The air conditioner in my 1984 245 has been non-operational for at least 15 years. I vaguely remember that it would not hold a charge and, because of its overall dismal performance, I never bothered to have the system repaired.

I have recently moved to an area where it is very hot at this time of the year - triple digits for most of July and August and high 80's right through October.

What is involved in converting the system to r134a, and what would it cost do to the conversion assuming that I do all of the labor?

Are there compressors that are more efficient than the stock compressor? It has been a long time, but I believe that the car came with a York compressor.

I've also read that Volvo installed a pusher fan on the engine side of the evaporator starting in the early 1990s. I think that this is a worthwhile modification. Has anyone done it?

Finally, any wisdom on tinting the rear windows in a wagon? There is so much glass in this car that it creates a "greenhouse effect" and I think that is a large part of the problem.