Re: [T3] Factory A/C question ...

["Jim Adney" <jadney@vwtype3.org>]

On 18 Feb 2002, at 23:29, Shad Laws wrote:

> However, I disagree that A/C will kill your ACVW, period.  It just requires
> modification to the original system!  A 5-cylinder Sanden 508 compressor takes
> about 1.25-1.5hp at cruise.  That is a TINY load. 

This certainly sounds like a great improvement, but what would you do about 
the holes in the intake air housing? I see those as the bigger problem.

> But, one thing is for sure, though: A/C for all of the T1-based
> engines (T3 included) was definately an afterthought.  It wasn't until the T4
> engine (used in the Type 4, 914, and later bus) that they actually designed the
> engine with A/C in mind.  For the T4 car itself, the car was also designed with
> A/C in mind: there is a seperate piece under the dash specifically designed to
> be removed for A/C installation, kinda like a block-off sort of thing on a
> modern car.

While the T4 engine may be better adapted to A/C, the 914 certainly was 
not. I removed the A/C from one of these because it was awful. I also have a 
customer with a type 4 with A/C; on that car the engine sheet metal had to 
be chopped up to install the compressor. This was a dealer installed system, 
but I think it was done the way the A/C designer had intended.

Personally, if I had bought that car new and seen what they did to install the 
A/C I'd have been sick.

OTOH, my local Ford dealer did just as bad a job when they replaced a 
subframe bolt on my wife's Taurus: They cut a hole (4" x 6" oval) in the floor 
and glued a patch over it when they were done. The unfortunate part about 
this was that I THINK it would have been easier to just do it right rather than 
saw out that big piece of metal.

-
Jim Adney
jadney@vwtype3.org
Madison, WI 53711-3054
USA

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