As stated in the title, I have a 87' 240 DL. The AC barely blows cold right now, and Id like to fix this. I know it might be a number of problems, but Ill start at the bottom and work my way up by recharging the system.

First question: How can I tell if my system has been converted from R12 to R134? This is the first pre 95' car I have owned and dont know what Im looking for.

Second: If it HASNT neen converted, would it be better to continue using R12?

Third: When it comes to actually recharging the system, which is the lower port? (Breaking it down Barney stay with pictures would be great.)

Also, the Haynes manual isnt very discriptiveon where to actually insert the gas.

Thanks in advance!

 

Your '87 240 if unconverted will have fittings that look like Schrader tire valves. If properly converted will have the larger R134a fittings that you see on post-1993 cars.In my opinion, if it hasn't been converted and it still blows cold you may want to keep it R12 untill such time as the system needs to be opened and something replaced. You will need to find a licensed air cond profesional with the proper equipment to rechare it. Don't try to recharge an r12 system yourself. There is still plenty of R12 out there.
However, you mention about starting from the bottom with diagnosing why your air cond barely blows cold. There are a number of other things to check first, before trying to recharge it.
First of all, it is mentioned many times in this forum that the 240's air conditioning was nowhere as good as current autos, even right from the factory.
After that, make sure your intake air vents are not blocked with leaves and such and that your blower motor is functioning.
The condensor is like a radiator and is in front of the engine 's radiator. Make sure it isn't clogged with dead bugs, leaves, etc. If a large number of the fins are bent, it would be a good idea to straighten them (a tool called a fin comb is made just for this purpose) Just be careful you don't damage any of the tubes underneath.
Make sure that your a/c comressor drive belt is not slipping; adjust or replace as necessary.
Make sure the ventilation ducts aren't blocked and that the heater control valve closes completely.
After all this, THEN take it to an a/c pro to have it checked/recharged.

 

Very informative Stag. Ill check into all of that tomorrow.
Hopefully its someting like that. Thanks for the advice.

 

You can also verify if your evaporator fins are clogged with dust and leaves from underside the dash on the right side.