I am sure my A/C worked all winter but its spring now and its own the blink. I can hear and found a leak from the radiator like device in front of the intercooler. I think it is call an evaporator. Anyway, the leak is a pinhole but a leak none the less. Can this be soldered or do you always replace this part. Also must I upgrade to R134 or stay (and pay) for r12. Thanks in advance guys.

Steve

That part is the condenser, which can corrode and leak. You definitely need a new one, and many aftermarket units can be found for not too much money. Forget about repairing it. Changing it requires evacuating the system. Do it soon before you get moisture in the system which clogs the receiver dryer and wrecks the compressor. I recommend having a shop change both the condenser and installng the Volvo OEM R-134 kit, which does not cost much. The freon savings alone will pay for this.

> I recommend having a shop change both the condenser and installng the Volvo OEM R-134 kit, which does not cost much.

Don't waste your $ on converting to 134a, you want to use Freeze12, a drop in replacement that requires no changes to the system. It costs about double what 134a costs, but there are NO conversion charges and performance is equal to R12.

Paul R wrote about Freeze 12 as an alternative to R12. Has anyone used it and would you share your experience with it? I am low on charge on R12 and was planning on continuing to use R12. Can the two be mixed without problems?

Thanks.

I've used Freeze12 two years now without a problem, I purchased a 90 E350 Ford van from a friendly wrecking yard two years ago, drove it home and directly to a friends shop where he put in 2 cans of Freeze12 right on top of what was left of the R12. I've had no problems with the mix of the two, they advertise the two can intermix.

Cost is roughly double what a can of 134A will cost, about 12 bucks a can. What you don't have to do as with the 134A is flush the system, add new oil or change any orifice tubes etc. So the actual cost is a lot less than a 134A conversion.

What is nice, the Freeze12 works as well as old R12, the 134A conversions don't really work as well as you would like. If you live below the Mason Dixon line, don't even think about a 134A conversion.

Thanks for the reply, Paul. I'll probably go with the Freeze 12 abd get the system back up. The real beauty will be that will allow me to clean everything up after I get my oil seals changed to allow me to identify clearly where the system is leaking. I've discovered that most significant freon leaks are notable by the oil that comes with the freon.

Mike