Removing A/c System?

[DROOPY209]

Hi I plan to remove my a/c system as i dont use it and have never used it in the first place. Im sure I can manage without it. The question is: what is the proper wayto remove the a/c system(and supporting parts) so that my ecu and car wont get all messed upor anything. By removing my a/c system, am i looking at a slight performance or reliability gain? thanx

 

[Eclipsemblue]

ive seen people with there A/C belts off, and they only gain about 5-7hp, your ecu should not have any problems as far as i know.

 

[DROOPY209]

im talking about removing the actual compressor, the lines, the a/c condenser and other stuff like a/c relays and fuses. how would i go about safelly doing this?

 

[Generation1JeY]

i wanna know this as well, i would like to get rid of something i dont use.

 

[river]

well, you would be cutting weight, a plus for q/m times and just performance...plus getting stolen HP back from a system that is useless to a true racer anyways. .

 

[nukefission]

Well the legal way to do it is to have the leftover freon evacuated at a shop with an A/C recovery machine. That costs a pretty penny, though. The illegal/easier/cheaper alternative is to crack one of the fittings in the line when no one's looking and let it bleed out into the air.

Removing the A/C components will have no effect on the ECU. All it will do is free up a little bit of power, reduce weight, and make more room in the engine bay - all positives. To remove the condenser you need to first remove the radiator, then undo the fittings on either side of the front of the condenser. Remove the bolts that attach the condenser to the frame and pull it out through the engine bay (you do not need to remove the bumper to do this). For the lines, simply find where they are attached to the frame and remove them. You may have to bend them but who cares. Two of them are attached to the firewall under the battery. For the compressor, four long 12mm bolts (one near each corner) attach it to the block. Two A/C lines also attach to it and are easily removed. Remove the 4 bolts - easier said than done - and pull the compressor out from above. You will have to make room either on the driver's side by pulling the plug wires and some of the wiring harness out of the way, or the passenger side by pulling the speedo cable, heater hoses, and UICP out of the way.

 

[ZenkaiRacerDsM]

Its funny how people still think doing this will give you hp. Take the a/c belt off... then spin the compressor pulley with your hand. You think it takes 5-7hp to spin that? Suurrre... Its basically a belt on a dead pulley when the a/c is off robbing you of maybe .007hp if any. Why go through the trouble of removing it all? Your just lowering the resale value of the car...

 

[DevilSperm]

Its funny how people still think doing this will give you hp. Take the a/c belt off... then spin the compressor pulley with your hand. You think it takes 5-7hp to spin that? Suurrre... Its basically a belt on a dead pulley when the a/c is off robbing you of maybe .007hp if any. Why go through the trouble of removing it all? Your just lowering the resale value of the car...

ever lift the compressor? that ####er weighs a good ton or more no it doesnt take much to spin the pulley but the added weight was worth it to me....plus its a 1g, it probably doesnt work anyway

 

[unior]

ever lift the compressor? that ####er weighs a good ton or more no it doesnt take much to spin the pulley but the added weight was worth it to me....plus its a 1g, it probably doesnt work anyway

mmm i love my 12 year old laser's ice cold ac

 

[67goatpimp]

when i swapped my motor i couldn't use the A/C line i had so i just put it in with thought of getting the right line...now i have to rebuild the motor anyway and i'll probably just pull the compressor while i have the motor out...not doina anything anyway, heh

 

[DROOPY209]

when i did my jdm engine swap, i had to take off the condenser and disconnect the lines so i could take off everything attached to the block. The a/c condenser is not light at all, and it weighed more then you might think. about bleeding the system, im sure there is no left over freon left in the system.
i have another question as well, since i'm in California now, can i get in trouble if a cop pulls me over and checks under my hood? or can i get in trouble or fail emmisions if they see that i dont have the a/c system in there as it came from the factory?

i dont really care about the resale value of the car as i never plan to sell it and have no intentions of doing so, thats not an issue.

the questions and problems i was thinking about were reliability and legality related. i want to make sure that i dont go to jail for doing something like this.

whats your input on these questions?

 

[papifry]

I removed my belt only, because my compressor was humming like a mosquito whenever the a/c was turned off... yes off. When i turned on the A/C it blew cold and stopped humming but as soon as the compressor cicked back off it made so much noise I had to turn off my engine at drive throughs so the kid at the window could hear me. To prove I did not need it, first I made it all the way through a Texas summer without using it. Test your resolve first, because once you remove it it is gone, and when you get stuck in traffic somewhere when it is 110 outside you cant exactly hop out and put the belt back on.

 

[Defiant]

Hi I plan to remove my a/c system as i dont use it and have never used it in the first place.

You're even thinking of taking off the AC out here in southern hell? Are you completely out of your mind? Christ, it's not even hot out, and I'm effin dying.

The performance payoff isn't worth the torpedo through the resale value. Don't.

PS: You're nuts.

 

[DROOPY209]

hey Defiant, i live in Galt too. it is not no way hot outside to be dying. I have driven my car in very extreme weathers and all i do is turn on the vent and roll down the windows.
about the resale value drama, i dont plan on selling the car so the a/c system removal is not gunna jeaopardize my desicion to keep my car, or sell it.

plus, i get rid of some weight that i can use towarrds something else, like a front mount intercooler or something of that nature. plus i can get rid of the a/c condenser and have more room for the front mount intercooler.

i would just like to know the steps to take to carry out this operation successfully without any problems. i have no need for my a/c system in the first place. i have driven from illinois to california without the a/c system. so please point me in the right direction for this. thanx

 

[Defiant]

Yeah, you're nuts.

Still, it's your car to descrate as you choose, so just unbolt stuff. You're supposed to have a shop suck-down the refrigerant, but when you don't and just crack it open yourself, stay well away from the escaping gas so it doesn't frost-burn your flesh. Then, you just pretty much unscrew all the bolts that are holding stuff and take out the parts.

I think it's good for about 30 pounds.


Damned skinny kids. No appreciation of true misery.

 

[drk mrk iv]

When I bought my car (2 weeks ago), the compressor was dead. I took that thing out. Weighs a good 20-30 pounds. :laugh: What a joke! Anyway. Southern hell heat? Bah, I live in NC, and used to live in New Orleans. That was southern hell heat. I do enjoy the extremely cool A/C tempuratures Ford's A/C provides me though.

 

[HighPsi92GST]

havent had ac or any of its parts for 2 years now and no regrets of removing it.

 

[Sotarts]

My AC system won't hold the refrigerant... Am I better off repairing it or just removing it? The entire system, including the evaporator, is 35 - 40 lbs. Is it worth to be messing with all the seals?

Does the AC belt serve any other purpose at all? Can I just cut it off and pull it out from under the hood? If I ever fix the AC, if I was to decide so next spring, I'll just buy a new belt. It'll be a little personal experiment at least.

 

[DevilSperm]

yeah you can just cut the belt, it doesnt run anything else

 

[evolution21215]

i PLAN ON REMOVING MY AC also. It doesent work anyway, plus i like to look " cool " with my windows down. ill let you guys know how it goes