Hollywood area R12 A/C recharge?

[coldwalls]

Anyone know of a shop in the Hollywood or LA area that can recharge the A/C on an '88 Carrera? Closest I can find is a place that suggested I source a conversion kit for R134 and then they'd install and recharge.

Looking for a temporary solution to get me through a road trip in a few days.

[2.7RS]

Pretty sure R12 has been banned for good. And I can only imagine the restrictions in beautiful californication.

You probably have a better chance of finding a painter that uses leaded paint or a pest control that uses DDT... just saying

[Marine Blue]

Mexico still has supply and cans of it find there way over to CA but yeah as 2.7RS noted, it’s not easy and you have to “know” someone.

Likely anyone who knows someone with it won’t divulge it on a public website.

[almostordinary]

Hmmmm...

Was curious, found some for sale on craigslist .



https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/pts/d/pasadena-r12-freon-arctic-air-cans/7534036557.html

Another post

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/pts/d/whittier-r12-refrigerant-freon/7519424509.html

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=r12+freon

Some guy is serious in Rancho....

Could be the cops being sneaky.... good luck.

[famoroso]

Not Hollywood, but contact Steve's D&S Auto Air in Orange County.

[GH85Carrera]

My understanding is the manufacture or importing of of R-12 is banned worldwide. Existing stocks are still legal to use. Finding a shop with the gauges, and equipment and a tech that will do it is another matter altogether. It is silly expensive per pound now. It likely will not be cheap.

[proporsche]

Yop same story in Europe..just in case i still have the R12 original gauges if anyone needs them plus one R12 can, but that would not be able to ship over the pond

Ivan

[porschedude996]

So what is the price for a pound? I you can find it.

Never mind, answered in links, Duh…

[Synchro Joe]

Actually, R-12 is not banned from use at this time.T he Montreal Protocol and EPA regulations did not ban the use of R12 refrigerant. It is illegal to manufacture new R12, but it is not illegal to sell or use R12. And many of the cylinders and cans of Freon R-12 sold for decades throughout the United States are still around. Lots of chillers and even refrigerators and cars manufactured before the Montreal Protocol are still in operation. Existing R12 refrigerant can be bought, sold, and used – subject to EPA regulations – nearly 35 years after the Montreal Protocol was first signed.

You can still buy it on line and other places but shipping is an issue. You are not permitted to sell your refrigerant to just anybody. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the sale of Freon, and other CFC and HCFC refrigerants. These older refrigerants can only be sold to companies that employ EPA-certified technicians, directly to these technicians. Importantly, the burden is on the seller to make sure they are selling to someone who is certified. Also The DOT requires lots of labels and specific hazardous material papers attached to your box. My son is an HVAC tech and he got his certification through an on line course.

[GH85Carrera]

In Hollywood, if anywhere you will find a shop that specialized in older cars. Lots of actors and movie pros have old cars. Finding that place is the purpose of the thread, but it is out there. Just run over the Burbank and ask Jay Leno, I bet he knows a guy.....

[dannobee]

There's still a LOT of it around. When Cash for Clunkers was a thing, we had to recover it. After awhile, we had so much that we bought recycle cylinders just to store it. I still have some of the old cans in the garage, even though I long ago got rid of any of my own cars that used it.

It's still out there, you just have to ask around.

[roy gray]

Just convert to R134.there is an easy conversion needed when going from r12 to r134 because of weight differences,but any competent shop should be able to vacuum and recharge your system.People will whine about the differences in the oil used in the 2 systems,but really I've done plenty of conversions that worked just fine.I'd imagine there's a hole somewhere in system,so any R12 is gone.All that's left is to put an ounce of dye-infused PAG oil in system BEFORE they vacuum and charge it.The dye will almost instantly show any leaks when they finish charging system and start it.The correct way to do this is to replace condenser,receiver/drier(which is the systems filter) and clean out all rubber and solid lines.Replacing the compressor is also desirable,especially since they've gotten cheaper thanks to China.