Our Classics
Sweating away life’s problems in a sauna may be an essential part of Swedish culture, but Dale feels it shouldn’t translate to their cars…
1997 VOLVO 940 ESTATE
Iremember being stuck in traffic at the Dartford Crossing last summer on the hottest day of the year. I peeled myself from my leather driver’s seat to look at the ambient temperature gauge on the 940’s dashboard and saw that it was reading 40 degrees. I’m telling you this because that was the exact moment when I decided that I needed to fix the factory air-con.
It has never worked since I’ve owned the car and coming from a Ford Capri I didn’t think I ever really needed it. But with all the talk of climate change, along with that hateful afternoon in Kent, my mind was made up.
But why wait until now, I hear you cry? Well, the 940 has three coolers at the front of the engine – the radiator, intercooler and finally the air conditioning condenser, all sandwiched together. I knew that I would be replacing the intercooler to support the forthcoming turbo upgrade so I decided to wait until I had bought one because I knew that installing them simultaneously would make my life a lot easier. I actually removed the condenser soon after that fateful day and I was fairly confident that I had found the reason for the dead air-con because it literally fell apart in my hands. I ordered a replacement and then proceeded to rest on my laurels for the next six months.
Fast forward to now and I finally have a new and improved cooler from Swedish performance specialist, Do88, thanks to a killer Black Friday deal, so it was full speed ahead with the installation. Removing the old intercooler was a doddle with the condenser already out of the way; it was merely a matter of removing the silicone hoses from either side and lifting it out. Well, that along with dismantling the front of the car.
With everything out of the way I took the opportunity to inspect the radiator and gently clean all of the detritus from the front. It’s an aftermarket replacement but I’m happy to report that it’s in top condition. The new intercooler, although much thicker in order to provide the improved cooling required by a larger turbo set-up, slotted in perfectly. Fitting the condenser was a little more involved, however.
First off, I had to fit the old connectors to the new one with fresh rubber O-rings, as well as swap over the lower rubber mounts. With these in place I could drop the condenser in, making sure that everything lined up correctly. I then had to re-connect the air conditioning pipes to the bottom corner, again with fresh O-rings, and after nearly ruining the whole project by ham-fistedly almost cross-threading the fixing, everything was where it should be.
I had to drill some fresh holes in the intercooler’s top mounting bracket and bolt the condenser to it and then I could start putting the front of the car back together.
There was one more part of the air conditioning system that had to be replaced, however, and that was the receiver/dryer. This is a canister that sits at the back of the engine bay and acts as a filter for the air conditioning, as well as absorbing any water that may have found its way inside the system. It should
be replaced any time the system is opened for service because moisture can get in and ruin the desiccant material inside.
All that’s left to do now is to get the system re-gassed and pray to whomever is listening that there are no other leaks in the system, otherwise I may have to resort to installing some wooden panelling and a towel rail in the boot.
Anyone got a towel I can borrow?