Hey guys, I have 3 questions for you, I did a search but can't seem to come to an answer anywhere. I'm putting a new motor in the Z and I need to know:

1) I'm thinking of leaving out the A/C, I know that I will need the 1LE pulley and a new belt but is this a difficult process to do? I mean do I need to plug off any lines or rerun any coolant lines or anything?

2) If I do decide to leave the A/C off and I save the pump and condenser and all the lines and such can I simply bolt everything back on at a later date if I want to put it all back in?

3) I also was thinking about trying to take out all the pollution control, is there a way to make the LT1 run without it all?

I really want this new motor to be able to be easily accessable and if I can find a way to get rid of all this crap under the hood I'd be happy. Any writeup or pics you guys know of would really help this newbie LT1 modifier out.

 

1) No, just drain/purge the lines of freon, and start unbolting all the AC components. You'll need to drop the passenger side of the sway bar since it will get in the way. Don't forget about the electrical connector on the rear of the AC compressor. I forgot about it and ended up tearing the wires apart. Oh well.. I don't have any use for the wires anyway.

2) Yeah.. but you'd need to take the car to get the lines vacuumed out and refilled. Something I'd definitely leave to a mechanic.

3) You can take out the AIR pump but it will throw an SES on OBDII cars. Not sure about OBDI.. I don't think it will. You can pull the EGR as well but you'll definitely have to get that programmed out along with the SES light. Don't plan on passing emissions at all if you pull out the EGR.

The engine will be VERY accessible with the AIR pump and AC pulled out. The EGR doesn't really get in the way though.

 

the air pump is the black canister on the front driver side head if i'm not mistaken? And if I pull it out just pull everything that is connected to it ie. hoses, wires etc.? Then I'm not sure where the EGR even is let alone what it does. Any more info would be great. Thanks a lot Mike. Also does the A/C condenser need to be put back in so that the radiator can mount in? I was curious because when I pulled the radiator everything seems to be hooked together.

 

ive got an ac delete pulley id sell you if your interested i just installed a low mount alt bracket and you remove all pulleys. let me know i also have the belt as well.

 

i got a few questions,

1) how much HP do u get without the A/C on the belt system?
2)can i simply just buy a A/c delelt belt adn not touch the A/C condesor at all and just leave it there off of the belt?

 

GoTopless - You can take the condenser out, it doesnt need to stay in.

Zerocool - The a/c system doesnt rob any hp unless it's turned on. People just remove the system to take weight off the front of the car.

 

its funny becuase it only makes sense, how much weight does it take off?

 

I think it's around 40 or 50 pounds... the compressor is heavy, the condensor is kinda light. There is 1 bolt on the back of the compressor that holds the lines in there... that one was a biatch. My friend (mike95z28) had to pull the line up from the top of the engine bay to pull the compressor out a little bit then I had to wedge a breaker bar on and get it off. We are both relatively strong, especially mike, and neither of us could get it off with a ratchet even using penetrating oil... However, the access you get to the passenger side from the bottom is amazing after taking the A/C out. That alone would be worth it but the weight saving is nice. Good luck!

 

ok well my AC frion is all drained out.. can i just pull all of my AC **** outa my car? like easly?? we got alot fo free time in my auto shop and this jsut accured to me that i dont use my AC anyways so there is no point in having i. will removing it effect anythign other then the weight on my front end?

 

Just yank it all out.
I was rough on mine cause I don,t plan on ever putting it back in, if you think you might reuse it someday be gentle.
I love the room I have now, I personally think everyone should remove the AC crap and throw it as far from the car as possible.

 

Removing the AC will only save you around 35 lbs. unless you also get into the dash and pull everything out under there too. Air pump weighs next to nothing (it's plastic). I wouldn't pull the AC except to make it easier to work on the car or make room for something up front (like an intercooler or oil cooler).

 

Is the A/C system worth anything to sell? I was thinking about removing it because I have only used it 3-4 times since I bought the car in March of 99. That would be the only reason I would remove it. That and to take weight off. Thanks