adding freon

[carjunkie325]

so i'm pretty much a newb at cars but its good to start out somewhere right? well i live in california and its beginning to be hot again, and unfortunately my car won't blow any cold a/c.. and i know i jus need to add freon right? im pretty sure i can buy it at pet boys or something for a decent price. but the thing is, i don't know how to do it lol =[..can someone please help with specific instructions on how to do it?

[downeaster1]

Well you will have a problem.
The 1992 325i is special in 3 ways from other E36's.
1) They have front M3 suspension from the factory
2) They dont have the troublesome VANOS system
3) They use an impossible to find and illegal to have refrigerant called R12. Every other E36 uses R134a.

Sorry. I did a writeup on how to convert it. Let me look.

[jer0177]

The AC system's not something you wanna play around with - especially when you're just starting the DIY path....it gets expensive to repair.

Your best bet is to pick up a book on automotive AC systems (most repair manauals - I haven't read through the Bentley section yet - don't have a very good section - they say "take it to a service center") and a set of gauges for the system (either R-12 or R-134a, there's a label somewhere in the eng. compartment that tells you which you've got - and no, they're not interchangeable), and see what kinds of pressures you've got to start with.

If you don't have any, you have a pretty major leak, and probably have moisture in the system. If that's the case, you'll have to find and fix the leak, and then pull a vacuum on the system (I also recommend replacing the drier) for at least half an hour.

If you don't have a 'major' leak, then you can try adding some refrigerant, but if you've got R-12, you can't buy it (without an arm and a leg and an EPA license) - R-134a you can pick up at your local walmart. Get some with leak-stop and UV dye so that you can make sure the leak stop worked. The book will tell you how to do that part, but read thoroughly, and read it twice - again, repairs get expensive.

I can try to answer questions, but it's a difficult system to diagnose 'hands-off'....

Best of luck!! :redspot

[jer0177]

Well you will have a problem.
The 1992 325i is special in 3 ways from other E36's.
1) They have front M3 suspension from the factory
2) They dont have the troublesome VANOS system
3) They use an impossible to find and illegal to have refrigerant called R12. Every other E36 uses R134a.

Sorry. I did a writeup on how to convert it. Let me look.


Hopefully someone already did his conversion......

[richbarn2]

if it is r12 let me know, i think i still have a can of it around here.

how much is that stuff worth now anyways?

[jer0177]

I checked ebay, 4 cans plus one oil shot - $109. (click here) (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DuPont-R12-R-12-4-Cans-Car-Freon-Refrigerant-Oil-Charge_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ46094QQihZ004QQi temZ140213711125QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW)

[richbarn2]

oh, thanks...

[uncle]

People convert from R12 to R135 all of the time. Many of the old myths, like you have to change of of your seals, are exactly that, myths.
The main thing is to determine why you are losing gas, and make the repair. Once done, the conversion is staritforward. You evacuate the system, and draw a vacumn. This will evacuate all of the old stuff, and if the vacumn holds, it tells you the system integrity is there. Then, you install the screw on fittings to convert the R12 nipples to R135 nipples. Then add the correct amount of oil, and R135.
The cost of a full charge of 135 and the parts, is probably less than on can of Freon R12.

[orthm]

Do you have the air temp dial for the vents set to cold air? If not, you get warm air even with AC running.

Unless the PO had converted it to R134 already, your car still uses R-12 so you are SOL in legally buying more R12 unless you have a license for it. They will ask to see it at the parts stores....

Big thing is to find the leak first. At $30 a pound, you want the leak fixed first. Most shops will no longer just dump a can in the system. I believe they are required to do a leak test first.

Some times, it just the seals getting a little dried out from the AC not being used during the winter (this is why the manual says to run the AC once a month regardless of outside temp. Running the defroster will run the AC compressor).

[drtweak1992325i]

doing a r12 to r134 isnt that hard at all.

just go somewhere to have them drain your r134...my uncle works at honda so they were happy to take my r134 and reuse it lol...

then you half to get a new drier. go and get a freon kit at like auto zone or kragen or something...you can either get one that is just the freon and get a can of oil or get the freon and oil mix...

then with the convetion kit you just replace all the seals, and valves so that it will work with the r134...then just turn on your AC and open up the vavle to let the freon it...

took me about an hour to do.

[richbarn2]

i noticed you didnt vacuum the system down before you charged the system, i would not recommend doing it this way. anytime the system is opened the system needs to be vacuumed down and leak checked and it also removes the moisture you allowed to enter the system when it was open.

im not saying your a/c isnt working, but its not the correct way of serviceing the a/c system. period.

[jer0177]

i noticed you didnt vacuum the system down before you charged the system, i would not recommend doing it this way. anytime the system is opened the system needs to be vacuumed down and leak checked and it also removes the moisture you allowed to enter the system when it was open.

im not saying your a/c isnt working, but its not the correct way of serviceing the a/c system. period.

+1