......from another “oldster” (mid-70s now....) I know what you mean...but this A/C system goes back to the early 1990s so it is probably ready do be junked....!! but I agree; over my lifetime I have learned how to so many things around the house so as to not having to “give it out..” as my late father-in-law used to say.....
Heh. My last HVAC system gave out at almost exactly the ten year mark.
My wife had a stroke of luck about three years ago. She was visiting her sister in Chicago for a week and the water heater gave out.
I replaced it myself and discovered the magic of Pex pipe and Sharkbite. For her it was like it never happened.