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New Neutronics Refrigerant Identifier yields not so happy ending

JeremyB on Thu August 28, 2008 11:13 PM User is offline

My refrigerant identifier came in the mail today so I ran like a little kid into the garage to test the refrigerant in my e-bay special 30lb R12 cylinder and the recovered refrigerant from my '85 Mercury Cougar (now receiving an engine/tranny from an '02 Mustang V6). The results from the e-bay special was 100% R12. Yah! The Cougar came back as 97.3% R134a and 2.7% R12. Not expected since it was an R12 system (or at least I thought it was).

Looking back at my receipts, I'm somewhat surprised it never died.
July '96 - Received car. A/C worked fine.
A/C eventually gives out over the next two summers

July '98 - Gets A/C recharged (presumably, w/R12 since no conversion fittings were put on) while in the shop at a shadetree mechanic for other work
A/C eventually gives out during the next summer

July '99 - Get A/C serviced. Informed current charge is ~70/30 R134a/R12. Schrader valves, springlock o-rings, and cycling switch are replaced. 2oz of oil added. R12 charged back. Tech tells me it's been a long time since he's seen an HR980 and he doesn't think he'll see me again (inferring compressor won't last).

December '04 - Get A/C serviced due to short-cycling and oil leak on condenser springlocks. Tell the tech system is still R12. Tech recovers 1lb 8oz, replaces condenser springlocks and adds in 2lb 12oz of "R12".

August '08 - Recover refrigerant for engine swap. 97.3% R134a 2.7% R12.

Sometimes it seems like it's too much to ask for a shop that does decent A/C work. Oh well. I like my new toy and have all the A/C goodies except for a hose crimper.

Edited: Thu August 28, 2008 at 11:16 PM by JeremyB

TRB on Thu August 28, 2008 11:38 PM User is offlineView users profile

People ask us all the time why the first thing we do is test the refrigerant for purity and sealer!

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TRB on Fri August 29, 2008 5:56 PM User is offlineView users profile

Just posted the invoice for this stuff, thanks for the support!

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When considering your next auto A/C purchase, please consider the site that supports you: ACkits.com
Contact: ACKits.com

mk378 on Fri August 29, 2008 7:30 PM User is offline

Bad news is that the guy in '04 sold you 134a saying it was 12. Good news is you now know your car works acceptably well with R-134a. If you use the compressor from the '02 Mustang it's going to have PAG in it, which means you should refill the system only with pure R-134a, not the mixture you recovered.

JeremyB on Fri August 29, 2008 7:59 PM User is offline

I am planning on running R12 with a new/rebuilt Mustang compressor (FS10) and using POE oil for the system. Any problems with that?

Went and replaced a compressor on a friend's '92 Sable. Presumably an R12 system w/o any conversion fittings. 98.8% R-134a.

TRB on Fri August 29, 2008 9:05 PM User is offlineView users profile

I'm not a fan of remans with the FS10! Go new if you can as they are fairly cheap.

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When considering your next auto A/C purchase, please consider the site that supports you: ACkits.com
Contact: ACKits.com

Chick on Sat August 30, 2008 9:25 PM User is offlineView users profile

The 92 uses an FX15, and I would not use R134a in that, change it to a "new" FS 10. The FX15 is a black death compressor, probably the worse of all of them... Hope this helps..

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Chick
Email: Chick

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Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose

JeremyB on Fri September 05, 2008 12:14 PM User is offline

I recommended a firewall forward fix. He only replaced the compressor with a reman'd Murray FS10. I got ~10oz of R134a in before the high side went over 325 psi. I shut it down and told him a firewall forward replacement was the only way to go.

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