[sleekgt]

I have just bought a 1983 esprit S3 turbo. The A/C is out of order. The compressor doesn t work at all and there are leaks of gas from everyparts. I would like to rebuild it completly. It used to work with r12 gas which is no longer available. Is it possible as i m going to change every parts to rebuild it for the r134 gas? Will it work propertly?

My 88 is an R12 system that was minimally converted to R134 - not everything was swapped out and yes, old R12 hoses supposedly allow the R134 to permeate slowly out. It works 'good enough' once I ignored the 2.4 lbs calculated R134 amount (it was too high a pressure, ventilating to atmosphere twice). Use 2 cans (24 oz) and it seems OK. Use at your own risk - every car is 'special'.

The tradeoff of staying with R12 is this: if your system is leaking, you can still buy R12 through a licensed AC company,but it's like $90/lbs (vs. R134 @ $15/ 12 ozs). Slow leaks with R134 are cost-wise more manageable, but with existing R12, it's going to hurt.

Also, have your compressor double-checked - my compressor wasn't 'working' because a loose wire prevented from running.