Grandpa Posted June 14, 2004 Posted June 14, 2004 I am currently driving my 92 LS 400 daily and my A/C has been not running for about 2 years. I didn't really bother messing with it, because taking it to the dealership to solve it wasn't worth it. Now, i want to get into the "DIY" craze and try and learn about cars. I'm not your typical car man, I don't know much about cars. Now, I am pretty sure, my problem is that I need to add refrigerant, but where do I add it? Do i add it at the engine coolant? Right now, my A/C is just blowing air, and then when the car gets warm.. it'll blow HOT air even when I have it set to 65 degrees fahrenheit. And what is a radiator?. Please help me?? I am sure it's too add refrigerant.. but I may need a step-by-step to adding the refrigerant.. any help is appreciated
Grandpa Posted June 14, 2004 Author Posted June 14, 2004 I have also opened the engine and opened the cap to -ENGINE COOLANT ONLY- and inside there, I flashed a flashlight and all around it, and saw no liquid in there... do I follow instructions there for the A/C?
my ls430 Posted June 14, 2004 Posted June 14, 2004 this will teach you on car cooling systems http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system.htm and never open that "cap" when the engine is hot the coolent could be at 300 degrees and 150 psi. normaly. and i jsut wrote an epic but erased it..i will write it tomorrow if some one doesn't chime in
Grandpa Posted June 14, 2004 Author Posted June 14, 2004 I need to know how to add refrigerent, so i dont burn up in the car during the summer...
Grandpa Posted June 14, 2004 Author Posted June 14, 2004 I found out my LS 400 requires R12 Charge... where do i put the R12 charge and how much and where can i buy R12?
Grandpa Posted June 14, 2004 Author Posted June 14, 2004 I found out my car uses R12 charge, but where do i put the refrigerant? i dont see a place to put it at. How much does R12 charge cost? and where can i find it at?
chazglenn3 Posted June 14, 2004 Posted June 14, 2004 The recharging of the A/C system is not for the do it yourself type of guy. Especially for the R-12 systems. You have to be licensed by the EPA to purchase the stuff, and then the servicing requires special equipment. Take the car to an auto a/c shop, they will be much less expensive than the Lexus dealer.
vyhanh Posted June 14, 2004 Posted June 14, 2004 Hi, I don;t know about the Lexus (your year model) but on my 91 Mitsubishi Galant (R12), it was easy. They did (I am not sure now that they change to R134) sell a kit for you to recharge the R12 yourself. But buying R12 is expensive these days (plus the EPA). I think better to spend money to switch to R134
Grandpa Posted June 14, 2004 Author Posted June 14, 2004 We are now deciding to switch from R-12 to R134a. The person offered us 90.00 (non-dealer) and he said he would do free-on, oil, and everything... does that sound good? and what is free-on? i dont kno what that is. he also asked if we have gauges... gauges for pressure?? is this a yay, or nay?
my ls430 Posted June 14, 2004 Posted June 14, 2004 freon is the coolent. stuff thats actually makes it cold.
LEXIE Posted June 14, 2004 Posted June 14, 2004 grandpa-- just from reading your posts i think you should jump on the $90 conversion to 134a and learn about a/c dyi at a more leisurely pace. see web site below. and, while you have your car in the a/c shop, just ask the tech man there if you are low on antifreeze coolant. you sure dont want your engine to overheat for such a simple thing as that. this "problem" is independent of your a/c problem. lexie http://www.ackits.com/forum/messageview.cf...2&threadid=9404
monarch Posted June 14, 2004 Posted June 14, 2004 Switching to R134a is huge, $500+ project (if done properly). By contrast, getting one 12 oz or 14 oz can of R12 on ebay to top off your system plus the required charging hose costs only $35 total. You can get around the licensing problem by simply telling the ebay seller you are purchasing the R12 for resale, not for personal use. Yesturday the owner of a Toyota specialty repair shop had this to say about R12 refrigerant conversions: Subject: Re: [Camry] RE: AC on an 87 Camry wagon Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2004 08:17:57 -0700 (PDT) From: Phil <webpilots@yahoo.com> Reply-To: Camry@yahoogroups.com I agree with Paul on the R-12 issue. If you car was delivered with an R-12 system, it was also engineered for an R-12 system. We have done dozens of R134 (and other) retrofits at customer's requests, and I have yet to see one perform to R-12 standards if it was originally an R-12 system. Phil
VMF Posted June 14, 2004 Posted June 14, 2004 dont switch to r134, just get some artificial r12 and you can fill it up urself, but i'm not sure what exactly is wrong with ur system, your compressor might be bad or you might have a leak somewhere, and to find a leak or change a compressor it takes some knowledge and tools. since your AC system didnt work for last 2 years you need to vacuum the system first, then put some refrigerant with sealant to make sure there are not leaks, vacuum it again and put refrigerant with die, at this stage you will also be able to check if your compressor works, if the pressure in the system remains the same for a weak it means there are no leaks and ure good to go, otherwise locating and fixing the leak might be a really expensive exprerience.
