The retrofit kit merely contains the parts you need, in one place, at an exorbitant price. The walmart adapters for the hi/low ports are a cheaper alternative to the adapter provided in the kit. Worse, the volvo kit I bought (and later returned) had the adapter that screws onto the u-shaped line ...

I'm not sure of the part #, but FCP Groton and eeuroparts.com both carry oem retrofit kits. If you're mechanically inclined, you can do it for less using a universal o-ring kit and blue nylog from ackits.com, and get a set of fill-port adapters from Walmart. I also bought the receiver/dryer from ...

WAG's - look for a short in the ac wiring - the wire to the compressor, wire from the low pressure cutoff switch, etc. You have an '85, so perhaps the insulation is cracked off and exposing the wire underneath. Could the compressor have seized, thus causing the belt to break? Jumping the compressor ...

The low-pressure cutoff switch may be bad. It is usually on the accumulator. It serves to turn off the compressor in case the charge becomes too low, to prevent compressor damage. Another possibility would be the ac relay going bad.

The high side port may be on the rear of the compressor itself. I ...