Several A/C questions (repair, remove, replace)

[Kipprc]

Folks, I have an underdash A/C unit in my 70 Duster that I thought about pulling several times. The unit is pretty big and catches my leg sometimes. Can this unit be swapped with an OEM unit? From the photos I see online, it looks like the stock units are smaller. Is there a "how to thread" on removal of the unit if I wanted to do away with it altogether? I'm not seeing one when I search. Lastly, A/C repair is not something I am familiar with. Is there a proper order I should go about checking things before I burn money replacing stuff? As always your help/advice is appreciated.

 

[Dana67Dart]

If it's a dealer add on it should be factory parts.

If not all bets are off.

AC units are all basically the same functionality wise.

But aftermarket vs factory will certainly have parts in different places.

Post a better closer and more lit up photo of your firewall where the fan motor comes through and the AC lines pass through too.

If it's a modified heat only fire wall that will tell a lot.

 

[Big.J.007]

Ahh yes the ol knee knocker 9000

 

[Kipprc]

If it's a dealer add on it should be factory parts.

If not all bets are off.

AC units are all basically the same functionality wise.

But aftermarket vs factory will certainly have parts in different places.

Post a better closer and more lit up photo of your firewall where the fan motor comes through and the AC lines pass through too.

If it's a modified heat only fire wall that will tell a lot.

These are the pictures I got this morning. Not sure if they show what you are looking for.

Is there a specific area of the firewall you need to see? Can you direct me to it?

 

[Mike69cuda]

I swapped a factory unit from an ac car into my non ac 69 barracuda. Did it because I didn’t want to spend 2k on a vintage air.

It was a lot of work, probably have 100 hours in it, but it turned out nice.

If you go factory, You need to have the ENTIRE factory set up or it is misery.

I would keep what you have. Anything else will be lots of money and time for a minimal difference.

 

[Kipprc]

If I keep I have to figure out what's not working. I don't see or hear any obvious broken parts, but I don't get cold air either. Something needs repairing. I just need to figure out what is the best way to go through the system. I also need to adjust how it sits in the car. Im tired of hitting my leg against it.

 

[Mike69cuda]

If you take cap off a service port and press the schrader valve, does Freon come out?

When you turn on the ac, does the clutch engage?

If the clutch engages, does the big line coming out of the compressor sweat and get cold?

These are are a few basic troubleshooting steps.

 

[Dana67Dart]

These are the pictures I got this morning. Not sure if they show what you are looking for.

Is there a specific area of the firewall you need to see? Can you direct me to it?

Nope that's perfect. You have a heat only firewall as expected so if you wanted to ditch the aftermarket AC just remove it as I suspect it is not tied into your heat only box. you would need to plug any AC holes drilled into the firewall with rubber plugs.

also being an add on it is a separate unit that you could move to the right to gain leg room

 

[Dana67Dart]

Any AC shop in town should be able to diagnose what's wrong. what Mike69cuda said are good first steps.


questions...

1. when you turn the fan motor switch on does the fan blow air
2. you can test the compressor clutch by giving it 12v from the battery to this wire (disconnect it from the wiring harness first) the clutch should engage and the center of the clutch should start spinning (engine running BTW)
3. 

 

[Kipprc]

So I guess the question becomes if I were to remove this, do I have the right pulleys? I see the alternator combined with the compressor on top of the engine requires 2 belts. The crank has an extra groove for the second belt also. Can I remove the compressor and run a single belt between the altenator and the crank? Would I be better off just running 2 shorter belts between the crank and the alternator to keep the tension on the pulleys the same?