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turboboy · Sep 5th, 2020, 10:24

The two "radiators" in an A/C system are the condenser at the front and the evaporator inside the cabin.

It is best to get a specialist to test the system before deciding on what to do.

My V70 always had good working A/C and then suddenly decided to stop. I had a lot of well meaning advice from colleagues but a test by a local mobile A/C specialist revealed that the system was fully charged but blocked. Decided to tackle the repair myself so had the specialist just extract the refrigerant.

Replaced the orifice tube and the dryer (not a job I would want to do again) and then had the system checked for leaks before being recharged with correct amount of refrigerant and PAG oil. Total cost was around £200 all in (parts I bought plus specialist's labour and vacuuming out gas etc.) but now have nice cold A/C.

If there had been a leak in the evaporator then I would probably not have bothered getting it fixed as it is tucked up out of sight and requires complete dismantling of the dash. Not something I am really able to tackle these days so would have been around £400 -£500 for a specialist to do.

Sep 5th, 2020, 10:24	#24
turboboy Master Member Last Online: Dec 15th, 2023 08:44 Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Twickenham	Air Conditioning The two "radiators" in an A/C system are the condenser at the front and the evaporator inside the cabin. It is best to get a specialist to test the system before deciding on what to do. My V70 always had good working A/C and then suddenly decided to stop. I had a lot of well meaning advice from colleagues but a test by a local mobile A/C specialist revealed that the system was fully charged but blocked. Decided to tackle the repair myself so had the specialist just extract the refrigerant. Replaced the orifice tube and the dryer (not a job I would want to do again) and then had the system checked for leaks before being recharged with correct amount of refrigerant and PAG oil. Total cost was around £200 all in (parts I bought plus specialist's labour and vacuuming out gas etc.) but now have nice cold A/C. If there had been a leak in the evaporator then I would probably not have bothered getting it fixed as it is tucked up out of sight and requires complete dismantling of the dash. Not something I am really able to tackle these days so would have been around £400 -£500 for a specialist to do. __________________ Turboboy Current: 1998 Volvo V70 2.3 T5 Auto. Previous: 2000 Volvo V40 T4; 1981/2 265 (x2); 1988 740 Turbo Estate.