removing Air Con unit

[Myles45]

Hi All,

Any idea if it's possible to remove the aircon unit & all it's gubbins from a 95 (Jap import) 2lt 16v GTi, & if so what size belt would I need to replace the current one?

Just had a quick look under bonnet & it looks like, if the unit was removed, then the belt would snag on the waterpump pulley.

Has anyone done this?

Thanks

[Paul86S2]

Yes it is possible.

You will need a new water pump pulley vw part number 028121031K

New v belt (power steering) part number 037145271E (or if you go to ECP or GSF size 11.5 x 685mm)

New ribbed belt part number 037903137H (or size 21.36 x 1033mm)

The new water pump pulley will put it in line with the ribbed belt instead of the power steering v belt.

Paul

[Myles45]

Excellent, Thanks very much for that Paul,

Are there any special tools required for the job & is it fairly straight forward, any hiccups or tricky bits I can expect?

Myles

[Paul86S2]

All straight forward. Only tricky bit is holding the water pump pulley whilst undoing the bolts. Luckily there are 3 bolts so you can hold it by putting a screw driver between the other two bolts.
If I remember correctly the existing bolts are just a bit too long for the new pulley so you can either buy new bolts or stick a washer under the existing bolts.
The new water pump pulley goes on the opposite way round to the way you would expect but it will be obvious once you fit it on to see which way round it goes to make it line up with the other pulleys.
The old pulley was a very tight fit on the water pump.

Paul

[Wayne]

Has the system still got gas in it, if so you need a specialist to drain the system 1st.

Do not remove any pipes if you have got gas in the system.

[rubjonny]

just be aware there are 2 longer belts for the tensioner pulley setup which is based on the model year. 95 is the changeover so prob best to get the pulley then use some string to help figure out which you need:
2.0 16v 92-95 (-AirCon)         6PK0976
2.0 16v 96-97 (-AirCon)         6PK1038

the pulley you need can be found on any 1.8-2.0 8v or 16v MK3, just as long as it doesnt have aircon.  to hold the pulley still I use waterpump pliers, but you can use a 2nd allen key locked up against the 1st one too

I didnt have any trouble with the bolt lengths doing this swap on my abf and a mates abf, but pinch the bolts off the donour car as well

[Myles45]

Has the system still got gas in it, if so you need a specialist to drain the system 1st.

Do not remove any pipes if you have got gas in the system.

Thanks for that Wayne, hadn't thought of that, not sure if there's any still in it or not. Aircon hasn't worked for a couple of years now. Is there any way to check?

[Wayne]

Has the system still got gas in it, if so you need a specialist to drain the system 1st.

Do not remove any pipes if you have got gas in the system.

Thanks for that Wayne, hadn't thought of that, not sure if there's any still in it or not. Aircon hasn't worked for a couple of years now. Is there any way to check?

Not really, switch it on an see if the compressor kicks in if so yes it still has gas.

Why do you want to remove it by the way.

[alexd]

Just un-do the pipes and leave it for 10-15 mins go make a cup of tea, or if you plan on never using it again, just punch a hole in the air-con rad, did this on  my old civic, worked a treat, and removing saves you about the same weight as another person in your car... so i hear anyway.   

[Wayne]

Just un-do the pipes and leave it for 10-15 mins go make a cup of tea, or if you plan on never using it again, just punch a hole in the air-con rad, did this on  my old civic, worked a treat, and removing saves you about the same weight as another person in your car... so i hear anyway.   

You do know that it is illegal to discharge the gas to air