A/C re-charge

Right. The A/C in my '95 850 is getting a bit feeble. It still blows
cooler than the outside air vents, but it's not really up to cooling
down the car on a hot, sunny day. OK. I go to my Haynes manual, where it
advises that I get a re-charge kit, R-134a, 'available at any auto parts
store'. Fine.

I go on-line and start looking...and damned if I can find such a thing
anywhere in Europe (where I live; duh). There is a wide selection in the
US--but not here.

Is this because the (stricter) European environmental protection laws
don't allow it? Have things changed since Haynes wrote their book
(1999)? Do I have to take it to a shop and pay through the nose to have
a 'professional' <ha ha> re-charge the gas under 'controlled' <ha ha>
conditions?

(If any Finns are reading, I would be especially grateful for your
comments; minä olen Tampereella.)

cheers,

Henry

 

Right. The A/C in my '95 850 is getting a bit feeble. It still blows

Cant advice using recharge kits. You fill the system to a certain pressure,
and thats not the way to do it on a 850.
You need to evcuatuate the whole system from R-134 and then add 800-850
grams of the refrigerant.
Thats impossible to control with the kit they mention in Haynes.

Probably the laws i Europe dont allow ordinary people to buy the
refrigerant, and thats ok with me.
Filling an AC system is a job for professionals.

Niels

 

I did that on my 92 and 86 volvo. Big mistake. Change them back to R12.
These cars weren't designed for R134.

 

The '95 850 was though...

If you do the conversion right it works fine, I did it on my '87 and have
been very happy with the results, wouldn't do it any other way.