The plan was to pull the condenser and flush it in preparation to re vamp the a/c system, I'm now reconsidering...

I pulled the rad, unbolted everything and this bayard refuses to come out! Its an S4 T2 btw. The first problem was that the pictures in the Haynes manual look nothing like my condenser, the inductions call for disconnecting the lines@the top left and bottom right corners of the condenser...only theY're not there. The fitting s snake around to the back side of the unit where they then connect to the car. All this extra line behind the condenser exacerbates the next problm...

The condenser cannot be removed from the bracket as the instructions call for w/o it being out of the car ! the condenser is fully enclosed on both sides and screwed in, this bracket also has the affect ofmaking the condenser as wide as the entire rad support area.

S toeems me like the shitiest design ever, but maybe u have sponge tricks (a sawzall is not a trick, but at this point it seems the best option

 

you may want to try taking it out of the car with the lines attached, if you can that is, to disconnect it

corrosion usually means a real tough time without breaking something

 

That's the thing, u don't have a choice, the hard lines are attached to the condenser, unlike the S5 where thee condenser just had ports for thee lines to attach to .

 

why do you need to remove the radiator? it comes out from the front of the car..no i've never mangled one and removed several, they're cake to get to. i only semi recall having to unbolt the oil cooler and use 2 wrenches, one on either side of the bulkheads, remove the 3-4 mount bolts and pull it towards the bumper.

 

Forward? perhaps in cars where the horn mounts have been cut off. Plus that stupid cooling fan was in the way (that has been removed). Unbolting the oil cooler sounds helpful though. Too bad there was no mention of that in the instructions.

 

i still don't recall there being space issues, just remove anything that is obstructing the path, pretty straight forward.

 

are you trying to change the condenser, clean it, what is the plan that you are removing it?

I ended up with a new one, that shitty 1988 unit would not do. New one was like $125

 

I'd planned on cleaning it to reinstall, but the fittings had to be twisted a bit to get it out so perhaps a new one would be a better option, especially since I don't feel like spending an hour straightening fins....

I might as well replace my oil cooler at the same time since thats apparently the only way to install/remove the condenser.

 

I did not remove my oil cooler to change the condenser

 

Your car is an S5 IIRC...it has a different condensor. If I had an S5 condensor I wouldn't have had a problem either.

 

no my car is a s4

 

I don't remember removing my oil cooler when I removed mine, but I did unbolt the radiator to slide the condenser up and out like that. I just cut the lines though, which made it a lot easier.

 

Really? hmmm, maybe my car was retrofitted w/ some kind of crazy aftermarket unit? It really makes no sense the way the lines loop behind the condenser. And the bracket is more rusted than anything in the engine bay

The radiator was completely out of the car and it was still a PITA. Thats the proplem, it couldn't come up because of the bracket.

Looking at it from the top/front There are brackets like this
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[RADIATOR]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
[-------------------------------------------------------]

They run from the top of the condenser to the bottom on both sids, they cover the top (no lifting out) and bottom (no dropping down) and the condenser is screwed into this bracket by 4 mettal screws. The bracket is then bolted to the Rad support area, but of course in order for it to be wide enogh to reach both left and right side bolts it is then too wide to be lifted out even with everything removed.....

I'll have to take some pictures of this BS this afternoon, I have a feeling you guys are doing this lol

 

there were 2 different AC systems in these cars

 

...normal and "Sucks *****" edition apparently...

 

Anyone know how to tell the 2 apart? I have the AC/Powersteering bracket but no condensor and was wanting to get a new one. I just want to be sure with visual clues or part numbers stamped somewhere, etc.

 

I think the compressors were different.
One was factory installed and one was dealer/port installed.

Mine was factory installed

 

The lines hook up to the compressor differently. On my compressor there are two rather large fittings that screw into 2 ports that stick up about 1.5" off the rear of the compressor. The other style compressor has thinner hard lines that connect to the compressor and they look like they have little flanges on them.

I'm not sure which one was factory and which was dealer, I'm gonna go with the one I don't have being factory, because no factory engineer in their right mind would design something so stupid.

 

Remove the radiator.

Disconnect the A/C lines.

Unbolt the condenser brackets from the mounting points.

Slide the condenser all the way to one side.

Bend up the mounting tabs on the car body on the other side to make clearance. The metal is pretty soft and thin

Slide the condenser out.

Slide the replacement condenser back in.

Bend the tabs back down.

Assembly is reverse of removal.


I have done this twice, once on a rusted out 88 Canadian GXL and once on my nice, clean, southern 90 Vert. Both times the difficulty was unscrewing the corroded refrigerant line connector on the driver side. Both twisted off. The first time was the Canadian GXL. That condenser was shot with multiple corrosion holes, so it was no big deal, I was replacing the condenser anyway. On my Vert, I soaked the connection in penetrating solvent, applied gentle heat and still couldn't get it loose without twisting off.

Good Luck!

 

you aint getting them out, just cut them

 

i cut mine to ****.

 

same

 

That driver side line was a bitch! but I got it out w/ some light hammer taps and a thin blade screw driver. I had to bend the mounting material and the lines on the condenser to get it out, and even still it was a PITA, the best part is that the bending of that soft metal screwed up the mounting points for the radiator...and then there were three...lol.

I'm considering making a new bracket so the condenser can actually be removed (and installed) withough cave man tactics...