antera309 3 Posted March 2, 2004 Report Share Posted March 2, 2004 Has anyone attempted fitting air con to a Mk3 using genuine VW parts from a breaker's.I have an aircon specialist just over the road that can gas and test the system for me once fitted. I just need to know what parts are required.I know I will need:behind-dash heating/ventilation box.engine-mounted compressorreciever-drier unit (must be new)Condenser rad.all hosesWiring loom, switches & relaysIs there anything else? Will I need to change my radiator for example?The dash will definitely have to come off, but is it possible to do the job with everything else in-situ?Any help would be appreciated Link to post Share on other sites
nickbee 1 Posted March 2, 2004 Report Share Posted March 2, 2004 I can't help, but my '93 VR has factory aircon. Under the bonnet, it's different to what the newer cars have. I don't know if that any implications or not, but I just thought I'd let you know! If you need to look at an older car with aircon to make sure you're welcome to inspect.Nick Link to post Share on other sites
jcorallo 0 Posted March 2, 2004 Report Share Posted March 2, 2004 yep - me no expert on this either - but its a subject I think about every summer now...!One thing I know, is that (on some cars - vr6 included I think?) there is an extra input to the ECU to tell it when the AC pump is ON, due to the extra load on the engine at tickover, it stops the engine from stalling..... or something Jules[ Edited Tue Mar 02 2004, 04:43PM ] Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted March 2, 2004 Report Share Posted March 2, 2004 I can't help' date=' but my '93 VR has factory aircon. Under the bonnet, it's different to what the newer cars have. I don't know if that any implications or not, but I just thought I'd let you know! If you need to look at an older car with aircon to make sure you're welcome to inspect.Nick[/quote']pics please (both underbonnet and in cabin) Link to post Share on other sites
antera309 3 Posted March 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2004 Jcorallo - what you say about the ECU & idle speed makes sense. I will have to study the Wiring diagram in my Bentley manual to see where this connection is made and which wiring looms are needed.Nickbee - your help on this is greatly appreciated, if you could provide some underbonnet shots that would be great.As and when I do this, I'll be sure to get photos of the fitting to help out anyone else that wants to undertake the conversion. Link to post Share on other sites
jcorallo 0 Posted March 3, 2004 Report Share Posted March 3, 2004 looking at page 24a-13 (how complex is Bently numbering?) half way up the page, there is an AC on signal + and -, and also a couple of circuit wires that control the AC clutch....This cant be all that hard - I'm really up for tackling this at some point.Jules Link to post Share on other sites
nickbee 1 Posted March 3, 2004 Report Share Posted March 3, 2004 I'm not 100% sure what I'm photographing but I'll do my best!!! I'll get all the photos I can - I'll have to wait until the weekend so I can get some daytime shots. Link to post Share on other sites
nickbee 1 Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 OK, here we go. Please bear in mind that to me, these are all metal things connected by hoses and I cannot provide any further explanation. Big metal thing behind the offside front bumper, with hoses A and B. Hoses A and B. Hose B goes behind the grille (didn't get round to taking the grille off to discover its destination) and Hose A continues... ...through the engine bay and down into the cabin... ...where it emerges into the passenger footwell and joins these pipes.Hope that helps! :? The switches are the same as in all VR6s and the fuse is shared with the radiator fan. Link to post Share on other sites
jcorallo 0 Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Following this thread eagerly...If you could find where B goes, that would be great!I guess it goes to a condenser or something near the radiator - then comes up at the drivers side?Jules Link to post Share on other sites
antera309 3 Posted March 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 OK, here's what I've got so far on the routing of the aircon hoses. All we need to do is find out how the missing hose (between the drier and the bulkhead) routes through the engine bay...[ Edited Fri Mar 19 2004, 01:05PM ] Link to post Share on other sites
nickbee 1 Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 So it that the pump where the pipes begin? Link to post Share on other sites
antera309 3 Posted March 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Yep, that's the compressor/pump, the bit attached to the front of the engine, underneath the alternator. You show the back of this in Pic 1. Link to post Share on other sites
antera309 3 Posted March 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2004 Many thanks to Nickbee for the info.Looks like retro-fitting a VW air-con system is cost-prohibitive though. Even if all the parts can be sourced from a scrapyard in perfect condition, all the seals need to be replaced (with special tools) and a re-gas costs £300.Aftermarket air-con systems are available for about £1200 (fitted & gassed) and use the proper VW switches etc. If there's enough people interested, I could look into a group discount perhaps. Takers? Link to post Share on other sites
tandino 1 Posted August 25, 2004 Report Share Posted August 25, 2004 Just flicking through old posts....Re-gas £300 - someones taking you for a ride.Re-gas costs approx £50 for R134A.Seals are O-rings available from anywhere that sells O-rings 8o) - they are bnot special parts - just replace them on all the pipe unions/joins.Pete Link to post Share on other sites
fabio_vr6 0 Posted March 26, 2005 Report Share Posted March 26, 2005 that isnt a standard vw system on those pics! its retro fitted by a 3rd company mate!! Link to post Share on other sites
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