Alright, i've been meaning to make this thread for the longest time, ...and well now i actually have time to do it! yay!
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR NEED TO ADD SOMETHING THAT I MISSED, PLEASE READ THIS WHOLE POST FIRST! ...thanks! (spin)
ALSO: remember to read this whole how-to before you start doing anything so you make sure you have all the parts, tools and knowledge to successfully complete this task!
Remember, ALL the 3rd Gen protege's including the msp's have the same a/c setup, so everything should be the same for later model 3rd gen.
Also, this is not a COMPLETE removal, for that you need to remove all the filters and whatnot inside the car...which i didn't do...i think all of that stuff is behind the glove compartment, that part is up to you!
______________________
So first off, make sure your engine is off (duh!) and has cooled down;
tools needed: 8, 10, 12, and maybe 14mm sockets, phillips screwdriver, two adjustable wrenches, rubber mallet, wire clippers and/or fencing sheers (both are optional if you want to save your aluminium tubing), last is a new p/s belt, i'll show you that at the end!
next, purge all of the fridgerant out by pushing down in on the pin using the screwdriver, it's under the blue cap near the oil dipstick here:
also do this one too, near your passenger side headlight, just to make sure all of it is out...plus i think one is for sending and returning, but don't worry about that stuff, just purge them both!
next, use the tensioner and loosen the bolt there so you can take off the old belt, once you've got the bolt loosened up all the way, use the rubber mallet and SOFTLY tap on the power steering to bump it down so the belt can be easily taken off.
(you'll want to loosen the bolt A LOT more than that)
(you'll also want to tap on this big bolt...
...................................\/ here)
Take the belt off and do what you'd like with it,
next i'd take off your front grill, this makes everything a lot easier, at least it did for me, it made taking out the condenser easier.
i'd also undo the bolts here too, both of the radiator bracing brackets so you can lean the radiator towards the engine for easier access to pull out the condenser:
next start unbolting all the feed and return aluminium lines you can, use the adjustable wrenches here if you want to save the lines...
if you don't care and just want to scrap them, you can take my route and either use a hack saw, or one of the clippers to clip everything off, and IMO, it's not like you can sell this stuff you anyone anyway, so you might as well go the easy way!
(this one's right by the battery)
(there's two by the passengers side firewall, near the cruse control(if you have it))
(this is what i did, just clip them right off because i didn't want to deal with trying to unscrew it)
plus clipping them will essentially seal the opening shut which is good...i guess...
there's more inside the car, like the filter and stuff, but i didn't want to take that out, so sadly i can't show you how to do it...
i just cut this one: and as you can see here, there's just one bolt and the other is a push fitting, which can prove difficult to pull out, just don't hurt yourself...
this is from the bottom of the condenser, another bolt and push fitting:
this is the refridgerant fluid catch can and because my bolts were really rusted, so i just clipped those to get it out of there, the electric plug i just electric taped it closed and tucked it away in with some other wires...
next you should be able to pull out your condenser:
So that should be everything for your a/c system lines and condenser, now for the compressor:
(i didn't take pics of it there...sorry, but there are i believe 8 bolts in total, either 12 or 14mm that should come off relatively easy,
four very long bolts that hold the compressor on and four short ones that hold on the mounting plate)
after the compressor is off, there is a mounting plate there, you can take that guy off too!
next, you're going to want to pick up a new power steering belt that's 18mm X 985mm or 11/16" X 38 & 3/4"
NOTE! this belt size is only for the UNDERDRIVE Pulley, not for stock; if you have a stock crank pulley, simply go to the dealer for an A/C delete power steering belt.
here's proof of the size! lol
when you put the belt on make sure it's on correctly and tighten down the the power steering using the tensioner i showed earlier, not too tight, look in your manual for specific specs on the tension.
and last, this is what your new engine bay should look like! ...well sort of, i took out my a/c fan, ...BUT, if you wanted to, you could leave that fan in and splice the wiring so when your radiator fan turned on, instead of just one fan, it would run both fans, so in theory the engine would cool faster. i'd prob want slim fans for more space, but that's up to you!
here's how small our stock radiators are...
we could have one twice as thick and still on the same frame!
and i took off my bumper just to get a better angle at getting things off and on, also wanted to look where i'd put my fmic now with all that room!!!
my car looks kinda weird like this, lol
*ahem* anywho... let me know if i missed anything or if you have any questions about the process!
