To fix A/C or not to? What should I do ...

[ThePointman]

I am picking up my first Porsche tomorrow and I know the A/C doesnt work. Should I try to fix it when the belt has been off the compressor for at least a year? Or should I just strip all tha hoses etc to loose the weight? I live in Victoria, BC Canada and it does get pretty hot here in the summers at least hot enough to benifit from A/C. I have heard that the A/C doesnt really get that cold when running anyway. Any advice?

[ruf-porsche]

See if it works before stripping it out of the car. You may want to keep it if it does work.

[don911]

Depends on what your plans are for the car in my opinion. If you don't plan on other weight reductions, the weight of the AC system doesn't matter enough to justify losing the comfort.
If you plan on getting into tracking your car and plan on lightweight seats, sound insulation removal, etc. the weight of the AC is good chunk of weight to remove.
In BC, you have a few months before you'd need the ac for cooling so I'd suggest deciding after you've had the car a few months and figured out if you want to get on the slippery slope of weight reduction.

btw, when I had ac in my 87, it worked fine. I think the earlier ac systems may not have worked as well but carreras have better everything, including AC.

[ThePointman]

Ok, I will wait and see how it works with the belt back on and then decide. With the compressor not turning for so long is there anything I can or should do before putting the belt back on? I am not tracking the car only using it as a daily driver.

[Jastx]

If you're going to drive your car like a car at all, then I suggest removing air conditioning to save weight is not a good decision. That minuscule weight savings is going to translate into zero benefit as you sweat your buns off.

I recently bought an '89 and had the AC serviced when I took delivery. I live in Dallas where it was 100+ degrees much of the summer. At its best the AC was marginal -- better than nothing but not much. I know it was better than nothing because nothing is what I had after a month. The refrigerant must have leaked out.

Anyway, I did my research and found that there are modern technology replacements for the components of 911 AC that can increase the efficiency of the air conditioning system to where it actually works.

To do it right (or it's not worth doing) you will be replacing your condenser (under the grill in the engine compartment), your evaporator (in the "smugglers box in the trunk), all of your hoses, your drier (in the driver fender well) and maybe your compressor. It will be a bit of an investment, much like a complete upgrade of your suspension, but in my opinion just as important for the enjoyment of the car. You can do the install work yourself. I bought the products and will begin the install this weekend. It's not rocket science, it just takes time.

Check out these web sites and get educated. Learn your options, then you can make a decision:

Griffiths - http://www.griffiths.com/porsche/ac/911ac/index.html

Rennaire - http://www.procooler.com/

Retro-Air - http://retroair.com/

Do searches and see what others on the forum have experienced.

Good luck!

[KobaltBlau]

search for es-12a, you will find some good info on rehabilitating a stock system for little money.

[Venetian]

In the summer of 2004 I drove to Portland which was experiencing a heat wave(104 degree). I had the AC charged prior to the trip in my 1987 Carrera. It blew cool enough to be comfortable however the fan noise(high setting) got a little tiresome.