# Air con removal



## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Hi all, anyone have a guide? Simple enough to do?

Thank you

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## antcole (Apr 4, 2009)

All I know is that there is some seriously high pressure gas in the system, so make sure you get it professionally de-gassed before you start undoing anything....

Are you repairing it or deleting the AC altogether?


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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

Easy enough to do bud, as ant says legally you should get it professionally degassed (Under no circumstances should you wear thick gloves and a WW2 gas mask and use a screwdriver to push the valve in :roll: ) it is very nasty stuff so don't let yourself be in a situation to breathe it in!

Removal wise, compressor is held on with two bolts, after removing these it might need a bit of a tap to encourage it out. You'll need a shorter belt... a 1120 if i remember, but its basically the auxilliary belt from a QS model without a/c.

Then theres the rad to remove which is simple enough, and various bits of piping. to be honest i done mine while the engine was out, and it was still fiddly so i used a hack saw to remove bits of piping. With the engine in i can see this being a nightmare!


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

I think I'll leave it to the garage haha, £50 for them to do it so it's not too bad, saves me inhaling any of the stuff

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## Lego (Sep 28, 2008)

Is that £50 for the removal of the whole system or just the gas? If it's just the gas go find somewhere cheaper, as part of an aircon regas / topup, all gas is removed filtered and put back in. They will actually be using your gas for someone else!


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Out of curisoty, where is the air conditioning rad?

Thanks 

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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

I've already bought the shorter belt btw  and I'm going to delete it all together 

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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

tommatt90 said:


> Out of curisoty, where is the air conditioning rad?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Sits in front of the main rad! You'll see it easy enough when you look


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## outdoor stevie (Nov 24, 2013)

I only removed the compressor and it is a bit fiddley, you need access from the top and the bottom and a bit of the wheel arch trim comes out as well, the alternator can stay in. Held in by two long bolts and a big spacer from the left and two air con hoses and an electrical connection from the right as looking from the front. It's a chunky piece of kit, you'll need some deep sockets and some Allen key sockets, and space is tight. Will need a wallop to get it unstuck after the bits are off. The hoses snake around the engine. Access is ok to get the new belt on and you'll need a pin for the tensioner, I don't have any pictures of the removal process but can do you some of the compressor if you want to see the connections

Enjoy steve


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## Kyle18uk (Jul 3, 2012)

I removed all of mine whilst the engine was still in, was pretty easy! It was made alot easier knowing I wouldnt be putting it back so cut some hoses for more access etc.


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

It's not sounding too bad tbf. I'll take it to get decompressed and then do it myself 

I'll cut the hoses off too.

Pin for tensioner, is that just a split pin or?

And do any fault codes come up with it removed?

And do I take the front bumper off to remove the rad?

I would like to do it properly and remove the lot

Thank you

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## Kyle18uk (Jul 3, 2012)

No need to get it decompressed, Just cut the hose and then go inside :lol:

I didnt get any fault codes.

For the tensioner you can get a 15mm spanner on the lug and pull it down to release the tension, you can then just cable tie it until your ready


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

By hose lol we talking about the steel piping?

And this rad, can it be seen here:









Thank you

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## Kyle18uk (Jul 3, 2012)

Ive not removed the air con rad yet, waiting until I remove the bumper!

No just the rubber hose going to the compressor


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

So what connects to the rad? Some of the metal hosing?

Thank you

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## Kyle18uk (Jul 3, 2012)

tommatt90 said:


> So what connects to the rad? Some of the metal hosing?
> 
> Thank you
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah exactly, there is a mix of rubber and metal hard pipes.

You will struggle to remove a hard pipe that runs across the bulkhead unless you remove the charge pipe and heat sheild. You can just disconnect it under the left engine cover and you wont see it.


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## outdoor stevie (Nov 24, 2013)

When you pull the tensioner forwards to relieve the tension there is a wee hole in the side of it that you put a metal pin or a wee Allen key or a 3inch nail sort of size thro to lock it off and then you can fanny on removing the old belt and fitting your new one.there is a fair bit of tension on the belt from the tensioner.

Stevie


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Thanks a lot so helpful as always!

Removing the charge pipe is simple enough so too the heatshield, so I'll rip the lot out 

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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Right gonna give this a crack soon, is the compressor easy enough to see? And the black rubber hose I need cut?

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## outdoor stevie (Nov 24, 2013)

Once you remove the charge pipe and the dipstick platform and stick you will see it under the alternator and will see the two hoses in the back of it.

Stevie


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Cheers mate, didn't see this before I did it, just got back in 

Such an easy job, never done it before though so I was a bit apprehensive lol

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## manikm (Feb 17, 2014)

Lol why r u removing it anyway??

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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Never used it in the 2 years I've had it and every little helps towards weight saving 

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## andy68 (Aug 22, 2010)

tommatt90 said:


> Never used it in the 2 years I've had it and every little helps towards weight saving
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


IIRC about 17KG


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

I've cut the rubber pipe that goes to the condensor, am I right in thinking the only metal pipe to remove goes from by the coolant cover side round the bulk head and to near where the tip is?

Cheers 

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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

If i remember there was two of them that i cut out, both ran sort of under the coolant reservoir.


