A/c Recharge Help,tips? Advice?

[pete rock]

hi i have a 93 es300 just wondering if anyone has or can provide DIY help for recharging the a/c.im pretty sure our cars take the r-134 cannister.just not 100% positive exactly what to do and dont want to wreck anything on my baby.

[flanso]

I replaced the evaporator and recharged the system on my 1993 MB. The air conditioner on my 2001 ES300 has never needed service. With that limited experience, I'll tell you what I know. I believe that the benchmark for an auto ac working properly is air from the vent closest to the evaporator being at least 20°F cooler than ambient. If your system works but is not cooling that 20°, you can probably get away with buying a recharge canister of R134a; the cans have a rudimentary gauge and instructions. If your system is empty of refrigerant, you probably have a serious leak and if you merely recharge the system, it will leak out again. You can add dye to the system that leaves a brightly colored residue where it leaks out. If you recharge your empty system without evacuating it, moisture in the system will compromise the system's efficiency. For a complete system refill, you'll need a vacuum pump and ac gauges. I bought those tools and then sold them on eBay after I finished the job; doing it that way cost significantly less than have the recharge done at a shop.

[George_Jetson]

93 came from the factory with R12, so the first thing you need to identify if you car has been converted or not. You should check the fittings at the service ports and see if they are screw on, or quick disconnect ( both r12 and r134 dust caps screw on, so you need to remove the caps and then check the fitting ).

If it is R12, it would be cheaper to have a professional recharge your system, because without a EPA 609 cert, no store will sell you R12. There are serveral substitues for R12, but none are designed to be mixed with R12 (besides the fact that it is against federal law). If you do mix R12 with a substitue there is no way to predict what the results will be, other than the fact that it would most likely be bad (or worse).

[smooth1]

hi i have a 93 es300 just wondering if anyone has or can provide DIY help for recharging the a/c.im pretty sure our cars take the r-134 cannister.just not 100% positive exactly what to do and dont want to wreck anything on my baby.

93 came from the factory with R12, so the first thing you need to identify if you car has been converted or not. You should check the fittings at the service ports and see if they are screw on, or quick disconnect ( both r12 and r134 dust caps screw on, so you need to remove the caps and then check the fitting ).

If it is R12, it would be cheaper to have a professional recharge your system, because without a EPA 609 cert, no store will sell you R12. There are serveral substitues for R12, but none are designed to be mixed with R12 (besides the fact that it is against federal law). If you do mix R12 with a substitue there is no way to predict what the results will be, other than the fact that it would most likely be bad (or worse).

Yep. I completely agree. If your running R12 now, they have to evac and capture all the remaining R12 that's in the system first. They have 134a retrofit kits cheap now. If it's already retofitted, then that's easy.