Dear Tom and Ray:

Please answer my letter or my wife is going to make me start sleeping in her 1988 Chevy Astro Van. While sleeping in it might be a welcome change on some nights (she snores), you have to understand that we live in Phoenix, and it's the van's air conditioner that's the problem. It just does not get cold anymore...more like slightly cool. And even to get slightly cool takes it 25 minutes of driving. My mechanic says it's still within specifications, but specs don't mean squat when it's 115 degrees outside and you have a big van full of hot kids and a steaming wife. What can I do? Tom

Tom: About the snoring? Not much. I run my McCollough chain saw next to the bed at night to try to drown out my wife's snoring.

Ray: He's asking about the A/C, knucklehead. You need to go back to your dealer, Tom, and ask him to look at Technical Service Bulletin 88-80-1B. This van has something called a "variable displacement compressor," and apparently, these compressors have had some problems.

Tom: The bulletin from Chevrolet recommends flushing the system and refilling it with refrigerant. And when that doesn't work, they recommend replacing the compressor.

Ray: A new compressor is going to be expensive, Tom. But I'd recommend you do it. It's cheap compared to alimony.

Spending a little money now on "preventive maintenance" can save you big bucks down the road. Find out how by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet "Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It!" To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1995 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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