A/C Removal - Honda Prelude Forum

Deepmist · 10-22-2002, 05:35 AM

Is it hard to take the ac out?
I kno pretty much jack about how to mess with things under
my hood but i have sum friends who are fairly knowledgeble.
Is it easy to mess ne thing up when removing ac stuff?

My ac doesnt work atm so i dont need it in there.
Ill still have heater right?

Scalifludesi · 10-22-2002, 12:46 PM

It's not that hard to take the AC out. Took me about 30 mins. to take out mine when I was trying to troubleshoot it.

1. If you have R134a refrigrerant then you can just release your freon to the atmosphere otherwise its illegal to release R12 to the atmosphere. Remove the 2 nuts that holds the suction and discharge line on the compressor.

2. Loosen the powersteering belt by loosening the upper through bolt & alternator nut. Then turn the adjusting bolt to loosen the belt. After that, remove the 4 bolts that holds the compressor.

3. To remove the evaporator, you must disconnect the receiver and suction lines first, which is right in front of your ABS reserve tank:

4. Finally the evaporator under the dash is held by these screws. Take all of them out and disconnect the ac thermostat connector to remove the evaporator.

If you want to use your heater, just remove the cooling element/core (the mini radiator) from the evaporator casing and reattach the empty casing back. There you go. Your Lude is more or less 25 lbs lighter than stock

To take the receiver/drier out you must take off your front bumper first. While you're at it, you can also remove the condenser and the remaining unused ac lines.

93h22a · 10-23-2002, 08:47 AM

i heard that removing the condensor help the radiator work better?...... any one done this before?

Satan_SRV · 01-25-2003, 10:13 PM

Back from the dead! Hey this is a great write up...where did the pics go?

I am dying to go out to my garage and have some smokes....this looks like a good project....probably a lot easier without the engine in there

Scalifludesi · 01-25-2003, 11:22 PM

hehe back from the dead indeed. About the picture I took some of them out because I need more web space to host other pictures as well as my programming projects.

Satan_SRV · 01-25-2003, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Scalifludesi
hehe back from the dead indeed. About the picture I took some of them out because I need more web space to host other pictures as well as my programming projects.

can you e-mail them to me at jbycraft.hba2002@ivey.ca ? Thanks.

Scalifludesi · 01-26-2003, 11:04 AM

I thought you already have a Helms manual? Cause that's where I got them from. Anyways if you still want them I can scan it for you.

Satan_SRV · 01-26-2003, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Scalifludesi
I thought you already have a Helms manual? Cause that's where I got them from. Anyways if you still want them I can scan it for you.

Oh I thought you still had them. It's cool my helms is on loan

h22a193 · 01-26-2003, 04:31 PM

dude how do I get helms, please help, and another question, I would like to remove ac, the only time I need it is when its raining in the summer and my windows fog up. Should I take it out. If I take it can I put it back in later?

Satan_SRV · 01-26-2003, 05:52 PM

http://www.helminc.com

So I went out to the garage. Before my hands fell off from the cold I managed to disconnect the AC lines below the ABS pump easily, 2 10mm bolts. Like I said this is pretty simple with no engine in there...

Question though...how the hell do I get the Drier canister thing off the front bumper? I got the condenser off but there is one line I can't get off it...it was just dark out there...grrrr

Scalifludesi · 01-26-2003, 05:57 PM

you can get them at www.helminc.com It's the shop/service manual one. About the AC if you take it out you gonna need a shorter belt in order for your alternator and powersteering to work. If you take everything that's AC related including the condenser and accumulator it's going to be a pain to put them back on cause it requires removing your front bumper. I would personally just leave it unless you're going all out racing.

edit: hehe we replied almost at the same time. Anyways you need to take the front bumper out to take the accumulator off.

Satan_SRV · 01-26-2003, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Scalifludesi
edit: hehe we replied almost at the same time. Anyways you need to take the front bumper out to take the accumulator off.

My bumper is off....I just don't have a lot of room... and it's cold!

Satan_SRV · 02-22-2003, 02:32 PM

Ok I got everything out! Finally my helms showed up hehe...

So what did you guys use to plug the holes in the evaporator casing?

magistir · 02-23-2003, 08:50 PM

My A/C compressor just died last week and I need a new belt for the alternator. I looked at every local autoparts store and the belts dont fit. Does anyone know where I could get a belt for just the alternator w/o the A/C online? Its the belt that Scalifludesi was mentioning... Thanks

G_Loc · 02-23-2003, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by magistir
My A/C compressor just died last week and I need a new belt for the alternator. I looked at every local autoparts store and the belts dont fit. Does anyone know where I could get a belt for just the alternator w/o the A/C online? Its the belt that Scalifludesi was mentioning... Thanks

i think the belt circumference w/o a/c is 38 inches. im not sure... might be 31...

i used a wire to more or less measure the distance around alternator and crank then i went off with the measurements to the autoparts store and got the one closest to what i measured.

Satan_SRV · 02-24-2003, 09:45 PM

Hey somebody who has reomved the evaporator, what did you use to plug the holes in the casing for when you put it back in?

jsmooney · 02-24-2003, 10:06 PM

what are the advantages of no A/C?

Satan_SRV · 02-25-2003, 07:10 AM

Weight savings from removing all the parts, parasitic drag from the AC/Compressor on the belts, and the electrical draw to the Evaporator, condenser and drier...

JmLude02 · 02-25-2003, 06:39 PM

I removed my entire A/C system about a month ago. I don't ever plan on putting it back in so I just cut some of the lines to get them out easier. So I couldn't help you with plugging those holes. But as far as the belt goes, I did the same thing G Loc is talking about. The length of the belt I have on my car is 37 1/2 in. long. I put it on and it worked perfectly. I got it at Autozone. Later on I found out that they actually stock a belt for 4th Gen preludes without A/C. So ask the person behind the counter first if they have one for your car without A/C.

Satan_SRV · 02-25-2003, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JmLude02
I removed my entire A/C system about a month ago. I don't ever plan on putting it back in so I just cut some of the lines to get them out easier. So I couldn't help you with plugging those holes. But as far as the belt goes, I did the same thing G Loc is talking about. The length of the belt I have on my car is 37 1/2 in. long. I put it on and it worked perfectly. I got it at Autozone. Later on I found out that they actually stock a belt for 4th Gen preludes without A/C. So ask the person behind the counter first if they have one for your car without A/C.

Yeah the 92 S model would have no A/C

Let me be clear about plugging the holes. I don't mean the AC lines. I don't think you removed the evaporator. It's in the inside of the car behind the passenger side airbag. If you have actually removed the evaporator you would know what I am talking about. I'll take a pic.