Hi everybody. I've just recently removed my air conditioner and heater box from my Turbo-T after the compressor developed a bad rattle while the A/C clutch was engaged. I had some problems to which I could not find answers to on this forum. I just wanted to do my part to contribute by posting some solutions to the biggest obstacles I faced. I hope this is helpful to someone.
1.) Removing all the bolts from the firewall.
I removed all the bolts I could get to from the engine bay. To get the others I removed the glove box and used a good set of pliers to twist the bolts out from the other side (the sealer on the bolts didn't seem to make it anymore difficult than it already was).
2.) Getting the unit out of the firewall.
There has to be somebody who can offer better advice than me on this... After removing all the connections from the inside of the car, (harness, vacuum lines, cables, etc.) I found a few bolts holding it in behind the radio. After still having difficulty, I ended up having to cut off part plastic casing off in order to get it off of the car. I wanted to keep it in tact in case I'd ever want to reinstall it (like that would ever happen) but after spending almost an hour trying different angles to pull the box out, I got tired of messing with it.
3.) A/C delete pulley
I got my A/C delete pulley from Oldbuickparts.com (part number: DP867T) it was the cheapest one I could find at the time. Installing the pulley was not nearly as easy as I thought it would be. I bolted my alternator back in place so I could use it as a fulcrum to force the tensioner out of the way of the bolt the pulley bracket needs to rest on. It was then I noticed the pulley bracket had two different sized non-threaded holes. The original bolt will not fit through the smaller hole. After having the bracket in place on the bolt behind the tensioner, I used the bolt as a tap on the other hole, forcing it all the way through the pulley bracket.
4.) Serpentine belt size
The pulley was a little bit smaller than the A/C compressor so I knew it was going to require a smaller belt. Since I have an under-drive crank pulley I was already using a 62" belt. After two trips to the parts store, I found out I needed a 61" belt. Here are some part numbers:
Stock: Dayco 5060640 64"
AC Delete: Dayco 5060630 63"
Under-drive: Dayco 5060620 62"
Under-drive with A/C Delete: Dayco 5060610 61"
5.) Heater core pipes
When removing the pipes that feed the heater core you will need two 5/8" rubber "bypass caps" and two hose clamps from the heater hoses. One cap and clamp for the water pump and the other cap and clamp for the large brass fitting on the passenger side intake manifold. I tried to remove the brass fitting altogether to replace it with a brass plug but I couldn't get it to budge. It felt like it was welded to the manifold. So I ended up using the other 5/8" rubber cap with the other hose clamp.
6.) Extender chip problems
To access all of your extender chips programmable parameters you need to let you ECM know that the A/C is turned on. With no A/C, you need to fake the signal to the ECM by applying 12V to wire B8 on ECM (light blue wire on the smaller connector). There are a number of ways to do this. I chose to leave the A/C controls in the car so in the future I can use them as a sneaky way to turn on my Alcohol Injection. So what I did was connect a wire from the green wire on the short harness on the back of the A/C control panel to B8 on the ECM so all I have to do is turn the A/C on as if it was still in the car.
1.) Removing all the bolts from the firewall.
I removed all the bolts I could get to from the engine bay. To get the others I removed the glove box and used a good set of pliers to twist the bolts out from the other side (the sealer on the bolts didn't seem to make it anymore difficult than it already was).
2.) Getting the unit out of the firewall.
There has to be somebody who can offer better advice than me on this... After removing all the connections from the inside of the car, (harness, vacuum lines, cables, etc.) I found a few bolts holding it in behind the radio. After still having difficulty, I ended up having to cut off part plastic casing off in order to get it off of the car. I wanted to keep it in tact in case I'd ever want to reinstall it (like that would ever happen) but after spending almost an hour trying different angles to pull the box out, I got tired of messing with it.
3.) A/C delete pulley
I got my A/C delete pulley from Oldbuickparts.com (part number: DP867T) it was the cheapest one I could find at the time. Installing the pulley was not nearly as easy as I thought it would be. I bolted my alternator back in place so I could use it as a fulcrum to force the tensioner out of the way of the bolt the pulley bracket needs to rest on. It was then I noticed the pulley bracket had two different sized non-threaded holes. The original bolt will not fit through the smaller hole. After having the bracket in place on the bolt behind the tensioner, I used the bolt as a tap on the other hole, forcing it all the way through the pulley bracket.
4.) Serpentine belt size
The pulley was a little bit smaller than the A/C compressor so I knew it was going to require a smaller belt. Since I have an under-drive crank pulley I was already using a 62" belt. After two trips to the parts store, I found out I needed a 61" belt. Here are some part numbers:
Stock: Dayco 5060640 64"
AC Delete: Dayco 5060630 63"
Under-drive: Dayco 5060620 62"
Under-drive with A/C Delete: Dayco 5060610 61"
5.) Heater core pipes
When removing the pipes that feed the heater core you will need two 5/8" rubber "bypass caps" and two hose clamps from the heater hoses. One cap and clamp for the water pump and the other cap and clamp for the large brass fitting on the passenger side intake manifold. I tried to remove the brass fitting altogether to replace it with a brass plug but I couldn't get it to budge. It felt like it was welded to the manifold. So I ended up using the other 5/8" rubber cap with the other hose clamp.
6.) Extender chip problems
To access all of your extender chips programmable parameters you need to let you ECM know that the A/C is turned on. With no A/C, you need to fake the signal to the ECM by applying 12V to wire B8 on ECM (light blue wire on the smaller connector). There are a number of ways to do this. I chose to leave the A/C controls in the car so in the future I can use them as a sneaky way to turn on my Alcohol Injection. So what I did was connect a wire from the green wire on the short harness on the back of the A/C control panel to B8 on the ECM so all I have to do is turn the A/C on as if it was still in the car.
