Gentlemen:

I have recently purchased a 1991 245 SE. The seller had complete records on the cars maintenance. He was a caring owner but not all that mechanical. The papers indicated an A/C conversion to R134 in May 2001. There are no stickers on the components to indicate this, and the original R12 sticker is still in place on the cowl. There are signs elsewhere that the work done by this mechanic (not a Volvo specialist)was kind of butcher-ish. Is there any way that I can tell if a conversion was done? The A/C components look as though they were never disturbed. Are the R134 components visibly different from R12? Could the system on a 91 240 just be evacuated of R12 and changed to R134 with no change of components? Can anyone suggest any literature on the topic so that I may compare the two systems? (A book with large print and plenty of pictures would suit me well.)

My next question has to do with the performance of the A/C. The compressor cycles on alright, condenser is clear and the lower pipe from the condenser through the firewall is really cold, but the air from the vents in the car is just tepid until the A/C has been on quite a while and even then it's not really cold and it's not even that hot out yet in NYC. The system has been checked and it is charged up and leak free. Is there anything else that could be causing poor performance? If R12 and R134 were mixed is there any way I could tell?

Thank you
Len K