AC system removal

[melant]

I am interested in making my 1983 944 into a no frills, light as possible driver. How difficult is it to completely remove the entire AC system? Does the heater and AC have common mechanical components that would be difficult to remove or separate? Any other weight saving or balancing ideas would be appreciated. Thank you.

[zzpza]

sorry don't know about the a/c system, but my gut feeling tells me that porsche wouldn't redesign a system they don't have to so i would think that you've be able to seperate them. if the worst came to the worst, i guess the only thing that could be different would be the heater matrix.

the rear glass hatch on a 944 and 924 appear to be identical (and will fit each other), however the 924 hatch is made of thinner glass so is lighter. i don't know how much lighter though... a plexiglass one would be lighter still, but i don't know if they are road legal where you are.

hth,
j.

[930guy]

In the past I have just dumped the A/C compressor and condenser. The heater box which contains the heater core and evaporater in a real pain to remove. The weight saving wouldn't out weigh the hassle.

[melant]

Thanks for the help.

[melant]

Just wanted to get back with some info on the AC project. For 83 to 85 1/2's the system is completely separable from the heater system. Remove the ground cable from the battery. The condenser is accessible by removing the front spoiler. While that is off start on the lines and compressor. You need the factory alternator bracket for cars w/o ac to adjust the alternator but you may use the ac adjuster. Broadfoot Racing also sells an AC delete bracket that is nice but expensive. The lines I had to cut 2 places to remove, once at the firewall and once where they turn down under the car. There are several mounting brackets that need removed. Two people working together may be able to get these out intact. Inside the car I removed the glove compartment and the finish panel under it. Start by unhooking all the plugs you know and can see are for the AC only (directly plugged in to it). REmove the bolt that clamps the airbox to the heatbox unit then remove the bolts holding the entire unit. the entire unit can then be removed by pulling out or cutting the drain line and unhooking the vacuum lines still holding the unit. Plug the vacuum lines securely. If the console insn't loose, loosen it and remove the wires leading to the control knob in the center and remove the knob. This wiring system is basically the entire harness for the AC and the total wiring harness can then be removed. I bought a guage set on Ebay from an Audi that included Oil pressure, oil temp, and voltmeter and replaced the ac control and the clock with a voltmeter and oil temp gauge. They were the exact VDO gauges that came out and everything worked very nicely. You do need to add a sending unit for the oil temp which is basically a new drainplug with the sensor attached. I went ahead and removed the little green or orange vacuum container in the engine compartment that was there to operate the ac but you really don't need to do that. Tie up the loose wiring plugs, replace your panels and you have 20 to 25 more pounds of speed robbing AC system in your hand. You will need to make a plug for the heater box where the two systems were mated, I made a styro one using the ac piece I removed and press fitted it into place. I didn't weigh the entire system once it was out but there is no doubt that this removal lightens the car by close to 100 lbs. Hope this helps someone out there and I can pay back some of the advice I've received from this forum.