M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS

DISCUSSION => Engine + Driveline => Topic started by: Isamemon on December 23, 2008, 01:25:54 AM

Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: Isamemon on December 23, 2008, 01:25:54 AM
will be doing the head gasket dance in the next few days on amy new to me91 318. A/C has not worked in years Ive been told, yet still runs a belt to it. I would rather get rid of all the "dead"weight. But knowing how bosch can be finiky at times, will I need to do anything to the electics, when the compressor is gone
while Im at it , with the head off, Im gonna have the starter gone through

( bought it knowing it had a blown head gasket)
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: tjts1 on December 23, 2008, 10:17:49 AM
Try fixing it first. AC is nice.
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: Isamemon on December 23, 2008, 02:20:20 PM
thanks
it is dead on the freon,p.o told me it wont hold a charge, plus where I live I only use a/c maybe at most 2 weeks out of the year
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: tjts1 on December 23, 2008, 03:02:11 PM
Well in that case you won't have to do anything on the electrical side. Our cars are too primitive for that kind of complication. Tear it out and enjoy the ride. cheers
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: dcarchitect on December 25, 2008, 11:53:23 AM
Hi, please do us a favor, when you get that stuff off the car, put it on a scale and let us know how much weight that saves.
I'm tempted to do the same, not much need for AC here either; betting the compressor alone is over 30 pounds, and with all associated, condenser can, hoses, pullies, belts, should amount to close to 50 pounds.
Still running my 14" BBS rims, and need tires, just read on tirerack that my Goodyears weigh 21lbs each, and going to other brands in 195/60 r14 will take me down to 15-16 lbs each. 5 pounds times 4 tires is a lot of unsprung weight to yank off a little car.
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: Isamemon on December 25, 2008, 12:50:49 PM
will do
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: szed03 on December 25, 2008, 01:15:13 PM
I took my compressor and AC stuff out and weighed all of it not too long ago.  I knew I should've written it down though!  Granted this was on an e36 but the difference shouldn't be much if at all compared to the e30.  I believe the compressor was less than 10 lbs.  I also took out the the receiver/dryer, lines, condenser, belt and tensioner.  All that plus the compressor weighed in at ~30lbs.
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: Isamemon on December 25, 2008, 04:46:22 PM
yep Im pulling the whole works except for anything that might be in the dash (for now), I would suspect 30lbs is pretty near the weight
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: xwill112x on December 30, 2008, 10:58:24 PM
results with power gains? noticable?
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: szed03 on January 01, 2009, 12:49:26 PM
Nah, not noticeable in my opinion as far as the buttdyno is concerned.  I removed mine to get rid of clutter and dead weight as my A/C system didn't work anyway.  However, I did notice even better cooling with the AC core and electric fan removed. :D  Not that my car needs it as it runs pretty cool already.
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: Isamemon on January 03, 2009, 08:54:57 AM
just getting started on removing ac. last night it looks like the fan in front of the ac core is pretty hard wired in, but it was pretty late last ight and 32 in the shop
what did you find when pulling your fan, or did you just clip and tape
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: Sophia69IS on January 03, 2009, 11:51:03 AM
I pulled my whole A/C out and I just took the fan off and the condensor and the drier and the evaporator and most importantly the compressor, also all the lines. Tried to sell it on Ebay (it was still in working condition) but it didn't even get a bid. *laughs* Oh the evaporator is much larger than I thought it would be, remove the housing around it under the glove box. Actually, remove the glove box, I think you pretty much have to, but my car did not have a glove box when I acquired it.
Title: eliminate a/c
Post by: szed03 on January 03, 2009, 12:24:52 PM
Quote from: Isamemon;63943
just getting started on removing ac. last night it looks like the fan in front of the ac core is pretty hard wired in, but it was pretty late last ight and 32 in the shop
what did you find when pulling your fan, or did you just clip and tape

On the e36 there's a removable connector for the AC fan.  I doubt it's hard wired but if it is, you can just clip and tape off the ends.  Just make sure it doesn't form a complete circuit. ;)