posted by
someone claiming to be shade tree mechanic
on
Sun Apr 20 02:39 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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Thinking about using a Nissens condenser in my a/c rebuild on my 95 960 sedan, and wondered if this is a good idea. I believe they are copper or aluminum. I have heard there can be fit problems with attachments, and mount holes. Anything else I could safely use aftermarket a/c rebuild for better performance and quality ie. evaporator, receiver/dryer, orifice valve? Your thoughts are most appreciated.
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posted by
someone claiming to be Frank
on
Sun Apr 20 02:47 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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What's an "AC rebuild"? With AC, all one needs to do is fix what's necessary so if your condensor leaks, just replace that. I've never seen a OEM (or aftermarket) copper AC part on ANY car so I'd have to think that if someone makes it, it's probably not a good idea.
If you need a new condensor due to a leak only, then I'd highly advise OEM Volvo and nothing else.
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posted by
someone claiming to be shade tree mechanic
on
Sun Apr 20 03:11 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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The a/c is shot, and has been an open system for three years. We are going to replace Condenser, evaporator, receiver dryer/purifier/accumulator, system hoses, filter Screen and install a Narton Variable Orifice Valve. Naturally we plan to replace Compressor Oil Evacuate System, Clean evaporator drain, Recharge with R134a and dye Test for leaks. Volvo often makes lousy parts, such as the rads with the plastic ends, or brake pads that need shims to prevent squealing and produce copious amounts of dust. The upper rad necks are fragile, crack and often blow off. Many use Nissens in place of the volvo disposable parts. The nissens are usually all metal, and hence not succeptable to the issues of plastic. Why do you thingk that Volvo OEM parts are the best choice?
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posted by
someone claiming to be Frank
on
Sun Apr 20 09:37 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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"Why do you think that Volvo OEM parts are the best choice?"
Probably my biased opinion from being a Volvo dealer master tech for almost 20 yrs and seeing these cars and their OEM parts daily. I also own 2 740s presently, always only use OEM parts unless I'm modifying.
The newer radiators really aren't THAT bad, nor do we see brake pad probs (shims are '80s-ish, no longer used)or anything else relating to unusually poor quality OEM parts until the late 90s on up FWDs came out, another story.
I've seen more probs with aftermarket parts on import cars, brake pads and even all copper Nissens radiators that leak.
I'd recommend OEM parts but you can choose whatever you want. Just my opinion as you asked.
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posted by
someone claiming to be shade tree mechanic
on
Sun Apr 20 16:12 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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Thanks for the post Frank. I am surprised you place such blind faith, perhaps naieve faith, in OEM parts and manufacturers. For my part I have a masters degree in electrical engineering, and would suggest the facts in most industries indicate otherwise. One has only to look at Alldata, which lists literally thousands of general recalls, safety recalls, service bulletins, and hidden warranties for all Volvo products.
For the 95 960, there are 138 such bulletins, general and safety recalls. Perhaps you should research the history of the Ford Pinto, the Pontiac Fiero, and the general wisdom behind not buying the first two model years of any car. Manufacturing builds a car by putting every item to tender. Within a relative balance, the lowest bidder wins, and hence the problems with OEM parts.
If you firmly believe that manufacturers produce the finest parts, a rewarding career awaits you at Microsoft, who released Windows 95 eleven times to repair errors, Windows 2000 came with 68,000 known serious errors, and Windows XP with the greatest security threats of any previously released O/S!
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posted by
someone claiming to be Tom
on
Mon Apr 21 16:44 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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With all respect due your advanced engineeing degree- I would suggest that you follow the good advice given here and stick to volvo oem parts. They are made for and fit our cars- and they perform well.
Frank obviously has a lot of "real world" experience working on Volvos. We, on the other hand, are backyard mechanics trying to 1) save time 2) save $$$'s and /or 3) have a good time fixing these beasts.
The A/C system is relatively costly to repair. Why on earth would you use anything other than the oem volvo parts on it? To save money? Better performance? Longer longevity? Suggest to you that the oem parts are your best option for all these catagories.
BTW - having a master degree in mechanical engineering in no way qualifies you as an expert on repairing Volvo cars ( or lawn mowers for that matter). The mechanical engineers working for me have a hard time ordering proper pumps for a process plant(and some have master degrees too!).
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posted by
someone claiming to be Frank
on
Mon Apr 21 00:09 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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Not even partially naieve about anything Volvo, OEM related, TSBs, or even MS. I run Win2K on all 4 of my PCs here, no probs w 7 yrs PC experience, build my own PCs from scratch too.
Besides almost 25 yrs dealership experience where one has to always use OEM parts (the idea being that one keeps the car as it was originally, for one (plus a 1 yr/unlimited mileage parts warranty), I also have years of independant shop experience as well so yes, I've seen/dealt with "the rest" too.
I mentioned "modifying" before with my own cars. That'd mean aftermarket parts so yes, some aftermarket parts are better for some applications but not all.
I didn't say that "all OEM parts are the best" or "I dislike all aftermarket parts" did I? No, I simply stated my experienced answer to your AC part question regarding a 960 that "might need" a few AC parts.
As for TSBs and OEM part improvements concerned with some of the parts you originally listed, if one knows the product then one knows that many parts have been improved over time. I'll use your example of OEM mid-80s 700 series Blackstone radiators with those plastic upper necks that'd break off after about 150-200K miles and 10+ years (not exactly too bad/rare for any radiators life really). The newer 90s Blackstones have steel inserts in the necks so that they're now stronger. I havent seen any replacements fail yet. 700 series brake pads (and others) have also improved since the 80s. I could go on but why?
You can use any parts you'ld like, you asked so I gave you my personal and very experienced opinion, nothing more and I'm not here to argue.
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