I Was Once Known As 'El Extremo' - My Not-So-New Motorcycle Saga:

Here's one for ya Robert. MY 32 + year old 1988 F250 is still running on R12. NONE of that R134 stuff. HAHA my buddy Bruce could not believe my old truck with almost 350K miles on it still blows cold AC.

R-12 is a good refrigerant. It can still be purchased in both 12 ounce cans and 30 lb cylinders if you have a refrigerant license, which i still do.

Square inch for square inch, R-12 has better heat exchange properties than R134. A good example would be the old Ford underdash units. Their small capacity makes them an ideal R-12 candidate.

However, once you increase system capacity, R-134 becomes a much better refrigerant.

On my 2001 F250SD, the A/C condensor is 38 inches high by 28 inches wide. It is simply massive in size and purposefully made for this application.

Here's a tip on doing R-134 A/C systems. In our hot desert climate, i found PAG46 oil to be inadequate. I noticed a lot of compressor noise when hot.

I now use PAG100 or PAG150 on all the R-134 HVAC systems that i work on.

Much better for high temperatures....
 
Here's one for ya Robert. MY 32 + year old 1988 F250 is still running on R12. NONE of that R134 stuff. HAHA my buddy Bruce could not believe my old truck with almost 350K miles on it still blows cold AC.

Here's my A/C vent temp in my R-134 Mustang with stock system capacity. This photo was taken in August of 2019 on a 100°F day.

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I use the .052" orifice tube and revise cooling fan strategies to give me maximum airflow during A/C operation.
 
Behold F250 Super Duty simplicity. One catalytic converter, mounted near the differential and NO catalysts near the engine to create unwanted heat.

An F150 of this vintage - and the non-Super Duty F250 - have (4) catalysts, mounted right at the exhaust manifolds, running between 1,200°F and 1,400°F under load...heating up everything around it, namely the engine...

That's 3" pipe at the motor and 4" all the way out.

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Robert, I think Bruce was in disbelief of my claim that my 88 F250 has cold AC as that truck has been worked and worked and worked and worked it's entire life that it would be natural to think barely anything could still be working properly.

One time I had had the regular pickup bed OFF the truck and was driving with the bare chassis back there, complete with 5th wheel gooseneck ball setup bolted to the frame for hauling my 20 foot gooseneck trailer. My buddy, James had asked me to haul a Ford Bronco truck down from his house in Pennsylvania to a property he had permission to display it up for sale on. Just before we were to drive it there, his mom said something to make me laugh so hard, I can still tell this story 10 years later.

She looks me in the eye and says, " it looks like the wrong truck is on the trailer..."
HAHA, My truck is like the Rodney Dangerfield of trucks. "It gets no respect."
 
Robert, I think Bruce was in disbelief of my claim that my 88 F250 has cold AC as that truck has been worked and worked and worked and worked it's entire life that it would be natural to think barely anything could still be working properly.

One time I had had the regular pickup bed OFF the truck and was driving with the bare chassis back there, complete with 5th wheel gooseneck ball setup bolted to the frame for hauling my 20 foot gooseneck trailer. My buddy, James had asked me to haul a Ford Bronco truck down from his house in Pennsylvania to a property he had permission to display it up for sale on. Just before we were to drive it there, his mom said something to make me laugh so hard, I can still tell this story 10 years later.

She looks me in the eye and says, " it looks like the wrong truck is on the trailer..."
HAHA, My truck is like the Rodney Dangerfield of trucks. "It gets no respect."

Ford toughness is hard to beat.
 
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