240 A/C Leaking

Hello,

I took my car to an amazing mechanic back in NJ where I used to live for a while, and he treated my car very well. He once told me that my A/C was leaking from the "Low Side Compressor Hose", and he couldn't find the part so he asked me to find the part for him and then he would install it. I brushed it off then, because it wasn't hot out, so I didn't really need A/C as it was just a luxury.

Fast forward to now. I just moved to St Louis, MO; and my god does it get hot and humid here. It's unbearable to drive my Volvo without having all the windows rolled down and going 60. So i believe it's time I get the A/C fixed, and I'm having a lot of trouble finding that part. Does anyone know where I can get it?

TL;DR:

1982 Volvo 244 GLT
"Low Side Compressor Hose" leaking, but I don't know where to get this hose.
Can someone point me in the correct direction?

Each of the hoses can be reproduced at your friendly NAPA store if you cannot find original ones.

I surmise from the tone of you post that you do not have the knowledge, equipment and skills to make this happen.

Unless you want to convince the assembled multitude that you can do this yourself it is probably time for a trip to a competent auto AC technician.

I can most likely do this myself, ive done a multitude of things on my car myself, and I don't think changing a hose is out of the question. Even though it might take me 3x as long, with many cuts on my hands from scrapes .

My problem is that I don't even know which hose is leaking, he never pointed it out, and when I look up the name he gave me, I come up with nothing.

Replacing the hose and any other A/C parts is not that bad. Checking out the system and properly filling it is. I've seen other people on here replace obvious parts themselves and then take it to an A/C tech to be leak checked and filled. That's the route I'd take if I could go outside right now. :allergies:

In your situation I'd recommend acquiring and installing the hose. Other people on here can tell you what else you'll need to replace considering the system has been open and possibly empty for some time. Then go to an AC shop and have them pull it down to vacuum for a leak test and charge it with the correct amount of refrigerant and oil.

This is the low side hose for an '82 with a B21.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products?keywords=1234689

The receiver/dryer should also be replaced if the system has been open to the atmosphere or if it's old.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-a-slash-c-receiver-drier-240-242-244-245-260

AC hoses leak mostly at the connections.

Look for leak of oil and associated greasy spread of compressor oil where hoses attach.

Vacuum and refill recommendated.

I was hoping to repair the r12 system in my 1990 240 with r12, but the replacement high side hose I got says for r134 and has the green o rings. Not sure if I should try to get a r12 hose and correct o rings, or try to convert the while system to r134. Maybe I will start my own thread....!

R12 will work, the R134 hoses are less permeable to better contain the smaller R134 molecules. IMHO it's irresponsible to put R12 into a system though, it was banned decades ago for a very good reason, the hole in the ozone layer is a real problem.

AC systems are not rocket science but you do need some special tools notably a refrigeration service manifold and vacuum pump. Whenever the system is opened you need to replace the filter/dryer cannister, and you need to vacuum out and charge the system immediately after installing that in order to keep moisture in the air out of the system. When working on an old system like that you may as well replace all the O-rings while you're in there.