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Car Forum / Volvo Cars / June 2004freon replacement for '90 Volvo GL? - - help a poor girl
I inherited a '90 Volvo GL. It runs ok however the air conditioner puts out no cold air at all. Since it's a '90, I assume it uses R12 freon. How much should I expect to be charged for R12 to refill the system, assuming it's empty? Also, I hear one can get R12 in Tijuana cheap. Anyone know if this is true and an honest place to have it done? I've been to TJ many times and I know there are lots of honest shops, but it's not so easy to find one. Alternately, I've seen R-134a replacement kits for about $40. I understand they are less than an ideal solution but do they work at all? Thanks in advance. Sue I would check at a local shop to see which refrigerant it really takes. R-12 can be as much as $40.00 a quart the last time that I checked on my old 89 BMW. It should probobly take between 2-4 quarts to recharge you're system. Good luck. > I inherited a '90 Volvo GL. It runs ok however the air conditioner puts > out no cold air at all. Since it's a '90, I assume it uses R12 freon. That is correct, it would have been filled with R12 from the factory. > How much should I expect to be charged for R12 to refill the system, > assuming it's empty? You don't just refill it, unless you like wasting money. You find the source of the leak, fix it, and then look at your A/C charge-up options. > Also, I hear one can get R12 in Tijuana cheap. Sure, if you don't mind taking the risk that it's not really R12. Could be propane. Could be natural gas. Either will cause cold-ish air to come out of the vents and turn your car into a time bomb without a "time remaining" display. > Alternately, I've seen R-134a replacement kits for about $40. Known as "instant compressor death". Volvo offers an R134a retrofit kit for the 240s. It includes not only all the components needed to ensure chemical compatibility so the compressor doesn't die and the system doesn't leak dry in weeks, but also the hard parts to make it worth your while so the less-efficient R134a doesn't reduce this already-weak A/C system's performance to uselessness. I see these kits go by on Ebay fairly often. > understand they are less than an ideal solution but do they work at > all? Yes -- the $40 kits work to make sure you will shortly have to make much more extensive and expensive system repairs. DS Evacuate the system then charge it with 134.You can put 134 in on top of R-12. It still works. At less than $3 a pound you can recharge it many times before you reach the cost of replacing a single O-ring at a shop. If a recharge lasts 2 or 3 months do it that way. If it leaks out in a day or a few weeks then you have what we call a BIG hole. Then you need a repair. > I inherited a '90 Volvo GL. It runs ok however the air conditioner > puts out no cold air at all. Since it's a '90, I assume it uses R12 [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Sue > Evacuate the system then charge it with 134.You can put 134 in on top of > R-12. You canNOT. The two refrigerants and their oils do not mix, R12 O-rings do not seal R134a, R12 filter-dryers are not compatible with R134a, and doing this is not only illegal, but also extremely stupid, for it guarantees no shop will touch your A/C system without hefty surcharges -- if they'll touch it at all -- *WHEN* this mix destroys it. DS >> Evacuate the system then charge it with 134.You can put 134 in on top of >> R-12. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >DS Wow! Now I don't feel so bad about not getting any replies to my two recent posts! Could have gotten one like THAT! ;-) from Randy & Valerie __ __ \ \ / / \ \/ / \__/olvo 1993 960 > > Evacuate the system then charge it with 134.You can put 134 in on top of > > R-12. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > DS It is however fairly easy to convert to R134a using Volvo's kit, I procrastinated for about 2 years with my 740 then finally made the plunge and was amazed how smoothly it went. I speak from experience. I Have been doing it since 134 came out. It does work. I have factory training with Volvo and BMW and they have no problems with this. The EPA spread a lot of myths about the conversion at first and have been retracting statments ever since. > > Evacuate the system then charge it with 134.You can put 134 in on top of > > R-12. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > DS Huh? How the hell do you recover the refrigerant when it's all mixed together? nate > I speak from experience. I Have been doing it since 134 came out. It does > work. I have factory training with Volvo and BMW and they have no problems [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >> >>DS  Signaturego dry to reply. http://www.toad.net/~njnagel Not talking about recovering it Nate. Obviously a lot of people misunderstood the question and the reply. The info was to help those who can't afford an expensive repair right away. At less than $3 a lb. it is cheaper to keep recharging it if it lasts a few months before you have to do it again. The original post was help a poor girl. That was my intention. > Huh? How the hell do you recover the refrigerant when it's all mixed > together? [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > go dry to reply. > http://www.toad.net/~njnagel GREAT TO SEE YOU BACK DANIEL YOU KNOW YOUR STUFF !!!!! > > Evacuate the system then charge it with 134.You can put 134 in on top of > > R-12. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > DS >I inherited a '90 Volvo GL. It runs ok however the air conditioner >puts out no cold air at all. Since it's a '90, I assume it uses R12 >freon. How much should I expect to be charged for R12 to refill the >system, assuming it's empty? I just had mine converted to R134a for $175, which included the cost of the actual Volvo conversion kit. It was actually CHEAPER than having it charged back up with R12, since freon is soooo expensive. -jeff The local Volvo dealer recently quoted over $500.00 to convert my 740 Turbo to R134a. I was floored! I'd rather sweat like a pig than pay rip-off prices for a simple conversion job. I would like to use the factory approved Volvo kit but can't stomoch this form of daylight robbery the dealer wants to inflict on me. Are there any alternatives? > >I inherited a '90 Volvo GL. It runs ok however the air conditioner > >puts out no cold air at all. Since it's a '90, I assume it uses R12 [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > -jeff > The local Volvo dealer recently quoted over $500.00 to convert my 740 Turbo > to R134a. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > form of daylight robbery the dealer wants to inflict on me. Are there any > alternatives? The kit was less than $100 CDN last time I bought one a couple of years ago. If you have a few wrenches and sockets, you can install all except the drier, then take it to a shop where they can install the drier and evacuate and charge. Or just take the whole kit to the shop and have them do it. This doesn't need to be done at the dealer. SignatureMike F. Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont. NOTE: new address!! Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly. (But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.) Thank you for all your helpful advice. I decided to bite the bullet and get the system serviced and re-filled with R12 if there were not significant leaks. To my surprise, the service center found no leaks in the system and while worn, still servicable. It was filled with R12 at a firefighter's dicount of $2 an ounce and the total bill was less than $75. My guess is that the former owner simply never had the system re-filled and the original R12 just slowly leaked out or evaporated. Thanks again for your kind help. > I inherited a '90 Volvo GL. It runs ok however the air conditioner > puts out no cold air at all. Since it's a '90, I assume it uses R12 > freon. How much should I expect to be charged for R12 to refill the > system, assuming it's empty? |
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