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AC removal

blowedupmotor87

blowedupmotor87

1/2 ton status
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Mar 14, 2007
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Charlotte, NC
I've looked and looked but, I can't find any real answer to this: I want to get rid of the AC on my trail rig (87 GMC Jimmy). I don't know if it works or not, I just know I want this rig to be as simple as possible and AC is unnecessary for something I can take the top and doors off of (IMO). So, one the engine side, I remove the compressor and install and idler pulley (or maybe OBA, still undecided on that). On the firewall and under the dash, I would have to remove the whole big box o' junk, right? Well, doesn't that box include the heater core, the door system for the HVAC, etc? (Oh, another question, are the doors in the HVAC vacuum , manually, or electric motor controlled? I wish it was as simple a setup as my old bronco was, just a valve on the heater hose to control flow to the heater core, a pull knob for door adjustment, and a fan!) Would I need to get a heater only set up to retain my heat, or does the HVAC system come apart in such a way that I can retain the heater part of it? I know I could answer my own question by just tearing into it but, I'd like to know if I might be inviting a heap of unexpected trouble upon myself. Oh, if anybody knows of a thread that details this, please post a link, I couldn't find one. Thanks!
 
No, you dont have to remove the interior air box, just leave it if you dont want to pull it out. Easiest way is to pull the compressor, condensor (in front of radiator), accumulator (silver tank), and all the lines. Leave the evaporator core (engine side of air box) in there and dont bother it. Only leave the wiring harness for the fan attached, remove everything else (low pressure switch, AC clutch wiring)

doors are mechanical cable pull or vacuum pull, depends on location, but yes, are located in the big black box (interior side)

If it really bothers you, investigate doing the heater core only mod, came on strip-down trucks. Smaller box (interior and engine sides), no dash ducting, just floor vent and defrost.
 
Is the AC charged or empty? Empty no worries - rip it apart. Full - you don't want to vent that stuff to the open air. Have a shop evac it for you before you open any lines.
 
Thanks! Does the box part under the hood come apart enough to take out the evaporator core out? Might could just do that. Hmm...just saw the second part of your post about the stripped down trucks heater assembly, how hard of a swap would that be? I mostly just use the defrost and floor vents anyway. What'd they do on those trucks to make up for the vents in the dash not being used? I have seen one that was deleted on the driver's cluster but, it wasn't in the truck it originally came in, did they not have vents on the passenger side of the dash (in the logo strip area)? Now the wheels are turning... could be a cool place to mount a small switch plate, right where the driver's cluster vent used to be...hmm. Do you know if you can buy the heater only assembly new anywhere? Okay, this could be way wrong but, somebody mentioned (in another post) that they thought the windshield would have to be removed to swap everything out, is that true?:confused:

Oh, about the A/C I don't know if it is charged or not. I am debating putting in a new engine (pretty much have decided to put in a replacement GM crate motor), the truck doesn't run right now (well, it does but, coolant flows out of the tailpipes!). I have either a blown head gasket, warped heads, cracked heads, or a leaking intake manifold gasket (or any combination thereof, I don't know) and 160,000 (or more!) miles on the motor and think it might be due to be put out of its misery. Anyways, I am making a short story long but, I am debating whether to put in the new engine myself (never done an engine swap before and have no idea how to set up timing, etc.) or to have it done by a dealership (don't know a good shop around me). So, either way, those lines have to be cracked anyway so, maybe I will have it done at a shop so they can evacuate it while swapping the motor. Anybody know what approx labor on an engine swap at a dealership would be (like $1000, or worse?)? Thanks!
 
Wow! I just realized how much I went off on a tangent in that last post!:D Anyways, I appreciate the responses and the answers therein, keep 'em coming! Thanks!
 
I have torn down an a/c truck , and a heater only truck . Both harnesses interchange for the years I had ( 75 and 83 ) . So installing heater only controls and plugging it into the harness shouldn't be a problem if you use a simmilar year heater only truck as a donor . 84 and up had the wipers on the column , so I assume those harnesses interchange like the older trucks did .

The harness plugs into the main dash harness above the radio , then to the the controls , and then through the firewall grommet behind the motor to the fan motor and the a/c components .

