Complete newbie here. Any advice on AC?

Old 04-05-2017, 06:59 PM
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Complete newbie here. Any advice on AC?

I have a 74 Dodge Dart swinger and as of now the heater works but the CA does not. I haven't tried refilling it but my buddy was telling me I may need to convert it to a more up to date ac system How difficult/costly is it to do such a job? My friends are mechanics and I am far from but I'd like to look into trying to this myself rather than going to them helplessly or at least I'd like to go with some knowledge.
Old 04-06-2017, 02:29 PM
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First off your AC system needs R12 No longer available except on black market / Ebay but you need a AC cert to buy it. It is not that hard to get... Online. You need to convert to R134... If you indeed want to fix the air ? I would put a complete aftermarket system in from 4 seasons Vintage air or some other place
Old 04-06-2017, 06:02 PM
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This is a job that needs some expensive specialty tools. First being a recovery machine to properly capture refrigerant from the system. Next a vacuum pump to remove any air/moisture from the system. Failure to do so will turn into acid in the system and destroy it. You also need refrigerant gauges to verify charge and a scale to weigh in the charge. As stated above R-12 is an old CFC which has been phased out due to harmful effects to ozone.
Old 04-06-2017, 08:30 PM
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What did you put into it the first time R12 ???
Old 04-15-2017, 02:48 PM
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Originally Posted by TVLynn
First off your AC system needs R12 No longer available except on black market / Ebay but you need a AC cert to buy it. It is not that hard to get... Online. You need to convert to R134... If you indeed want to fix the air ? I would put a complete aftermarket system in from 4 seasons Vintage air or some other place
oh dam ok :/. This is scary
Old 04-15-2017, 02:49 PM
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Originally Posted by xaza
This is a job that needs some expensive specialty tools. First being a recovery machine to properly capture refrigerant from the system. Next a vacuum pump to remove any air/moisture from the system. Failure to do so will turn into acid in the system and destroy it. You also need refrigerant gauges to verify charge and a scale to weigh in the charge. As stated above R-12 is an old CFC which has been phased out due to harmful effects to ozone.
ok dam that sounds like tough work. Was hoping to get it going by summer but not looking promising
Old 04-15-2017, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by TVLynn
What did you put into it the first time R12 ???
I've never filled it. Since I got the car, it never blew cool but heater works. Got distracted and redid the front end and now I'm trying to save up more money. So I'm trying to find the most cost effective way to here my dart looking good.
Old 04-15-2017, 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by xaza
This is a job that needs some expensive specialty tools. First being a recovery machine to properly capture refrigerant from the system. Next a vacuum pump to remove any air/moisture from the system. Failure to do so will turn into acid in the system and destroy it. You also need refrigerant gauges to verify charge and a scale to weigh in the charge. As stated above R-12 is an old CFC which has been phased out due to harmful effects to ozone.
fuuuuuuuuuuuck smh. Ok thanks so much for the replies. Any estimate on costs?
Old 04-15-2017, 07:19 PM
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$$$$$$$$$ or heat, your choice.
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