A/C Delete on a Cabriolet - Remove AC compressor by Moljinar

5 minute read

A/C Delete on a Cabriolet - Remove AC compressor

Compliments of Moljinar @ vwvortex.com

10-16-2006

Having gone all summer and not lost the20 lbs. I swore I was gonna lose I decided to remove it from my car. 

So bye-bye A/C system!

First remove your alternator and lay it aside. If you didn't disconnect the positive terminal I'd suggest doing so. 

Now remove the AC hoses from your compressor. If your AC system is full of freon this will vent it to the air and freeze everything around it. Freon shoudl be removed professionally. However anyone trying to remove their AC system probably has one that's not working and is empty anyway. Just pay atention to what you're doing!

One hose is a 19mm and the other is a 24 mm. Lay the hoses out of the way. Later you'll want to undo the other ends of them and remove them altogether.

You might want to remove the AC condensor ahead of the radiator. But it doesn't matter when you do.

Here's the nitty gritty... Remove the compressor. There are two bolts, usually 8mm allen bolts holding the back side of the compressor onto the bracket.

the front side of the compressor is held by a bolt or two. I've seen several combinations , just look and remove them. Unscrew the tensioner and move the compressor down so you can remove the V-belt from it. 

When it's all free pull out the compressor. You now should be looking at this...

Remove the bolts that hold the big bracket on. There are two bolts that go thru the water pump (13mm) and one long allen head (6mm) bolt at the top and may only be accessible by taking off the upper timing cover. 

Once the bracket is gone you'll need to put new bolts thru the water pump housing. The new ones are 8mm x 50mm or 55mm. Either will work. 

Now put the alternator back in by putting it in the space left by the upper end of the big bracket we've removed. 

This moves the alternator to the left a bit which will help our offset.

Here it is all put back together. Note the v-belt is not perfectly aligned but with the addition of a 16mm hole washer behind the pulley it's darn close. I've had it revved out to over 100 with no issues. 

So say bye-bye!

And by the way, you don't even need to get a new fan belt , the old one is the perfect size!! 

And how does my power steering pump stay in place? Simple , the big bracket really isn't a hard mount point for the pump. If the other bolts are good then you don'tneed to do anything. Until you can see what it looks like without the bracket in place it's hard to imagine. 

Eventually I will put a pipe between the pump mounts where the bracket usd to be and tie it all together with a 5 " bolt. 

FWIW the pump is tighter now than it was!

I have no idea if it's the same. Give your engine a very close look and see what matches. As for the washer I simply got one that had a 16mm hole in it.

10-23-2006

Well, it's been over a week and it's obvious. Not only did I remove more than 22 lbs of weight I've also gained at least 10hp!!

I wouldn't have believed it but the car is so much more responsive with more power throughout the entire range. Conclusion... The AC compressor is a hige parasitic drag on the engine even when not running. The bearing on the pulley gets really tired and stiff when as old as these cars. I just replaced a compressor that seized the bearing on another car just last week. The pulley is rather heavy as well. 

Glad it's gone!