2000 S70 - Question about A/C compressor shim fix

[Duncanthedonut]

Ok, all the spacer types sound good but where do you guys get the hands small enough to work in that space??? ( I need a shoehorn for XL gloves )

[Duncanthedonut]

By the way, thanks for all the great ideas.

[cn90]

My latest: 6 zip ties as shown below.
You have to do it the trial-and error method because every car is different.
Make sure you have different assortments of zip tie sizes.

My AC Gap is now 0.35mm.

You can use a screw or screwdriver to wedge the thing open while you install the ziptie.
Make sure you remove the screw/screwdriver before firing up the engine!

Here are the locations of the 6 zip ties. First pic showed the black zip tie: Too Large, did not fit!
Then I went with the Smaller Grey zip tie, perfect!

VolvoACShim.JPG (106.1 KiB) Viewed 4919 times

[falconbrother]

Just a note on the shim fix. I have used bread bag ties and the "for sale" signs for shims. They work for a year or so, then melt, and I'm back with no AC. So, I figured out a more "permanent" shim fix for this compressor.

I used the cheap hose clamps from Harbor Freight. They arent as good as the stainless steel ones you frequently see and are made from a softer, slightly thicker, metal. The thickness is perfect for shims. Not great hose clamps but, perfect for this application. What I did was use my wire cutters to snip off a section of the clamp that's enough to hold one end with my needle nose pliers and slip them into place on the clutch. I also use plenty of super glue to keep them there.

It's been bloody hot this summer and we have had nice cool AC. Also, since the whole system is jacked up (slow leak in evap causes the clutch issue) I went ahead and used one of those cans of R134 that has the oil and the stop leak in it. If I look at the evap I can see where it has leaked some oil so, I needed a little oil. If you choose to do this get the right stop leak. There's the kind that works on "O" rings. That's not most people's issues on these Volvos. You will need the kind that "seals" small leaks. The sealant reacts with O2 and turns to something like concrete. As long as it's never exposed to Oxygen it never hardens. So, it will float around in your system till dooms day and never get hard till it's exposed to outside air (assuming you have no outside air in your system). Once it gets to the leak in the evap core and starts to leak out it hardens and, in theory, seals the leak. So far, I have not had to add much R134 this year. I keep some in the car but, I've gone a couple of months without adding any so, the leak has significantly slowed or possibly stopped. I don't plan to add any till it starts cycling on and off to see how long I can go but, it's blowing cold for now.

As you're aware, the location of the compressor in these Volvos is pretty terrible to work with. If not for that part I would have switched that compressor out a long time ago.

[cn90]

falconbrother,

If you want a permanent fix, it is actually not that hard as long as you have the right tools.
You need to make a home-made puller (or modify the universal AC Clutch tool), and use M5 bolts to extract the AC Clutch as it is stuck to the compressor shaft.

1. The AC Compressor is held by four (4) 14-mm bolts.
The two (2) inner bolts facing the engine: they are bolted into an aluminum bracket (you can see it from below).
So once you remove these 2 bolts, the bracket will fall off.
During install, just apply a bit of RTV on the back side of the bracket to prevent it from falling off.
The bracket can only be fitted in 1 way.

2. Once you angle the AC Compressor down, it is much much easier.

I posted info here (Clutch gap adjustment with Compressor in place):
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=39209


More here, note that below is for V50/S40 but the idea is the same:
http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread ... oner/page2

[rcannon]

Plastic did not work for me so I ended up using wire (bare, solid). Found just the right gage and just worked it around the 3 guide pins after prying open a gap. Just snake it around and then twist the two ends to keep it in place. No problems after a year. Can always add thicker wire when needed.

[Mickjp]

Thanks guys - using the bread tags - 10 min fix. Tested for about 40 miles in 100 deg temps today. Another cheap (but effective) fix from the forum.

Great forum!

[falconbrother]

The bread bag ties will probably last the summer if your not in a real hot location. I did that and they melted over the warm season. The hose clap sections are still kicking.

[andrewv75]

Another happy new forum member here, did this shim fix this morning and has fixed my issue, saved me $$$. My 2000 s70 air con would work for 5-10 min then start blowing warm air. If the air was turned off for 5min then it work work again as above. I did not measure the gap with a feeler gauge and just took a punt after much reading on the issue. I just used a few beer can clips cut to size as below, nice and easy.

jack car up on driver side

20140111_085232 (Small).jpg (117.45 KiB) Viewed 3707 times

remove front gravel cover ( 2 10mm bolts, one on each side )

PLATE.jpg (76.63 KiB) Viewed 3707 times

drink a beer

20140111_084037 (Small).jpg (168 KiB) Viewed 3707 times

cut piece from can clip

20140111_084204 (Small).jpg (168.72 KiB) Viewed 3707 times

insert as shown ( 3 places )

SHIM.jpg (67.12 KiB) Viewed 3707 times

I use some long nose pliers to get the clip started after levering the clutch down with a screwdriver, then just pushed it all the way in with the other screwdriver, also dropped a little super glue on top of each but this probably didn't need to be done.

[ams]

Absolutely Awesome!!! Thank you all!