R13 refrigerant replacement

Greetings, fellow humans. I'm in possession of one '92 Toyota Previa with A/C that needs filling badly. The thing is that it has been using refrigerant of the type "R13". And the a/c filling shops around here all claim never having heard of such. Their response is along the lines: "It's R12, not R13. There is no such thing as R13". However there is "R13" printed on the instrument panel, below the speedo, and I would be tempted to believe it is not just a practical joke on behalf of frustrated Toyota workers.

So help me out here if you can. What kind of refrigerant (that is commonly available) I can safely ask my friendly a/c shop to fill the Previa up with?

- t

Reply to
Tuomas Rantasalo
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Perhaps the last part of "R134a" has been lost?

Reply to
Thomas Tornblom

The only correct legal factory fills would have been either R12 or R134a. The connections will be different. You will not find an R13 for your vehicle. You simply have a couple of missing characters.

Lugnut

Reply to
lugnut

There is no printing on the instrument panel to indicate what type refrigerant the car uses. We can't tell you what the R13 stands for without seeing a picture of it (and probably not even then).

Your system came from the factory with R12. Since R12 isn't as common as it once was it may have been converted to R134a.

You **should** be able to tell which refrigerant is being used by looking at the high and low pressure ports. R12 has a screw on fitting that looks very much like the one on your tires. R134a has a larger fitting and is not threaded

Look at

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for a picture of thetwo.

Systems don't just use refrigerant up. It is leasking somewhere. It would be a good idea to have the system leak tested, repaired and then filled.

R13 is/was used for flash freezing and to my knowledge was never used in an automotive application.

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

No, it doesn't. There is no such thing as R13.

What makes you think the "R13" on the instrument panel has anything to do with your aircon system? For that matter, if you look closely at the type approval markings on your door windows, you'll see "R43" printed there. By your logic (ahem), you should be out there trying to get your A/C filled with R43, right?

Originally, your '92 came with R12. It is possible somebody has converted it to R134a. The instrument cluster is not the appropriate place to look for the refrigerant ID label, which is under the hood.

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Incorrect. There is no such thing as a drop in replacement for R12 but there is a refrigerant named R13.

R13: chlorotrifluoromethane CFC13 is a supper Iow tempreture refrigerant, used in frosting unit, in which the tempeture scope is -75~C.

Typical Properties: Formula: CCIF3 Boiling Point (101.3KPa, ~C): -81.4 Freezing Point (~C): -181.1 Critical Temperature (~C): 28.9 Critical Pressure (KPa): 3868.0 Liquid Density (kg/m3): 1319.9 ODP: 1.0 GWP: 17.5

Package and Storage Filling in 10, 13.6, 20, 50kg cylinders. It should be stored in cool, dry and ventilated place and kept away from sun- light and rain.

Reply to
Steve B.

Correct, Steve. It DOES exist. I even found some chat where conversions from R12 to R13 were being discussed. I somewhat doubt that the OP has this in his system, but you never know who might have done what to it at some stage.

Reply to
<HLS

"Daniel J. Stern" writes in article dated Thu, 14 Jul 2005

10:45:35 -0400:

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is Chlorotrifluoromethane F | F-C-Cl | F

As opposed to R-12, which is Dichlorodifluoromethane Cl | F-C-Cl | F

I'm not saying R-13 refrigerant has ever been used in cars, but it does exist.

-- spud_demon -at- thundermaker.net The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

Reply to
Spud Demon

I wonder if US-spec Renault R5s used R-LeCar?

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

x-no-archive: yes

For what its worth, R13 was (and may still be ) used in vapor traps for vacume systems typicaly found in laboratories (freeze dryers, etc). The idea being to remove moisture before it gets to the vacume pump-- some cascade systems got to around -120 C as I recall (I serviced these units about 20 years ago and as I am an old fart, my memory is not too good anymore---I believe the refrigerant I used was actualy called R13B1)

Reply to
Bill

Grand, but you really have to watch those suffixes. There are refrigerants with the same number but different suffixes ("a" vs "A" vs "B" etc.) that aren't the same thing.

And no car ever made has ever used R13-anysuffix.

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Which obviously differs from your original statement "There is no such thing as R13".

Reply to
John Kunkel

Context, John. It's a wonderful thing.

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

Reply to
Bill

Since No variant of R13 is used in any automotive application, the topic is not germane, and you can do your own google fishing. Or, y'know, if you're *really* fascinated with the various refrigerants and applications, you could always study the subject formally.

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

I have a '99 Saab with a major leak somewhere in the tops hydraulic circuit. Problem is all the fluid leaked out and I can't tell where the leak was.

Saab wants $38 for a little bitty bottle of fluid for the top. I hate to spend that much just to find the leak knowing it will all leak back out while I wait for parts. Anybody know what type of fluid this actually is? I would like to find a cheaper alternative.

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

If it's what I think it is, you can get it from anybody that sells German car parts. It's the same fluid the Citroens use, too. And I hate to tell you this, but you are going to pay through the nose for the stuff no matter where you get it.

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

I'd check with some auto parts stores or hardware stores that carry Hydraulic oil. If the viscosity is the same as what you top systems uses it might be okay to as a substitute oil. You could always drain it out and replace it with the more expensive Saab oil later.

My 68 Buick service manual states Type A Transmission fluid was acceptae to use to top off the fluid level in the convertible top hydraulic motor.

You could also ask at a convertible top shop what they would recommend using.

Good Luck

harryface

2005 Park Avenue 60,013 1991 Bonneville 309. 739
Reply to
Harry Face

'95 Cadillac Fleetwood LT1 engine. All stock

The part in question goes between the Air Pump/Exhaust check valve and the exhaust manifold. Basically it is just a formed metal pipe. I have one that has failed and needs to be replaced but I can't find it anywhere and can't even figure out what to call the part to help me find it! Any assistance appreciated.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B.

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