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Wicked thanks, I've disconnected the one that went to the air con rad from the compressor, now it's just the rad itself and piping to do 

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## Matt B (Apr 8, 2007)

My aircon compressor has taken a crap so if either of you gents wants to sell me a 2nd hand unit then drop me a PM

Ta


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Hi mate I'll PM you now

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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Last question chaps, on the bulkhead near the tip where 2 pipes go into like a square metal thing...

What should I do there? Does this come out too? Or do I just cut the pipes short and tape them up?

Thanks 

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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Any ideas if it comes out guys?

It's the top right bit in the pic:










Thanks

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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

Don't know if i done the "right" thing, but i just disconnected them both and left it open at the bulkhead! :?


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## Kyle18uk (Jul 3, 2012)

Yeah all you can do is remove the pipes from that block unless you want to remove your dash and remove it from the heater box


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Thanks  won't be removing the dash anytime soon so I'll just disconnect them 

Shall I block them off?

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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

I half feel like they had some sort of valve on them, but would be interested to know now because i didn't block mine off! :roll:


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

I think ill block mine off, it was a closed system before, so don't want anything entering 

Do the pipes unscrew from the block? Or do the need to be cut off?

Hopefully they were screwed in so I can put a bolt into the thread 

Cheers

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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

IIRC they were push in with a bolt on the flanges!

Might need to make a cover plate in that case and use the existing bolt holes!


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Sounds good bud  I'll get something made up 

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## garethTT (Apr 10, 2008)

Thanks for the info in the post, i removed all my air con kit over the weekend.

Just for info I did try the 6PK-1120 belt but it seemed way too tight on mine (BAM 225), the guy in GSF reckons a non air con TT is 1125 long, to be sure i took that and an 1130. Ended up fitting the 1130, looks and feels fine, still plenty of rotation left in the tensioner for the belt to strech over time etc.

I do now have all the 2nd hand bits if anyone needs them.....


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## tommatt90 (Feb 2, 2012)

Nice, remove all the pipe work too or leave it in place? Some was a pita to remove


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## garethTT (Apr 10, 2008)

yeah, nice little weight saving, and a bit less blockage to the rad.

I have left the ones to the bulkhead in at the moment, (after a bit of shortening), plan is to remove them properly this weekend, i'll probably make up a blanking plate of some kind for the bulkhead interface, thats is if i finally finish piping up the universal FMIC!


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## alun (Aug 2, 2010)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MEYLE-V-R...197?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4ad7da4e25

i was thinking of doing this....is this the right belt?


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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

Should be fine, all I done was steal the reg from a QS on euro car parts, the select the belt option without AC. This gave me a Conto belt 6PK1120 iirc for about £12.


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## alun (Aug 2, 2010)

cheers.


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## Von Twinzig (Feb 10, 2014)

Just resurrecting this one chaps. I've got no garage space free, so it's a driveway (gravel variety) job for me. Doable in a day do you think? Anything to watch out for? BTW I'm planning the "non saving the planet" degassing method. I'm reliably informed modern gas is non-toxic and heavier than air, so your only risk is from asphyxiation if you do the job in a confined space lying under the car :?

Cheers

VT


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## Von Twinzig (Feb 10, 2014)

Ahem, anyone?

VT


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## Kyle18uk (Jul 3, 2012)

I removed the main compressor, brackets and put the new shorter belt on in a few hours, removing the rest of all the pipes took a bit longer as they snake all over the bay

I couldn't get to one of the bolts with the compressor in the bracket so I got the angle grinder out and cut the bracket enough to get the compressor free and then had plenty of room for the final bolt


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## Von Twinzig (Feb 10, 2014)

That's clear. Thanks Kyle.

VT


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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

Removing the compressor and rad is easy enough, the hard part will probably be the pipes behind the engine, I done mine while the engine was out so didn't struggle but can imagine it would be a PITA!


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## Von Twinzig (Feb 10, 2014)

If the head comes off to change the manifold, can you get to them then Nick?

VT


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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

I'd say you probably can with an amount of contortion!

You may be best aswell to chop through the pipe at the bends so you have more manageable sections.


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## Von Twinzig (Feb 10, 2014)

Cool. Thanks Nick.

VT


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## SinfulDesignCom (Mar 2, 2013)

Thought I would share my experience with the forum as I have just done the first part of the removal process. Have removed the compressor. Tools up to tools down was just over an hour flat out, with a pause for a cuppa.

Points to share;

• Removing alternator helps A LOT when trying to get the compressor out of the engine bay. I have even done an SAI removal, and it was being a sod even with this considered.

• The replacement belt I used was a ContiTech (continental) 6PK1120 as fitted to the QS. This went on with less effort of the tensioner. It is tight enough, but it will possibly get a bit of a squeel on when it has stretched a bit - so I am anticipating getting a slightly smaller size, but this might vary from model to model (mine being ARY)

Other than that a straight-forward job. I can feel a very slight free-er rev of the engine - not a placebo effect - but very slight. Plus the weight of the compressor - bloody hell that is a hefty bit of kit.


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## intott (Apr 7, 2015)

Hi, 
picked up the shortened poly belt but it's a gates 6PK1123. Is this going to be too long considering what was said above?
The chap at the parts place assured me this was the right one, said "I sold one of these a few weeks ago". 
Just found this thread and thought id ask

Cheers


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