Re-installing air conditioning

speedjunkie · 07-10-2013, 01:25 PM

I removed my AC back in 2008 when I put my VMIC in, since it was going to take longer than I wanted to spend at the time to mount everything back in there, due to the different angle of the condenser and so forth. But after looking at everything it doesn't look like it will be that bad. I'm gathering all the pieces to put my AC back in, and I know I need to replace the separator so I already ordered one from Ray, but I'm wondering what else I should replace. I have all the pieces, although my condenser is pretty beat up, but I got another one of those. Also, I didn't close off my lines going into the evaporator (that stick out through the firewall into the engine bay), so I'm not sure how much dirt and crud is inside there now and I'd like to make sure it's cleaned out inside. I'm pulling the dash to get the heater core fixed so I can have heat again too, so while I'm in there I'm going to take out the evaporator and clean it up like I've seen on some other threads recently (Theorie lol).

My compressor is pretty nasty but I'm going to clean it up and make sure it's good. I'm just wondering about any seals in there, if I should replace them. I asked Ray about a rebuild kit for the compressor but Mazda no longer has them. I also asked about an o-ring kit for the lines but it would be $60+ for all those from Mazda so I'll buy a kit from a parts store.

So far I've checked to make sure the lines clear the single turbo and that I'll have room for the separator next to the VMIC, and amazingly enough it looks like all that will work. I'll have to bend the lines a bit so it will hook up to the condenser in it's new orientation, and I'll have to cut holes or slots or something in the ducting for the lines to go through, but I'm not too worried about that. I do remembering practically having to pull the engine to get the compressor out since the mounting bolts are so long, but I figure I'll just put them through the holes and then mount it instead of trying to hold it up and then slide the bolts through.

One thing that just crossed my mind...my AC/PS bracket is powdercoated, I'm hoping the compressor doesn't need to be grounded to that. If so, I'll have to take off some of the coating. I'm also going to heat wrap the hard lines going past the turbo. I know it probably doesn't matter functionally, but it will also help to cover up the ugliness of the lines since they're dinged up in a few places lol. I'm going to take off the black foam that came on them, it's all dry and brittle anyway.

Anything else you guys can think of that I need to check? I don't want to be pulling and replacing stuff because something's leaking or whatever. I want to install this stuff and be done with it.

07-10-2013, 01:25 PM	#1
speedjunkie RCC Loves Me Not You Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 2,089 Rep Power: 20	Re-installing air conditioning I removed my AC back in 2008 when I put my VMIC in, since it was going to take longer than I wanted to spend at the time to mount everything back in there, due to the different angle of the condenser and so forth. But after looking at everything it doesn't look like it will be that bad. I'm gathering all the pieces to put my AC back in, and I know I need to replace the separator so I already ordered one from Ray, but I'm wondering what else I should replace. I have all the pieces, although my condenser is pretty beat up, but I got another one of those. Also, I didn't close off my lines going into the evaporator (that stick out through the firewall into the engine bay), so I'm not sure how much dirt and crud is inside there now and I'd like to make sure it's cleaned out inside. I'm pulling the dash to get the heater core fixed so I can have heat again too, so while I'm in there I'm going to take out the evaporator and clean it up like I've seen on some other threads recently (Theorie lol). My compressor is pretty nasty but I'm going to clean it up and make sure it's good. I'm just wondering about any seals in there, if I should replace them. I asked Ray about a rebuild kit for the compressor but Mazda no longer has them. I also asked about an o-ring kit for the lines but it would be $60+ for all those from Mazda so I'll buy a kit from a parts store. So far I've checked to make sure the lines clear the single turbo and that I'll have room for the separator next to the VMIC, and amazingly enough it looks like all that will work. I'll have to bend the lines a bit so it will hook up to the condenser in it's new orientation, and I'll have to cut holes or slots or something in the ducting for the lines to go through, but I'm not too worried about that. I do remembering practically having to pull the engine to get the compressor out since the mounting bolts are so long, but I figure I'll just put them through the holes and then mount it instead of trying to hold it up and then slide the bolts through. One thing that just crossed my mind...my AC/PS bracket is powdercoated, I'm hoping the compressor doesn't need to be grounded to that. If so, I'll have to take off some of the coating. I'm also going to heat wrap the hard lines going past the turbo. I know it probably doesn't matter functionally, but it will also help to cover up the ugliness of the lines since they're dinged up in a few places lol. I'm going to take off the black foam that came on them, it's all dry and brittle anyway. Anything else you guys can think of that I need to check? I don't want to be pulling and replacing stuff because something's leaking or whatever. I want to install this stuff and be done with it. Last edited by speedjunkie; 07-10-2013 at 01:32 PM.