A/C in my recently acquired 89 2WD Van.

Hi Yall,

Had a few questions about A/C in the new van that I bought recently.

I tried using the a/c the other day and I can see that the compressor is probably kicking on because in Park, the RPM drops as soon as you hit the a/c but it doesnt blow very nice cold air. I figure it might need a charge. Now I didnt try looking around and under to see if the system might have been converted to R134 but if it has been, then I probably wont bother with it at all. I talked to my mechanic and he told me that he could convert it to R134 and that it would be no problem, but I remember reading on here or the other van sites that the system was built for r12, and only r12 should be used.

So my questions are has anyone ever bought any R12 refrigerant like this from ebay? What are the steps or what will be needed to install it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-REFRIGERAN...56f1ff&vxp=mtr

How many cans would I need to buy?


Thanks again.

Before buying anything you'll need to verify what's in there. These systems can be retrofitted to the modern stuff, but they were designed for R-12. For some rigs conversion works fine. The trouble with our vans is they have a big interior and the AC's were already inadequate when new. From what I understand, the BTU output drops when converting R-12 systems. Since the system is already weak, I prefer to stick with R-12. If however the system has already been converted I would not go back. What I'm saying is "stick with what you got"............but 1st you'll need to figure out what that is :wnk:. Good luck. Tim

Thanks on the insight Tim. Any tips on checking to see if it is r134 or r12?

R12 manifold gauge sets (used for processing the Freon) have different threads at the vehicle hook-up points than the 134 gauge sets. If it's been converted, the shop doing the work is supposed to leave the 134 adapters on the processing ports. Just look up under the front where these ports are. If it's got adapters then it's been converted. If it's got the fittings that Toyota made it with (no adapters) then it's likely still R12. Tim