Nippondenso to Sanden swap

[DonMo]

I am going to replace the Nippondenso with a new Sanden.

I know the Sanden is noisier but the Nippondenso seals are hard to get parts for and most of the pro's say hard to work on and more important, it robs more HP. The Sanden is friendlier on the engine loss and I would presume since it is less of a HP robber, it is probably going to add less heat for the oil to deal with.

My question for any who have made the change. Do I need a new mounting plate? It almost looks like the one in place will work but I am uncertain.

Any experience out there to help me out?

[robhamster]

I converted three years ago on an '84 911 Cab and have never regretted it. My kit came with a mounting plate. I also changed the dryer and I use R-134a. The a/c works great on the hottest days on the highway even with the black ragtop. Around town it does get less efficient, but that was the case with the Nippo.

My experience is that there is less HP loss when I turn it on. I barely notice the compressor going on now whereas the Nippo cause a noticable lag on the engine.

I usually have to add a can of r134a each May when I fire the system up after winter due to loss through the hoses. Beats the hell out of R12 in terms of cost and handling issues.

Check with who you bought the compressor from for the mounting plate, you definitely need one.

[david914]

I'll second the less horsepower loss with the Sanden. I put one on my SC several years ago to replace the York and couldn't be happier. You'd be really hard pressed to tell when the Sanden is running. My Carrera still has the Nippondenso and you can really tell when it kicks in. If the Nippondenso ever goes, the Carrera will be getting a Sanden.

[sayah]

My car has a Nippondenso compressor. When needing a rebuild I was not able to locate replacment bearing. If the bearings are worn, the new seals will leak and the compressor won't hold refrigerant.

This compressor is crap!

[scottb]

www.ackits.com. They have everything you need to rebuild the Nippondenso. Also, there's a great Pelican tech article on the rebuild process.

I was told by a leading US distributor of both the Sanden and Nippondenso compressors that the Sanden was not worth the extra bucks. Also, there is a common misconception that the Sanden is a rotary compressor. It is not...it's a five-piston wobble plate compressor. Vertex advertises it as a rotary, and they're just plain wrong. The only rotary compressor, as far as I know, is the Seiko. The place where I bought my front fender condenser/fan assembly thought that the Seikos were junk. They also told me that the Sanden was not appreciably better than the Nipponenso.