Who’s got rid of the aircon system?

[Chanoo]

Hello,
Am thinking about dumping the aircon system from my 2002 defender, the aircon doesn’t work. Mainly getting rid of the lower dash section completely from the vehicle.
Has anyone done this and are you happy with the extra space in the footwells?
Thanks
Dave

[akelly]

mine (2000 TD5) has been out for about 9 months or so because it was beyond economical repair. The extra room in the passenger side footwell is huge. Be prepared for a nightmare to get the evaporator out, every bolt on mine was rusted and I had to drill and grind most of them out.

[edit] and be prepared for rust under the heater box.

[ThorneGator]

Also yes....
After my AC quit, I switched out for a ministry of defender heat/AC. It doesn't work much better, but it does give footwell space and was a less expensive option.

[Max Headroom 2.3m]

....I switched out for a ministry of defender heat/AC. It doesn't work much better, but it does give footwell space and was a less expensive option.

I am in a similar position as the OP but would like to replace the factory unit with some alternative A/C. Did you find that the Ministry of Defender unit cooled at least as "well" as the factory A/C or, heaven forbid, slightly better?

[ThorneGator]

Hi Martin,

In short, I would say the same-ish....I will try to elaborate. The air doesn't seem to blow as cold, but circulates better, (think no frozen knee-caps, but cool air around your head).


Just for a little background.....
Air Flow: Ministry of Defender AC (MoD) suggests their system be installed with either a puma style dash or at least adding puma-style center airvent to your pre-puma dash so the airflow hits you in the chest and head. I did not want to change the factory look of mine, so I used his system, but went with more factory located positions for my vents (heater vents & demister vents locations) and an electric version of our fan-control lever to keep the 'look' the same (instead of using a fan control knob and making the mechanical redundant.

Cold/Cool air: I have read that the charging of the system is critical, and that the shop that charges it needs to make they get enough coolant in the system....I think the place that charged mine did not. Also, some people have insulated their box and lines as now that the AC system is located in the engine bay, it becomes more susceptible to radiant heat (hot day + engine).

Hope this helps,