LS400 r12 / r134a

You could hear a pin drop when the almighty "ib" <ib.DeleteThis@o2.co.uk>
addressed his adoring fans with these immortal words:

>Anyone know what's involved in upgrading an R12 LS400 to R134a? Or is there
>a better way (substitute gas, etc)
>
>Thanks
>


have a local A/C repair shop check their MACS (I believe it's called).
It lists every vehicle that has R12 refrigerant and what it takes to
convert to R134A.

Some only require seal changes and a complete flush of the cooling
system. Other cars require replacement of the evaporator tank,
compressor, etc. Consequently, it can be as cheap as a $100 or as
expensive as a thousand dollars (or more). But at a minimum, the
seals must be replaced because the molecules for R134A are half the
size of R12 and even the smallest (existing) leak will lead R134A
twice as fast.

Whatever you do, you MUST *completely* flush out the R12 refrigerant
(not just drain), as the two gasses are not compatible and will
permanently destroy your a/c if they're mixed together AT ALL.

Which begs the question, why do you want to convert? R12, although
expensive, is much more efficient at cooling than R134A. If you have
an efficient system with no leaks, I'd stick with the R12.