Honda 86 Civic - A/C recharging procedure please

Have an 86 Honda Civic. Using R12 freon. Need to retrofit to R134
have a scavenge tank to safely remove the old freon. Anyone know the
high and low side? There is one valve at the front of the vehicle near
the site glass. Another valve on a line to the left of the motor
heading into the passenger compartment. Which of these is the low
pressure side? Both valves look like the valve on a passenger car
tire.

Can I simply check the pressure on both with a tire gauge to determine
which pressure is higher than the other to determine the low side?
Dont want to blow up a can of R134.

Once scavenged and the retrofit adapters in place, do i add just 1 can
of oil and then the how many cans of R134 and to what pressure do I
re-charge it?

Thanks.

"papadad" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Have an 86 Honda Civic. Using R12 freon. Need to retrofit to R134
> have a scavenge tank to safely remove the old freon. Anyone know the
> high and low side? There is one valve at the front of the vehicle near
> the site glass. Another valve on a line to the left of the motor
> heading into the passenger compartment. Which of these is the low
> pressure side? Both valves look like the valve on a passenger car
> tire.
>
> Can I simply check the pressure on both with a tire gauge to determine
> which pressure is higher than the other to determine the low side?
> Dont want to blow up a can of R134.
>
> Once scavenged and the retrofit adapters in place, do i add just 1 can
> of oil and then the how many cans of R134 and to what pressure do I
> re-charge it?
>
> Thanks.
>

The service valve near the dryer (with the site glass) is the High side
port. You may also recognize the low side by the fact that the refrigerant
line is a larger diameter than the high side line. When you purchase the
retrofit kit for your vehicle it should come with instructions that will
help in getting the job done. You may want to look for the refrigerant
decal affixed somewhere under the hood of your vehicle. It will have the
proper R12 capacity for your vehicle on it. When you recharge the system it
is recommended that you only put in 80% of r134a that was recommended as the
total capacity for R12. Just be sure to read and follow the directions on
the retro fit kit carefully. You would need considerable experience to
determine the correct refrigerant charge by using the pressure gage
readings. The are some generalities that apply, but the correct pressures
readings may vary depending on many different conditions.

BTW, it has been my experience that the 86 Civic did not have a large enough
capacity condenser to handle retrofit to r134a very well. It will work and
cool somewhat, especially on the highway, but around town in stop and go
traffic it will not keep up with much of a heat load.

You may want to consider using an after market R12 replacement such as
Freeze 12. It has operating pressures closer to that of R12, and generally
offers better cooling capacity when used as a replacement in that sort of
system. Keep in mind that retrofitting with Freeze 12 will limit the number
of repair shops that will consider working on your system in the future
though. Many are not equipped to handle reclaiming and recycling of
refrigerants other than R12 and r134a.

--
Kevin Mouton
Automotive Technology Instructor
"If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy"
Red Green

"papadad" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Have an 86 Honda Civic. Using R12 freon. Need to retrofit to R134

No, you don't. There's a glut of R12 on the market these days, what you
want to do is to take the EPA test to get certified then go buy the
chargette
cans off Ebay like you used to be able to do from the auto parts store.

The only way a retrofit works for the long term is to completely purge the
system using mineral spirits, replace the compressor & accumulator, then
put new PAG oil in along with refrigerant. And like the other poster said,
your cooling will go to **** since R134a does not cool as well and needs
larger condensors. Oh and I forgot, you have to replace all your hoses with
barrier hose as well or the R134a will just leak out through the hoses.

Ted

"Ted Mittelstaedt" > wrote in message
...
>
> "papadad" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
> > Have an 86 Honda Civic. Using R12 freon. Need to retrofit to R134
>
> No, you don't. There's a glut of R12 on the market these days, what you
> want to do is to take the EPA test to get certified then go buy the
> chargette
> cans off Ebay like you used to be able to do from the auto parts store.
>
> The only way a retrofit works for the long term is to completely purge the
> system using mineral spirits, replace the compressor & accumulator, then
> put new PAG oil in along with refrigerant. And like the other poster
said,
> your cooling will go to **** since R134a does not cool as well and needs
> larger condensors. Oh and I forgot, you have to replace all your hoses
with
> barrier hose as well or the R134a will just leak out through the hoses.
>
> Ted
>
>

Ted, I agree that using the original R12 refrigerant is the best solution to
repairing an older system, but it can get expensive. Too many DIY'ers do not
know how to diagnose and properly service the system and wind up making
repeated attempts at a repair. Because they fail to find leaks, replace
malfunctioning components, and perform the correct steps to make the repair
a lasting one, they wind up going thorough a lot of Freon before they give
up and let a shop fix the problem. Also, buying R12 online and especially
from e-bay is a risky business. This is why I usually recommend a retrofit
with either r134a or and aftermarket substitute where applicable.
Still, for those who are determined and can muster the recourses to get the
job done right it can be rewarding to do the work themselves.

To all the other readers of this post:
There is a lot of conflicting and misinformation about converting R12
systems. One of the best sites I know of with good accurate information is
he
http://www.aa1car.com/cooling.htm

I would highly recommend that anyone interested in performing their own A/C
repairs give this site a visit and take advantage of all the information
there. The 134a retrofit guide available from that site is the most
compohensive and accurate information that I know of on the market.

Finally, the internet is loaded with information about A/C repairs and a
search on Google can keep you busy all day reading all the stuff that's
available. Try searching "134a retrofit" , for example. Just be sure to
separate the scams and adds from the useful information.

--
Kevin Mouton
Automotive Technology Instructor
"If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy"
Red Green