308 A/C gas identification, retrofit or not?

The yellow hose is not stock. It is kind of horrifying to see it there actually.

Likely the prior owner rigged up the yellow hose like that to allow quick and easy recharges of R134. Because it needed recharges that conveniently, the system probably leaks, perhaps badly.

The a/c system on the 308 is remarkably straightforward to work on. The best course of action probably is to take it into an a/c shop to flush the system, find and repair the leaks and recharge with R134.

If you want to make it straightforward for them to work on, remove the intake snorkel, as you already have, and remove the rear spare tire cover to give them access. Also give them stern instructions about opening and closing the front trunk lid.

If they say the hoses between the front and back of the car are leaking, that is major surgery. Your choices then are to either give up or take the car to a Ferrari specialist.

 

They look like 134 quick-disconnect fittings. BUT that doesn't really matter at this point. Assuming the compressor functions OK, the system most likely needs, at minimum, all new O-rings, new drier, new expansion valve and a check of the compressor seal. It probably needs new hoses as well.

Lots of info on this site re 3x8 air conditioning and its cooling capability - which is minimal at best. Also lots re efforts to get it to work reasonably well.

 

One of the worrying things about the yellow hose is that it is obviously an amateur job. That likely means that they did not flush out the incompatible R12 oil before recharging with R134.

The system just needs a good going-over. The hoses may or may not leak. That can be determined by pressure testing the system after it is flushed. Almost certainly, it will leak somewhere but most likely at the unions.

 

All the fittings look to be R-12 to me. A gauge set should be able to determine if it's 12 or 134.

 

The yellow hose has 134a fitting on it.

In my opinion putting in 134a with original hoses is a seriously misplaced act of faith. Chances are the compressor leaks at least to some degree as well. Good hoses are not a great big expense but are a big job to install. Brand new compressors are cheap. The system works OK with R12 and I see no reason to change that unless you are in a country that requires it.

 

Brian I would respectfully disagree, the yellow fitting looks like the ones that screw onto the old R-12 cans from the top. And the fitting on the compressor under the red cap looks like R-12. Of course not being able to see it really there is a lot of guessing.

 

Definitely have some strange things going on, the quick disconnect tells me its a R134a hose and fitting. The fitting that screws to the can should be 1/2 for R134. Most R12 cans I've seen have a clip on bracket and there is a fitting that presses down on the can. I'm no expert they may have gone to a screw on fitting later. I have a couple of Freeze 12 (R12 replacement) that have a 5/16" fitting. I suspect that the genius that did this removed the schrader value and left the hose in place to hold pressure in the system. Regardless the system needs to be evacuated, blown apart, flushed, then reassembled with the proper o-rings, new dryer, and oil depending on what you decide to charge it with.
I just put my system back together after the prior owner removed the compressor and was open for years. I flushed the condenser and hoses on the car, I removed the evaporator to put a high output blower on and flushed it on the bench which I strongly recommend you do. Because of the way the evaporator is mounted oil tends to settle in it and will take several flushes to clean it properly. I recharged it with R12 based on recommendation on this site and overall the system works well.
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Yep. Every R12 can tap I've seen is like your yellow one.

In any event I'm betting like you for that to be working in a satisfactory way again is going to take a system overhaul.

 

I agree that the yellow charge hose connected and zip-tied at the compressor is a hack job. But my apologies to others... they otherwise look like standard R12 connections to me. R12 uses external threads (car-side) which are on both sides of the compressor, and the can of R12 in Glenn's middle picture shows the old-school R12 can threaded connection version. FWIW, I checked my rock pile of low side charging hoses for R12...they are all yellow (I think the standard R134 is blue). The connection with the knurled end is to unscrew the connection, not for an R134 quick disconnect version. For reference, attached are pics of a 30lbs R12 tank fitting, a 308 R12 compressor, and yellow R12 low side charge hoses (the silver fitting in the middle is similar to what the OP has on the compressor, it's like a Shrader valve extender).

Based on pictures and not knowing any history of the car (i.e. miles, storage conditions, etc.) IF THIS WAS MY CAR, I would triple check to verify that it's indeed R12, I would pull a vacuum on it with a commercial grade A/C pump for two hours, during this time, I would <very lightly> heat the receiver/dryer to accelerate moisture removal. I would then charge with with the correct amount of R12 and system test (this worked GREAT on my 512BBi 20 years ago, lasted without needing a charge for >10 years). Until I did this, I would have NO CLUE what is and is not working with the system for diagnosis. Once charged, you can then use an A/C refrigerant leak sniffer to find leaks... unless they're in the right rocker hoses! Or, if it works fine (for at least some time) you can enjoy the higher cooling efficiency of R12 vs. R134. my .02 Paul


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It’s all theoretical because all that really matters is that the system be evacuated of any refrigerant that is in there (if any!) and the system flushed.

For what its worth, I have never seen a can (12 or 14 oz) of NOS R12 with a threaded top. They came with a small dome to pierce with that (leaky) top clampy thingie or you pierce the side of the can with a side-tap (better). The R12 “substitutes” may have threads but vintage cans didn’t.

Standard advice is to never reuse a old dryer.