AC compressor whine

[porschpow]

For the longest time I thought my Whine was coming from the Power steering but upon close listening, it became apparant that its the AC compressor. I was thinking of converting to R-12. I THINK...I THINK i have R-134, is it worth converting to r-12???

Why Im doing this is because i think my ac compressor bearings are shot (hence the whine)

[91waggin]

OEM charge is R12. It may or may not have been converted to R-134a sometime in the past--depends on whether anybody wanted. R12 is very expensive as it's no longer being produced, so converting back to R12 if the R-134a retrofit has already been done is probably a non-starter.

Does it whine with the a/c off? Center part of pulley will stop spinning with a/c off.

[sly]

also, if you think it's the compressor, it may actually be the idler pully. A mechanic's stethoscope helps figure out exactly where the noise is coming from.

[porschpow]

with the AC on or off makes the whine

So your saying its not worth converting back to R-12, even though its a stronger unit then the R-134?

I thought the idler pulley is withint the compressor?

[gadget73]

the idler/tensioner is below the compressor. make sure it isn't bad and make sure its not coming from the smog pump.

if the compressor clutch bearings are bad, it will make noise only with the AC off. If the compressor itself is noisy, it makes noise only with it on. Since it doesn't change, its probably not the compressor.

R12 gets colder, but its more difficult to get. Price has gotten comparable though since there isn't as much demand. Unless you're planning to fully rebuild the system, I would leave it alone if it works now. Maybe if you have plans to fully rehab the AC in the future, consider converting it back at that time. Properly done, these cars do fine with R134a, provided your fan clutch is good. If its toast, the AC sucks.

[porschpow]

I think i did change that tensioner.

I haven't noticed the sound go away when the AC is on, but i do hear the whine coming from the AC compressor side

[tjc78]

I had 134 in the 89 LTC certainly cold enough. Wish I had known about relaying the blower fan back then.... It would have helped.

[miamibob]

Converted my '87 GM to R134a and it is colder than the '95 GM that comes R134a from the factory! We're talking "Bird's Eye" here. Although I do have the '95 cold it is not quite as cold as the '87.

[GrandestMarquis]

I converted my 83 three years ago and it freezes you out. I didn't change the compressor. If it was converted it could still have the original compressor. You really only need to change the dryer and the oil in the system. You can tell if it's been converted by looking at the charging ports. They will have adapters on them.

[pantera77]

My 89 was converted to 134, it get's cold but not that cold.
My 85 still has the factory R12 in it, and it gives you glass cutting nipples in no time. The compressor is pretty noisy, and it's a bit low on charge (short cycles). I do have a can of R12 laying around, but I'll probably convert it to 134 once it dies just for ease of maintenance.

[miamibob]

You used to be able to get an online certification for R12 so you could still get it (not sure if that is still true). Haven't checked prices lately but is R12 that much more expensive than R134a?? Seemed like the last few years the latter was catching up fast!

[kodiak]

R12 was deemed unfit for the environment a very long time ago it is upwards of $40 to $50 + a pound now that it is not being made.

For personal use as in working on your own house or your car you don't need any type of certification. Automotive has its own certification (609) and stationary equipment has three levels of certification (608 I, II, III) depending on the type of equipment.

R12 was a very good refrigerant that was stable and easy to work with R134a is not as chemically stable because it is a mix of different refrigerants and the oil is hygroscopic (it loves water).

Sent from my '85 Lincolin Town Car

[miamibob]

Have to look for the documentation as I have the automotive cert, somewhere among my goodies.....may have other certs but memory is failing....

[gadget73]

The price of R12 has been coming down. Its not nearly at the premium it used to be. No production cars have run it in about 20 years now, so the only demand is for very old AC systems that cannot be converted, or for people who have cars that suck when converted. Not many people are fixing the AC systems in 20+ year old cars either, and AC wasn't very common before the 1970s so you're looking at a fairly limited market anymore. Last I looked at pricing a couple years ago, it would have cost about double what the R134a was to do my Mark VII. I seem to remember it would have cost about $60 worth of magic gas, vs like $28 for the R134a in cans. I should have bought the parts, the Fox AC system does not convert as well as the Panther stuff. Smaller condensor.

[Bowman85merc]

I got lucky last summer. Seen a set of R12 gauges on Craigslist for $20, went to get them and the guy throws in 3 cans of R12, another fill hose for hooking to the cans, tire gauge looking tester for R12 and temp. stickers you put on each line so you can see how it's doing buy looking at the color they change to. plus instructions on how to use everything.

I see R12 every now and then going for about $15 obo per can here on craigslist.