Ac System Removal
08-28-2003, 12:57 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Schofield Barracks, HI
Posts: 2,259
I took out my airconditioning in the process of taking all the stuff i dont use/like out of my engine bay, many people ask me : "mike, you are crazy, how come you take out all these luxury things like powersteering and airconditiong" and my answer is : "well its in the way, i dont use/like it, and its a sports car not a luxury car"
so with that said heres the writeup
the following was performed on a 1990 rx7 turbo II, any differences are up to you to figure out on your own, i will be happy to help out but will not be held responsible for what you do to your car
motive: to remove unneeded things from the engine bay, if you dont like / use AC why not take it out eh?
item list:
a full set of open ended wrenches
a full set of ratchets
a very thin 12mm socket and ratchet or a 12mm ratchet-wrech
flathead screwdriver
what you are taking out:
AC tank (at the front of the car , pass side
AC compressor (with the pulley)
AC cooler (radiator type thing in front of radiator)
AC lines (big aluminum silver lines running througout the bay)
AC powered electric fan (if you want to remove it you can, you might want to keep it there for extra cooling, press AC button and it goes on --- i took mine out) ... note: only found on turboII and automatic tranny models
what to do:
you will need to drain the freon in the system before you start doing any of this, you can have a shop do this for you the legal way , or you can drain it yourself through the spouts on the ac lines
note: freon is dangerous as it is freezing cold and will give you frostbite on contact. do not let it get on you or on the engine, it is VERY important you realize this and wear gloves and long sleeves....cover your engine where it will spray with rags..also try not to inhale it - its bad
it is against the law to let it vent to the atmosphere as it will make a hole in the ozone and you will be fined if caught for doing this...
i am not and will not be held responsible for what may happen to you, or the car, whether an injury, malfunction, or problems with the law
so with that said here is what you do
there are two caps on the AC lines, one green, one red, unscrew the caps and stick a screwdriver onto the valve and hold it down, the freon will come blasting out, so dont let it on you or breathe it in....do this step in intervals depending on the amount of charge you have in the system
now once the system is drained, you are free to start removing the parts from the engine
removing the lines: whatever order you do it in doesnt matter....you can salvage all the lines by disconnecting the threads but i didnt care so i used a big bolt cutter and cut all the lines where i saw fit to remove in the simplest way. in the end of the circuit, the lines will come to the firewall and go into the AC box in the interior of the car (behind the glove box)
removing the tank: there are a few bolts that hold it onto the body, remove bolts, remove tank
removing the compressor: this is the hardest part , for me at least. there are 4 12mm bolts holding the compressor onto the plate on the engine .... you will need to remove these and it should pop out easily....the top two are accessbile while the bottom two have hardly any clearance to get to with a ratchet, i used a ratchetable 12mm wrench and it got it off .. also remove the belt from the pulley system
removing the cooler: it is easier, but not necessary to remove the cooler without the radiator in, this is how i did it, so i cannot vouch for how to do it properly with the radiator in....
so drain the coolant from the system and remove the radiator and clutch fan and shroud if you have it
now once radiator is out, there are 4 bolts taht hold the cooler onto the body, remove the bolts and then the cooler slides out
removing the fan: if you have it, there are 3 bolts holding it on by the hood latch, remove them, and unplug the fan from the harness that plugs it to the relay
you now have no more AC
now put the rad back, refill with coolant/water/what have you.....
i have not taken out the box behind the glove box yet, but when i do i will edit including how to do that
additionally : if you also ditched the PS as well, there is that big plate that holds all the AC and PS parts onto the engine itself, there are now 4 bolts taht hold that on, taht are removable, thus taking off that plate
- mike
so with that said heres the writeup
the following was performed on a 1990 rx7 turbo II, any differences are up to you to figure out on your own, i will be happy to help out but will not be held responsible for what you do to your car
motive: to remove unneeded things from the engine bay, if you dont like / use AC why not take it out eh?
item list:
a full set of open ended wrenches
a full set of ratchets
a very thin 12mm socket and ratchet or a 12mm ratchet-wrech
flathead screwdriver
what you are taking out:
AC tank (at the front of the car , pass side
AC compressor (with the pulley)
AC cooler (radiator type thing in front of radiator)
AC lines (big aluminum silver lines running througout the bay)
AC powered electric fan (if you want to remove it you can, you might want to keep it there for extra cooling, press AC button and it goes on --- i took mine out) ... note: only found on turboII and automatic tranny models
what to do:
you will need to drain the freon in the system before you start doing any of this, you can have a shop do this for you the legal way , or you can drain it yourself through the spouts on the ac lines
note: freon is dangerous as it is freezing cold and will give you frostbite on contact. do not let it get on you or on the engine, it is VERY important you realize this and wear gloves and long sleeves....cover your engine where it will spray with rags..also try not to inhale it - its bad
it is against the law to let it vent to the atmosphere as it will make a hole in the ozone and you will be fined if caught for doing this...
