Air conditioned 2000 TC

Demetris said:
i am stuck with the crankshaft pulley, Nudging the bar on the base unit and operating the starter did nothing to the bastard either.

You need to put the bar about 6" away from the base unit, and then operate the starter, that way it has time to get moving, and it's the sudden stop that undoes the bolt.
 
harveyp6 said:
Demetris said:
i am stuck with the crankshaft pulley, Nudging the bar on the base unit and operating the starter did nothing to the bastard either.

You need to put the bar about 6" away from the base unit, and then operate the starter, that way it has time to get moving, and it's the sudden stop that undoes the bolt.

Thanks Harvey, i 'll give it a try tomorrow, but as the head of the bolt is so thin (why, i wonder?) i am afraid that the socket will just fall off the bolt head.
 
Demetris said:
but as the head of the bolt is so thin (why, i wonder?) i am afraid that the socket will just fall off the bolt head.

The braver (stupider?) amongst us, who always end up doing these jobs on our own (often in a gutter somewhere with traffic flying past) rig up a supply to the LT on the starter, and operate that whilst simultaneously holding the socket on the pulley bolt.
 
harveyp6 said:
The braver (stupider?) amongst us, who always end up doing these jobs on our own (often in a gutter somewhere with traffic flying past) rig up a supply to the LT on the starter, and operate that whilst simultaneously holding the socket on the pulley bolt.

This is indeed on the borders of what i am prepared to do to remove this bolt. :?

I'll try the impact gun first.
 
Well, the impact driver could not be found on short notice, so i gave the brutal method a try (it felt more like a dozen tries :shock: ).

However, i opted for a few luxuries as i worked on my parking space, therefore no traffic to worry about, and i used an assistant to operate the starter, instead of pulling wires and giving an one man show. The 4 cyl base unit is not very convenient to bang the 3/4 breaker bar onto, actually it would crash on the starter solenoid, while the placement of the water pump didn't help either. I had to be creative with blocks of wood to end up with something that appeared to be safe. So, i was holding the socket to the bolt while the assistant operated the starter. After quite a few times, i thought that i should stop as it didn't seem to have any results. However, before giving up completely i put again the car in gear, fitted the extension to the bar, and pushed some more and... i felt it moving.
Yep, it was undone. So the trick worked, but i still think that the use of the air impact would be the prefered way to work.

Other than that i spent my day by fitting the drier (which necessitated fitting the expansion tank further back), planting and welding a captive nut to the base unit for the lower engine steady bracket, fitting the main compressor bracket / front plate, moving the nylon alternator adjusting strap, and starting on the condenser mountings.

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DaveHerns said:
Will this system work with the newer type of aircon gas?

Yes Dave, as the compressor that i am using is a modern Sanden SD7H15 that was designed to run with R134a.
 
It is a little hard to find time for the project, so the progress is rather slow, but i have reached the point to have the hoses made. It is just the condenser mounting that needs some fine tuning.
I had to make a pair of cone adaptors to able to use the HS8 air filter case with the HIF6's. Fiddly and time consuming to align everything but in the end everything fell into place.

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So now everything in the engine bay is bolted firmly into place, the pulleys are aligned, the engine runs, and i am only waiting for the connecting hoses and relocation of the air filter snorkel. Hopefully within the weeked i will be able to finish the interior and the wiring.

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Finished! :D
Well, almost. I expected that would be a few things to iron out, but a leaking crimping on a low pressure hose prevented me from enjoying the coolness for too long. :( So i have to remove it again, rectify it and go for a refill.
In the engine bay everything is pretty much final. I have added a small electric fan in order to improve the efficiency of the system and wired it to come on with the compressor. It took me quite a while to figure out how to fit everything in place, because everything had to be simple to remove and refit without evacuating the system, or taking the half the car apart. For example i can remove the radiator without disturbing the condenser. I guess, when you take care of the service of the car alone, you have to think of those things too. I only need to secure the hoses a bit more, and reweld the snorkel on the air filter case.
In the interior, the poor design of the Alpinair console and my modified facia caused endeless grief, and i am still not happy with the fit. The muppet who did the installation on the Rovering member's car has cut the hole for that ford radio cassete offset to the right, and now it shows! The console itself is too wide and gloveboxes fit with a squeeze. Anyway, i'll stop nagging now and let you enjoy some pictures. It was a big (and expensive!) project for me, and i am happy that it turned out basicaly sound.

