Many vintage vehicle air conditioning systems were designed to use R-12 refrigerant. But after 1995, the automotive industry switched to R-134a.
In other words, if your vehicle was made before TLC released the certified banger “Waterfalls“, then it probably uses R-12 refrigerant.
Problem is, R-12 has been phased out by the industry and it’s getting scarce—remaining canisters of R-12 can command a premium. So if you’re looking to recharge the A/C system in your car or truck with R-12, you may be out of luck.
…That’s why the air conditioning experts over at FJC, Inc. offer handy R-12 to R-134a refrigerant conversion kits.
And according to FJC, these retrofit kits feature the performance and life expectancy greater than or equal to the original OEM R-12 system.
That’s because the folks over at FJC pretty much wrote the book on R-12 to R-134a A/C refrigerant conversions, and have decades of experience helping gearheads bring their vintage air conditioning systems back to life.
The kits contain the necessary parts required to retrofit virtually any R12 system to R134a and they’ll work with most cars, light- and heavy-duty trucks, vans, agricultural, and off-road equipment. With each kit, you’ll get the oil*, along with retrofit adapters and a decal to alert techs that the system has been converted.
* FJC offers the kits with either Ester or PAG oil—there’s plenty of debate on the pros and cons of each, so it’s recommended you do some research to decide which one will work best in your particular ride.
- FJC-2538 – FJC R-12 to R-134a Estercool Oil Basic Retrofit Kit, with 8 oz. of 100 Viscosity Ester Oil
- FJC-2538P – FJC R-12 to R-134a PAG Oil Basic Retrofit Kit, with 8 oz. of PAG oil
Depending on your particular vehicle A/C system, you may need to pick up this assortment of retrofit adapter fittings from FJC too. If you don’t already have them, you’ll likely need a valve core removal tool and an oil injector pump as well.
Once you’ve installed the fittings and injected the oil, you should pressure test the system before you charge it with readily available R-134a refrigerant. If don’t have the right tools and/or have never done that before, it’s probably a good idea to take it to a shop with experience working on vehicle A/C systems.
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