I recently purchased a '98 V70 AWD with a broken A/C system. The local Volvo Dealership put in dyed refrigerant and told me the leak is at the evaporator and it will cost $1500 for parts and labor. The parts (evaporator and drier) look like they will be around $300. I have looked through brickboard and seen evaporator jobs on 850's so I have a few questions to determine if I can really save myself the extra $1200 doing this at home.

1. Are there any specialty tools I will need to cover this job?

2. Does the entire dashboard need to be removed? I saw one post that said removing te dashboard isn't necessary, but that was on an 850.

3. Besides the evaporator and drier are there any other parts I should consider replacing while I have this all broken down?

4. I saw some posts that people had bought evaporators out in town and had to carefully bend the tubes to fit in. If I buy the parts from Volvo will I not have to worry about bending any tubes and possibly kinking the line?

5. Most important, is this something that can be done at home over a weekend by a "Do it yourselfer"?

Thank you in advance for any replies you can provide to help me out.