How i fixed the AC in my 850.

Post 777655 by Saaamon on 2015-07-05 22:31:48

Been meaning to get round to fixing my AC for a while now, just needed a bit of a push, for those that read my Bosnian trip thread will probably have worked out where that push came from. Its my understanding that when these cars were new pollen filters were an optional extra that were rarely specified. Because of that the evaporators' (behind the dash) rot out due to foliage being able to pass through and becoming trapped. Heater cores are also known to fail over time so that was replaced while the dash was out too. The compressor bearing had failed due to flood damage 18months ago so that was another part that needed replacing along with a new drier. It took about 10 hours to replace the evaporator and heater core and clean up behind the dash, plus a couple extra hours as i replaced the thermostat, flushed the coolant and carried out extra cleaning jobs whilst it was apart. I had a local garage replace the compressor, replace the drier, fit a new aux belt and thoroughly leak test and re-gas the system. Amazingly the rest of the system was still in a serviceable condition despite having not been used in years. One issue encountered with the compressor was it turns out Volvo changed the design 4 times so the reconditioned one i had was slightly different but still ok to use. A fair bit of effort went into fixing the air conditioning and have finally done it and now have ice cold air coming through the vents and very effective climate control. Thanks for looking.

Post 777657 by Dangerous Dave on 2015-07-05 22:50:15

Nice job :) Had to do that with my old 940 just to replace the heater matrix. There's so many sharp edges behind the dash I got cut to ribbons. How hard was it to remove the dash et al? Thinking of doing this to mine.

Post 777658 by Kingsford G on 2015-07-05 22:52:55

Well done mate.I admire yr patience lol Got a bit of a project planned myself too.

Post 777659 by charlesboya on 2015-07-06 07:36:27

Well done on having the to courage to do it.

Post 777660 by Shinsplintz 101 on 2015-07-06 07:48:11

The dash is pretty easy to remove. There's some good video's on you tube, ipd & Robertdiy spring to mind. Just take your time & try not to loose the fixings!

Post 777662 by kmb on 2015-07-06 08:30:03

That's doing a job properly - Well done!

Post 777676 by jdavis on 2015-07-06 16:08:22

Excellent work. Did you use dye to find the leak or just went on experience?. I've got this joy of a job to do at some point. No ac at the minute, best guess is the evaporator but going to get it gassed first to see. Compressor clutch isn't kicking in so assuming it's due to low pressure.

Post 777677 by Saaamon on 2015-07-06 16:33:38

[QUOTE=jdavis;777676]Excellent work. Did you use dye to find the leak or just went on experience?. I've got this joy of a job to do at some point. No ac at the minute, best guess is the evaporator but going to get it gassed first to see. Compressor clutch isn't kicking in so assuming it's due to low pressure.[/QUOTE] At first i didn't test the system, i knew it wasn't fitted with a pollen filter so went straight in and changed the evaporator. The garage i took it to is where a good friend of mine works and is someone who i trust. He put the car under vacuum when i took it in and it was good, so then went ahead and fitted the other parts then same again and gas. They had it for 5 days and took their time doing it. The hardest part of the job was removing the pipes that attach to the evaporator from under the bonnet but this was mainly due to having a garter tool that was to big for the limited space to work in. Also found removing the heater core pipes a pig!

Post 777678 by Saaamon on 2015-07-06 16:38:39

[QUOTE=Dangerous Dave;777657]Nice job :) Had to do that with my old 940 just to replace the heater matrix. There's so many sharp edges behind the dash I got cut to ribbons. How hard was it to remove the dash et al? Thinking of doing this to mine.[/QUOTE] The dash is very easy to remove, theres not that much holding it on, the big block connectors took some head scratching as i didn't understand how to remove them, think its easier on the newer models though. I wouldn't have any issues doing this job again, although not twice on the same car lol.