Ok I decided to wait until later in the week when I can rent a pump. Does the vacuum pump have a guage built onto them or do I need to rent a set of manifold guages with a vacuum guage on it? I bought a set of guages at autozone today while i was buying the r134a and fittings, but it doesnt have a dual scale guage that shows vacuum and psi. Also I decided to try to get all the oil out of all the componets compreseeor, hoses, condensor, etc... how should I clean these things out there is a ton of red oil coming out of them. About 2 ounces came out of the compressor, how much should I put back into the system when its ready? I bought a 4 ounce charge or ester oil. Also is there a way I can flush the rest of the oil out, or maybe a solvent that i can flush through it that wont hurt the system when I put it back together? I tried to blow out the condensor but it didnt seem like a whole lot of air was coming out the other tube fitting, should it be that restrictive?

Thanks know this is long but I want to get it right the first time.

This is probably a good time to let those of you contemplating changing over to 134 in on a little secret. There are already plans in place to make 134 un available to consumers. It'll start in Kalifornia and spread across the nation. The need to spur the economy by legislating obsolescence is far too great for the czars to not push this through.

There was nothing wrong with r12 imo. Sales simply were too low. Create a replacement and viola! a new industry to convert to r134. Now that will be cast away for further money making developements/ new products/scams.

You'll pay

Link\:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/r134a_ban.htm

Also , what I'm going to try 1st. chance I get for comparison. (autofrost)

http://www.refrigerantsales.com/

excellent, thanks Roger and cktoy

ck -- I asked for more information because a friend and I both used the HF model on our systems a couple of years ago. we took out each of the components and flushed with acetone and compressed air, excluding the compressor. neither of us has been able to bet better than 50+?at the vent on hot days after 15 minutes of highway driving -- needless to say, that's not very efficient. best case ever was 45?, but it wasn't that hot.

additionally, I had my second vehicle retro'd at a local shop I trust. night & day difference, and the notes posted here about the importance of proper system vacuum may be exactly what's keeping me from my system running optimally.

this was always one of those things that annoyed me, having to take it to a shop to have AC work done. it was always so expensive! not to mention I HATE having people work on my stuff, but I guess it's back to being more cost effective to just have a trustworthy shop handle it.

good stuff, guys.

with a little research you can do it your self.not getting out all the old oil and not evacuating properly will cause low performance on the hottest of days and up and down temps. if you dont get the bad stuff out it takes up room in the systemthat could be used to remove heat.
I am surprised that anybody can still buy r134a Ive seen that restriction coming,I agree its mostly to do with politics and big money.
you think thats a pain in just a few years 2010/2015 they will phase out r22,thats the stuff in most of your home and business ac equipment.but dont worry for a price they have a legal replacement,but it wont work in the present equipment so you can replace that too.At 5-8 bucks a can it would not be a bad idea to buy some r134a and put it away for later.

I have some acetone would it work for rinsing out the compressor, or would it make any seals swell up? Or should I just use minerel spirits and buy some more ester oil to pour in and purge so to speak the compressor while its off the truck?

Thanks

acetone is ok just get the old oil outas best you can

I have a 76 Mercedes 300D. I got it 3 summers ago and when I got it, the air did not work. The previous owner said it had worked in the recent past. My brother in law is a mechanic. We discussed whether I should spend the money for R12 or not. He was afraid it would leak out quickly and I would have wasted my money. I bought a 134 kit at Wal Mart. We used his shop vacuum pump and then the kit filler hose setup. So far so good. I have had working AC for 2 summers now. We did not change out any other components. Don't know how long it will last but so far so good.

Randy

got a thermo-mometer?
how cold?

Can't recall off hand. I did some testing when we first installed it but that was a while ago. It does not work wonderfully at idle but is fine when moving,even in the city. Of course, I'm in Winnipeg and not Florida so it may work better for me than it would for you. We do get some hot weather though and it worked fine for me this summer. Remember, this is a 32 year old car and I don't think it was ever as good as the new ones are even when it was new. I have an 02 Ford Supercrew and the AC is colder in it.

Randy

yeah, I hear ya on that.
good enough is good enough.

seems like new vehicles can get wicked cold, though.