My 1991 240 is now at the dealer for a heater core replacement and once they had the heater core exposed they discovered that the AC Evaporator would have to have it's hoses cut to get the heated core out. Two options presented to me are buying some special hoses, with a two week wait, that can be attached to the cut pieces on the evaporator, or to just remove the evaporator and no longer have AC. Does anyone know if in fact the evaporator hoses needs to be cut to get the heater core out? I just hope these guys know what they are doing. Thanks for any info.

 

not sure why those AC hoses couldn't be disconnected (after evacuating the AC charge).

hmmm, parts diagram, albeit confusing, makes it look like the AC lines under the dash are hard pipes, and they connect on the engine compartment side of the firewall, so the whole AC evaporator and pipes remove as a unit.

me, I'd probably just lose the AC, our 87 hasnt had AC in 15+ years, and I've already removed a lot of whats under the hood for it (compressor is just acting as a pulley for the power steering, the condensor was removed when I replaced the radiator, and I really should yank the dryer/reciever too along with its hosing).

 

Sorry this is not very timely, but those A/C lines do not have to be disconnected or loosened at all. They are hard lines, but they will move. I just replaced the heater core in my 1991 240 two weeks ago. The evaporator can be nudged forward allowing the core to be removed and replaced.

 

Well as luck would have it my wife pulled in the other day with a smell of antifreeze and foggy windows. As I suspected after a quick investigation the heater core was leaking. We have a 1989 740GL purchased new with now 330K miles. Well unfortunately I am tied up doing a timing belt job on my Ferrari so I had to have a Volvo guy do the repair. It's out and he didn't need to remove the AC core so I expect him to have it back together by tomorrow. After looking at it I wouldn't want to do the job.

 

i bet that will be a $1000 job :-/

 

HAHA yep just under at $960. 1st major cost since we purchased the car other then the normal stuff like exhaust and oil changes. This is the 1st work that I had to outsource. I suspect I'll have to do strut cartridges next. Still have the originals.

 

I put Bilstein TC (Touring) on my 745T and kinda regret it, the everyday ride is a bit harsh, without really improving the handling /that/ much unless I'm really rocking and rolling on a mountain road. But I also did IPD swaybars, and all new bushings at the same time. The car DOES ride great when its heavily(!) loaded.

I would suggest the boge/sachs OE style shocks for a everyday driver. especially for the wife's car. do thoroughly inspect things like tierod inner ***** for slop, while you're in there its a good time to replace all that stuff. especially the cone bushings (11) that tie the control rod (9) to the front lower trailing arm (7) on the 7/9's...



oh. only use real volvo for the upper strut mount plate, the aftermarket stuff is really variable as to the rubber quality. grease the heck out of the strut bearing

if you have any rattle/clunks on bumps in your front end, look into the antisway bar bushings, both the mounts (19) and the tips (13-16)...

 

Thanks and when I get to it I'll check things out.

BTW I saw the heater core today and the whole bottom row was rotted out. It appears it must have been going for a few months before it got bad. It is all brass but the new OEM replacement is plastic sides with aluminum core just like the radiators.

 

The heater core has been replaced and the car no longer has AC. Strange trade off for a $1475 Repair bill.

 

move to a cooler climate?

 

Sorry to hear about the a/c. Either your car or your technician was built differently than mine. My a/c remained intact throughout the process.

 

Just an update here. Got the 89 740GL back yesterday and the final bill was $1091 with 8 hours labor and the rest in misc. fluids and tax. All is well with everything still working. The AC evap was not touched during the removal and I was told the box holding the heater core was soaked with antifreeze. More than I anticipated. So glad I didn't do the job but I did finish the Ferrari belt change. BTW the dealer wanted $1300 less tax to do the job.