How To Remove the Aircon

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Ninj-r

Guest


Not sure if this is in the right place :?

How do you do it? There is no 'how to' as far as I am aware.

Is it straightforward :) or a mofo :shock: to do.

Cheers in advance.
 

Fast Guy

Moderators
Staff member
Let's turn this into a How to guide then :wink:
This is from memory, so any other input/corrections are welcome.

You'll need the front of the car jacked up to gain access to the aircon compressor and the mounting bracket.

First off you need the aircon system degassing. It's illegal to vent the gas to atmosphere. So don't get caught doing anything else.

I started by undoing the nuts on the 2 pipes at the bulkhead and then undoing the other ends. If your aircon wasn't degassed properly you'll get a hiss when you remove one of the pipes, which will make you jump :wink: I had to remove the larger pipe through the bottom of the engine bay as it kept catching on the turbo heat shield going the other way.
Slacken off the alternator to remove the tension on the drive belt and remove the drive belt.
Undo any nuts and wiring you can see on the top of the aircon compressor, then go underneath and undo the other bolts holding the compressor on to the mounting bracket and remove the compressor.
There's 4 bolts holding the mounting bracket onto the block, the on under the turbo can be awkward without the right tool. (a socket won't get onto it) I have a stepped 14mm ring spanner that fitted easily so I had no problem with it. Undo the 4 bolts and remove the plate. It weighs alot so be prepared for that when you take the last bolt out.
The aircon rad is more fiddly. Probably not the easiest way, but I ended up unbolting the bits from either end (not easy if you have big hands), undoing the slam panel and moving it as far as I could without straining anything. And eventually managed to manouvre the aircon rad out. It wasn't as easy as it sounds here, and there's potential for breaking things if you're not careful. If anyone has a better way, post it up :wink:
I think the twin pressure switch came out when I unbolted it from that end.
I think that just leaves the bit in the car if you want to save another 3kg. Remove the glove box cover, then you need to remove the black box in front of you, I undid the heater to the side to allow abit more movement and then unbolted the black box bit. It will come out with a firm tug, you can then split this to remove the chunk of metal from the inside, put it back together and put everything back the way it was.
That just leave you to blank the holes in the bulkhead with suitable grommets and to fit a suitable replacement alternator belt and adjust it to suit.
I have used a Halfords 845e, but it's just a little to long and squeals in the damp. Allegedly an 825e belt is better, (I have one waiting to go on, but haven't fitted it yet) You can get other belts, the 825 bit is the length
and is what you need to look out for. Nissan use a 4rib non aircon belt, but if you can get a 6rib one then feel free to use it.

Edited to add --- Part number for replacement bulk head blanking grommet 92570-01J00
 
N

Ninj-r

Guest
Cheers Fast Guy, I will give it a go. Daft question possibly but what is the silver cylinder thing on the right with tube things (metal) that come out of it? I assume that it is part of the aircon system and that I can remove it with gay abandon :shock: much like the rest of it :D
 
Can anyone give me a good reason why you would want to remove the air con?

As far as I can see, there is minimal extra load on the engine when the system isn't being used and the weight saving is negligable.

I am prepared and happy to stand corrected.

As an aside, I used my air conditioning in anger for the first time yesterday and it was bloody heaven. Blasts of freezing cold air from the vents when all around me were sweltering :D

I Pity all you lot that don't have it.
 

JIMMYBACK

Active Member
it weights 50kgs :shock: my gass run out :roll: and i cant have a three inch turbo elbow so does that answer your question :p
 
J

jiw

Guest
It gets in he way and weighs too much, costs a bomb to fix too
 

Fast Guy

Moderators
Staff member
Ninj-r said:
Cheers Fast Guy, I will give it a go. Daft question possibly but what is the silver cylinder thing on the right with tube things (metal) that come out of it? I assume that it is part of the aircon system and that I can remove it with one of those abandon :shock: much like the rest of it :D
That's the dual pressure switch. (mentioned above)

The aircon weighs about 23kg all in, so is a worth while weight saving if you want to save weight.
 
