BY YeuEmMaiMai


You have 2 choices:

1. you can recharge with R12 and if they did the repairs right it should last at least 5-8 years or so years before it needs to be recharged. R12 was what came in the car and it will do a better job than it's replacement r143a sice the A/C unit in the car is not that large to begin with.

2. You can retrofit to r134a which is cheaper than R12 but there will be a few compromises as listed below:

a. you can only charge to 90% capacity since R134a operates at higher pressure
b. typically with older honda's the A/C system is not very large (thankfully this has been corrected since 1996) so this may cause problems when it is really hot out (car not getting cool even though A/C is blowing cold)
c. R134a does not have the reserve capacity that R12 does. What this means is that when your charge decreases even by a little, you will notice a reduction in cooling capacity.

d. r134a, takes different o-rings, if you DO NOT replace all of the o-rings, they will eventually start to leak..

Good luck and make sure that you talk to your A/C expert and don't let them sell you something without firs explaining the benifits and the drawbacks.


IF you still thinking about retrofitting.. some stores might sell a retrofit kit,, which comes with valves and oil.,,
After A/c system has been evacuated ..
remove the old schroeder valve form the lines, install the new R134a valves, put a/c system under a vacc for at least a few hrs ,,, recharge a/c and also add some oil , you can add oil with same method as when adding dye to a/c system,,