Keep ac or ditch it?

[dannigirl4g63]

Im building up my 90 tsi and while i was tearing everything out of the engine bay to prep it for paint I was trying to decide if I should put the AC back on or not. I rarely use it anyway and it would reduce the clutter but i'm not sure if it will be worth the risk of the defrost issues ill have in the winter. Any suggestions are wanted!

 

[agentorange313]

I say ditch it, I hate clutter and its a bit a of weight thats reduced.

Although, in the winter I use the heat to defrost my windows...

 

[WES_393]

If you don't care much for creature comforts then do away with it. Especially in Washington, it's not like you have to put up with Florida's nasty humid heat. For defrosting, I just crack the windows, set the controls to recirculate, and only run about 1/2 heat or so. It doesn't work super fast, but still works.

 

[dsmsleeeper]

Remove it. Like other have suggested it cleans up engine bay. Helps with more cooling. It increase's airflow through your fmic and radiator.

 

[4Lurker4]

I personally keep it for my passengers. If you rarely use it though, might as well get rid of it. Save some weight giving the engine less load to haul and save on gas.

 

[JKsTSiAWD]

I don't have mine, and I really don't mind. Wasn't a problem at all during the winter, and I just roll down the windows and pop the sunroof in the summer.

 

[MrwillyJ]

Im dying for an AC compressOR, mines locked up and its been sooo hot lately..

 

[Ozone302]

I need to recharge mine ASAP. Starting to get a little warm out. Never owned a car with working ac so once I get it charged I will be a very happy camper

 

[TSIturbo91]

If its a matter of weight reduction then chuck it.

If its a matter of gas mileage just remember when the windows are down your killing gas mileage as well too.

Personally for my baby son and my girl I'm fixing mine and as a HVAC tech It just looks bad when ya don't fix the one in your car .

 

[BigKnick]

I say ditch it, weight reduction!!

 

[mchustle]

I did away with mine. At times I really wish I had it , especially since its getting pretty warm here lately. At the same time it's not my dd do if it's really hot I'll just jump in the dd and crank the ac. It does get rid of quite a bit of clutter though.

 

[rommel rojasgsx]

I took mine out, but i dont drive it daily. If i did i probably would have kept it.your in Wa. I say take it out along with all that junk under the dash.

 

[thecman02]

I think this is a more a matter of cost. You don't need AC to have your defrost work in the winter. To properly fix AC is one of the most costly fixes on a car. If the AC doesn't work right now it isn't as simple as just recharging especially since it is an R12 system. All the lines need to be flushed. A vacuum needs to be pulled on the system. Different compressor oil, new dryer, probably a new expansion valve, replace all the o-rings. There's no guarantee just replacing the o-rings will fix the leak that was in the system either. Could be a hole in the condenser or evaporator.

If you have a close friend that does AC work I'd have it done if you can get the parts and labor at cost or good guy price I'd have it done.

 

[92mitsubishi]

i ditched mine for weight reduction and cluter for my scca racing but it is also my DD im wishing i hadnt removed now.

 

[xrdgx]

Ditch it and the power steering cleans up engine bay

 

[TSIturbo91]

I think this is a more a matter of cost. You don't need AC to have your defrost work in the winter. To properly fix AC is one of the most costly fixes on a car. If the AC doesn't work right now it isn't as simple as just recharging especially since it is an R12 system. All the lines need to be flushed. A vacuum needs to be pulled on the system. Different compressor oil, new dryer, probably a new expansion valve, replace all the o-rings. There's no guarantee just replacing the o-rings will fix the leak that was in the system either. Could be a hole in the condenser or evaporator.

If you have a close friend that does AC work I'd have it done if you can get the parts and labor at cost or good guy price I'd have it done.

How would you flush the lines?

 

[clizz3]

Delete it. Clears space and reduces weight like everybody else has said.

 

[Rs AWD]

if your not drag racing it keep it... i wish i never got rid of mine...

 

[chadillac2820]

How would you flush the lines?

There are several ac flushes available. Most require a compressed air source. Be sure and flush the core as well if you are planning on fixing the ac.

 

[Davids97Eclipse]

I don't know about you guys but i need my AC Colorado summers get pretty HOT!

 

[importracr317]

It's a nice comfort, and if I drove mine every day, I'd keep it. But I don't and I don't plan on driving it when it's warmer than 70-75, so I yanked mine. Not sure what the Pacific Northwest climate is like, but I'd imagine you should be able to get by without it.

 

[DSM1G90]

Remember that the 1G units ran R-12 which is not forboten, but rare to find and very expensive now.

You'd have to do an extensive and expensive conversion to run the R-134 fluids.

I do the '60mph and windows down' AC usage after I yanked mine out when the compressor seized.

Here's some reading blurb on if any of you want to convert from R-12 to R-134A below:http://www.griffiths.com/achelp/achelp3.html

Friend of mind tried his own conversion-blew up the compressor since he didn't rid of the old mineral oil inside.

-DSM

 

[92nolatist]

If you are thinking of ditching it, Ill take all the lines off your hands because Im wanting to put mine back in.

 

[ishnish]

If it's as hot over there as it is as over here then keep that mofo! By the time I get to work the back of my shirt is wet. But I have A/C it's just the leather seats that sit in the sun aren't fun though..

 

[1cleanreddsm]

I live in ALaska, WA is pretty similar. I ditched the AC, shaves off about 40lbs and it's kinda of hard to get R12 now.. i think its R12?? haha