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The 15 year old AC system in my '94 Legacy has long been drained of it's refridgerant.

My question-

What is there to gain from removing all of the A/C components under my hood?

I yanked the A/C from my last Subaru, and now I'm wondering about this one.

I'll be swapping a low mileage 2.2 in soon, so tell me...

A little less weight-
Under hood simplicity-
Less drag on engine?

What is there to gain from removing the A/C systems in these Subarus?

I would first try and recharge your AC. if it blows cold, awesome. if you find that it leaks out again, that's one factor towards yanking it rather than trying to chase a leak(dunno how you go about doing that, soapy water?). I don't think it causes all that much drag on the engine when not in use due to being clutched. and running your AC on the highway with the windows up uses less gas than rolling with the windows down or so Ive heard. yes the parts weigh a few pounds but is your car a race car? I know I couldnt tell any difference when I pulled mine. you will sure like to have that AC on some hot days. makes the car much more enjoyable.

You're very right, that's good input.

And you're also right, in that the A/C parts only weigh so much. My car is not a race car, but that doesn't mean I don't do everything in my power to make it a stronger running, more powerful car.

I just made it through this summer without my A/C, and frankly I'm not even too concerned to begin with as to whether it works or not.

The engine would be quite a bit easier to work on, and I also have a low mileage 2.2 I'm swapping in soon.

So it'd make it that much easier when that time comes.

You know how it feels when you drive your car to go pick someone up, then when they get inside you feel the difference in your car's handling just from their body weight.

I figured removing the A/C components might have an effect similiar to this.

I absolutely love to take weight off, but to me having a working Ac is a safety issue. It is the only thing that works to remove the fog on the inside of the windows. I like to see where I am going. I rarely use it in the summer unless it is raining and the windows are fogging.

Jeff

It sure is easy to work in a Legacy's engine compartment without all of that heavy, bulky A/C junk in the way. The radiator seems to like not having a condenser in the way of airflow either.

If you feel you don't need the A/C, I say rip it out. It's 40-ish pounds of weight over the front wheels, and trust me - the defroster works just fine without an A/C compressor, at least mine does.

You might save 40 lbs by removing all the AC stuff under the hood. Not major, but significant.

I prefer driving my legacy in traffic with the windows up and sucking in the cold air. Then being in the base model impreza beside me with all 4 windows down sweating. Trust me when those days come you will be wishing you could push A/C. The fog is a very good point! Putting down your windows when raining to defog windows ever so slowly sucks!

I don't know how many unbearably hot days you get in Oregon there, but I deleted my A/C two years ago and have never regretted it. But it doesn't ever get to 100 F here... and on the 90 degree days I just roll down the roof and windows and enjoy it while it lasts.

It feels really nice to get the lines, condenser and compressor out. I like space and it is pretty hard to come by with all our hoses....

Plus, removing weight from our front end is more critical than most cars, since we are so noseheavy.


You say you are swapping in a 2.2? Will it be turbo? One other thing that is nice about removing the compressor is it leaves a nice place to mount your coolant expansion tank when installing an intercooler.



Fog/rain issues? If the fan isn't quite doing it, crack the sunroof UP a half inch...

Thank you guys, that's all good info.

I think I will take out the system, gives me something to do in the garage on a day like this.

jefferson wrote:I absolutely love to take weight off, but to me having a working Ac is a safety issue. It is the only thing that works to remove the fog on the inside of the windows. I like to see where I am going. I rarely use it in the summer unless it is raining and the windows are fogging.

Jeff

False false. I have been rocking the wagon A/C free for 3 winters now. And even when I'ts loaded to the brim with sweaty wet snowboard gear the hot air alone is just fine defogging the windscreen and front windows. Also it does take a decent amount of weight off the front of the car.

The ac does it alot faster. I have used it numerous times already this fall. When the temps are in the fifties and a cold rain is coming down the ac will clear the fog in around 15 seconds and I don't even need to turn the fan up. I would say the humidity in the area has alot to do with it.

Jeff

I have never had a defrost issue with the dead A/C. I'd be driving clear windows when newer cars are fogged up with the same number of passengers. The wagon without A/C defrost beats the Mazda 3 with it in speed and performance.

But, the car does use less gas with the A/C on the highway than windows down. The more aerodynamic the vehicle and the greater the speed, the greater the difference, but even SUVs benefit at slow highway speeds. I don't know your area, but around here, when it gets hot, it's humid as hell and you can forget about dates or meetings on those days without A/C. I was going to dump it, but now I'm thinking of putting it back in. If you want to save weight off the front, you could move to a lighter battery, though it costs about twice as much as a regular one.

As for swapping engines, you can just unbolt the stuff and move it to the side.

Hmm... All these different view points give me a lot to think about!

I live in Oregon, very close to Portland, so in the Summer it's never too incredibly humid. Not very often does it reach 100 degrees.

I lived through this last summer without it, hmm.

With everything thought through- I think I'll remove it.

The under-the-hood accessability factor plays in this decision, also shedding the forty or fifty pounds.

I'm doin' it.

Once it's gone, it's a P.I.T.A. to put it back on without any leaks and such. For resale purposes, not too many people want a car without AC, and your power gains and weight reduction are minimum. And forty or fifty pounds? Maybe 15. You'll get sick of it come next summer, I did when I removed mine.

it's at least 40. Theres a ton of crap, the compressor is 15 alone.

Legacy Konig wrote:Hmm... All these different view points give me a lot to think about!

I live in Oregon, very close to Portland, so in the Summer it's never too incredibly humid. Not very often does it reach 100 degrees.

I lived through this last summer without it, hmm.

With everything thought through- I think I'll remove it.

The under-the-hood accessability factor plays in this decision, also shedding the forty or fifty pounds.

I'm doin' it.

A lot of e30 guys do it. It takes off a belt, so it frees up a couple hp there that you'd normally be losing, as well as the weight thing. My e30s didn't have working AC and I didn't have any problems defogging, though it does help, it won't be much of a difference, especially times that it fogs up while driving, as opposed to overnight or something.

Oregon weather isn't much different than Seattle, I never use my AC, like I said my e30s didn't have working AC, that was for 5 years, and it was never a problem. I used the AC on my Legacy I think twice, and that was this summer in the week where it hit 109.

Desmo is right about resale though, that's why I never removed my non working ones, there but not working is better than not there, not there implies you tracked it or drove it hard, or may just be something they'll go "oh, no AC, I dunno..."

I like my AC because it helps remove the damp feeling in the cabin after it rains a lot. Not to mention staying cool when its raining and I can't have the windows open. Just a thought.

I didn't notice a difference in performance between A/C belt or no belt. The compressor is on a clutch, so there shouldn't be much drag anyway.

I live in Florida and I don't mind not having A/C. I never have A/C anyway...

It does help that I used to do a lot of endurance cycling. You know, going like 60, 80 or 100 miles in 1 day trips on my bicycle. You could say that experience has made me more tolerant of the heat.

EDIT: nvm I found out what I needed to know. I'll be removing my broken A/C when I can afford to put gas in the tank.