My A/C has gone out. I'm not sure if it's the compressor but I think it has a leak somewhere. I live in Florida and I use the A/C a lot, but this car isn't my daily driver. So I'm contemplating whether or not to pull the entire A/C system. I think it would not only free up a little HP but it would also make the engine compartment look cleaner.

Has anyone done this? How has it worked out for you and do you reccommend it? Thanks.

 

I'm leaving my A/C system out of my 98z should be alot cleaner i live in New England so its only really super hot in late summer i can live without it. Not sure but does 93-97 fbody a/c comp have there own belt? i never really looked at my old 96z. But i read that with LS1 cars the A/C,Power Steering and alternator, waterpump take up 30hp not sure if thats correct. I probably take it out.

 

I'm leaving my A/C in. The compressor should take little to no power to turn when you're not running the A/C. I'll be taking my car to the cruise ins on the weekend, so A/C is a requirement if I want to actually enjoy the car. I'd ditch the power steering before I got rid of anything else.

 

I'm not wanting to pull the system, but I also don't want to pay mucho dollars to get it fixed. I do all the work on my car myself and I don't even know where to begin with the A/C system. It has to have a leak somewhere because I'll fill it up with R134 and it all leaks out.

So the only real reason I'm wanting to yank it is because right now it's just in the way. If I could get some HP gains out of it that would be nice, otherwise I might just leave it in.

 

The only possible HP gain would be the elimination of the small rotating mass of the outer ring of the compressor clutch (the compressor doesn't turn when the A/C is off). Doubt you would notice it. The gain comes from taking 35-50# (depending how much you remove) of weight off the front end.

 

Yep the only performance gain would be from wieght loss, even with the AC turned on the compressor is dissengaged during WOT operation, but it does clean up the engine bay a little. You'll have to get the AC delete pulley to take the place of the compressor, you can get them on e-bay for around 60.00, or sometime they are available here in the for sale section.

 

Why do I need a 'delete' pulley? Can't I just replace the belt with a shorter one?

 

Look at the front of your engine, and you will see why you can't just use a shorter belt.... there are lots of things in the way of routing it like that.

The A/C delete pulley is about $35 from the discount online sources that most of us use. From Shoebox's parts list:

a/c delete pulley - 10115875 - $32.83

 

Thanks Injuneer.

 

Mines went, fixted it twice, third time I said screw it. I have the 1le pulley, car isnt my daily driver, though still I wish it had a/c

 

Maybe possible, but you would have to do a little searching for a belt to fit. I had a S-10 and the power steering went out the gears ripped apart and the pully fell off. I measured it and went to auto zone and told them I need a belt this long after about 5 belts we had a winner worked great.

 

i got rid of my a/c just to get it out of the way and make the car a little easier (a lot easier) to work on.

 

If you got rid of the WHOLE A/C system how much weight would probably be deducted?

 

not enough to notice on a street car. maybe 30-40#'s majority of that being the compressor.

 

Its 50 or more if you remove EVERYTHING like I did.
Thats compressor, condenser, accumulator, EVAP core, heater core, all the ducting behind the dash, the HVAC controls, blower motor.....entire HVAC system.
oh yeah, I can reach number 8 spark plug from the top now.

This is NOT my daily driver and I do not reccomend deleting your defrost function for a daily driver.