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getting rid of my A/C

A

austinaubinoe

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Montgomery County, MD
I just cant bring myself to put money into a system that just blows cold air. function over comfort. all the A/C system does on the trail is up engine temps, and on the interstate, the windows serve me just fine.

So, I have already decided that when I finish up some other projects on my rig, I would buy the parts and have OBA.

Yesterday I went to install my new tranny cooler and found what I assume is my ac condenser in front the actual radiator. I dont like the idea have having three rads in a row preheating the air, so if I want to turn my A/C compressor into an OBA setup, can I rip out this mini radiator?

Will a shop suck out my freon for free, I figure it has to be the same deal as shops taking used oil...... if the didnt, people would just dump it.


Ive been thinking about bypassing the stock tranny cooler in the rad, read somewhere that you could cool the power steering with it.... anyone have a writeup?

Thanks
 
If you want the system to be cleaned out then you'll need to get it evacuated by a shop. Otherwise just pop the schraeder valve open (or pull out the stem if you have a tool) and let it go to atmospheric pressure. Whichever way you go, do this before anything else.

You can remove the condenser from in front of the radiator and it will improve cooling ability to do it. The condenser is the larger unit between the radiator and the (small) tranny cooler. It can be difficult to get to the condenser fittings, and you might need to pull the radiator to get to everything.

Once the condenser is out you can remove the desiccant drier (cylindrical thing) and remove the hoses, which will clean up the engine bay a little bit. Use rubber stoppers and electrical tape to plug off orifices so you can reuse them later. Just throw away the desiccant drier, it will be ruined after extended exposure to atmospheric moisture.
 
Thanks a lot for the link man, thats a super clean install. My local BP charges $90 bucks labor, but im cool with the mechanic, so maybe ill offer him $20 to suck the system out. Its easy for them to do it right, dont want to insult him. for all I know my system is empty right now haha.
 
ehall said:
You can remove the condenser from in front of the radiator and it will improve cooling ability to do it. The condenser is the larger unit between the radiator and the (small) tranny cooler. It can be difficult to get to the condenser fittings, and you might need to pull the radiator to get to everything.
Click to expand...


Thats only if I have a factory tranny cooler right? I really have zero idea how the whole AC system work (besides the compressor of course) so i just kinda traced the lines from the smaller radiator.

Anyone ever reuse the stock AC condenser to cool something else?

Anyone use the stock tranny cooler in the radiator to cool power steering?
 
austinaubinoe said:
Anyone ever reuse the stock AC condenser to cool something else?I've never heard of anyone using it for anything else.

Anyone use the stock tranny cooler in the radiator to cool power steering? Not that I know of. I think there was some talk of this, but the concensuss(sp) was that it would raise the temp. of the power steering fluid.
Click to expand...

JIM.
 
Thread-jack! (small one though)

I'm thinking of going a similar route, but it's a save, save, save, save'n'spend sort of deal; I'd need to do this in stages months apart. My question is - If I remove the A/C condenser, lines, refrigerant, etc... and just have the compressor on the engine but unplugged; will the electric auxiliary fan still work as it should (come on when the engine temp goes too high)?

:)
 
The fan will still turn on fine and there won't be any problem to the compressor as i ran my rig for a couple of years with it open and unplugged.
 
thats how mine is currently i dissconnected everything and am trying to finish other projects before i jump on the lines, fittings, filter, in line oiler, regulator, and tank.

dont forget the air cooling line (coiled copper) as it will help a lot.
 
If your AC doesn't work right now, chances are, the system is mostly empty already. However, it is a good idea to have it evacuated before opening it. You're actually giving them free freon they can use in another customer's vehicle if they do it properly, because the evac/recharge machines filter the freon removed from the vehicle, weigh it, and add only as required to bring the charge up to the amount specified by the manufacturer before pumping it back into the vehicle. Really neat machines, it's too bad they cost about 7 grand each.

And yes, you can rip out the condenser no problem, lineman's pliers and bolt cutters work great on the lines. Just don't get overzealous and puncture the radiator with a tool by accident.
 
Has anyone ever kept the condenser and re-purposed it as an air cooler for the compressed air output? It seems like it could add some volume to the system as well?
I cut mine out on the 1st XJ I did OBA on, but regretted it later after feeling how hot the output of the compressor got.
 
I turned mine into an air compressor using plumbing parts from Lowe's, a one way hydraulic valve and air compressor switch from Northern Tool and some hose.

Took a couple of hours, one of the best mods I've done.
 
austinaubinoe said:
Ive been thinking about bypassing the stock tranny cooler in the rad, read somewhere that you could cool the power steering with it.... anyone have a writeup?

Thanks
Click to expand...
No writeup but I just did this. I have a FFDynamics radiator and fan setup and I put the tranny cooler on the backside of the radiator between the radiator and the driver side fan. For the power steering lines I just ran the return hose that was connected to the reservoir to the top fitting on the radiator and ran a new line from the bottom fitting on the radiator to the reservoir. As far as I can tell it is working just fine. My power steering pump was a good bit quieter after doing this.
 
i have heard that using the old condenser for a cooler is not worth it. a short piece of coiled copper tubing works wonders for this.
 
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