Air conditioning self-repair?

No

A lot of stores like Napa sell kits to re-charge the air conditioner. I have done it in several cars, including 1996 Bonneville's.

Rember, if the Freon leaked out, probably air (and moisture) leaked in!!!! There is more to air conditionin than just an Auto Zone can of Freon!!! Just a thought!!

It was originally charged with R134A, so you can buy refrigerant for it without being a licensed A/C tech. You may need to do some real repairs first, though. Somebody already mentioned it may need to be evacuated. When they get full of air, then you need that. You didn't give us enough information to guess that sort of thing.

The level of difficulty will be contingent on

1. Type of refrigerant.
2. how bad the leak is.

There are drop-in substitute refrigerants (?Freeze-12?) for R12. R134A is available. Depending on where the leak is and how bad it is will dictate how to repair it.

1. Very slow leaks which take a couple years to affect performance include compressor seals, line fittings etc... where the system still has refrigerant but cooling is inadequate can be charged with a can of the same refrigerant in the system, but you are only buying time.

1. Fast leaks which cause little or no cooling include ruptured hoses, line fittings, cracks in condensor/evaporator, etc.. where the system has lost nearly all its refrigerant require the system to be opened up and repaired and then fully evacuated before recharging.

2. Compressor failures should get a complete system flush and rebuild including a new dryer/dessicant.

Bear in mind that if the system has been at atmospheric pressure for any length of time moisture gets into it. Any moisture in the system will reduce the effiency and ultimately corrode the system from the inside out. (compressor failure) If this is your case then a complete system flush and rebuild including a new dryer/dessicant and then fully evacuated before recharging.

A fully evacuted system should be able to sit overnight and not lose any vacumn.