A/c Hoses

[yank30265]

I was thinking of getting a retro fit kit to switch my 90 ls400 over to 134a; My question is ....The car sat in a garage for 4 yrs then i drove it for the past 2; It never had air. The compressor seems to work; but if I retro fit this thing the old hoses could blow; i work for AZ(get in the zone) i looked up the hoses and they r 600 bucks. If i goto a junk yard they will be 20 yr old hoses too. What sould I do; or better yet where should I look for the hoses?

[RDM]

I was thinking of getting a retro fit kit to switch my 90 ls400 over to 134a; My question is ....The car sat in a garage for 4 yrs then i drove it for the past 2; It never had air. The compressor seems to work; but if I retro fit this thing the old hoses could blow; i work for AZ(get in the zone) i looked up the hoses and they r 600 bucks. If i goto a junk yard they will be 20 yr old hoses too. What sould I do; or better yet where should I look for the hoses?

Any competent hydraulic supply place can rebuild all your hoses for much cheaper than new. I paid $40 to rebuild the hose from the compressor to the condensor after it began leaking. Pull them all off and go get a few quotes, you can try radiator service shops too, some of them rebuild hoses. Get new o-rings while you're there.

[ggemigniani]

There's lots of genuine R12 on ebay anyone can buy. It's pretty cheap during the winter, but gets more expensive now and in the summer. Why not buy some instead of spending much bigger bucks on a conversion? R134a is a downgrade in performance and system reliability, but conversions are very profitable for the AC industry so you will encounter an endless amount of peer pressure to CONVERT! CONVERT! CONVERT!

[gabep]

You must have a 609 license to buy freon 12.

[yank30265]

You must have a 609 license to buy freon 12.

yea i didnt think I could buy r12; Iheard of something called r12 cfreeze but i dont know if I can get that either

[gabep]

Conversion to 134A not that big of a deal. Google it or see a local radiator/AC mech.

[lex460]

Conversion to 134A not that big of a deal. Google it or see a local radiator/AC mech.

If you have 90 to 100K on your car the compressor is shot as in worn. You can put the mixed R12 in and hope for the best but it won't last long. These units are sensitive to the amount of freon you put in you should weigh it with a scale and vac the system

and replace the dryer and high pressure hose,very few DIYers do it right so it doesn't last. You can use the sight glass to get you close, Google how to charge using the sight glass method.Lexus dealers used to get about 2500.00 to renew the Air con. The fittings are different for 134 so that is a problem. Good Luck

[RDM]

If you have 90 to 100K on your car the compressor is shot as in worn.

Explain your logic here. A/C compressors, especially Toyota units are good for a lot longer life than that. Mine has 203k and is still fine, my brother's Camry and his wife's Corolla both are above 180k and have the original compressor, as does every Toyota I work on.

If the hoses hold pressure they should be fine to use, though they deteriorate with age they don't just suddenly reach a point and go bad, neither does the compressor.