Thread: 300TDI A/C front end differences?

I have two 97 defenders a 110 & a 130 , both seem to be standard , as per all others that I have seen .
Mine are the std Aust after market type A/C .

It is awfully tight in there but the AMC A/C does fit in with a standard grille somehow.
Watch the safety catch on the bonnet - they have been known to rub through the condenser.

Certainly the earlier 110s and Defenders had a different panel that supports the grille, but I have an idea that this changed later. I have aftermarket air with the standard (non-air) nose, and yes, it is tight, but it is possible. The grille is the same, it's the panel it attaches to that is different.

John

Did you have to move the reinforcing bars at all? Because looking at mine, there is no way that the condenser is going to fit between them and the rad/intercooler. It does appear though that they can be moved out a bit...

This is the A/C grill which does give you more space to play with.

Cheers, Murray

Wow thats about an extra 1.5". Might even be able to swing a cat in there.

Might see if I can get another defender to look at to see how they fit it all in. Reason being is that im in the process of mounting my highmount, need to see if its all going to fit when I install the ac.

I'm also going to be fitting AC to my 130 and are considering putting the condenser elseware. Mainly because I am also going to fit my hi mount winch and don't want to push it forward with the big front panel if I can help it, and a condenser won't fit with my standard grille as there is a big plazman intercooler in there. You can get condensers in all shapes and sizers with compact fans and are thinking either on the roof on the sloping down section protected by a roof rack, or as mine is a dual cab, behind the cab up high above the window. Fresh airflow is good but with good fans and decent size condenser it should work well, at least it wont be next to a hot raidator to start with. Earthmoving machines have next to zero airflow but have good AC. Will be a while before I get it sorted but I do have most of the bits including the under dash unit from a td5 defender and a mate who runs an auto AC business.

Cheers, Andrew.

Yeah, that is always an option. I have a single cab but would rather keep everything in one place if possible- increasing lengths of lines would increase refrigerant capacity which would be good though. The condenser runs at approx double ambient temp in a properly functioning system- unless its above 25 degrees then you just add 25 to whatever temperature it is. So putting the condenser away from a hot radiator does have its advantages- some big SPAL fans should be up to the job just fine.

I thought about putting it just behind the cab in the tub (its a HCPU).. but thats just too much effort. I'll put up with the winch being a little further forward.