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hats off to you. looks brilliant and just in time for the really hot part of summer to start ;)
 
That's a really neat installation Demetris. I'm sure all that grief will be forgotten once you have a steady flow of nice cool air in the car. Well done.

Dave
 
Nice job. Now that it's in, your modifications to the unit do look the part. As you say, the fitting to my car was a bit of a Heath-Robinson affair. It was put in back in the day, by the then owner, who ran a car workshop so I imagine it was done in haste between jobs with not much eye for detail. All instigated by one of those long hot summers we used to have back in the seventies. 8)
 
Thank you all for your kind comments, but the truth is that the photos flatter it a little. I already know the list of the things that i would do differently on a second installation. Also i am already thinking of a Mk2 version of the facia, but at the moment i have to finish up with the hoses, install the insulation and carpets properly, and try to find a solution with the fit of the gloveboxes. Also i am not sure if i should go back to the hook type choke and petrol reserve controls. Especially now that the offset fitment of the stereo is so much obvious. Moreover the heater control slider levers could do with some lengthening and last but not least i am thinking to reposition the front number plate a little higher in order to help airflow through the valance. Until now the engine running temperature is fine, but since i've lost some airflow by the fitment of the condenser and the electric fan perhaps it's a good idea to restore some of it.
All it would take is time!
 
That's a really neat installation Demetris. Do you feel much drag on the engine with the compressor engaged?
 
Thanks Paul, i haven't really driven it much with the A/C running (see below), but it doesn't feel as if the engine feels much if any the drag of the compressor. OK, the idle speed will drop from 800 to 650 rpm, but it still cools OK even then. No problem either getting off the line or pulling up hills in top gear, even with the 3.08:1 diff. The only thing that is noticeably different is that the engine runs a little hotter at speed (but not really overheating), but i am working on relocating the front number plate to improve the airflow to the radiator.
I have noticed on the workshop manual that factory A/C cars had a solenoid to open a little more the throttles and give fast idle speed with the compressor engaged. Does anyone have any idea what this might be? I am thinking of cobling up something using parts from electric door locks.

Other than that, i had plenty of reasons to be frustrated during the last week, as the bl**dy low pressure hose kept leaking at the crimped ends, and i had to remove it 3 times, trying to fix it. The last time we replaced it with a similar hose to that of the high pressure line, hopefuly sorting it out for good.
I had an attempt at improving the fit of the gloveboxes, but i am still not happy with the result.
 
Looks good, Demetris.

Does the A/C unit draw air from the heater box or is it purely recirculating within the cabin? If the former there must be scope to omit the fan speed switch for the A/C and simply piggy back it off the heater fan switch? I'm trying to think of ways to relocate those two switches on the unit front so that you caould have a central placement of the ball vents - I'm sure that would look better and be less inclined to leave you with a frozen knee? That blank where the ignition switch would have been on a UK car is asking for someething to fill it! If you could find a wiper switch from an early 2000 with the rheostat speed adjustment I'm sure that could replace the temperature rotary switch and match with the other switches on the dash rail? A/C on off could simply be one of the standard type HRW pull switches - you can get them new (still) with a variety of different coloured warning ends.

CAn't think of anything much to help with the heater lever lengths or the glove box fit. Will the sides of the centre console pull in if you were to tie them in to something solid - or each other?

Overall looking very professional!

Chris
 
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