Happy Easter/joyeux pâques:

Will soon be doing minimal dismantlement of the dashboard FRONT PANEL on wagon/estate w/usual USA accessories like A/C.

Am "going in" as it were because I'd like a shot at lubricating blower motor bearings cuz it and heater core are backup for presently dysfunctional engine cooling fan.

I am rarely in city traffic and will soon put in brand new water pump....

Have good ol' Haynes (rhymes w/Keynes!) manual in front of me, looks to me like there are two "capillary tubes," one for cabin thermostat in "heater" part of the system, another for cabin thermostat for the a/c part of the system.

Is this correct? A/C is discrete, separate as it were from the cabin heating system?

Seems to me like I can dismantle as much of the A/C as I like (system has been purged of R-12). Would keep compressor in place of course as car has power steering and I'm not ready to tinker with that.

Some grandfatherly advice? Did the HVAC setup change much post '83?


Thanks merci gracias--Paco
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Franck 83 245

Yes, two separate thermostats - the A/C has a thermocouple line that runs from the rotary switch in the dash to one of the A/C tubes next to the evaporator (passenger side of dash.) The heater thermocouple runs from the heater control valve body into the side of the blower casing (driver's side.)

I agree with sdol, the fan/waterpump is much easier to work on/replace than getting to the blower motor. The blower motor is a real test of one's patience, and requires you to disassemble nearly the entire center console.
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Speed Racer, '83 240 R, '74 164 E, '93 940 OL1 (Manchester, CT)

If you do a search in this BB, you should find lots of info on replacing/repairing that blower motor. I've not had the pleasure (yet) but it looks like a major job. One method is to go in underneath the dash and remove nearly everything to split the air plenum in which the motor is mounted. The other is to take out the entire dash and dive in from the top. There have been photos posted of both methods.

There is a thermostat for the heater and a thermostat for the a/c. They are separate.

As far as going into to oil up the blower motor, you shoud fix the enginge fan and or water pump first. Getting access to the blower motor is a pain. If you go through the trouble to get to it you should replace the blower motor if it is original because they go bad. The last blower motor I replaced failed because the material from brush wear had accumulated between the magnets and the armature causing the motor to bind up. Oil would not have help here.

If you are looking for a project to do on your volvo consider putting on an electric fan. See link below.

http://www.linkline.com/personal/dbarton/fanconversion/