gen and 2gen are not ALL that different thankfully. From what I can tell anyway.