When I first got my car a local AC shop did about the samething. They vaccumed the system and filled it up with R134a+oil. Apearantly the R134a or the oil reacted with the drying agent in the old dryer (that wasn't R134a compatible) and parts of the drying agent started traveling through the system. This eventually blocked my expansion valve. This blockage resulted in massive overpressure on one side and massive underpressure on the other side.

Results: The R134a blew out of the system at the expansion valve and the pump started ticking readlly badly as a result of being overheated. After this I used the BMW R134a retrofitkit, installed a used R134a compressor and a new expansion valve and had the system filled at the BMW dealership.

The cost to repair all this can buy you a 750il parts car in Japan ;-)

• I did my own R134a conversion this weekend. (pic) (url) - davidc 2005-05-31 20:45:51 (7731 views)
  • Re: I did my own R134a conversion this weekend. - johan750 2005-06-07 14:37:43 (1602 views)
    • Hopefully, I'll have better luck. I did this in my e23 and it's been nearly two - davidc 2005-06-07 17:56:38 (1006 views)
  • Neato, you did it right in the middle of the parking lot. (nt) - kingdom7 2005-06-01 03:17:37 (797 views)
    • Is that kit available with conversion parts R12 to R134a? - shogun 2005-06-01 08:10:03 (972 views)
      • Yes, the kit contains screw-on fittings that adapt the R12 connections to R134a - davidc 2005-06-01 09:45:28 (809 views)
        • found some more info on this page (url) - shogun 2005-06-03 01:39:30 (1159 views)
          • another link, all hardware and cans maybe cheaper? (url) - shogun 2005-06-05 22:23:29 (833 views)