Kevin
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR NEED TO ADD SOMETHING THAT I MISSED, PLEASE READ THIS WHOLE POST FIRST! ...thanks! (spin)
ALSO: remember to read this whole how-to before you start doing anything so you make sure you have all the parts, tools and knowledge to successfully complete this task!
Remember, ALL the 3rd Gen protege's including the msp's have the same a/c setup, so everything should be the same for later model 3rd gen.
Also, this is not a COMPLETE removal, for that you need to remove all the filters and whatnot inside the car...which i didn't do...i think all of that stuff is behind the glove compartment, that part is up to you!
______________________
So first off, make sure your engine is off (duh!) and has cooled down;
tools needed: 8, 10, 12, and maybe 14mm sockets, phillips screwdriver, two adjustable wrenches, rubber mallet, wire clippers and/or fencing sheers (both are optional if you want to save your aluminium tubing), last is a new p/s belt, i'll show you that at the end!
next, purge all of the fridgerant out by pushing down in on the pin using the screwdriver, it's under the blue cap near the oil dipstick here:
also do this one too, near your passenger side headlight, just to make sure all of it is out...plus i think one is for sending and returning, but don't worry about that stuff, just purge them both!
next, use the tensioner and loosen the bolt there so you can take off the old belt, once you've got the bolt loosened up all the way, use the rubber mallet and SOFTLY tap on the power steering to bump it down so the belt can be easily taken off.
(you'll want to loosen the bolt A LOT more than that)
(you'll also want to tap on this big bolt...
...................................\/ here)
Take the belt off and do what you'd like with it,
next i'd take off your front grill, this makes everything a lot easier, at least it did for me, it made taking out the condenser easier.
i'd also undo the bolts here too, both of the radiator bracing brackets so you can lean the radiator towards the engine for easier access to pull out the condenser:
next start unbolting all the feed and return aluminium lines you can, use the adjustable wrenches here if you want to save the lines...
if you don't care and just want to scrap them, you can take my route and either use a hack saw, or one of the clippers to clip everything off, and IMO, it's not like you can sell this stuff you anyone anyway, so you might as well go the easy way!
(this one's right by the battery)
(there's two by the passengers side firewall, near the cruse control(if you have it))
(this is what i did, just clip them right off because i didn't want to deal with trying to unscrew it)
plus clipping them will essentially seal the opening shut which is good...i guess...
there's more inside the car, like the filter and stuff, but i didn't want to take that out, so sadly i can't show you how to do it...
i just cut this one: and as you can see here, there's just one bolt and the other is a push fitting, which can prove difficult to pull out, just don't hurt yourself...
this is from the bottom of the condenser, another bolt and push fitting:
this is the refridgerant fluid catch can and because my bolts were really rusted, so i just clipped those to get it out of there, the electric plug i just electric taped it closed and tucked it away in with some other wires...
next you should be able to pull out your condenser:
So that should be everything for your a/c system lines and condenser, now for the compressor:
(i didn't take pics of it there...sorry, but there are i believe 8 bolts in total, either 12 or 14mm that should come off relatively easy,
four very long bolts that hold the compressor on and four short ones that hold on the mounting plate)
after the compressor is off, there is a mounting plate there, you can take that guy off too!
next, you're going to want to pick up a new power steering belt that's 18mm X 985mm or 11/16" X 38 & 3/4"
NOTE! this belt size is only for the UNDERDRIVE Pulley, not for stock; if you have a stock crank pulley, simply go to the dealer for an A/C delete power steering belt.
here's proof of the size! lol
when you put the belt on make sure it's on correctly and tighten down the the power steering using the tensioner i showed earlier, not too tight, look in your manual for specific specs on the tension.
and last, this is what your new engine bay should look like! ...well sort of, i took out my a/c fan, ...BUT, if you wanted to, you could leave that fan in and splice the wiring so when your radiator fan turned on, instead of just one fan, it would run both fans, so in theory the engine would cool faster. i'd prob want slim fans for more space, but that's up to you!
here's how small our stock radiators are...
we could have one twice as thick and still on the same frame!
and i took off my bumper just to get a better angle at getting things off and on, also wanted to look where i'd put my fmic now with all that room!!!
my car looks kinda weird like this, lol
*ahem* anywho... let me know if i missed anything or if you have any questions about the process!
Kevin