N

Ninj-r

Guest
Major_Sarcasm said:
Can anyone give me a good reason why you would want to remove the air con?

As far as I can see, there is minimal extra load on the engine when the system isn't being used and the weight saving is negligable.

I am prepared and happy to stand corrected.

As an aside, I used my air conditioning in anger for the first time yesterday and it was bloody heaven. Blasts of freezing cold air from the vents when all around me were sweltering :D

I Pity all you lot that don't have it.
Yes - My aircon is t :shock: ss and blows out air at the same temperature as the normal cold vent, it saves 23-29kg which helps as I have stripped out much of the car that isn't needed & it is a weekend/toy car so doesn't need mod cons. If it is really hot I'd use on of the other cars
 
N

Ninj-r

Guest
Sort of had a go - fcuk that! I'm gonna get my mechanic to do it when he gets back from holiday!
 
OK, I suppose if it's buggered it's worth ditching for the weight saving. If it's just re-gassing, this can be done fairly cheaply if you shop around. A guy does it for me locally, cash job, 35 notes.
 

geoff pine

Well-Known Member
reason for removeing air con £940 plus vat when the compresor pump clutch packs up. :shock: :eek: from nissan dealer when you payed £5300 for the car that was two years ago. plus the car has a sun roof so its not so bad.
 
N

Ninj-r

Guest
Fast Guy said:
Let's turn this into a How to guide then :wink:
This is from memory, so any other input/corrections are welcome.

You'll need the front of the car jacked up to gain access to the aircon compressor and the mounting bracket.

First off you need the aircon system degassing. It's illegal to vent the gas to atmosphere. So don't get caught doing anything else.

I started by undoing the nuts on the 2 pipes at the bulkhead and then undoing the other ends. If your aircon wasn't degassed properly you'll get a hiss when you remove one of the pipes, which will make you jump :wink: I had to remove the larger pipe through the bottom of the engine bay as it kept catching on the turbo heat shield going the other way.
What did you use to get to the nuts on the bulkhead pipes?!!
Absolutely nothing I could get my hands on would reach it (which p!ssed me off greatly) & was at one point thinking f8ckit i'll just t.wat it with a hammer till it comes off.

But not sure it this is wise.
 

Fast Guy

Moderators
Staff member
Ninj-r said:
What did you use to get to the nuts on the bulkhead pipes?!!
Absolutely nothing I could get my hands on would reach it (which p!ssed me off greatly)
:?: A spanner :!:

Do you have ABS or something else in the way? I had easy access straight to it :)

As can be seen in this picture
 
N

Ninj-r

Guest
Yup just like that, had a go at undoing the thing in the way but achieved little and put it back together.

Edit: Also the strut brace is in the way (I snapped one of the nuts off :shock: recently while putting it back)

Is there a magic way round it?

Was thinking of just chopping through both pipes.
 

Fast Guy

Moderators
Staff member
Actually, I should have said 2 spanners :oops: One to hold the bit through the bulkhead still while you cranck the other one off.

If you only have a strut brace in the way, you should be able to work round it :?:
 
N

Ninj-r

Guest
:roll: No - I have that stuff in the picture in the way in addition to the strut brace.

I have no hope of getting 2 spanners in there - so far I'm having trouble getting one in.
 
N

Ninj-r

Guest
:oops: erm... :? True - having had a closer look there is indeed nothing in the way of the bolt in that picture.

Mine is not like that it dips down before going into the bulkhead, and is under the thing with wires coming out of it whereas that one appears to go straight into the bulkhead and the nut is in the open.
 
N

Ninj-r

Guest
Removed the aircon - b@stard of a job. I do not thinks I have ever sworn so much in my life :shock:

I chopped through them in the end :twisted:
 
S

Stoned

Guest
The hardest bit is getting that bloody pig iron plate off the engine sump. Took me ages to get a spanner that had the right angle and fit to get that thing off.

Other than that it took about an afternoon.
 
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