AC recharge help request for Tempo/Topaz
 

1992 Topaz,nearly same as Tempo.
4.3 liter 4 cyl, auto with air. R12 system.

System stopped making cold air in middle of winter during one of the 10 min runs, that the manual says owner should do each month thru the winter.

Compresser stopped engaging. System has low pressure, but not enought to do more than move the gage needle just a little bit.

Cannot get r12 anymore. Can Get Freeze 12.

Found the small port, what I believe is the low side, next to a canister neer the radiator. and it goes down to what I think is the pump, which is driven by the altenator systems belt.

The other one which I think is the high side, appears to be on a verticle tube next to the firewall where I believe the condenser is. Do I have this right?

I have fittings to adapt to the freeze 12.

Should I take the system in and have it vacumed out first before adding some freez12 to it, or will it be ok to add some as it is now?

I know this is an older car, but due to econmic times we have to try this cheaper way of reparing it, to keep it on the road for another year. the handi capped person driving it needs AC.

I have 1 can of oil and 3 cans of freeze (he got the freeze 12 pro change kit).

Any help apprecated! To convert this over to 143 would cost him 400 bucks which he doesn't have..

again, thanks!

You could convert the car over to R134A for about $35. Walmart has the conversion kit which includes either 3 or 4 cans of R-134A freon/oil mix, the R134A adapters to go on the A/C fittings and a hose used for putting the freon in with. I just used one of these kits on my '88 Escort GL last year. It had lost all it's freon and I didn't have the vacuum pulled on the system before adding the R134A. You always add freon to the low pressure port of the A/C system. Most cars have the port in the A/C hoses. The low pressure side is the larger diameter hose.

Couple of TID-BITS...Since the system is low on charge, it needs to be evacuated and then checked for where the freon is leaking from. A nitrogen pressure check is what I normally perform. Looks for oil along the lines and at the compressor clutch area. The actual correct way to convert to R-134a is to flush the system, as Mineral and PAG oils don't like each other. Replace the orifice and rubber hoses as the gas particulate of R-134a is smaller than R-12 and can actually leak thru the older R-12 hoses and R-134a runs at higher pressure. Don't expect the same cooling capability from a converted system. However, it's your call...