You could pull everything out , make a new plate to cover the gaping big a/c hole ( welding is better , but could screw it on and cut the protruding heads off ) , and then cut the hole(s) in the right places for ther heater only box . The heater only box and the a/c box have the heater core in different places .

Not that bad really if you have time and all the heater only truck stuff ahead of time .

As for the a/c compressor bracket , look on ebay for used a/c delete pulleys if you want your same belt to work . Or LMC has them in their catalogue .... for a price .
 
Can it be done without a donor (Around here, I don't think I would ever find a non A/C donor)? Can the parts for the swap be bought new? I would need: cluster control panel, inside box, outside box, anything else? The Non A/C controls can just be plugged into the existing harness? Thanks!
 
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You must be flush with cash if you want to buy new controls, ducts and have a Dealer do an engine swap:eek1::eek1:
 
No donor to be found . Then I would keep whats on the firewall and run the heater only .

Or if you wanted a cleaner look , fit a Mohave Heater under the dash . That can be plumbed into the dash vents and defroster ducts .
 
BKinzey: No, not flush with cash, I'm just the fool part of: "a fool and his money are soon parted". :D But seriously about the engine swap, I just want to make sure that stuff gets done right the first time, and I don't know anybody that knows how to do it so... There are plenty of people that are on here that know how to do stuff but, I am not going to beg somebody that I don't know to come help me fix my junk. Some guys on my local forum (CarolinaK5) have offered to help but I have never met them and, I don't want to be a mooch. I have no skill at anything to offer in return so, how can I ask for help? So thus, I figure I might as well pay through the nose rather than A) attempt to do something major that I know I have no clue how to do and screw it up royally or B) beg people to come work on my junk when I have pretty much nothing to offer them in return. I mean, I can figure out a way to pay to have a few things professionally done (loans, sell my Jeep, put off other parts of the project) so, I don't know as how somebody would want to help me anyway when they know I could pay some shop to get it done and thus not be bothering them.
Wow, I sound like such a whiner, oh well, that still explains my reasoning behind wanting to go to the dealer for the engine swap. As to the heater stuff, I just want to know about the possibility of getting new stuff due to the fact that I seriously doubt I have a snowball's chance in Hades of finding a complete donor system in good enough shape to make it worth it, unless I buy the whole truck which I think would cost more than just locating new parts!
 
Pauly383: That Mojave looks tempting, if I could find a way to hide it completely under the dash and route it into my stock defrost and floor vents, has anybody tried that on here? The ideas!
 
Do you own a factory manual? Not a Haynes or Chilton from Autozone, but the real deal? If not, invest in one of those. It can save you some serious cash.

Someone posted about a year ago or so about owning a 20 or 30 year old truck and the need to do things yourself. This hobby is not cheap. It can create a real dent - more like total out a budget if you can't do many things yourself. Don't get me wrong, I would never try to rebuild a tranny or engine myself. No tools or skill to do that. I wouldn't hesitate to swap either out though.

Ask questions on doing things, follow the directions of the informed. Some on here really know there stuff. You'll figure out who's who.

You probably already know this. Not trying to step on toes, just offering some advice.

Paying a shop to swap an engine is going to cost probably a grand maybe two. It's not that hard on a Blazer, just time consuming. You and a friend could probably do it in a weekend.

Take lots of pictures at a bunch of different angles to help the re-assembly on anything you do until you are comfortable tearing things apart.

Many are on the this and other boards like it really enjoy working on trucks and making friends. They help you today, you help them tomorrow.

Now - carry on mooch.:haha::haha:
 
gotmudd77 and jekbrown has done it . Haven't seen pics yet ( search works , just try both ways to spell mojave/mohave <---- ) . I don't think it would be too hard of a project for someone with a little tinkering skill and patience :thumb:


You good at tinkering at all ?
 
