I want to recharge the A/C on my 2007 Outlook. It is intermittently cool still. My question is - can I just add R12a refrigerant (kit can be purchased at local automotive store for about $55.00 - includes gauges)? What will happen if there is still some of the R134 in the system?

 

I just read a whole bunch of crap from a whole bunch of people claiming everything from
---mixing to form a chemical that can't be used
---gelling up where the two chemicals meet and clogging the system
---R12a is a drop in replacement for R134a
---No you CAN"T just mix in R12a with your R134A already in your system
---The refrigerants operate at peak efficiencies at different pressures and require different amounts to charge the system.
---you need to pull a vacuum before you fill w R12a to ensure all 134A and oil is gone, but you're supposed to release the vacuum before filling with R12a (?)

Conclusion: Take it to a shop who knows what they are doing -- if you're having to top off an 8 year old car already you have a leak (duh). Get that addressed first--then worry about what to fill the system with.

PLEASE come back to post your findings, your decisions, and the results. Thanks.

 

Why don't you just add R134a to the system?

 

Thanks for the advice. Will take it to a shop to have it looked at. I'm up in Canada and I've only seen the R12a refill cans no R134.

 

True Dat.

Part of my reading included a forum w a group of Canadians trying to decide what to do, since R134a is not available (at least for retail sale--not sure about sale to licensed professionals). They took great care to note that it could be purchased at Walmart in the good ol' U S of A.

I found this amusing until I thought about it further and realized that the first thing that comes to mind for many Canadians when they think of the US may in fact be Walmart.

And that, my friends, would be really sad.
__________

70 20,

What DO Canadians in general think of the US?
Please be honest; you're not gonna get banned over opinions as long as they are expressed w/o resorting to voluminous foul language (SOME is expected and will not be held against you).

Not trying to threadjack, just filling in the time while you get your vehicle in for service .

 

First off I live very close to the border (just the other side of Niagara Falls) so I come and go from the US quite often. Wal-Mart does not come to mind first. Freedom, Big Brother to Canada, great vacations and good times comes to mind. Although I have not travelled extensively, my family and I have had great experiences every time I come down there. The people I have met are very friendly and I honestly don't notice a difference between Canadians and Americans except the accent. Every country has it's "idiots and aholes" but all and all we have been welcomed and treated very well. The only bad thing I can say about the US is healthcare. I worry about that when I come to visit because of my own health. I hear horror stories about Canadians getting sick there and not having insurance, costing them tons of cash to be treated/hospitalized. All and all though I don't have anything in particular to trash talk. If my health would allow me, I would probably visit a lot more.

 

Thanks for the insight 70 20.

Yes the healthcare system in this country sucks. It's to the point where doctors charge 10 times what a procedure should cost in order to get reimbursed for 20% of that by the insurance companies---which for the doctors is a 100% profit. It's all funny money -- until it comes to you. You pay hundreds a month in premiums so that you only have to pay small copays at each doctor (the appt for which you have had to wait six weeks). Oh, and if you get hit by a truck, get sent to an In-network hospital AND live, it's still not all covered.

You should be able to get travel insurance from a company similar to AAA (American Automobile Association) if you are a member.....might want to explore that type of option b/c if you have to pay full price, get the for sale sign ready back at the house....

 

Derf
Sorry we are so off topic. Travel insurance is not all it's cut out to be either. If you have a pre-existing health condition, the condition has to be what the insurance company calls stable for the past 90 days. I've argued with insurance companies about their definition of stable because each person you talk to has a different opinion of stable. A hypothetical and probably an extreme example: If a person requires dialysis on a regular basis but with the dialysis treatment their condition is controlled and is stable, by rights should be covered. To some companies, because it is regular treatment less than 90 days between treatments, the condition is not considered stable and therefore uninsurable. I could see if this person visited the states and became sick related to the kidney failure that they would not be covered but if the became sick totally unrelated to this the insurance should cover it but I've been told they wouldn't because of a condition that is being actively treated. It is a very grey area. I guess you could sue the insurance company but as you said earlier, put the house up for sale and probably the cars and everything else you own.

 

Well, that does sound like a twisted web.

We are so off topic because I pointed us there.....not your fault

Have you taken the car in yet?
I'm gonna guess that once the leak is found and fixed, since the R134a will have already been evacuated properly, there is no reason not to switch to R12a, especially since it seems to be the standard in Canada--unless there is some obscure reason that a Saturn Outlook cannot use R12a.

Please let us know.

 

Haven't taken it in yet. Will do so this weekend. Today is Canada Day (July 1st) so everything shut down. I will check into converting it to R12a when I get to the shop.