Pete_89T2

iTrader: (4)

So I think I finally found an FD worthy of my garage, and will be burning some frequent flyer miles to do a pre-purchase inspection next weekend. Short summary is it's a single turbo modified '93 FD with about 67,xxx miles on the odo, a brand new Mazda 13BREW crate motor that was just installed, no rust, excellent paint & body, decent interior. It's running a Link G4+ Fury ECU and a proper wiring harness (the way I would have wired it). But it does lack one key feature that I'd want to restore - A/C, which will be on my project list if I buy it.

Current owner tells me that all the factory A/C wiring is still in there, and everything else A/C wise on the interior side of the firewall is in there and fully intact, i.e., HVAC controls, evaporator core, expansion valve, fan blower/air handler box. The heater still works. Compressor is gone, as is the condenser, receiver/dryer and all A/C hard/soft lines under the hood. Still has the factory AC & PS pump bracket & idler pulleys, so mounting up a new compressor won't be an issue at all.

My questions are:

1. Given what's in there now, how can I tell if it was originally a MANA or Denso A/C system? Current owner doesn't know/isn't sure. And does it even matter at this point, as it looks like I'll have to fabricate some custom AC plumbing anyway?

2. The car currently runs an aftermarket AL radiator (don't recall brand) and a larger Apexi IC in the stock mount configuration with custom fabricated IC piping. Battery is relocated to storage bin. Owner says he retained the stock mount brackets for the rad/IC installation, and he thinks it wouldn't be too hard for me to reinstall a condenser in the stock configuration.

With that in mind, what are the rough dimensions of the MANA & Denso condensers? How about an RX8 condenser, how big is that? I'm thinking the toughest part of this project will be mounting a suitable condenser & receiver/dryer. Custom A/C plumbing is easy enough to fabricate.

Thanks!

silverTRD

iTrader: (37)

Most of the 93 FDs are a Denso system. One way to tell would be to look at the sticker on the hood of it is still there. The Mana systems held more refrigerant than the Denso system. My Denso holds 1lb 5.2 oz.

You can still find nice used systems available for sale. They’ve been popping up for sale lately since more people are liking the more OEM builds.

Pete_89T2

iTrader: (4)

Thanks. Not sure if the sticker is still in there - when the PO had the car painted, they did the underside of the hood & engine bay too. Probably removed the stickers rather than masking & painting over them. Though in the pictures I can see they painted the door jambs but the VIN/tire info stickers are still there intact, so he likely masked over those.

Does anyone know the approximate dimensions of the various condensers available for the FD? Since the radiator & IC is aftermarket, I'm assuming I'll have to do a bit of custom fab work to get a condenser mounted - don't think it will be an easy-peasy drop in.

Copeland

iTrader: (42)

Typically if it has a Sunroof it's going to be Denso. If not, it's likely Mana.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

Hey Pete!

The evap box under the dash is different and has different fittings for the lines for MANA and Denso.

At this point since you need the WHOLE system you may just get a whole pulled out system with the evap box and everything. If the boxes are the same, there you go, if not you have the right one.

The box is easy to remove - just remove the glove box and you can get to the 10mm nuts that hold it in without removing the dash. Wiring is the same as well.

Since the car has a front mount, the AC condenser will be tricky. The RX-8 condenser is a good way to go, there's a recent thread on it. You can get the condenser new for a good price and it has a built in dryer so you don't need a dryer as well. But, it will require some custom work to make lines for sure.

Hope things work out on the FD for you!

Dale

AE_Racer

iTrader: (1)

Should be able to check the size of the fittings on the evap box without pulling https://www.rx7club.com/general-rota...05/?styleid=25

Pete_89T2

iTrader: (4)

Hey Dale! Good info there, though the car doesn't have a front mount IC - it's mounted in the stock location/configuration behind the radiator. From the pictures it's all aluminum, and is larger & substantially thicker than the stock unit. According to the owner, who did the build, he thinks I should be able to drop either the Denso or MANA condenser in its factory location in front of the radiator pretty easily enough, but I may have to get creative with sourcing & mounting a suitable receiver/dryer and fabricating the lines, since the IC piping is custom fabricated. He also thinks it was originally a Denso system, because the car started life as a touring (sunroof) model.

Good to know that the evaporator is a bit easier to get to than the one in my FC's is! I'll be pulling that out regardless, to flush & pressure test it for leaks. If it's leak free, I'll probably reuse it - since I'm probably going to have to do custom lines anyway, I don't think it matters if the system is a mutt of Denso & MANA parts.

Those fitting measurements will come in handy, thanks!

derSchwamm

iTrader: (1)

Unless it's a '94 touring...

Pete_89T2

iTrader: (4)

True, but the car in question is definitely a '93 according to the VIN & build date.

Lupin3rd

I have a 94 touring and had read in many threads that the touring models have denso. But looking at the dryer it is black. That would be MANA right?

derSchwamm

iTrader: (1)

My 94 touring is Mana and I have found others who say the same thing. Best way to tell is to look under the glove box at the evaporator. It'll say MANA on it

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

In theory. If you Google around you should be able to find pictures of the 2 dryers.

Dale

zweetz32

iTrader: (2)

Black drier is a Mana system. Silver drier, you can get new for 15 bucks, is denso. The denso thread on the condenser is also more fine then the Mana one.

Lupin3rd

Thanks for the replies. I do have a black drier. Was planning to replace it when I replace my expansion valve.