R 12 To R134A A/c Conversion Consderations ?

[Von Otis]

Hi All and thanks for listening.

I am a new owner of a 1986 champagne colored Carerra (I love it) but alas, this spring the A/C did not work. The used Porsche fellow that I bought it from advizes me to check for leaks and reservice with R12 at a local shop,that I would not be happy with R134a but when I check with a local foreign car garage they say that they can convert it to R134a for 2 hours labor, the Porsche dealer in NH says that there is a $825 conversion kit and the dealer in Boston says it will be $1,400. Has anyone else been down this road? I don't want to throw maney away- just want to do the smart thing.

Thanks again

[wvicary]

Welcome to the forum. The original A/C system in your car is weak at best and converting to R134A will make matters worse and it doesn't cool as well as R12. You need to have the system inspected for leaks or any damage. In Canada you can no longer purchase R12 so would recommend having a product called RedTek installed which is very effective at cooling, cools better then R12, operates at lower pressure and is cheaper as it requires nothing in the system to be changed.

[Von Otis]

Welcome to the forum. The original A/C system in your car is weak at best and converting to R134A will make matters worse and it doesn't cool as well as R12. You need to have the system inspected for leaks or any damage. In Canada you can no longer purchase R12 so would recommend having a product called RedTek installed which is very effective at cooling, cools better then R12, operates at lower pressure and is cheaper as it requires nothing in the system to be changed.

[Von Otis]

Thank you for your reply and information--I am lookong into it now

[wwest]

Thank you for your reply and information--I am lookong into it now

It just cost me $150 to have my '88 Carrera serviced and converted to R134 and the cooling seems to be just as good as before.

Not that I would recommend it for the south, but.....

The primary short-coming seems to be on the side of condensing the refrigerant back into liquid form downstream of the compressor. So the operation, EFFICIENT operation, of the blower motor to force airflow over the front condensor is especially important. You should not only make sure this blower is working but that its air inlet is clear and the squirrel cage blower wheel vanes and surrounding plenum area is SUPER CLEAN.

If you happen to have a rear spoiler then adding a few 12 volt computer cooling fans below the spoiler to force airflow through the rear condensor would also be of great help.

Edited June 14, 2010 by wwest

[Kidasters]

I live in Houston, Texas - and recently discovered that my 84 Targa's A/C is dead. I've heard that people have had good results with Rennaire's (www.rennaire.com) 134A conversion kit. I'm going to get it and install it myself. Yeah - the kit is about $1300, but people in Texas have seen vent temps of 32 F with 134. I have to try it, or else I can't drive my 911 for 5 months out of the year.

[wwest]

I live in Houston, Texas - and recently discovered that my 84 Targa's A/C is dead. I've heard that people have had good results with Rennaire's (www.rennaire.com) 134A conversion kit. I'm going to get it and install it myself. Yeah - the kit is about $1300, but people in Texas have seen vent temps of 32 F with 134. I have to try it, or else I can't drive my 911 for 5 months out of the year.

Many professional A/C shops will only charge you $100-$200 to convert.

I only paid $150 to have my '88 Carrera converted.

Edited July 3, 2010 by wwest