I have a freon leak in my condensor unit. I am 99.9% sure that the leak is coming from a busted coil, and not from one of the compressor hoses. Looks like a rock or the curb got me.

anyway, i have not found much on replacing a condensor. i was quoted $1250 by an indy volvo shop, but i found the condensor itself for $175. I would like to do this myself if possible. are there any special tools required? do i need to bleed the lines? do I really want to take this on?

thanks in advance,

You can get a condenser for that car fairly cheaply but I would put in a factory Volvo one and be done with it. It is bolted to the radiator, just like everything else in the front of the car. Is you car a turbo? If so it will be more work as there is an intercooler in the way up there too. Some wobbly 1/4" drive sockets are nice and you will need some way to evacuate and recharge it too. In my shop I would probably charge you something in the area of three hours labor plus parts. That breaks down as 2 hours for the condenser itself, 1 hour for the evac and recharge. The 1250.00 quote from the local Indy sounds real high, I have to wonder if that is not the price of an evaporator. If that is the case then I would say they are right in the ball park if not a little on the low side for the evap. I'd double check that one with them and if it is indeed a price qoute for a condenser I would either take it elsewhere or do it yourself.

Mark

From all accounts on the BB, changing out the condensor is not a biggy, as it sits by the radiator. It's changing out the evaporator that makes you think about cutting both wrists. I'm hoping I have a leak in my condensor on my 97R wagon, but my psychic intuition tells me it's the evaporator. If I jack it up and see the red dye around the hose that drains the evaporator, I will start looking for a sharp knife. Go for it. Having to change out the condensor will always pay dividends down the road when it comes to working on the front of your car. A definite worthwhile experience, if for no other reason than the money it will save you. Phone Volvo Houston, 1-800-468-0041 for parts. I've found them to be the cheapest, period, despite recommendations to the contrary on this forum. Dick

I just did the evaporator- you CAN do it yourself, it's fairly involved, but not technically difficult. It just looks complicated when you see photos of the dashboard removed, but the actual removal of the dash is not very difficult at all. And it only takes 15 seconds to go from "looks like you removed the steering wheel and center console" to "total chaos" once you get the dash assy out of the car. Follow the directions on volvo-forums.com.