So took the time today to remove the AC system from my TL and it's definitely doable. Everything can be done from the top of the car and it was all very easy to do. I took out the compressor, condensor, plumbing, and fan which weighed a predictable near 30lbs. I'm still sizing up the new belt but will update when it's all done but it's a good 14-16 inches shorter than stock. I plan to take out the components under the dash but just haven't gotten time to plan that yet. The only thing that wasn't removable was the bracket that held it to the block as it is used by the alternator and tensioner.


I'll take some pics and post them up when I get a chance but overall I'm impressed with it and surprised at how easy it was to remove.

 

Tracking your car?
and you must not live in hot climate.

 

Or you don't mind doing this in July again...might lower resale value if you're near South Florida!

That said, what else have you done for weight reduction? Is this part of the TL diet? If it's the first mod, you went balls to the wall to probably one of the only things I wouldn't be willing to part with!

 

Car is 95% dedicated track car, will be full track car after I find a suitable tow vehicle, thinking 07 MDX but need to find a good deal on one.

No one that I know of has done this yet so this would be a new addition to the TL diet. The only thing I'm missing from the "TL Diet" is the sunroof plug which I'll probably get to this weekend. It's a great thing to get rid of being it's dead weight that's in FRONT of the front axle.

PS I live in Pensacola, FL but being I won't be driving it next spring/summer I was more than happy to ditch it.

 

Good stuff man...would love to see pics/vids of you tracking it. That's really cool...I would LOVE to feel the difference between a heavy TL and one on the diet....but if I did I'd likely end up stripping mine down!

 

Cue Inaccurate, stage right.

 

Lol pretty sure his Texas blood will lean towards keeping his AC but it is a great mod and was simple as hell to do. I'll probably be able to do a write up on it if anyone is interested.

 

Props for doing something new... Since its a track car i dont think you will care that resale value is not shot! But hey as long as you can put it back to stock!
Pictures?!

 

Ok so the process is pretty self explanitory but here's a quick write up for the AC removal.

1: If you haven't already, remove all the under hood trim plastic pieces.

2: Take off the stock 84" serpentine belt.

3: Remove the AC fan (one on the left). It's got the main connector and is held in by two bolts on top and one on the bottom. This also means removing the radiator resavoir.

4: The refridgerant in the system will need to be disposed of and you can buy a kit that will store it so Al Gore stays fat and happy. Or you can not do that but I'll leave that option up to your imagination.

5: After that I just unbolted the two hardlines from the AC compressor, the main connection at the firewall and just to make it easier, the two fittings on the condensor in front of the radiator. To get at this just unbolt the radiator from the two upper mounts and push it back out of the way and you can get at the condensor just fine.

6: So now all that's left is the compressor. It has one wire connector and four 12mm bolts that hold it to the bracket and once those are off you'll be able to pull it up through the top of the engine bay. I did have to take out the front O2 sensor but after that it came out pretty easily.

7: You will have to find a new way to secure the radiator resavoir to the radiator/fan but I just used a little extra metal strip I had laying around and extended it to a mounting hole and it bolted up fine.

8: After that I'm pretty sure that's everything. I'm working now on tucking the unneeded wires up out of the way and will work on getting the under the dash components out but that will come a little later.

9: MOST IMPORTANT is the new belt size needed to compensate for the shorter length needed. I am currently running a 71.5" belt and it is working fine but I think if I can squeeze a 70.5" in there it will be better off in the long run but for now the 71.5" is working fine.


I'll take some pics tomorrow and post them up but I highly encourage anyone to do this if you are like me and never really cared for AC or are tracking it like me and are looking for the weight savings.

Any questions? post them up.

 

love my ac.....lol

 

Very interesting

 

Put the fan back in and wire it to the other fan switch so they both come on. You will want to do that trust me. J's and one fan do not mix on the track.

 

vill0169,

Thanks for sharing the info. Your removable steps and pics would be a welcomed additional to the TL Diet thread. I encourage you to add this DIY to the diet thread.

 

I'll work on it!

I'll think about the fan but its been fine so far especially on the longer tracks I usually run. But ill look into it.

 

How do you do that? I've always wondered but I never knew how.

 

Measure...
I would venture to guess you cut your old one to use as a measure and run it around everything...then mark how much shorter...then measure it and buy that minus an inch or 2 to account for the tensioner.

 

Yeah pretty much, I didn't cut my stock one but I suppose you could have.

 

Care to share your list of mods? I'm slowly turning mine into a track car and would like to see if I can "borrow" some ideas.

Are you making the sunroof plug yourself or buying it from someone? I was looking at lighterfaster to get mine - would love to replace all that hardware with a 2-3 lb plug. I started a thread to see who else was interested but that got taken down pretty quickly.

 

I'll be making mine myself. You can find a mod list in my other threads that's pretty up to date right now.

I think the biggest thing on my radar right now is to do some of my own "internal chassis re-enforcement/safety work" on the TL. So hopefully I can get some pics up of that soon too.

 

Does that offset a lot of the weight reduction?

 

maybe........... lol

 

Just to point out that removing significant weight from the car is effectively making the chassis stiffer.

 

I wholly agree. After removing 600lbs it might be good to determine if it's still necessary to add braces. I bet his aftermarket suspension is extra stiff too.

 

Update on belt sizing. I had a bit of rubbing when I rev'd her up so I went back and got a 69.5" belt and that is looking a lot better so if you're considering this just go for that size right off the bat.