Automotive Air Conditioning Information Forum

I have a 2007 Volvo C70 and the freon leaks out within a week. When it's fully charged it blows ice cold and the system holds vacuum for the 15 minutes I tested it. UV light doesn't show dye along the hoses and lines as best I can see, but the compressor body does.



It's dry so I don't know how longs it been like that or if the dye flowed down from hose connection. Would an electronic tester be a better choice to pin point the source of the leak?

Classic "Belly Leaker".

All that road salt corrosion? Yeah, the same thing is going on inside the case halves at the joint where the O ring seals them.

Probably been "topped off" a few times too.

I would replace the compressor, condenser, accumulator, the lines & do a full flush on the system.

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bohica2xo wrote:All that road salt corrosion?

HAHA, this is mid-atlantic, you should see some northern cars. Those hex bolt heads would be a dome. I'm just wanting to fix the leak, not throw parts at it since it works great when it's full.

Well then here is all you need:

https://www.amazon.com/Rectorseal-45322 ... B01BF7AQJG

Magic Frost, the #1 choice of used car dealers everywhere.

That link is for stationary a/c sealer, and all the automotive sealers don't work on compressor leaks.

You could buy a rebuild kit and clean all the sealing surfaces and put in new o-rings and keep your compressor- that's what I do. It can be the greatest compressor in the world, but if it leaks it is no good as it is....

GM Tech wrote:You could buy a rebuild kit and clean all the sealing surfaces and put in new o-rings and keep your compressor- that's what I do. It can be the greatest compressor in the world, but if it leaks it is no good as it is....

Yes that is what I was planning to do but think I should pick up an electronic leak detector to check the hoses and other parts as well. The dye stains on the compressor are dry and could be from years ago, or is that an incorrect assumption?

dry dye stains can be from over the winter....leaks can be like farts- build up and let go-- a sniffer tells you if it is currently leaking- dye tells you where and IF it leaked. If dye is dry,it hasn't leaked recently- but did indeed leak. The sniffer will probably not go off...

atikovi wrote:

GM Tech wrote:You could buy a rebuild kit and clean all the sealing surfaces and put in new o-rings and keep your compressor- that's what I do. It can be the greatest compressor in the world, but if it leaks it is no good as it is....

Yes that is what I was planning to do but think I should pick up an electronic leak detector to check the hoses and other parts as well. The dye stains on the compressor are dry and could be from years ago, or is that an incorrect assumption?

Is a new compressor available? How much? That may be a way to go if possible. Yes, I know some parts for Volvo can be sky-high...

Fix it right, or fix it again & again.

In my experience a first-timer has a less than 50% chance of getting a shaft seal in right the first time. Fixing a corroded belly leaker is a crap shoot - GM Tech has done hundreds of them & has confidence in his ability. But even he knows they can be too far gone to fix sometimes.

Also in my experience, when I see corrosion like that a compressor replacement works for a while. Then the corrosion at the crimp joint in those pictures lets go, or the salt laying in the condenser fins finishes it's job. Condensers are incredibly thin now, and while they are more efficient - they are more fragile too.

Cusser:
Even with the goofy two pulley clutch a replacement Denso compressor is around $300 Condenser is under 100 bucks. New parts are appropriate, unless the vehicle is a nasty wreck with 300,000 miles - then why fix it at all.