89 chevy cavalier,, what type A/C jiuce does it have?

"Compressor death in a can".

It came stock with R12. There's no real reason to use anything else.

Ok, so my $125 car has an empty r12 ac system. I'm lookin at an r12-r134 retrofit kit with two cans of oil-charge and hose/valve assy , as well as two cans of r134 that the store sold her for $60.

Question: You cant get R-12 anymore? One poster suggested that..

Thanks , Mike D, Certified Barnyard Mechanic

These kits will work. Use it if you want. Don't be surprised if you find a few leaks once you install it.

You can get R12. It is just very expensive.

I guess the question really is... is that 89 car worth spending what it'll cost for an R-12 shot. He will have to make that call...

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First things first: what's wrong with the present system? (Which is definitely R-12; I don't think you'll see R-134a earlier than a 1993 model and it wasn't mandated until '94 or '5; and it is indicated by labeling and different sizes of ports.)

If it's intact and functioning properly, don't retrofit anything. R-12 will actually do a slightly better job of cooling your car. The sole reason we don't use it anymore is that it does a job on the ozone layer too... which is an argument for having a pressurized R-12 system opened by a shop that can capture the stuff for recycling rather than doing it yourself, when the day comes.

If the system *isn't* working, three things come to mind:

1. It is better to figure out why it isn't working instead of throwing parts at the problem. Putting too much refrigerant into a system is bad. (An implication is that you need a gauge set to do the conversion right.) And putting any refrigerant into a system that for other reasons doesn't work is a waste of money... especially if the problem is a leak!

1. I guess there is a spectrum of opinions on whether and how well R-134a conversion kits work. The position that makes sense to me is that you have to clean out the old system, e.g., with compressed air, to chase out the old oil from the evaporator. (I'm told that improvements in the different type of oil meant for R-134a make it more compatible with the old mineral oil, but it's still good to reasonably minimize the amount of the old stuff.)

The receiver/dryer needs to just get tossed, period, when you are opening the a/c on that old a car.

1. If it's not working, after figuring out why, there comes a financial decision on what you want to put into the car, which depends partly on what is wrong, partly on what kind of shape the car is in and how much you and your wife like it, and partly on the extent to which you are able and willing to take this on as a DIY project rather than hire it out.

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--Joe

There was nothing but R-12 in use in '89. R-134a started appearing in the 1992-93 time frame, and there were cars still sold new with R-12 until maybe '94.

Thanks to all , I've no real need for A/C, and I'm reluctant to dump $ into it just (likely) to find a leak. MPDsville