Vehicle: 90 300SE (84k Miles) 08 Lexus ES350 Ultra (5k Miles) 07 GMC Sierra SLE (6k Miles) Sold list -->
Location: FL
Posts: 1,833
I'm sure you can still find R12 if you look. I just cannot possibly imagine that the EU is more insane about ozone depletion then the good old US EPA.
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Previous Rides:
89 560SL sold at 45k miles
04 C240 sold at 25k miles
05 Mini Cooper S sold at 50k miles
01 Audi S8 sold at 65k miles
00 Audi A4 sold at 75k miles
06 Chevy Silverado LT3/Z sold at 60k miles
99 Chevy Silverado LT sold at 85k miles
I'm sure you can still find R12 if you look. I just cannot possibly imagine that the EU is more insane about ozone depletion then the good old US EPA.
I keep looking and hoping. But you're wrong about the EU versus US comparison. Over there in the Land of the Free you can at least still legally obtain recovered and repackaged R12. Recycling is actually a very sensible conservation strategy.
Here where the Eurocrat rules, any R12 recovered from scrap car a/c, fridges and other systems has to be measured, declared in triplicate on a signed form, transferred to a firm authorised to handle CFCs, which doubtless charges a fee for the service, and destroys the R12 in a high temperature incinerator. So you can imagine what happens: when no-one is looking, someone in the workshop or scrapyard just happens to open the valve...
As a result R12 has become as rare as rocking-horse sh*t; and guys like me, who would like to continue to use R12 responsibly in the systems designed for it, struggle to source supplies.
The front seal is on the shaft of the compressor. It takes all the abuse.
Thanks for that clarification. Next question... if that seal is gone, is it a repair/overhaul job, or does it inevitably mean a new compressor? I'm just pondering what I'll have to say to my bank manager next time I have to pay him a visit...!
The seal can be replaced but they are finicky. They are ceramic disks perfectly honed to prevent gas molecules from squeezing thru. It's standard here to replace the compressor. BTW does the EU allow products like freeze12? It is a blend of other legal refrigerants that closely mimics R-12 (as long as there is no leak in the system). Do a search on it.
NordRhein... If (and it's still an "if" until I find a way to trace the leak) the compressor seal is the problem, I suspect I'll have no option but to change the compressor. And if I have to do that, then I may as well have the whole conversion (acc/drier, etc) and go over to R134a simply because that is now the norm.
As it happens, Freeze12 is available legally in the UK/EU. And there are several other "drop-in" alternatives also on the market. They're not particularly cheap, but some a/c service places offer them. I have however always regarded any and all blends/substitutes as being in the snake-oil category and likely sooner or later to foul up my system. I've read some dire warnings about the 'black death', and the issues over compatibility with different kinds of oil. So I tend to side with those who favour either a "pure" R12 system, or if that's no longer possible, a "pure" R134a one.
But I'm no expert, and try to be open-minded and practical. If I were to try Freeze12, would that complicate matters if I later decided to have a full proper conversion to R134a?
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