Interestingly enough I am not seeing the usual a/c questions for the beginning of the warm season. I am viewing this summer with some trepidation, as I have known since winter that my a/c freon will not stay in the a/c system for more than 2-3 weeks. I have a leak, and generally a fairly hot car in the afternoon.

I know that in my car at 35,000 mile mark, about 135,000 from its present mileage of 170,000, the o-rings and evap were changed for the a/c. So I expect that the engineering and installation were superior to oem. Nonetheless I have a leak, which I would prefer to be repaired without the cost of >$1000 at the local indy if in case the evap was the culprit again. I know the condensor cycles, and stops cycling once freon is added to the proper amounts, and the a/c is wonderful cold again for 21 days or so.

Can I troubleshoot the leak myself? The repair may be more problematic for a person of my mechanical skills. Or is it just best to go to trusted mechanic probably non-volvo specific and have them diagnose?

The other sad alternative is to continue to put in 2-11oz cans of freon every 21 days or so until mid october.

There always something with a volvo, but they drive great.
TIA,
Lunchman.
'95 850 Turbo, Bilestein all around

That replacement evaporator certainly should have lasted more than 35k miles but you didn't say how many years that is or if you have a cabin air filter retrofit installed. That simple device makes a BIG difference in evap life. When I did my mine I couldn't believe how dirty it had gotten before installing a filter two years earlier. Your car also has 12 year old ac hoses and I can guarantee they're both leaking at the fitting crimped junctions. Look for any signs of wet oily deposites at those points. Although a hose leaking 2 cans of coolant every 3 weeks should be pretty easy to spot.

As usual the response on this site on top notch. This site is one of the main reasons I enjoy my "now old" volvo so much, and am willingly to put up with its idiosyncratic style.

The replacement evaporator has now gone 135k miles since it was replaced early in the life of this volvo probably 1997 or 1998 under warranty. The cabin filter, well, that was only added last year, so for about 110k miles the replacement evaporator was unshielded.

I will check the hoses, and let a competant a/c guy look at it. Still trying to keep the budget under $200.

Nonetheless, this car will require replacement eventually, and I have a new infiniti g35 sedan in mind. Bit concerned the new car will not drive as well the old volvo, nor will it sound as good in the stereo department, nor will it be stealth to the police. But the new car should heads&shoulders above in performance, comfort, cleanliness, handling, top speed and have lots of a/c.
Of course if I can swing it I may opt for the bmw 335i, but that may be a stretch.


Lunchman.
'95 850 Turbo. Bilsteins all around.

Quick Update on Fix:
Well I had the A/C looked at by a professional. Did not expect the issue to be the evaporator since it was replaced, albeit over 8 years ago. Turns out to be the schrader valve, that is the input valve on the low side pressure of the A/C is leaking. That gets replaced (a lousy $4 part), and new freon is added and I have good clean american A/C again (check that swedish A/C). Very reasonable repair. Question is are there other leaks? I don't think so.

For the moment all is well.

Lunchman
'95 Turbo, Bilstein all around.

You could refill the system with R134A with a dye in it, like duPont "SUVA". If you look under the hood at night with a blacklight this is very bright and you will be able to detect the leak if present. Unfortunately the leak is most likely to be in the evaporator. This is hard to visualize with a blacklight unless you remove the heater fan (and maybe you still won't see it). I found no fluorescent traces anywhere under the hood and concluded by elimination it was the evaporator.

I think the bulk of good advice would tell you not to put any leakstop substances or any other foreign materials in the system. If the system has to be opened up and serviced later the contamination would be very hard to deal with.

The Volvo system like many modern systems is a "cycling clutch orifice tube" system and is quite standard - would not require a Volvo specialist to work on.

I've learned that many cars have a/c evaporators and/or heater cores that are very difficult to get to.

I'll give you my experience. My AC was leaking a bit, to the point that I was carrying a bunch of cans around in back of my 95 850 when it needed a boost.

I researched the leak sealers on the net, and ran across a product that JC Whitney sold from a maker of r134a that I know, interdynamics. They sell a 2 step kit which is hard to find in stores. I figured, what the heck.

I followed the instructions late last summer, and the AC is cold as ever now, and I used it a few times during the winter to defrost.

I'm still on my original evap, only had the receiver dryer bottle replaced because of rust causing a pin hole leak (that I could see). Thought I was losing coolant at first, it's in the same area.

I still carry a couple cans of r134a and the valve to install though, just in case. I am worried that they will stop selling it, so I compulsively buy a can or 2 everytime I see it.

Jeff
95 855, 197K miles