Small Car Performance, DIY Front A/C Installation

[matheusmike]

I've been wanting to buy this kit as well and it is great to see all of the information shared here. Sounds like a good amount of work, but for me, that is expected from installing A/C in a vehicle without it.

I have a syncro TDI double cab with an air to water intercooler. The radiator for the intercooler is mounted in front of the existing syncro radiator and is already a pretty tight fit. I'm wondering if anybody has looked at thinner alternative radiator/fan setups for the syncro. Something that could fit all three, intercooler, A/C condenser, and engine radiator. I have an ALH TDI from a 2001 and the radiator/fan combo from the Jetta looks thinner. Anybody know if this has been done?

Thanks,

[kourt]

There's probably room just behind the front spare tire space to mount a parallel flow condenser and fan setup. You would then not have to modify your existing radiator setup, but instead work with the space under the van between the front wheels. This may be a better alternative. I have a 2WD friend who has done this successfully, but I don't know the Syncro underbelly well enough to say confidently that it can be done.

kourt

[matheusmike]

I thought about a remote mounted condenser/fan setup somewhere other than with the engine radiator, but was concerned about getting sufficient airflow. Unfortunately, in the syncro there is no space behind the spare tire because of the front differential. There is room along the sides, behind the front wheel well between the frame rail and the outside edge of the body. I once had the intercooler radiator with fan mounted there. It seemed to work, but gets exposed to alot of road dirt (and salt in the winter), so longevity of an AC condenser might be an issue, but perhaps the painted condensers would hold up OK.

I wonder if something like this:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vta-037033/overview/

with two 10" fans would be sufficient. I could wire one fan as "low" speed and both fans to run together as "high" speed, controlled by the pressure switch provided with the kit.

[Surferboy120]

I agree with some of the comments. The instructions are very lacking. With that said before I go cutting my dash for the new vents and such using the small-car front mounted plate. Can one of you who has the center stereo option\left-hand drive take a head on picture of the installed dash with the small car adapter plate for the front dash? I am trying to understand clearly where it belongs before cutting or drilling and all the pics I have seen are from the side.

Thank you in advance.

[artacoma]

Heres mine , the way SC seems to have it layed out so the vent thats right behind the shift knob is in the existing cutout for the stock controls.
Thats what I did here. The plate is right against the rear fan switch. You can see I have the stock rear fan switch still in place .
But..... my van is up on blocks right now while I get my front diff rebuilt and I'm going to eliminate the rear heater switch since it's been long gone anyways and move the cutouts toward the driver so the vent will be right next to the steering wheel shroud and I won't have to reach around the shifter as much for the stereo. Its sort of a crappy pic but you can see how things line up, I have a meatless amp that has lots of room behind it.
When clearancing the bracing under the dash I wiggled the metal back and forth to break the spot welds and ended up with a bit of crappy denting near the defog vents, take your time and snip or grind. Also it took a bit of fiddling to get the defog diffusers to fit well but it was worth it and they do work way better than stock.I didn't like the controls sticker so I just used a label maker for the switches.

Last tip .... make sure you check your wiper function for conflict with air hoses before you tighten everything down.
_________________
Cheers
Rik
86 Syncro Tintop
2.5 Subie
86 Doka
2.5 Subie

[Surferboy120]

[Surferboy120]

I am going to mockup what it would take to use the SC PLate with the radio right over the current radio center mount to see if that may work.

artacoma makes a good point on the distance of the AC controls and radio and I want those to be as close and non-interfering as possible. I will post a few mock-up pics

[Surferboy120]

So I got the dash put back in to check some clearances and it seems the real issue comes down to stereo clearance issues and the amount of depth available to do the install.

Not the best pic showing what would interfere but...

This pic is from above through the ashtray hole down.

So from the ashtray pic you can see the hose coming off the front vent would be impacted the most and the stereo would have maybe 3.5" to play with depth wise. Obviously we need a shallow depth stereo but even that may not fit with the SC plate moved more to the drivers side. I am going to see what options I may have for the stereo depth and decide from there what I will do.

[artacoma]

I was just thinking about that , here is a pic with my stereo installed in the SC centre mount plate , it can still easily move 3" left without pinching the hoses.
the silver box is the back of the stereo and the top hose is the one you are thinking about.
If I install the same system in a different van I would make my own faceplate because the ac controls switches are quite small on the back and could be crowded together a bit too, with smaller knobs stolen from an old radio or something

_________________
Cheers
Rik
86 Syncro Tintop
2.5 Subie
86 Doka
2.5 Subie

[Surferboy120]

[Surferboy120]

Ok so I took some more pics and I think we have a winner.

Using the SC plate in this location

I believe I can install a stereo still without interference with the outlet.

Here is a pic if the stereo was installed at 4" depth vs 3.5" depth. The measurement was taken as if the stereo was installed and that was the left mounted corner.

4"

vs 3.5" depth

I will have to make up the .5" by mounting on an adapter plate for the DIN but that should be easy.

[jlaudin]

[kourt]

Just FYI I have gone through a few mechless radio heads to give the SC AC system the most room without interfering with the radio. The best (shallowest) radio I found, that is also of good quality, is this Pioneer MVH-X390BT:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KKHTP7Q/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This little radio gave me the extra 5mm I needed to not damage the defroster tubing coming from the blower housing.

kourt

[Surferboy120]

Been a little bit as I have been busy working on the AC. At this point I am on the home stretch. I have lots of thoughts about the install but will save those for my website where I am putting my details on the job. To sum it up its an easy DIY install if you are comfortable with DIY work. The one thing to keep in mind is that there is a lot to think about and do so that you do it right which takes a ton of time. This is a fairly straight forward job but takes more time than you would imagine. I am proud that at this point I have not had to cut my glovebox and with AeroQuip AC lines gave me less hose size and stiffness to deal with. Everything has a home and fitment has not been an issue at all. More to come once she is done and charged up. I am also working on a 5 speed subaru transmission with my bostig swap so may be a little while.

[Surferboy120]

[ALIKA T3]

Looking good
_________________
Silicone Steering Boots and 930 Cv boots for sale in the classifieds.
Syncro transmission upgrade parts in the Classifieds.
Subaru EJ22+UN1 5 speed transmission
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=416343
Syncro http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...num+gadget

[Surferboy120]

Latest Update.

Dash is in and went in on the first try. All hoses are hooked up and stereo is in. I did use a 1/4 spacer for the stereo to give me a bit more room for the RCA jacks going to my AMP. I love this stereo it allows for multiple phones to be blue toothed to it at the same time and it also has really good Pandora control. I am very happy with this purchase.

Whats left....

Get the Steering wheel bolted back up and get all the wires hooked back up then gauge cluster back in. I was able to keep my GoWesty cruise control on the passenger side.

I installed a secondary radiator fan so I need to get that wired to a switched source and I also need the AC to access this switched source as well.

Install new padding and carpet for the front.

Since I am doing a 5 speed install as well I need to get that done so I can charge the system and test.

Its nice to be basically done at this point and I cant wait to enjoy the new AC. I will post-up the finished product once charged.

[ALIKA T3]

Looks clean!!

Where did you install the drier?
_________________
Silicone Steering Boots and 930 Cv boots for sale in the classifieds.
Syncro transmission upgrade parts in the Classifieds.
Subaru EJ22+UN1 5 speed transmission
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=416343
Syncro http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...num+gadget

[Surferboy120]

[bajaleo]