AZ79K5Project: I appreciate the words of encouragement! I actually bought a K5 for the exact reason of it being something that I'd stand a chance at working on! I have a 96 Grand Cherokee I had built up for wheeling (paid a shop to build), I came to the realization that it would be about impossible for me to work on, I'm selling it. Bought the Jimmy figuring "hey, I could work on this!" but, some stuff looks simple at first and ends up quite intimidating. :( Realistically, I feel like I might could swap the motor in, with the help of some friends but, I know absolutely nothing about timing, or other issues of getting it running. I don't know as how I feel comfortable doing it 'cause I don't want to screw up! I wish I had the actual factory service manual! I have noticed sometimes Chiltons and Haynes can be about useless on some stuff. Do you know where one can get the actual factory service manual? Thanks!
Pauly383, I wouldn't say I'm "good" at tinkering but, usually, if I set my mind to doing something (that I feel I can do) I usually figure out some way or another to do it. May not be the simplest, best, or most efficient way but, a way nonetheless! Thanks for the names on guys that have done it, I'll see what search yields on them! Thanks!
 
Don't let a motor swap intimidate you. It appears much harder than it really is. Setting timing is a snap, as long as you drop the distributor at top dead center on number one cylinder, the worst that can happen is you will be 180 degrees out, then you pop the dist. turn the rotor 180 and drop it back in. It sounds much more complicated than it really is. I am speaking from experience, I have been rebuilding motors, and vehicles for many years. The worst vehicle I ever did was my Astro, and when I dropped the dist in, it started the first turn. (would have kept running if I hadn't hooked vacuum to the EGR system). If there are people close that can help it can be much easier to do it yourself in a weekend. It will be a great learning experience, and when you are done, you will have some skills to help others in return.

Find a shop manual on E-bay or similiar site, they are a huge help. Intimidation is a killer, and in most cases is entirely unwarranted. If you can figure things out by tearing them apart, you can easily get them back together. I was lucky and my dad taught me all that he knew, but I have learned far more just doing the work myself.
 
AZ79K5Project said:
Is the AC charged or empty? Empty no worries - rip it apart. Full - you don't want to vent that stuff to the open air. Have a shop evac it for you before you open any lines.
Click to expand...

Or, you can take whole thing out without opening any lines. I did it last winter. There were no R12 on system, so I didn't worry about dropping it, but if it's full, it's good to have a buddy to help take it out from engine compartment so you don't accidentaly drop it and brake a line.
 
Thanks for all the info/encouragement everybody, I think I might have a plan. Since I am going to replace the motor anyway, damage to the current motor doesn't really mater so, I guess I could drive it over to the nearest place that does A/C work (approx 2 miles) and get them to evacuate the system, drive home and do the engine swap. I doubt we could do it without cracking the A/C open. I guess I could get some friends to help with the motor swap and then find somebody to do the timing.
As for the heater idea, that summit version of the Mojave looks tempting, maybe pop it up under the dash above the trannny hump like Ryoken did. Except maybe aiming up for defrost with some kind of a diffuser so it hits a good bit of the windshield. It'd make for some cold feet but, at least the windshield would be clear! Then, I could use the A/C control's spot in the dash for a radio spot (have no radio now), use the radio's spot for a CB mount (that way the mic wiring doesn't hang in the way of anything like if they were vice-versa), and use the space where the vents used to be for a switch panel. I could use the stock A/C's power feed to run my Mojave setup, that way not too much splicing, hmm...could be sweet!
Edit: I think I may be putting the cart before the horse here, first I need to concentrate on the engine swap, now that y'all have me thinking about trying to do it myself with some friends helping.
 
I'm still stuck on that heater idea:Question, anybody know if the Summit version's case gets hot when you run it? Like would you have to plan on spacing it away from other under dash parts in case of it melting them? Thanks!
 
blowedupmotor87 said:
do the engine swap. I doubt we could do it without cracking the A/C open. I guess I could get some friends to help with the motor swap and then find somebody to do the timing.
Click to expand...

Engine swap can be easily done without removing A/C. Just unbolt the compressor, and secure it on passenger side fender. That's how we did when we took the engine out from Suburban.

You mean ignition timing? It's easy, you need timing light to do it. There's some instructions -> http://type2.com/bartnik/timing.htm

7520.jpg
 
You should PM ryoken and see what he says about the box itself getting hot.

On most vehicles (don't try this on a van) you can swap the engine without having to evacuate the AC. As 4x4_76 says, you can simply unbolt it and move it to the side. On a van you have to remove the condensor to get the engine out, so you can't do this. Ask me how I know.
 
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