Retrofitting to 134a

apapada · 12 January 2004

Just performed a retrofitting of my A/C to R134a. The A/C quit working on me one day. Retrofitting went just fine (used a kit from local Pep Boys). We'll see if it'll keep the charge, and for how long. Hopefully the sealer + oil + refrigerant will do the job. I haven't noticed any obvious leak so far. I'll keep you all updated.

Regards,
Alex. 92 NSX

DonDavis · 15 January 2004

VERY cool! Mine's about had it too and I'm going to either do it myself or have it done this Spring. Did you find any way to evacuate any leftover freon from the original? Was the conversion hard? Does your AC blow cold now? I'd really like to know how it holds up!

Don

apapada · 16 January 2004

It wasnt hard at all. I flushed the system by putting compressed air (no more than 25 psi) into the system from the low side and letting it escape from the high side. Did this for 10 minutes, then added the R134a as instructed. Very simple for me, as I had already done this on other vehicles. We'll see if the sealant will fix the leak. I'll keep you posted.

nsxexotic · 16 January 2004

hey your not surpose to do that

its bad for the ozone :-(

apapada · 17 January 2004

you are right, however there wasn't much (or even any !) to start with ! I "flushed it" for my own personal peace of mind.

So far (1/16/04) the A/C still works and blows cold air...

MiamieNeSeX · 17 January 2004

apapada said:
you are right, however there wasn't much (or even any !) to start with ! I "flushed it" for my own personal peace of mind.

So far (1/16/04) the A/C still works and blows cold air...

Unless you do a correct pump down and vaccum using a vaccum pump you will have problems with the system. You must remove all non condensables from the system in order for the system to operate optimally any air left in the curcuit will will give you incorrect pressure readings.

Good Luck
Armando

Soichiro · 17 January 2004

Also, because the molecules in the new refrigerant are smaller than the Freon it replaces, new 134a systems come with "barrier hoses" that are more leak resistant than the older hoses supplied with R12 systems. So your system may leak slowly from many places. Let us know how it goes.

nsxtasy · 17 January 2004

Honda/Acura sells a kit for converting its cars to R-134a. It's around $60. I'm not sure of any differences between its kit and a generic kit, but I would go with theirs...

robr · 23 January 2004

fyi there is no need to convert to 134a anymore, here's an email that mark basch sent to me back in 2000.

Here's the email Mark sent me back in 2000:

I offer all my customers- NSX to Civic, the
Freeze 12 option when doing a repair or recharge. I buy it in 30 lb cylinders for about 150. I sell it for 7.00 a pound, so its more like one fifth the price PLUS you only use 78 % Freeze 12 as the systems R12 capacity. It uses less because its compressability is so much greater, that it expands into a slightly larger space. (not sure I explained THAT correctly!) I've used it in about 200 customer cars this summer, plus my NSX, and the fully custom built a/c in Dali's Candy Cane 3.2 conversion racer I've been building this summer as well. Not a single prolem and the vent temps are 3 or 4 degrees cooler.

Stay Kool,
Mark

DonDavis · 23 January 2004

RobR:

How can I get a hold of Mark? I'd like to know more on this as my A/C is only about 1/2 alive now.

Thanks, Don

MiamieNeSeX · 23 January 2004

DonDavis said:
RobR:

How can I get a hold of Mark? I'd like to know more on this as my A/C is only about 1/2 alive now.

Thanks, Don

Basch Acura 1-602-244-8010

NSXTech · 18 February 2004

--Hopefully the sealer ......

I hope you don't mean you put a/c leak stop or sealer in your system. The stuff is bogus. You may know that freon makes cold air by passing liquid freon thru a tiny orifice, and I know the makers of leak stop swear the stuff won't plug up your orifice.
They make the claim based on the stuff being anaerobic (sp?) meaning its inert without air present but a/c leaks = air present.

Just as important, more and more shops, including mine, have purchased a 500. tool to test for the presance of the stuff before we hook our 3 or 4 THOUSAND dollar a/c service machines to ALL cars. Running your leak stop thru our service machines= expensive repairs for us. We won't service cars that test positive. It also endangers other customers cars since ALL a/c service machines mixes up everybodies freon into a cleaned and purified "commnity supply". You should flush this stuff out before its too late, and not with air- with a proper a/c flush chemical. Thats a long procedure I can help you with in a seperate post if you need it.
IMO, a/c stop leak is as bogus as it gets. Dangerous and costly too.

MB

apapada · 19 February 2004

Actually I did. But not before consulting with a few good mechanics, friends of mine. Of course they didn't know much about the NSX A/C system, but by looking at it and some (basic) research I decided to go ahead and do it. Today the A/C still blows cold air and I can hear the a/c compressor working just fine. Now the question is for how long

As a disclaimer, let me just add that I have had very bad experience when dealing with a/c mechanics (none of my mechanics friends are true specialists in a/c) and twice I ended up in small claims court (both times won). On the other hand, I have had good luck with those kits on previous cars. For now, I'll just stick to the wishfull thinking that our NSX being a superior cars to the other cars it also has a superior A/C than the average A/C. I'm also compounding this to the assumption that the Honda engineers knew what their were doing, even if most of the owners (me included) did not...

I'll let everyone know when the a/c goes bad. With summer approaching, I guess we are going to found out soon if it was a good idea or a bad one...

apapada · 1 June 2004

update on my retrofit...

after leaving the car in the garage for a week without starting it up, the A/C was not as cold as I used to like it. I checked the pressure in the system and was a bit low. I added 1/4 of a can and is back working just as cold as before.

D'Ecosse · 1 June 2004

MiamieNeSeX said:
Unless you do a correct pump down and vaccum using a vaccum pump you will have problems with the system. You must remove all non condensables from the system in order for the system to operate optimally any air left in the curcuit will will give you incorrect pressure readings.

I agree - but a bigger problem is it will freeze in places you don't want it to! It will definitely cause issues in the compressor before long.
I strongly recommend that no-one try this flushing method and uses a proper evacuation - go to a shop people! Some things you just can't do yourself without the proper equipment.

MiamieNeSeX · 1 June 2004

D'Ecosse said:
I agree - but a bigger problem is it will freeze in places you don't want it to! It will definitely cause issues in the compressor before long.
I strongly recommend that no-one try this flushing method and uses a proper evacuation - go to a shop people! Some things you just can't do yourself without the proper equipment.

Reasons it will freeze : Dirty evaporator coil, Bad Blower motor, Low on refrigerant.

Armando

D'Ecosse · 1 June 2004

MiamieNeSeX said:
Reasons it will freeze : Dirty evaporator coil, Bad Blower motor, Low on refrigerant.

Armando

I was referring to the components of the air freezing, most predominantly H2O, but also any other condensates in the system that are below the freezing point. Frozen in this case meant the elements in the system,although the term frozen, as often applied to mechanical rotational parts that sieze, equally applies in this case.

Retrofitting to 134a

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