I have just completed an A/C retrofit to my 89 740 GL and am blowing cold air at last. It has been an ordeal spanning over 3 weeks. Many thanks for the FAQ's in that I understood the procedure. In retrospect I might have purchased the gauges and a vacuum pump and saved time, $, and grief. Your mileage may vary.

My evaporator was flushed and the compressor removed, drained, and filled with ester oil although next to no oil was in it.

It now blows cold - 40*F at the vents when 70* outside. Closer to 45* or 50* when its 80*.
Basically it seems to blow about 30* F less than outside temperature.
I suspect control of the condenser fan may improve performance. I did install a Variable Orifice Tube instead of the one in the kit. They cost $26 at NAPA.

I had this done at a shop, the first time my brick has been in a shop since purchase five and a half months ago. Thanks to the FAQ's and the willingness of many on this list I was able to fix several dozen common problems myself with relative ease but thats another topic. This post outlines the ordeal and expenses involved.

Bought the retrofit kit OEM Volvo from FCP Groton for $59.50 called around to see who might install it and recharge the system. Quotes ranged from $125 to $1400.
The highest quote also had no guarantee. There are thieves on the island of Maui.

I knew full well that there was likely a leak in the system and that hopefully it was an o-ring that was going to be replaced in the course of the retrofit.
No such luck.

The mechanic did not pressure test the system before initiating the retrofit which was a mistake as it may have been possible to detect the leak then and save me time and $. In any case he misdiagnosed the leak telling me it was the high pressure hose. He pulled the hose and had an end recrimped only to discover it was not the problem. Then he told me it was the condenser and I purchased a new one from an eBay seller for $70 with a whopping $40 shipping charge - one of the regular annoyances of living in paradise. I attempted to install the condenser myself but was unable to break the high pressure fitting free without destoying the old one so decided to let the "pro" do it who did destroy the old condenser in the process anyway.

Guess what - the system still would not hold a vacuum. Mechanic shot some dye into the system and finally identified the problem as the low pressure hose running from the accumulator drier to the compressor. Actually it is an aluminum pipe at the accumulator that dips down running along the passengers side before turning 90* and crossing above the splash pan (where it is a rubber hose) below the front of the engine becoming an aluminum pipe where it connects to the compressor. The intake pre-heat shield had rubbed against the aluminum low pressure hose rubbing it flat and finally breaking through.

** I have since learned that this is a COMMON failure point and poor Volvo engineering ** Apparently earlier years had different routing that may be preferable. In any case that was the source of my leak.

Replaced that hose and viola it holds a vacuum and was recharged with R134A.
The fan for the condenser apparently only comes on when the switch on the radiator gets hot enough to trigger it. I jumped my fan to be sure it worked but have never had it go on yet. I would like to wire the fan to a switch so I could turn it on manually as it makes sense that for stop and go traffic one could improve cooling with its help.
Anyone done this?


Cost for labor was $429 half of which may have been un-necessary.
Cost of parts: $275 ($110 for the new condenser which was probably un-ncecessary
Total cost $705, 4 trips to the shop, and allot of grief

Let's hope that compresser has at at least a few years of service life left.
At 135K, and 16 years of age anything could happen. Worth it? Doubtful as I paid slightly more to get the A/C going than for the car itself. It has been a labor of love. If I had to pay for all the things I have fixed myself this would be a $10K, 16 year old brick by now. Still I like the car better than a Subaru Legacy wagon it replaced with only 54K that was totally reliable and very well built car. Just did not like the way it drove...