On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 11:23:13 GMT, Tuomas Rantasalo
> wrote:

>However there is "R13" printed on the instrument panel, below the
>speedo, and I would be tempted to believe it is not just a practical
>joke on behalf of frustrated Toyota workers.


There is no printing on the instrument panel to indicate what type
refrigerant the car uses. We can't tell you what the R13 stands for
without seeing a picture of it (and probably not even then).

Your system came from the factory with R12. Since R12 isn't as common
as it once was it may have been converted to R134a.

You **should** be able to tell which refrigerant is being used by
looking at the high and low pressure ports. R12 has a screw on
fitting that looks very much like the one on your tires.
R134a has a larger fitting and is not threaded

Look at http://www.aircondition.com/dsmobileac/ for a picture of the
two.

Systems don't just use refrigerant up. It is leasking somewhere. It
would be a good idea to have the system leak tested, repaired and then
filled.

R13 is/was used for flash freezing and to my knowledge was never used
in an automotive application.

Steve B.