I'm looking to buy all the underhood stuff to put A/C back on my car (previous owner stripped it all off), and I'm wondering: Do I need series specific stuff? Or, can I take anything, S4 or S5, turbo or NA?

 

from what I've seen, I dont see why they wouldn't swap. The compressor sits in the same place, and I am 95% sure the pulley is exactly the same for both series compressors.

 

If you buy a complete take out, you should have no problems. If you piecemeal it, you will have to pay attention to the hose to compressor hook ups. You could get an S5 hose that will not fit another S5 compressor. There are two different hookups and *generally* they are consistant with S4 and S5, but 88's and 89s have some mix and match connections.

Also, always take your old receiver drier with you to the parts store. Autozone and Orielly's have the wrong part number in the computer. They can get a book out from the back and let you match the old drier with a picture of he new drier to find the correct part number. The correct part number is (I think) the drier for a B2000 or a RWD 626.

Good Luck.

 

If its all the parts from the same car, you are fine, otherwise it gets complicated.
First, the compressor connections are series specific. If you look at where the hoses connect to the compressor, s4's have both hoses connected together while s5's have 2 separate connections for the 2 hoses. These will not interchange without swapping out the front part of the compressor housing (more trouble than its worth unless you have a free compressor laying around.)
The second thing to look for is the compressor type. There are two types, Sanden and Nippon-Denso. Sanden is the standard a/c unit from the factory, and by far the most common based on the cars I have seen (I have never seen a nippon compressor.) From memory, the Sanden has connectors on the top that look like they are going into the compressor, while the Nippon has connectors that look like the fitting is sticking out of the top of the compressor. Look on in Section 16 s5 FSM (its not in the s4 FSM for some reason) on page U-37 for a diagram.
From looking at the diagram, the rest of the system looks interchangeable between nippon and sanden, but I would stick with a like system to be safe.

 

that's right! I forgot there was two compressors. nippendenso and sanden.

Always replace the drier.

 

Thats for damn sure. I just went to oreilly's, and its definitely the wrong part. Advance auto looks to have the right part, though. There are 3 different parts: Factory Air, Ready-aire (except Japan) and Ready-air (Japan.) It looks like the Ready-aire (except Japan) is the right one. The Factory Air, which they actually carry in the stores, looks like the one that oreilly's and autozone carry. I'm about to order the ready-air one, and I'll post when I get it if its the right one.