Removing air conditioning

[jb]

I was thinking of removing the air conditioning on my 911.
There is quite a lot of it - all of which must weigh as much as a small person and there are pipes for it all over the car.
Can I just let all of the gas out - or is there a special way of doing it.
I guess I will end up with holes all over the place where components and pipes have previously been attached.
I was thinking of just putting all the fixings (screws etc) back but without the pipes and waxoyling it again. Is there a better way?

[Barry]

I asked my local Aircon man about this, as I was thinking of de-A/C'ing the Cappo (as it happens, it refuses to die and as the poor thing is outside at the moment, the de-misting is handy).

Anyway, he said that technically, it should be hooked upto a A/C conditioning machine (the one that is used to re-charge the thing with), and the gas / lubricant removed for disposal. He then went on to say that most people just (carefully) crack off a connection and let it all out into the atmosphere .

Not sure of the health implications of just venting it: I would guess at the very least, it's not going to feel wonderful if it gets in your eyes. In the same vein, probably best not to lick the fluid either .

BTW, Yours will probably have the remains of the old style gas, rather than the current one (can't remember the names I'm afraid), so if you go for the ethical disposal route, they'll want to be warned when you book in.

As for the nuts and bolts removal: yes, I'd have thought that if you plug every hole with it's fixing bolts / screws, all set down on wax, you'd be O.K. I'd also photograph every point of the installation before and during removal, and do a circuit diagram as well, just in case a future owner wants to refit the system, having uprated it to the new gas.

HTH, and hope you're well .

[Barry]

One thought, I guess somewhere you'll have a couple of A/C charging points. They might look like a large tyre valve.

It might be worth taking the dust cap off of each, and watching your eyes, just (briefly) touch the centre, just to see if you've actually got any gas left.

If the system's not been used for years, you might find it's empty anyway, in which case I'd be tempted to take the system apart as it is. Like I say, I've no idea what the lubricant / anti-corrosion chemicals might be though, so probably best to wear gloves whether or not you have had the system professionally drained.

[Lightweight_911]

I did this on my old black 2.8 twin-plug car - the system was already empty though so I didn't have that problem.

This is what I removed:



- all in all it weighed ~ 50-60 lbs !!

The sytem (like most a/c systems fitted to early 911's) was Dealer-installed rather than being a Factory-fitted option & it was a very crude job - necessitating several welded repairs (particularly inside the smuggler's box) where the original sheet metalwork had been butchered.

However, removal was pretty straightforward & greatly improved access around the engine compartment & freed up a fair amount of space under the bonnet.

Well worth the hassle.