GReddy_Civic

I did a search and found nothing. I want to remove my AC system but I was told I need a different belt if I did this, and I know with my dad's firebird he did. So I was wondering if I actually do need another belt. Thanks everyone

z6hatchboy

you dont, a/c is ran by its own belt and own pulley on the crank pulley. I've already removed mine

92lxinprogress

Will the crank pulley then just have an empty space or is it better to get a new crank pulley without a/c? How much of a difference did you notice without the A/C (performance or mileage)?

riceburnerryan

yeah if you dont have A/C there will be just an empty space... you can use it, there really isnt a need to get a new crank pulley

Neptronix

I went through all the work to remove A/C from my '99 civic EX and all i gotta say is.. not really worth it. Maybe 1 horsepower freed at most. kind of like the difference between having slightly dirty oil and a fresh oil change.

You will find the most performance 'gain' from removing / cutting the belt.

If that's not enough, the AC compressor is fairly heavy, however.. once you start unhooking A/C lines, expect to be blasted by freon - which is toxic to the atmosphere, and yourself. I had mine evacuated at a shop for $30. Not a bad price for a clear conscience and not having freezer burn in the friggin' face.

the AC compressor is fairly easy to remove, but you're only losing 10-15lbs, so you have to consider.. is it really worth either killing the environment or paying a shop to remove 10-15lbs or not.

The A/C condenser ( looks like a radiator ) is not that heavy and i would not remove it. There are wires that are tricky to remove, and even more difficult to put back on. Not impossible. It is not very heavy..

The A/C lines may look ugly but probably weigh less than a pound altogether. They are made of some sort of rediculously light metal. They are difficult to get out and four times more difficult to get back on - you will probably end up bending them, breaking the seals, etc etc. Not worth it.

I went as far as removing the entire A/C and when i went to sell my car, it took over 4 painful hours to get everything back together, and even then, my lines were slightly bent, and i developed a leak somewhere i couldn't pinpoint without dumping money into the car. I had to sell my car with the A/C system 'as is' and it was worth less money because of that. not cool.

If i were you, i'd just cut/remove the belt and leave it at that. You will basically see no gain from removing the 20-35lbs of other parts.

You will also not need any special belts or parts to do this.

-[95cxhatch]-

let me know if you decide to pull the whole system out... because I will buy it!

turbocivic1984

hey i have my whole ac unit if you want it you can have it.. But you should Take it out if you need to free up room for turbo setup or just making the engine bay look cleaner. Other than that you should just keep it if it is your daily. But if your going to get rid of that, get rid of the power steering to. It does make the engine bay look cleaner with less clutter in there. But if you plan on selling it just take the belt off or cut it like said previously. But anyway you can get a lighter crank I have one from jackson racing.

HondaGuy951

iTrader: (2)

if any of u guys took ur a/c out of an ek or em1 wanna donate it to a broke and sweaty guy in Southern CA?! lol

LwdJdmR

woooo im getting one tomorrow night.

This California weather is unpredictable.

Neptronix

hahaha.. look at this.. 4 people post wanting an A/C. It's like a hall of regret.

Luckily i sold my civic before summer.

no A/C...
Major uncorrectable leaks in the trunk because of body damage..
Black interior..
Black exterior..

that is what we call 'someone else's problem'.

slvrcvc93

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Neptronix &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

If that's not enough, the AC compressor is fairly heavy, however.. once you start unhooking A/C lines, expect to be blasted by freon - which is toxic to the atmosphere, and yourself. I had mine evacuated at a shop for $30. Not a bad price for a clear conscience and not having freezer burn in the friggin' face.

the AC compressor is fairly easy to remove, but you're only losing 10-15lbs, so you have to consider.. is it really worth either killing the environment or paying a shop to remove 10-15lbs or not.

The A/C lines may look ugly but probably weigh less than a pound altogether. They are made of some sort of ridiculously light metal. They are difficult to get out and four times more difficult to get back on - you will probably end up bending them, breaking the seals, etc etc. Not worth it.

</TD></TR></TABLE>


R134 is only toxic if you breathe it in if you do a slow bleed and leave it in a open area you will be fine and its not bad for the enviorment like R12. R12 is what eats the Ozone because of the CFC(Chlorofluorocarbons)
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a family of chemical compounds developed back in the 1930's as safe, non-toxic, non-flammable alternative to dangerous substances like ammonia for purposes of refrigeration and spray can propellants. Their usage grew enormously over the years. One of the elements that make up CFCs is chlorine. Very little chlorine exists naturally in the atmosphere. But it turns out that CFCs are an excellent way of introducing chlorine into the ozone layer. The ultraviolet radiation at this altitude breaks down CFCs, freeing the chlorine. Under the proper conditions, this chlorine has the potential to destroy large amounts of ozone. This has indeed been observed, especially over Antarctica. As a consequence, levels of genetically harmful ultraviolet radiation have increased.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are highly stable compounds that are used as propellents in spray cans and in refrigeration units. They are several organic compounds composed of carbon, fluorine, chlorine, and hydrogen. CFCs are manufactured under the trade name Freon (q.v.).


The ac lines are made of a aluminum cast there dissipate heat better than steel.
But I agree with biggest mistake I've ever done.

