Farrar - I always use R413a which is meant for substituting R12, too. but the system is anything but empty as long as the compressor even turns on, there is at least 50% still in there !!! normally they refill about 1 pound on my car - which, if I remember correctly, is only 1/3. So this is far away from free of coolant... Is there a special place on the system which tends to leak most ? first I had to refill it every 2 years, now it needed a refill after only a few months. who has experience with it ? Elvis & 6548 > Gang, > > Despite the fact that the can says "To be used by EPA certified > personnel only," I picked up two cans of R-416A yesterday. (a.k.a. FR-12.) > > Since my A/C clutch cycles once every few seconds and the air coming out > is as warm as when I merely use the vent, I believe I can safely assume > that the system is free of coolant. > > In the DML archive there are posts which say "mixing refrigerants is > dangerous" and others which say "it's not dangerous, but technicians > won't touch your car if you mix refrigerants." The guy at NAPA who has > worked on my other car for years says that I can put FR-12 into a system > with a tiny amount of R-12 in it and have no ill effects. > > My car has NOT undergone a conversion to R-134A. Even if there is any > R-12 left in the system, it can't be that much, since the a/c clutch > engages so many times per minute. > > So following the fuel distributor O-ring replacement (which should be > fine now that the car has been sitting for the better part of a week -- > assuming I can find torque specs for the silly M5 bolts), I will fire up > the car and charge the system with R-416A as my next task in preparation > for Gettysburg. :) Just for a change, the list of things to do on the > car is getting shorter not longer ... heh. > > Cheers, > Farrar Hudkins > #2613 (auto) > ------------------------------------ To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnewsYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:dmcnews-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx mailto:dmcnews-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/