I've got two questions:

#1 I've got mildly cool air coming out when I hit the AC on. There has been a lot of talk on this board about leaks, broken compressors and recharging the AC. How can I diagnose what exactly is wrong and how to go about fixing it? I've never done this before and all the experience on this board makes me want to do it myself. The coolant recharge doesn't sound difficult, but how do I know that's what is wrong?

Question #2 The car is a used 95 850 that I bought about 3 months ago. The leather is in decent condition, but doesn't have that softness that my other 850 has. What are some good leather products that can help restore the leather to the way it should be?

Thanks in advance.

Rob

Rob,

Question #2.

Everyone has his or her favorite. Just DON'T use silicone.

Some good products are Mothers, Lexol, Zymol, Leatherique and Imperial Leather. Usually, a two part system with cleaner and conditioner gives the best results.

Enjoy!

Bryan

Your AC system may be low on refrigerant, and that is a tell tale sign of leakage. Best way to identify the leak ( the system doesnt consume refrigerant) would be to recharge with a dye. Could be as simple as a bad o-ring, or as complicated (time wise) as an evaporator. After the dye has been in the system for a while, search the entire system for the leak(s) with a black light. When you find it, completely discharge and dry the whole system before performing the repair.

On the other hand, you might just want to experiment. If the leak is so small, you might just be best off with a recharge kit that can be found at most auto chain stores. They come with instructions and tools for the job. If it lasts a while with this recharge, it's certainly cheaper than going the complete diagnosis & repair route. But it's still just a temporary solution.

You can find some basic threads archived at my site under "climate control" in the "interior & sound" section. Hope they help.

As for leather, most people on this board seem to have gone with, and loved, Lexol. I couldn't find it here in Australia so I used a greasy substance like petroleum jelly called 'coacholine'. It seemed to work well, but you have to give it a good wipe after letting it soak in for a while as it otherwise leaves a really greasy residue. I tried some lanolin based products that left a dry white residue, and I didn't like that at all. At least the greasy stuff gives you the impression that the leather is getting 'fed' a bit.

Clean the leather with a cloth (I use a synthetic chamois) dampened with warm soapy water before you put on the leather treatment. This is to dissolve and wash out body salts & other yuk accumulated in the leather.

In most (if not all?) cases the back of the seats is not actually leather, it is vinyl. See the silicon products discussion to decide/consider whether you should just use the soapy water on it.

Surflex leather softener has been recommended in the past for softening the leather. Haven't needed / tried it myself.

Personally, I wouldn't use silicone based products on leather either. See discussions link at bottom of interior page on ozbrick for reasons.

good luck in making decisions