i have a '90 240 wagon, and i can't remember the a/c ever cooling the car well. the wagon has a lot more greenhouse and volume to cool than the sedan, does it overwork the system? is an R12 recharge the better way to go because it gets cooler than an R134a retrofit? is there any other way to juice up the system and make it colder? i've seen things advertised, but have been wary. thanks.

great answers... thanks everyone

The Volvo R12 systems cool VERY well, at least all the one's I have had do, including two wagons.

R12 is very "forgiving" of under/over charging, so it may very well be that it has been operating down on charge for all this time, and a simple top-off will bring it back to 100%.

Also, make SURE the fan clutch is in GOOD condition. With the engine OFF, but HOT (like driving in town in hot weather with the A/C on) there should be very noticeable resistance when you try to spin the blades by hand. If not, replace the clutch.

Another thing that will seriously degrade performance is any dirt or debris in the condenser fins or radiator that restricts free airflow.
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JohnG 1989 245 MT @ 235,000

try an electric fan from PnP and get a parallel flow condenser (try ebay search). Parallel flow cools 33% better than your stock tube and fin type. It's not hard to to replace. You need someone to properly evacuate the system first.

electric pusher fan helps. When the compressor on my '90 240 wagon folded, I popped a sanden 709 compressor in and that made a huge difference. I'm about to add some insulation in the celing that ought to take care of the rest ( the thing blows ice cold, but the radiant heat from the roof is hard to fight, it takes awhile to cool down after it's been parked )
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-------Robert, '93 940t, '90 240 wagon, '84 240 diesel (she's sick) , '80 245 diesel, '86 740 GLE turbo diesel, '82 Mercedes 300SD for sale

Yes the wagon has more volume to cool. I would recharge the system with R12, it does work better than the R134a assuming you still can get the R12. I'm not sure if the '90's have the electric cooling fan. If yours doesn't consider an upgrade. It will cool the car at idle better and allow the thermal fan clutch to not work as hard allowing more horsepower to the wheels.