Trying to do an oil pump swap this weekend and worried i'm gonna lose my A/C refrigerant in the process, and won't be able to find more R12...cause it's super illegal thanks to it's unenviromental friendliness. 

 

after some googling, i see most pointing to converting it w/ a kit available at auto-zone or other automotive supply stores. 

 

have also seen the a number of "eco-safe" R12 refills out there, but not sure what the deal is with them. 

 

never really had A/C in any of my cars of the years so not really willing to give up my currently working A/C, but need to eliminate my TOD w/ the oil pump swap (hopefully, fingers crossed). 

 

thoughts?

 

thanks, 

 

Glen

 

replace the main o-rings to the compressor and evaporator and run R134a.   

 

 

But the bigger question is why do you think you'll lose whats in the system?  The AC compressor bracket unbolts and lifts completely up off the motor.  you can bungie cord it up to the hood hinges to hold it out of the way.   And its a EA82 oil pump reseal, IIRC the AC pump doesnt get removed do the the job, you just have to take off the tensioner bracket. 

Totally agree that there is no need to do anything more than unbolt the compressor bracket from the engine and move it aside.  (I tend to put mine in the battery tray area.)  Whenever I have done something T-belt related, I have moved the compressor this way; I think that at least one style of bracket/tensioner requires this.

Try Craigslist for R-12. Its always for sale around me. Around $15-$30 a can, depending on the seller. Then there are the people who want $120, lol.

Wanted to get the condenser out of the way if possible. Make life easier. Whether that happens or not is dependent on whether there's an easily attainable way to replace the r-12 though.

Huh? Removing the ac compressor to do timing belts and oil pump is adding extra work to the job. Leave it alone! :-)

Yeah.. hell, you can even just undo the tensioner bracket, move up then relock out of the way.. The oil pump is far enough away from it, you'll have 0 interference issues.

 

Those subaru systems are pretty robust... to disturb it is like putting a furious weasel in your pants.. You can, but really, REALLY ill-advised..

If you guys say so. When I changed my oil pump, I didn't hesitate to get it out of the way, but that was because my a/c didn't really work to begin with and I also don't really care for air conditioning. I'm hoping it is as easy as you all say, because I remember really appreciating how much room I had to work with when I had the radiator and the condenser out of my way lol

If you want, you can definitely pull the radiator and gain 1-3 more inches.. and you're working underneath, right (I HOPE your not trying to do this from the top down.. ) ?

 

Honestly, I kept the radiator in AND A/C compressor in place with no problems.. little slower minding the radiator? yes, but I didn't have to buy another gallon of coolant nor screw (parden the pun) with the bolts for the compressor.

yeah its unnecessary to even pull the radiator. the closest you ever get to the radiator is breaking the crank pulley loose. 

To address the original question, I have heard good things about "Freeze12".  Personally, I have used an R134a retrofit kit with good success.  (This kit used R12-compatible oil, as the usual R134a's oil will make you sorry that you tried it.)

I pulled the engine out of the car to do my timing belts, oil pump eplacement, water pump, clutch etc. Never had to unhook the air conditioning. Just unbolt the compresssor and set aside - unless you really need more things to fix in order to occupy your time.

You can actually remove the radiator and fans without touching the consensor, and just reposition the compressor as described above. That should give you all the room you'll need.

 

As far as changing refridgerants, it is ok to do the conversion, if you evacuate the R12, and do some prep work before charging with R134. O rings are definitely fair game.

 

When they first switched, there was a lot of doubts as to whether the conversions would be successful long-term, but time and experience has proven otherwise.   

 

I can tell you that there were some R12 "substitutes" produced right after R12 was banned, and if you can find some at a reasonable cost that may be an option. John

Just finished up that job. Didn't touch the A/C Condenser or the radiator at all. Thanks for the tips. Now I know

Yeah i couldn't get why you needed to remove any accessories.. Good job. I am once again waiting on parts....