Grandpa Posted June 14, 2004 Author Posted June 14, 2004 Maybe im just stupid or something, but i called up some auto-shops and asked them if they provide the service of "retrofitting" converting from r12 to r134 and the avg price was around 120 or so including the oil, vacuum, about 3lbs of refrigernat and such... is this all i need to get my a/c running is to get them to service it?? and i have only been out of a/c for 2 years because at that time we thought recharging the refrigerant was too darn expensive, and i am just learning about r134... can any1 explain retrofitting?? is that just converting?
VMF Posted June 14, 2004 Posted June 14, 2004 retroffiting means you need to get new fittings for the AC system including new valves, then you have to vacuum it, suck the mineral oil out and put the special oil for r134 and then put r134, but once again, r u sure then ur system has no leaks and that all components are in the working condition? if it leaked in the first place it means that smth was wrong with it. this is why i would recommend the die in the refrigerant. as far as i know to refill the system costs around 60$ for r134 and 100$ for artificail r12, btw r134 will not give ur air as cold as it used to be on r12.
Grandpa Posted June 15, 2004 Author Posted June 15, 2004 what do u mean by "die in the refrigerant?" and if i were to take it to the shop, they would check to see if the system is operation right?? would that check for leaks? or what? and i have not heard of artificial r12 yet... i doubt any place sells it besides dealership
90LS400Lexus Posted June 15, 2004 Posted June 15, 2004 My A/C on my 90 LS400 does not work, but it has a bad evaporator according to Lexus dealer. Perhaps bad on your car as well. It seems to be a common problem for the A/C. It may also have a leak in the system and/or a bad compressor.
VMF Posted June 15, 2004 Posted June 15, 2004 yeah, there is a special die they put in the refrigerant and it glows under ultraviolet bulb so you will clearly see the leak. as to r12 replacement, you can get them even on ebay, (this is where i got mine for my 91 legend) just search for r12 replacement.
VMF Posted June 15, 2004 Posted June 15, 2004 oh and you can buy it with die and sealant, the most expensive part if you want to DIY is the pump, to refill and to vacuum the system (300$) parts might be expensive as well if you will need some, i would recommend you to go to the shop that specializes on Ac and ask them to check your system
Grandpa Posted June 15, 2004 Author Posted June 15, 2004 Also about engine coolant... is it save for me to just add it to the resevoir? i dont kno what it means on step #1 (After cooling system is emptied, add aprox. 6 liters of coolant through the filler hole(front of engine) Do i have to empty the car's coolant before i can add some new coolant?? and where is the filler hole??? i dont see it at all
Grandpa Posted June 15, 2004 Author Posted June 15, 2004 Really ?? 300??? the person i asked to retrofit for r134 said 90 including everything...
vyhanh Posted June 15, 2004 Posted June 15, 2004 You may have to use genuine Toyota coolant (should be RED). There has been lengthy discussions on the coolant topic
VMF Posted June 15, 2004 Posted June 15, 2004 no 300$ is the pump that you have to buy if you want to do it yourself! as to the coolant yeah, you should use only RED coolants, never mix them and if you have green engine coolant you have to flush it and fill the system with RED coolant since green one is not good for 1uzfe
LEXIE Posted June 15, 2004 Posted June 15, 2004 gp-- vmf was referring to $300 for the cost of a vac pump. if your a/c man will pull a near perfect vac on your system and it holds, chances are any leak you may have is probably a very slow one. if he flushes the system and will use a compatible oil with the 134a refrigerant charge, i still think you would probably make out fine. i dont particularly care for r134a but it should be more than adequate in cooling efficiency for your car provided you have a compentent a/c man doing the conversion. ask him if he plans on changing out the receiver/drier...kind of doubt it at $90 but even if not it still may be a good route to take considering other options like recharging again with r12 at 60-$70/lb refig cost and by the time you add labor for flush/vac/charge your probably going to exceed $200. And if you do indeed have a very slow leak like every to yrs for a recharge, you are only talking about $15 dollars for 134a vs $150 for R12, just my thoughts.. L
Grandpa Posted June 15, 2004 Author Posted June 15, 2004 what do u mean by red or green coolant? Im not sure which is in which? lol and how do i flush with water??
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