The A/C in my car wouldn't work, but I basically determined that it didn't have any freon in the system and the soleniod in the receiver (drier?) was kicking out due to lack of pressure in the system. This was done by using the Volvo electrical wiring diagram book I have. Everthing is as it should be (thermostat, relay, etc.) When running, the solinoid was momentarily bypassed and the compressor clutch engaged, so I thought there was some hope.

I took it to a local, recommended mechanic who determined that indeed the system was empty. Thinking that all it may have needed was a charge, he charged it, but the high-pressure line going through the firewall blew a hole and while he said the system had begun cooling, the compressor was sounding pretty lousy.

So now I'm still looking to get the A/C going in this car. Obviously, the compressor will be replaced as will the drier. I'll need new lines and I'm wondering about what would be needed to be done about the evaporator and the condenser. The mechanic said that they would probably be ok, but if I'm going to do this, I want it done correctly.

While I'm fairly competent at most backyard mechanicing, I'm not much of an expert in air conditioning. From what I can gather, if I buy the above parts and install them, the system should be ready to be charged.

One consideration that I've come across is the option to upgrade to an rotary compressor instead of the York compressor that I've got now. Apparently, this requires a different mount for the compressor and the power steering from a '85+ year model.

I don't mind spending some money on this car as it runs very strongly and I just put new 65K tires on it (got rid of those yucky white-walls) and I'm planning on keeping it for a while...even going to repaint it. Besides, even if I were to spend $1000, that's only about 3 months worth of car payments.

Does someone have experience with this type of work who can give me some pointers or direct me to a website?

Thanks.