Hey all, newbie here, I would appreciate any help and hopefully I will be able to help others in the future.

I have a 1992 3.0 Areostar mini-cargo 3.0 which I want to convert from the r12 a/c to the r134a (no aux, front air only). The a/c has not blown cold air for the past 3 years. As far as I can tell, this seems to be a pretty simple procedure that I may be able to do myself. I am not that mechanically inclined so I want to be sure that i am not missing anything. I took the van in for an a/c service yesterday and I was told that the r12 is about 80.00 per pound and that i required 3 lbs, since after testing, they showed i had no freon in there at all. But for a couple hundred bucks more I could have them convert the system over. After doing some research i found that i can get some new fittings, lubricant and o-rings, and some r134a fairly inexpensively. Can anyone help me out by telling me what the procedure is for doing all of this myself?I appreciate any help and advice that i can get.

Also, the airbag light occassionaly comes on and blinks at me, the sequence that it appears to be blinking in is 2 blinks and then a short pause and then 3 blinks, fo course this could be vice versa also, where it is 3 blinks and then 2 blinks, but i know that it is one of those, any suggestions on this?

 

I have a 94 long AWD with the 4.0 motor.

I also have a blinking airbag light. After starting the motor and the airbab light going out, it blind 3 times, short pause 2 blinks, long pause and then repeats continually. I have also noticed that the horn and cruise control work intermittantly depending on the steering wheel position. I suspect there is a grounding problem in the steering column and was wondering if the airbag light blinking might be related. I don't have shop manuals, so does anyone know what this blink code means? Thanks in advance. Ray

 

I found that it is 3 blinks a short pause and then 2 blinks

 

WeGoShop:
RE: A/C conversion. This has been covered extensively both here and on the A/C -Heating Forum, so doing a search in those places will uncover lots of additional info and details.

Starting from where you are now -no A/C, but an intact system- you have 3 options - good, better and best, depending on your interest and budget.
GOOD - call the A/C shop that tested your system and see if they left a vacuum on your system after testing. If not, have them pull a vacuum for you. Go to any parts store or Wal-Mart and pick up 3 cans of r134a, one 8oz can of oil/coolant mix, and a short, blue transfer hose and a set of adapters. (There is a kit that already contains most of these items.)

Follow directions on the can and add the oil mix followed by the r134a. This should be enough to get your system (non-dual air) cycling and some cold air blowing. This scenario assumes your compressor is in good condition and you use the existing o-rings. (I converted a '92 Taurus without replacing the o-rings, just to see what would happen, and now in the second season, everything still works just fine. Despite all the ridicule hurled at this approach by the "pros", the bottom line is, you can't argue with success and this approach does work. A lot of their concerns about conversions and information provided seems more academic than practical.) Cost of conversion: approx $30-40.00

BETTER: Same as above only replace all o-rings, compressor and accumulator. Cost: approximately $275.00

BEST: Have the shop do all the work. Cost: you know this.

RE: Airbag, there are other posters on this forum with more experience in this area. The only common thread regarding airbags seems to be a broken clockspring. Again, try a search within this forum for AIRBAG or CLOCKSPRING.

Lets us know how things turn out.

 

I got the kit that had everything that you reccomended in it, it cost 40 bucks. Followed the procedure step by step, by the time i was done recharging with the new r134a and its compatible oil, I noticed underneath that there was an oil leak. It appears that the oil that was in the mix, which is compatible with the r12oil had leaked out and and there is a hole in a hose or tube. sSee picture at http://www.wegoshop.com/images/A.C._Leak.jpg

It appears, as far as I can tell, that the hole was caused by the metal band that is securing a boot to some other part. Do you or anyone else know what that hose or tube is called so I can get a replacement and hopefully do it myself? Thanks for the helpful tips.

 

Looks like the high pressure line from the compressor to the accumulator. The in-line can shaped area is the muffler, which appears to be where the damage is. If the damage is due to the steel band wearing through the muffler case, it may be possible for a shop to braze the hole if there is sufficient metal to work with. Otherwise you are looking at replacement. It only comes as an entire assembly. Another possibility is to take it to an A/C shop or shop that deals with hydraulic lines and see if they can cobble together a workable solution.



Parts America carries a Motorcraft part for around $115.00 - ka ching!

 

This is in regards to the Air Bag light, According to my local ford dealer code 32 which is what we all seem to be getting is "High resistance in steering column circuit" . So my plan (when I get time) is to pull off the settring wheel and check for broken wires or dirty contacts in the stering column. The dealer said that there is no wory of the bag going off with this code but that it might not work in a accident either.

Hope this helps

 

If your R12 was gone you had a leak that needed to be repaired. The shop would have fixed this b4 they tried to put a new charge in.