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This is a story of “don’t do what I just did”.
My AC system has a leak, as do most early V70s and 850s. For the past 2 years, I have been adding a can of R134a about once a month during the summer and this just barely makes the cooling system tolerable when the outside temp is above 85.
This week, I prepared to drive to Columbus, OH, to pick up my daughter from school. It is already in the 70’s down there, so I decided to “charge” the AC. It was only in the high 50’s here and 48 inside my garage. Well, a can of R134a at 48F doesn’t have much pressure, so I stuck a ½ used can in hot tap water and added it to the system. That works great, by the way.
Still, no AC. Car is parked in the sun, so I turned the heat to max and let the car run for a while. Interior got up to 85F, then I switched the ECC to max cool, recirc, with the fresh air off. The compressor clutch was cycling on/off every few seconds, so I know the pressure wasn’t high enough, besides, the return line from the evaporator was still warm. So I grabbed a full can of R134a, stuck it in hot water, and 10 seconds later, the compressor was no longer cycling and the return line was getting cold! Perfect! The temperature at the outlet was still only 52F.
I didn’t bother checking the pressure with a gauge…
At 5:15am the next day I started the car, backed out of the driveway, put it in drive, and rattle, rattle, rattle. I thought the heatshield fell on the rear driveshaft, but it was not speed related. I put the car in reverse and backed up to my driveway, popping the hood, and the noise went away? Not finding anything wrong, I put the car back in drive and drove to Columbus, about 12.5 hours. No noises, the AC worked just fine.
The next morning, I started the car to drive to the dorm, and there is a little noise at start up, but hardly as bad as the day before. After loading the car, a 4 hour process, we jammed ourselves in the car for a shorter trip to Chicago. When I put it in drive, my wife hears a “pop” and hiss and sees a cloud of white smoke. I stop and look under the car. A small puddle of what looks like antifreeze is on the ground, so I open the hood and see what appears to be green fluid all over the lower part of the engine, just behind the engine fan. I immediately think the lower radiator hose popped.
I drove ½ block to a small repair shop, and ask the mechanic to help me determine what it is. It looks like antifreeze, but is no longer leaking???? So I get directions to a Volvo dealer about 30 minutes away, armed with a bottle of premixed antifreeze.
The dealer, MAG Volvo on the northeast side of Columbus charged me $45 (1/2 hour) to tell me that the pressure valve on the high side of the AC blew, and what I saw was PAG oil and yellow dye. It covered everything from wheelwell to wheelwell! They cleaned it up and I was so relieved. The rest of the trip was totally boring :) .
Lesson learned, the hard way. I was just too lazy to check the pressure and I am happy the compressor still works. That was what was making all of the noise immediately after startup when the highside was over charged.
I guess it is time to bite the bullet and get the evaporator replaced. I just wish our dealer would charge $95/hour instead of $125/hour.
Klaus
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The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)
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