Hello all, I am new here. I have a 91 civic HB, red 4sp., love the car. but the fumes in city with windows down are brutal, ya, I live in seattle, I know, but still, its bad enough.
I drove a 92 civic today with a/c, but I like my 91 much better, no offense anyone.
The dealer said a/c was not really a reg. option, that you had to buy a kit back then and have the dealer install it special, so I have had no luck searching for an old civic to part this. You need brackets, hoses, belts, condensor, fan, maybe pump, etc., ballpark on parts from dealer is about 1500
Has anyone found a way to put a/c in for reasonable dough?
thanks,
Nate oh ya, how do you edit a post here after it is posted?

 

I can tell you that the dealer is giving you a line of blarney a mile or two long.

If you want to add A/C to your car, your best bet, or at least least expensive, is to find a pick a part auto recycler. Then find a 88-91 Civic with A/C in it. If you can find one that still has a little charge in the system, that would be best. Pull everything associated with the A/C. If you can, take a digital camera, so you can take some pictures of where/how things come off.

You need the following:

The compressor
The mounting bracket to the block
The tensioner
The belt
The dryer. It is sort of a can like device, on the right. You want to get a brand new one, to put in the car, but you should grab the old one, so you have a reference.
The evaporator, it is what's in front of the radiator
All of the A/C hoses.
The A/C relay
The additional fan for the A/C
The wiring for the compressor, fan and relay
The condensor, it is under the dash, behind the glove box, between the heater core and the heater hoses
The A/C switch which mounts in the heater controls.
I think their is a relay or something to the right, under the dash, connected to the condensor.

The A/C wiring under the dash is already wired for the A/C

You will need to add a small bottle of PAG oil, when you reassemble it in your car.
You should replace all of the o-rings, with R134 compliant o-rings. You will also need to get a R134 conversion kit, to change the refrigerant fittings to R134.

After you get it assembled, then you need to evacuate it and fill it with R134, or you can also use a refrigerant called RedTek.

When you in

 

excellent info gp70hs, as for op, you can edit your post once you passed your trial user

 

than you for the responses guys

I have been looking for an a/c civic around here to part out,
will the a/c set up in a four door sedan fit into my 91 hatchback civic? for that matter, are the engines swappable, if its the 1.5?

 

Have pictures now!

I detailed the paint on this car for the girl I bought it from (have a before and after pic, hard to believe the difference) a couple months before I bought the car from her. I removed the wheel covers and did oil change, got a used front right rim, balanced the tires, and did a complete tune up, ran twice as well. I have had maybe 45 cars/trucks, and this is one of my favs. Handles good, fun to drive 4 sp., super comfy seats, great mpg., carries stuff, I put a thule roof rack on it since pic. Have put 5K miles on it already.

pic, before and after I did paint detail: (rubbed out paint and waxed with mcguire's26)


pic after I got car (paint was still good from when I did it, just washed it and shined tires and trim)

 

I found an 87 civic 4 dr. for $500. with a/c, perfect body, smokes, to part out the a/c and resell the car, but the dealer couldn't tell me if all the a/c would switch over to my 91 hatchback/3dr. He said he didn't know, but that he thought at least some of it would.
Does anyone know? thank you,
Nate

 

too bad you are in WA, if you are in yay area, I could sell you mine that I pulled a couple months ago for $75. All you need is some new o-rings, a new relay and the AC switch. I was too lazy to pull the switch. try to search craigslist to see if you could find one locally.

 

ya, that would be great. . .
I have been searching craigslist, lots of civic hb's, but none have air. that's why I was wondering if the sedan civic would have compatible a/c parts. I hope. I could buy this ladies car and snag all that off it and sell her car, even if I sell it for a loss, I don't care, because I will have all the a/c parts, heh

 

dude, the 87 won't fit on your 91. I've already done that with an 88 Civic I sold. Any 88-91 Civic - CRX will fit your 91 and guess what - it's all a plug-in. It was easy doing it on my 88 - this is exactly what you'll need -
1. A/C Compressor
2. A/C lines (all of them)
3. A/C bracket
4. A/C wiring
5. A/C Condensor & all the mounting hardware
6. In dash A/C switch
7. A/C belt (of course)
8. A/C Dryer bottle

There's a plug for the A/C switch attached right behind the A/C blockoff plate. and there's a plug for the A/C wiring right under the passenger's side carpeting near the ECU. While you're at it, convert it to R-134.

Trust me, it wasn't that difficult.

 

do all non ac civics/crxs come with the extra track on the crank pulley to connect the a/c belt? i cant remember.