Hello, I have a 1993 Camry that needs the Freon topped off. The a/c is cold but not as cold as it was. I have the freon R-12 but the hoses on my manifold are too large for the suction and high pressure fittings. The hoses fit american cars. Are there special hoses for Toyota's?

 

The Toyota system uses standard fittings however:

Your manifold is most likely setup for AC systems using the newer replacement Freon (can't remember the number). 1995 and above cars used this Freon.

The fittings are differant to prevent putting the wrong Freon into the system.

You need to find a manifold designed to be used with R12. R12 AC systems are still around thus this may not be too hard of a problem. Might try Ebay.

You might need only the low pressure fitting. You can use the view port window on top of the dryer to get a pretty good indication of how much Freon is in the system.

When the AC compressor is operating the Freon should be free of bubbles. When the AC compressor is off the window will be clear (air). When the compressor is turned on bubbles will form then the fluid will become clear again (100% Freon). When the compressor is turned off air bubbles will again start to form then the window becomes clear again (air).

You want to add Freon until the window is clear when the AC compressor is steady on, but still have the bubbles at start up and shut down. You DO NOT want to overfill the system.

 

Toyomoho, thanks for your response. I checked and I have an R12 system. I have an old manifold set from the 80's and the fittings slip over the Toyota fitting. The low pressure (suction side) fill is near the firewall on the passenger side so I know that I have the right fitting. The newer 134A Freon utilizes a fitting that has a coupler instead of a screw thread to prevent people from trying to add 134A to an R12 system. Its really wierd. I even tried a friends A/C hoses and it was the same, just slightly larger than the Toyota fittings. Any other ideas?

Eric

 

I'm no expert, but you loose lubricant with the freon loss, so I'm converting to R134 on my 1992. Question I have is do you need to put in a new expansion valve. (guess it has this instead of the orifice tube). Replace O'rings, just clipons for hoses, or is it worth doing all of them. Also, do I need to manually put some lubricant in compressor, or will refill kit with oil be okay. Have access to vacumn pump, but not sure if need to do that.

 

You can use the factory expansion valve unless it is defective.

Knowing how much oil to add is not an exact calculation. Oil loss to refrigerant loss is not one-to-one. If the refrigerant loss was a one time occurrence then probably no oil needs to be added. If components are being replaced then the manual will tell how much oil to add for what component is replaced. When components are replaced then usually it is a good idea to replace the receiver/dryer as well, and that is a convenient way to add oil. If the system has not been exposed to air then there is an injector you can buy that allows oil to be put directly into the low side port. Too much oil will cause poor performance. You can probably add 1/2 an ounce with no problems.

As for o-rings replacement I've heard replace all to don't replace any. On a system that old it may be wise to replace as many as possible with new and 134a compatable(green color). The conversion kits usually come with a oil additive for compatability. I would at least replace the receiver/dryer, which is cheap and easy.

There are down sides to using 134 in an R12 system. 134 will leak faster because its molecules are smaller and it will not perform as well with R12 designed components - especially ones that old.

You should have any remaining R12 evacuated with a shop machine, then you can pull your own vacuum with your pump.

I converted my R12 system (not Camry) to this: http://www.es-refrigerants.com/ with better cooling than R12 and NO o-ring conversion issues. I would do the Camry with it as well if I needed to.

 

An above post was concerned about replacement of oil due to lost of freon.

The following is from the OEM manual 1993 Camry, page AC-18 (R-12 refrigerant)

Compressor oil

When replacing receiver (filter/dryer) 0.5 oz (Fluid oz)
" " condenser 1.2 oz
" " evaporator 1.6 oz
" " compressor - 3.5 oz
(Note there is a minus sign used here on entry 3.5 oz - compressor I don't know if it is in error or not) but is repeated for -100 cubic cm in the metric column, with another minus sign. Detail instructions for all components except compressor restate the fluid oz to replace (replenish) , but does not for the compressor.