i am not and will not be held responsible for what may happen to you, or the car, whether an injury, malfunction, or problems with the law
so with that said here is what you do
there are two caps on the AC lines, one green, one red, unscrew the caps and stick a screwdriver onto the valve and hold it down, the freon will come blasting out, so dont let it on you or breathe it in....do this step in intervals depending on the amount of charge you have in the system
now once the system is drained, you are free to start removing the parts from the engine
removing the lines: whatever order you do it in doesnt matter....you can salvage all the lines by disconnecting the threads but i didnt care so i used a big bolt cutter and cut all the lines where i saw fit to remove in the simplest way. in the end of the circuit, the lines will come to the firewall and go into the AC box in the interior of the car (behind the glove box)
removing the tank: there are a few bolts that hold it onto the body, remove bolts, remove tank
removing the compressor: this is the hardest part , for me at least. there are 4 12mm bolts holding the compressor onto the plate on the engine .... you will need to remove these and it should pop out easily....the top two are accessbile while the bottom two have hardly any clearance to get to with a ratchet, i used a ratchetable 12mm wrench and it got it off .. also remove the belt from the pulley system
removing the cooler: it is easier, but not necessary to remove the cooler without the radiator in, this is how i did it, so i cannot vouch for how to do it properly with the radiator in....
so drain the coolant from the system and remove the radiator and clutch fan and shroud if you have it
now once radiator is out, there are 4 bolts taht hold the cooler onto the body, remove the bolts and then the cooler slides out
removing the fan: if you have it, there are 3 bolts holding it on by the hood latch, remove them, and unplug the fan from the harness that plugs it to the relay
you now have no more AC
now put the rad back, refill with coolant/water/what have you.....
i have not taken out the box behind the glove box yet, but when i do i will edit including how to do that
additionally : if you also ditched the PS as well, there is that big plate that holds all the AC and PS parts onto the engine itself, there are now 4 bolts taht hold that on, taht are removable, thus taking off that plate
- mike
09-11-2003, 10:39 AM
#4
Super Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Posts: 5,425
So last night I took out the compressor and some of the tubes. I'm trying not to destroy anything, in case I or someone could use it in the future. Questions:
1. The tubes running into the firewall, what do those go to? How do I remove them?
2. The evaporator, how do I remove it without removing the radiator or oil cooler?
3. The "a/c tank" referred to in the writeup, what is that? Is that a TII-only thing?
thanks for the help, and I'm enjoying the ever-growing gaps in my engine bay
1. The tubes running into the firewall, what do those go to? How do I remove them?
2. The evaporator, how do I remove it without removing the radiator or oil cooler?
3. The "a/c tank" referred to in the writeup, what is that? Is that a TII-only thing?
thanks for the help, and I'm enjoying the ever-growing gaps in my engine bay
09-11-2003, 10:50 AM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2002
Location: California
Posts: 22,465
1. those tubes got to the evaporator, under the dash. if you plan on maybe putting ac back in just cap the lines going into the dash. or you can order the non ac duct and replace it. the duct costs money though and involves being up under the dash
2. the condensor is up front i think you may be able to unbolt the oil cooler but leave it connected to get it out, its not fun either way
3. the a/c tank is either the evaporator/reciever dryer or the accumulator depending on who you talk to, they should all have it, although it might move around
mike
2. the condensor is up front i think you may be able to unbolt the oil cooler but leave it connected to get it out, its not fun either way
3. the a/c tank is either the evaporator/reciever dryer or the accumulator depending on who you talk to, they should all have it, although it might move around
mike
09-11-2003, 11:18 AM
#9
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Schofield Barracks, HI
Posts: 2,259
Originally Posted by Baldy' date='Sep 11 2003, 10:45 AM
also, the studs where the compressor/bracket was mounted, can those be removed? if so, how?
09-11-2003, 12:12 PM
#10
Super Moderator
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Posts: 5,425
ok, I went out to my car at lunch and found the thing with the "do not remove!" cap on it. I'll take it out tonight, along with those studs. To cap off the a/c lines going into the firewall, are there threaded caps that fit those? Or should I just find some rubber cap that fits tight?