Air conditioning not working 92' 240

Tommymac19 · Post by **Tommymac19** » 25 Feb 2012, 13:19

I am About to purchase A 1992 240 5-speed manual transmission sedan. The due diligence brought up the fact that their conditioning is not functioning. Previous owner tells me that it used R-12 and that it may be a problem that is thorny since R-12 is allowed to be used anymore. He Said I may need to retrofit the system with R-134.
My question are; can I recharge with R-12? If not, how much is the retrofit going to cost me? I have to factor this in my cost allowance. I real want this car but it may all hinge on the air conditioning problem. The car has 243k miles but looks well cared for otherwise.

Thanks

Tommymac

Post by **billofdurham** » 26 Feb 2012, 12:03

Welcome to Matthew's Volvo Site.

You may be able to find some R-12 but, as it has been illegal to use it for 12 years, supplies may be very hard to come by.

Volvo did produce a retro-fit kit to convert to R-134A which wasn't too hard to do on the '92 model. However, there are several other "drop in" gasses that will work in the old system if it hasn't developed a leak. One of these is RS24. This has been used successfully for many years.

Bill.

johnbrady · Post by **johnbrady** » 29 Feb 2012, 08:28

It is not illegal to use R12. You can purchase R12 with a license for auto air conditioning repair. It is illegal to vent R12 to the atmosphere and it can no longer be manufactured. But old supply is still available. Just look on ebay. If the system is just low on charge, i.e. hasn't lost all of its charge, then I would consider R12. I have a number of vehicles that still run R12 and I have to add about a pound a year to them. It's worth it considering the retrofit cost.