How are your air conditioners? Do they put out some actual-cool air? Mine is terrible and is more of a slightly chilled breeze. I asked my dad about it and he said the car has never had a good air conditioner (They don't need it in Sweden). It is getting HOT here in Virginia and I don't know how much longer I can last without a decent air conditioner. So I ask you, before I go and buy a new one, how are yours? Is something simply wrong with mine that I could easily replace?
Thanks, Patrick

 

The 240 AC can work pretty well when it is functioning properly. A good place to start is to have your system checked out to make sure that you have the correct refrigerant pressure.

 

I have more experience with 740/940 but their A/C is great! As far as not needing air in Sweden, that may be true but most components in the Volvos, especially accessories and electronics are German. The tranny is Japanese, the rear end American, the turbos are Japanese or American, and so on... Your world car indeed! The sheet metal and the engine block are, I believe, the only Swedish items in the cars. Even the power seat mechanisms are German. Many are even assembled in Belgium, the S40s in Holland.

 

Have the freon pressure checked. I switched my 91 240 over to R-134 and it blows ice cold air so I think yours is just low on freon or you have a leak somewhere in the system. I can assure you though if the system is working properly you'll get plenty of cold air to keep you comfortable.

 

how much $ are we looking at to have these components checked?
Is it something I could do myself?

 

Most likely you have a leak somewhere in the system. Are you getting SOME A/C, or none? Sometimes it's hard to tell. But if the system has been vacant a long time chances are it will be difficult to just charge it since seals do get dried up from disuse, and the new gas will just escape. Also, what do you have in there R12 or R134? The car came with R12 which is freon which is very expensive and not even available over the counter anymore. I f you want to do it yourself you'd have to convert the system to the new gas, the 134, then look for the possible leaks... Kits are available on ebay and elsewhere...

 

I'm not sure if I have a R12 or the R134. I know my AC is stock, so it must be the R12. I get full Air Conditioner (or what I believe to be full), its just on full-blast as well as low settings, the air is simply not cold. It almost feels like hot air, because as soon as the air leaves the vent the air in the car warms it up so fast that the air feels like heat. It becomes VERY hot in the car very fast.

 

Hi evryone,I own an 89 dl wagon...my ac was awful when I got the car...actually my compressor seiezed up and burned during the wintertime...so i put in a new comp.and converted over to R134...at first the new setup did not really seem to work on hot sunny days but it would work better on less sunny days or in the evenings...my friend who is a volvo specialist says the air in these cars meaning the whole of the 240 line..was never that great because the evaporator units were not big enough to do the job....as was said previously....The Swedes were not too concerned abt hot weather...my ac works
ok but there are days when you really should just roll down the window.I obviously then asked my buddy abt a retrofit for a larger evaporator and he said there was none...or that there was no place to accomodate a larger evaporator...hope this helps....BNE

 

my 1984 240 turbo Intercooler gets down to 40 degrees farenheit ! so does my 1985 900 turbo 16v ! that is after retrofitting to R134a and replacing the expansion valve/orfice tube,the receiver drier and seals and flushing the condenser and evaporator! 4 out of 6 cold SWEDES not bad !!

 

hello there everyone, i've got an 84dl wagon and the ac works soso, i needed R12 bad and you can't get it in wi, so my cousin is an HVAC person and he put 2.6lbs of this oil called "Hotshots". I guess that it's the direct replacement to R12. he's been using it in fridge R12 systems. He said it's all the same principals as R12 even down to the mineral oil. if it's turning on it's got freon in there somewhere, not much. make sure you oil your compresor b4 heavy using, bearings could lock up. best of luck

 

I have a '93 240 and the A/C is R134 and it works GREAT! I didn't expect the A/C to work on the car when I bought it, but I was pleasantly suprised! For all of you with the old R12, I know of more than a few people who charge their A/C with... are you ready?... Propane! It's an AWESOME change-phase gas that works very well. There is some risk involved however, if you were to get into an accident.
Just thought I'd share.
Scott

 

Hi, I'm trying to do the conversion on my 240, but I can't find the low pressure valve. It's not where the hayne's manual says it should be (and it never was, since there aren't any mounting brackets or anything where it says the compressor is supposed to be). Any ideas?

Edit: I found the compressor, but still no low pressure valve. It's like the volvo gods are conspiring to make me pay my mechanic $140 to refill my AC vs $30 - $40 to my local auto parts store.

 

Fittings are located on the back of the compressor.