I thought I had made an account here about a year ago and posted about my car, but I guess not.

I drive a 95 944 (no turbo) with ~135k miles. I'm about to take the car off to school in Los Angeles from the Bay Area. I need to re-charge my A/C - It worked for a year and a half to two years before it stopped blowing cold, so I'm thinking that a re-charge is all it needs. My mechanic quoted me a ridiculous price of $250, I'm not sure what he does, but either way I don't want to spend that kind of money on cold air. Being a student on a student's budget, I'd rather live through the heat.

So my question is can I buy one of those a/c recharge kits and do it myself? If so, I saw one that connects to the low pressure side with one gauge - would that do? The other question is where I'd find the low pressure valve. Do I need to disconnect a hose that connects to it or do I just remove some sort of cap?

Sorry for all the questions - I'm pretty new with DIY sorta work.

And last question: I'm pretty sure this is correct, but I should use ATF for power steering fluid, correct? I've got that annoying whining noise when I turn while parking and what not.

Thanks