A/C conversion to Sanden/R134

[auditude at cox.net]

Ti Kan <ti at amb.org> wrote:
>
> auditude at cox.net writes:
> >
> > Actually, I would be using the York Bracket from the 5kt, so I guess it wouldn't technically be urq-style unless the 5kt uses a mini-York, which I doubt.
>
> The type 44 5Kt doesn't use a York compressor at all.  Early 5Kts
> have AC Delco compressors, and then later they switched to a Nippondenso
> compressor.  They all have different brackets.

Doh!  There's always more to the story.

I was confusing myself just now, thinking I was dealing about two T85's with MC motors.  I forgot the Coupe GT is the nearer-term one, and it has a York and no turbo yet so no worries.  (all my cars have turbos, in my mind!)  Too much cappuccino!

I just searched for an adapter from a Nippondenso bracket to a Sanden compressor, and had basically no luck.  Just one post in the MBZ archives from 2000, where he referred to his then-2 year old files about some guy that said Sandens could be adapted to pretty much anything with available brackets.  The discussion included him either having an early GM or late Nippondenso compressor.  I would like it is I could find an adapter for the Sanden to fit a Nippondenso bracket.

> > It would be extra cool (ha!) to find a factory R134 application, and to go the junkyard on half-price day and get a decent Sanden compressor for cheap.  Any idea what one of these Sanden's might come stock on?  Once the expense of the rest of the conversion is spent, if the compressor goes bad later and I lose some R134, I can deal with it at that time.  But I realize it might be false economy.

> No recent US-market Audi has used a Sanden compressor, unfortunately.
> VW had several models that used Sandens but none of those will help you.
> If you must go the factory route, maybe look at Nippondenso compressors
> as that's what they used on the type 89 as well as the later type 44.
> You can use the factory brackets from those cars, but the compressor is
> not going to be as economical as the Sandens.

Actually, I didn't mean it had to be a VAG product.  I was referring to any make of car that might have the type of Sanden compressor you are using that I could put on my car, Japanese included.  I'm talking instead of the $230-ish brand new price.

What I did see what a "Kuehl" brand compressor that is a drop-in fitment for the Nippondenso compressors that came on air-cooled Porsches.  Everything about the Sanden's sounds good.  I wonder how this Kuehl ones compares to them.

http://www.griffiths.com/porsche/ac/porsac911.htm

Beyond that reference I found nothing else on that brand or conversion.

I'm not comfortable referring to these various compressor types by their brands and not specific models.  Are these such that within a brand the mounting orientation is the same?  That's the impression I get.

It sounds like for the 4kstq I want to get a mini-York bracket from an urq since I think it is probably a more compact bracket than the Nippondenso of the 5kt motor.

Or, maybe I should ask:  Is the mini-York bracket appreciably smaller than the Nippondenso bracket?  Can I put my radiator in the car straight like an urq with the mini-York bracket/Sanden, or does it have to be crooked to clear the Nippondenso bracket/Sanden or both ND bracket/comp.?

And for the Coupe GT, which is really what I need to be thinking about before summer, just a regular old York-to-Sanden adapter.

Thanks,

Ken