850 AC Condensor replace, PAG oil, other questions

neworleans · Post by **neworleans** » 12 Jun 2013, 17:18

Hello friends,

I went to my buddy to charge the AC on my 850 and figured it leaks, the condenser is punctured, now need to buy one and replace it.

What brand would you recommend? is it easy to replace? Any write ups available? is it DIY kind of replacement?

Thanks....

Post by **jimmy57** » 12 Jun 2013, 21:36

Look at apeautparts.com and call 1800 radiators.
Ebay has a listing from carpartswholesale for $71.58 free shipping.

I have used these condensers and had no problems.

neworleans · Post by **neworleans** » 13 Jun 2013, 08:11

Thanks Jimmy57, i just ordered one on ebay from carpartswholesale.

Post by **jpr0204** » 13 Jun 2013, 10:10

Hi neworleans,

There was a question about around June last year. Here is a link courtesy of www.volvospeed.com as well as jblackburn for posting the link to here on MVS.

If your vehicle is a Turbo, than this guide may help you for what you need to do...

http://volvospeed.com/volvo_repairs_how ... ement.html

Now, this link is for a radiator replacement but the A/C condenser bolts to the radiator.

If you have an N/A you may be able to just undo the 2 bolts and snake it out through the bottom, but with a turbo and all the plumbing down there in front it may be difficult to do so.

Anything else, let us know.

- Joe

Post by **abscate** » 15 Jun 2013, 05:36

I found it much easier to drop the radiator-intercooler-condensor sandwhich and separate them dropped than the formal procedure of removing each piece and then dropping.

This may be because of the 1999 electronic throttle body though, which reduces fore aft clearance on the sandwhich.

neworleans · Post by **neworleans** » 20 Jun 2013, 20:52

Thank you very much for inputs.
I found this link from FCP shows how to replace the radiator. Mine is also Turbo.
Is there any step that I can skip from this video? What kind of lubrication does he use for the oil line when installing back?

whoa · Post by **whoa** » 21 Jun 2013, 11:56

Here are some notes of mine from another thread (I had the same issue: punctured condenser; so I replaced condenser and accumulator):

Well, to answer my own question, the condenser came out the bottom without removing the radiator. Allen-wrench bolts on the fittings were pretty frozen but fortunately came unstuck. Apart from removing the fittings it's just four 10mm hex bolts holding the condenser to the radiator and intercooler. The trickiest part is getting to the upper two bolts. I got them from behind with a pivot-head ratchet handle and by pushing the radiator/intercooler/fan stuff towards the engine to provide a little room (remove the top two screws holding the fan shroud to the big plastic cowl thing that surrounds everything from above.

I managed to get the screw fitting on the accumulator off with a pipe wrench on the main fitting and an open-end (24mm?) wrench on the fixed part on the accumulator. The spring lock fitting came apart using the 3/4" tool from the Lisle set (I'm sure any generic one would work as well). It was not "easy" but just took some persistence. I was impatient so I reused all o-rings---my set of hundreds of o-rings didn't have any the right size. Used oil from the old accumulator on the o-rings during assembly.

There's really not much to say about this job. The only tricky part is getting at the upper condensor mounting bolts, and the best strategy seems to be to remove the two screws holding the top of the radiator to the car, and loosen or remove the lower radiator mounting bolts. Then tilt the radiator/intercooler/condensor/fan assembly towards the engine to give you room to get at the bolts from above and behind with a pivot-head ratchet handle.

Post by **burnout8488** » 23 Jun 2013, 15:54

Yup, it's just 4 10mm bolts, and the two lines. You don't need to mess with the intercooler or radiator at all, even on a turbo car. Super simple. A lot of people remove much more than is necessary when replacing their condenser.

pherzmd · Post by **pherzmd** » 14 Jul 2014, 06:19

Hi - I am new here, have a 2007 S60 2.5T I just bought in June 2014, with only 33K miles on it. Love the car but the AC failed to work after a few weeks. Went to a shop, they hooked it up to a machine, tested for leaks. They said there were no leaks but that there was very little refrigerant left in it. I had them charge it up. AC worked great for about 2 weeks, but since then just blows hot air. I took it to the dealership and described the problem. They claimed that they used a sniffer and found a slight indication of a leak somewhere near the condenser, so they said that I should START by replacing the condenser. Quoted me $1500.

I can't afford that, but I found this thread (which encouraged me, thanks all) and a condenser on Amazon for about $150 (some were even cheaper but I was concerned about quality). I just finished replacing the condenser myself. Took about 4 hours but could have been much quicker if I knew more about what I was doing. Thought I would share some thoughts and add some detail specific to the 2007 S60.

- Even on this turbo, even though space is tight, it can be removed through the bottom without removing the radiator and the intercooler, or even the metal piece that runs along the top front of the engine compartment and covers the "sandwich."

- What I did was to put the front end up on ramps, remove the mud guard underneath the sandwich and then the small plastic strip connected to the bottom of the radiator. Then I removed the refrigerant line from the passenger side of the condenser with an 8 mm socket, as well as the wire connection to the pressure switch (just pull the little metal clip and it slides off).

- I found that the condenser is held to the radiator and the intercooler by four long 8mm bolts that you access through the engine side of the sandwich, not through the grill. Since the condenser is the front slice of the sandwich, I only pulled the bolts out about 3/4 of an inch so that they would continue to support the radiator and intercooler, though I am not sure if that's required.

- The most difficult part to disconnect was the refrigerant line on the driver side of the condenser. it is a bolted connection with a 10mm (NOT 8mm) bolt that is bolted from the top, so you can't reach it with a wrench from underneath. Unfortunately it is right under the headlight assembly. I didn't know how to remove the headlight assembly - it looks complicated. But after an hour of monkeying around with it I found that since the condenser was now loose, I could drop it about 4 inches before the refrigerant lines prevented me from going any further. after doing that, I was able to see up through the area where this bolt was to a tiny square piece of light above. I was able to take a 10mm U-joint socket attached to a 18" extension, and carefully push the extension up through that gap to the top of the car, and to place the u-joint socket onto the bolt. The extension came out through one of the small slots in the metal piece at the top front of the engine compartment. I was then easily able to put a socket wrench on the extender, disconnect the line, and remove the condenser out the bottom.

- Re installing the new one was the exact reverse procedure. Again the tricky part was the driver side refrigerant line connection. I had to prop the condenser up to a position about 3-4 inches below its final position. Again I was able to get the flexible socket and the extension up through the top, and the socket onto the bolt. However, I had to enlist a friend's help, because it takes a lot of tricky manouvering to get the line in place and hold it from underneath the car while someone works the wrench from above. After that, it was smooth sailing. A little tricky to get the long 8mm bolts re-engaged to squeeze the condenser to the sandwich, but by wiggling the condenser around a bit I was able to get all 4 started, then tightened them all up.

Post by **abscate** » 14 Jul 2014, 06:23

An extra set of hands that can position a heavy component like this is invaluable...left, up, left, up, too far, back ...HOLD!!!