SC300Gurl

Hello,

Some of you may remember me from my transmission problem in my 92' Lexus sc300. Since you were all such a great help to me with trouble shooting and what parts to buy etc (and by the way, the car runs just like her old self again) thought I'd come back here again to see if you had any ideas or mechanic reccomendations to try and get my AC fixed.

Truth, I've owned the car about 2 yrs now, and it never had working AC. Yes, call me crazy, but I have been living with it all this time, with leather seats, in SUNNY, HOT SAN DIEGO with what I like to call my hill billy AC (all windows down & sun roof open) lol However, this is something I would really like to get fixed.

When I turn it on, it blows out hot air, so feels more like the heater (the heater works fine by the way) and when you press the AC button, the light doesn't stay lit green, it flashes green, and in my manual, it said to take it in for servicing.

Now here's my question. The mechanic buddy I have said that AC's in cars have since been reformatted since my year, for environmental reasons. He claims my car has the older one (the one bad for the environment) and would need to have the new kind installed. Problem is, in older cars, he said sometimes this fixes the problem and sometimes it doesn't... not to mention he said it would be pricey.

So do any of you have any ideas? Maybe your car did the same thing to you and you have another solution? I would appreciate any input you might have. Also, if you know of any mechanics that might be able to fix this problem, then that would be good too. I called Lexus of Kearny Mesa and they told me to bring it in to them,,, however we know Lexus Service Dealership will be pricey.

So let me know your thoughts. THANK YOU!

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iTrader: (8)

lights flashing = need to refill. Go have them check for leaks while you're at it. Also, We have the older R12 refigerant, the newer ones are the R134. I would first try to find a place that has the older R12. That's what I would do. the R134 conversion kit isn't too much money either, but i prefer not to change to the newer ones just yet. good luck!

SC300Gurl

Great, Thanks soo much! I'll start calling around! Also as far as leaks are concerned, when my mechanic friend looked at the AC awhile back, he said he thought it did have a leak, does this change the equation?

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iTrader: (8)

either way, have them check it. They will put some dye into the refrigerant to see where the leaks are at. Better now than when you pay for the full re-charge and it leaks. It's a simple process and any competant mechanic could do it.

Also, lots of mechanics have R12 laying around. Call the smaller mom and pop shops...

SC300Gurl

Awesome, yea I will have to break out the yellow pages when I get home I guess. I looked up a few places online, like Jiffy Lube and Midas.... surprisingly Midas carried it, but the guy strongly tried to persuade me to convert to the R134 and said I'd be paying for it anyways in the long run if I used the R12. He quoted me saying to convert would be about $1,800.00

So yea, I will try calling some of the smaller places

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iTrader: (8)

that's a RIP OFF. It should only be a maximum of $150 for that conversion kit.

sxylxy

LOL guys plz don't post comments if you just make stuff up. Go to auto zone even wallmart and the kit is $30! It's just a small canister of the new stuff along with the new nozzels. My sc4 never had AC it took me about 2 months of on and off work (during the winter of coarse) to change the compressor and ALL the AC lines. It's a big job but the dealer wanted $3500 for like 20hours labor PLUS parts. I bought a parts car and it paid for itself over the next 2 yrs including this ac prob. My problem was pretty much the compressor and all the o-rings where the AC lines would meet. The thing was leaking in like 10 different places so I just changed everything. But... in the end it worked! So if your ready to devote the time it's not that hard just a lot of time. And if your rich then go let lexus do it I suppose!

SC300Gurl

Yea, that guy must have seen me coming lol Definitely, i'm sure I can find a place, just a matter of calling. If worse comes to worse (as far as it being too expensive or not able to find) I am only planning on keeping the car another year... so guess if I lasted this long without AC, then whats one more yr right?

Thanks for the help, I keep updating as I go

Hai_Nguyen

Don't go to jiffy lube or midas to get your work done. I'm not sayin ALL those places arent legit (because some actually do honest work), but you've got be be careful because some of them will try and rip you off. And as stated before some of it can be DIY.
Just go look for places w/ R12 and have them recharge it.

p.hase

there is a bulletin from lexus usa which determins the exakt amount of R134 PLUS compressor oil that needs to be refilled in gramms.

note: before you fill it the system must be vacuum sucked and all old stuff removed. then they do a leak-check and at the end they refill it.

ki_soarer

if you convert it to R134a, make sure they only fill it to 80% of whatever the max is with R12...

i think the sticker under the hood says max capacity for R12 is 2.3lbs, so 80% would be about 1.8..................... but i could be a little off.

dont let anyone try to sell you anything. just have it all evacuated, pull a vaccume, check to be sure the vaccume holds without leaks, then have it recharged with R12. if anything needs to be replaced, just post back and make sure your not gettin worked over.

good luck.

SC300Gurl

THANK YOU EVERYONE! Your help and input is all greatly appreciated!