VH Aircon Removal

[Lewie]

G'Day Gurus,

The Aircon in my VH is screwed. By that I mean it dosen't work and probably just needs a regas. In any case I have no desire to keep it as I have survived without aircon for the last 5 years or so. Windows work just fine. The only reason I can think of keeping it in is to stop the inside fogging up when I have hot food in the car.

Are there any legalities or anything not immediatly obvious that would stop me from taking it out altogether. Maybe from an engineering point of view. I'm sure I'll be able to physically take it out. The under-dash may be a little trickier though but I'm sure I'll get there.

Also any hints or tips?

[ari666]

air cond is seperate from your heater/demister. you can take the air cond off no probs, but you need a working heater/demister for RWC (in vic anyway, dunno bout other states)

hints to getting AC out would be a air hacksaw, cold chisel and a hammer.

[Sabbath']

hints to getting AC out would be a air hacksaw, cold chisel and a hammer.

Agree with this 100%.

[Lewie]

Done. That heater thing could be a bit of an issue. The core in mine has a hole in it at the moment and in and out hoses have been looped together. I'm in NSW now (got car in SA) and it's going in for a blue slip Monday morning.

[Stretchomatic]

did you destroy it when you removed it? what motor does your vh have?

[Lewie]

Both the heater core and the aircon are still in the car. When I got the car (was my Grandfathers) the heater hoses were not there as per pic. I suspected the heater core had a hole in it and my Dad confirmed this which is why it's still in the car just not connected. I heard the VH dash can be a little tricky to get apart and back together. I have another core waiting to go in but I don't have the time at the moment.

I have an 83 VH 202 blue motor.

(Ignore words in pic. I used it in another thread.)

[Darren_L]

the heater core isn't that difficult to swap over. I strongly suggest getting the heater working - for the demister.
you only really need to remove the lower half of the dash - from the centre (radio/heater control section) to the passenger side of the dash. I've got it down to a fine art these days. I can remove and replace the heater core in about 3 hours. Just go steady on all the plastics as they tend to be a bit brittle

as for the A/C, you can disconnect/remove all the parts under the bonnet, but it's easier just to leave the evaporator under the dash - unless you have a non A/C system to swap it over with. The non-A/C ventilation system was totally different to the A/C version. The fan is different & sits in a completely different spot as well.