My car was stolen about 5 years ago and I had one of the first swaps with full AC in my car. when I got it back it was only missing the compressor and the 2 lines I took everything else off. I'm still looking to put AC back in my 93EG but I wanna do a full R134 setup. I do have my AC licsence so I can buy R12 but its almost impossible to find now and it crazy expensive!!!!!!!

Sorry did mean to sound like an egg head!!! Lmao



Modified by slvrcvc93 at 10:23 AM 7/8/2008

Neptronix

r134 is toxic to the atmosphere, just in a different way than the old stuff.. what was it.. r-12?

It is bad for the environment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1...afety

Doesn't deplete the ozone as much, but worse for global warming ( in summary ).
There are some other studies, if you want links i can provide.. but.. be responsible.

r12 is the good stuff but IMHO not really worth it, unless you live in nevada or iraq, lol.

slvrcvc93

Lmao !!

92lxinprogress

So if my AC needs to be replaced and every shop I go to is saying between 800 and 900 $$ to replace, would it be worth it to remove? I dont use it anyway. I cut the belt today and noticed my idle went up a bit. And it seems like my car pulls in 2nd and 3rd quicker than it did before. Light weight crank and cam pulley....what kind of gains? I saw one from unorthodox racing that claims 20% more hp?

turbocivic1984

lighter crank pully.. I have one from jackson racing if your interested.. you just need a new belt.. It just takes less to turn the crank pulley.. if your not going to use it and dont mind it gone.. but makes the engine look cleaner and if your planning to go turbo you have more room..

Neptronix

$800 or $900 to replace? that's friggin' rediculous.. I am certain that's how expensive it gets once you remove the lines.

Keep the belt off. The compressor is 15 pounds but that's negligible unless you've expended all other options .

As far as a lightweight crank pulley, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but lightweight cranks are not good for our cars at all. The pulleys we have act as harmonic balancers, and when you switch out to another pulley, you can wreck your motor over time. do a search.

I say lightweight alternator and power steering pullies are the way to go. luckily for my car, AEM sold /sells a kit where the pullies are oversized.. so kind of a ghetto overdrive.. plus the pullies are lighter. don't know if they make that for the civic..

slvrcvc93

900 is basically telling you there going to replace **** you probably dont need it all depends are the lines broken? or is just not working ?

Common on Hondas the AC compressor seizes its built just like an engine has a piston and valve thats what compress the freon but if not oiled goes bad.

Also The clutch on the compressor goes bad this the "clack" you hear when the AC turns on.

Most places when they replace the compressor (which cost about $400 by the way) will only warranty the work if you change the receiver dryer. (little soda can looking thing on the right next to washer fluid bottle) . Thats another $90 to $150 plus lab0r to install it all $210(they have it listed as a 3 hour job 70 an hour plus tax) and now the freon refill $120

Add those bad boys up $820 plus sales tax your looking at least $880 or you could look around on Honda-tech see if anyone has a compressor by it for 100 and install on your own then take it to get refilled.

Sucks I know but thats what automakers do to **** on you.

Neptronix

Owch, i had no friggin' idea.

How loud is the clack if the clutch is bad?
i hear more of a click.. anyway.. sorry, off topic.

slvrcvc93

Click is normal because it kicking onto position The clack is when its wearing out and its pretty loud you can hear it with the hood closed and engine running.

Also you know its going bad when you take the belt off spin the pulley by hand it should spin smooth and with no effort if you see it getting stuck in a certain spot thats your sign.

Neptronix

word. thanks for the tip.
I can't wait to detatch my belt in the winter on my 'teg.

To the orignal poster, have you thought of taking off your power steering?
You will see one hell of a gain, in comparison to taking off/out the AC.

92lxinprogress

I was told that if I wanted it fixed I would have to convert to the new r134 and they would have to change something rather than just fix the old stuff. I think I will just stick with removing. I got nothing better to do on the weekends. You can get harmonic balancers to fit over some of the lightweight pulleys. Even if the stock pulley is a harmonic balancer wouldnt it be affected by having and not have the AC belt on? The AC belt pulls on the crank pulley offsetting the balance. I'll take your word for it though, wouldnt want to mess anything up. Thank you all for the help. Can anyone help me with another topic I have. ("A few noob questions" is the topic.) Thanks again.

EkFG

I removed my entire a/c system out of my ek with gsr swap looks cleaner and i will only be driving this car on weekends.

entire system for gsr on ek up for bid's if you guys are interested.

Neptronix

the stock crank pulley is balanced, so don't worry about

as a matter of fact, my del sol has a standard 3-section crank pulley, but nothing on the a/c part. So basically, they come that way stock.. don't trip

honestly a lightweight pulley with a 'harmonic balancer on it' is not worth it. you end up saving maybe 1-2lbs, which has no effect.. maybe 0.25 hp ;p. fluidampr makes a lightweight crank pulley with a harmonic balancer but it's like $400 or some crap.

kkilo

I too have my ac out of the car, I'm looking into getting it back in. But my power steering is gone too, with a manual rack in it rather than just looping the lines, how much decrease in performance will I get by putting it back in?

Neptronix

The a/c won't be bad in terms of performance drop. It will register on the butt dyno, but barely