Replacing Defender TD5 Air Conditioner Fan

[Sean90]

Hey all,


My air conditioner blower fan is in need of replacing and I was hoping everyone could offer some advice on sourcing a second hand fan for replacing it. My mechanic advises that a new fan will cost $600 from the UK...


I've got a 2003 TD5 Defender 90 bought in Australia and suspect it has the AMC unit fitted. The fan unit is located in the passenger foot well and has the wires coming in from the drivers side of the unit. The problem is the fan makes an awful racket when turned on and doesn't run on the lower fan speed settings. Given the slow degradation I suspect the fan bearing has failed.


Looking at how everything is mounted it appears the entire A/C unit will need to come off which I suspect an A/C specialist will need to do. Unfortunately that means I can't get the fan out to take to a wreckers for comparing with generic fans. I've had a look through the Good Oil and this Defender forum and couldn't find any previous threads that dealt with the A/C fan.


If anyone else knows of a means of getting the fan out or the specifications for the fan it would be greatly appreciated. I've attached a couple of images as well :)


Cheers,
Sean

[goingbush]

Frankly the Td5 A/C evaporator is a piece of crap.

you have to pull the complete a/c unit out, including all the ducting across the dashboard before you can remove the evaporator.

once its out of the car you can remove the motor / fan, its a **** system, I would not waste any money on it, you can do a lot better.

even to clean the fan / evap out you have to pull it out of the car. you will need to get it de-gassed first.

there may be a pic or 2 here that could help
www.aulro.com/afvb/projects-tutorials/159715-aftermarket-c-td5-110-wagon.html

[noogie]

Send the link for what you did to your car Don.
Your a/c is fantastic.
I've pushed it up my list of things to do. I guess the heats had some influence.

[Chilly]

Have recently had my system loose all its gas...re-gassed and checked. Only to leak again. Gas is quite expensive now. So, I looked at the air con replacement too of goingbush, Don. However the link is to an old ebay auction. I was unable to find another the same as this.
Don,

Any chance of saying what model it is...might find that way.

Was also interested in getting a heater/cooler...any ideas are good.

Chilly

oops...bit of a hijack...sorry

[goingbush]

Its a universal Minibus Evaporator, I never got a model number.


these two are cheap even if you include the freight

Not sure the retro '70s woodgrain is a drawcard tho.

Universal AC A C Minibus Under Dash Evaporator Assembly | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Universal-AC-A-C-MiniBus-Under-Dash-Evaporator-Assembly-/261222705566?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cd216299e&_uhb=1)


Universal Under Dash AC Evaporator Underdash A C AIR Conditioner ADD ON Unit | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/UNIVERSAL-UNDER-DASH-AC-EVAPORATOR-UNDERDASH-A-C-AIR-CONDITIONER-ADD-ON-UNIT-/300747987984?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessorie s&hash=item4605fa1c10&_uhb=1)


I got mine from the guy selling this one,
Hotrod Holden Ford Chrysler 60s 70s 80s Underdash Evaporator Grey Oring 12 Volt | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HOTROD-HOLDEN-FORD-CHRYSLER-60s-70s-80s-UNDERDASH-EVAPORATOR-GREY-ORING-12-VOLT-/321285913216?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4ace21fa80&_uhb=1)

he gets a lot of A/C stuff, would be worth asking if he is getting any more of the twin motor units in.

[Chilly]

Hi,
Had a look on the American other items. It has a grey unit...slightly higher output at 32-33,000 and 600ish cpm.
Asked for quote to deliver and if it is usable in a Defender.

Also contacted Melbourne seller for more details on a couple he sells. Interested in the all in one air con and heater...

Chilly

[Sean90]

Thanks for the info goingbush - that's a pretty full on job you did with your A/C. Pictures were definitely helpful as now I know what everything looks like pulled off.


After going through your project and a few others it looks like heaps of people are fitting aftermarket A/C unit to their Defenders. I'll admit the A/C unit wasn't exactly the best when I first bought it but it still worked okay. I'll need to do some more research into the aftermarket units available.


At the moment I reckon the best option is to degas the unit since I can't use it now anyway. That will give me the freedom to pull it off and make a proper assessment of the evaporator / fan unit and see if I can rip the damned fan out :) After that I'll be in a better position to make the choice of either repairing the fan unit or replacing the whole thing with an aftermarket unit. Of course I'll provide photos on this thread as I progress :P

Appreciate the comments - I've been a bit silent on the forum just flicking through the wealth of information on here and getting to know my Defender. I'll introduce my Landy in the Deefer thread sometime this week when I get time to write up a story :)


Cheers,
Sean

[goingbush]

a few more pics I found of my old AC fan, if they are of any use.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/650.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/01/651.jpg

cheers Don

[djam1]

Guys while I am not trying to detract from Dons excellent work with his air conditioner I found the following.
I live in a climate significantly hotter than most people on here and found that by putting a piece of perspex across the cargo barrier I could minimize the area that the A/C had to cool.
By doing this the air conditioning is acceptable in temps up to 46 degrees

[Sean90]

Don, those pictures are perfect, you even got the serial number! Thanks for digging them up. Good to confirm that once I pull the dash off I can separate the fan unit - means I just have to keep checking the wreckers and should be able to retrofit something in :D


djam1, I like that idea with the Perspex. I was a bit worried about the extent of modification required for the aftermarket units. Perspex however sounds like a simple fix :)


Cheers,
S

[goingbush]

Great suggestion Duane

rather than perspex some of that clear vinyl blind stuff you can now get from bunnings or clark rubber would work.

cut it to size with scissors , a divider like that used to work great in the Telstra vans ,