Defender air con conversion

[County3.9]

I desperately need pictures or instructions to fit the defender air con. I've bought a brand new kit which has everything required to fit into a defender...except the #$@% instructions. It seems the kit is for a 2000ish TD5. I guess these kits were fitted to new defenders when they arrived in Australia.
The problem is that I'm fitting it to an Isuzu County and therefore bits are located in slightly different areas.
What I need
1. If someone has the instructions for one of these kits…that would solve all my problems.
Otherwise…
2. Pictures of the way the condenser (radiator) is mounted.
3. Pics of where and how the receiver/ drier is mounted
4. Pics of where the relays are mounted.

I plan to put the info together in the project forum once I’ve finished.

Any info will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[defenderbilby]

I am also trying to put in a 2000 underdash unit into my 85 LR Izusu project.
The condenser that comes in the kit is not a straight forward fit so used the condensor and fans from an early county.
I have a compressor bracket on the engine block and will purchase a ? Sanden compressor later, again the compressor in the Td5 kit wont mate up.
The underdash unit looks like a straight forward fit only I am still looking for a Defender Firewall from a wrecker so that I can measure where the holes need to be drilled to take the 4 bolts holding the plate and the hole for the gas pipes. If I dont find one soon I will just have to take some guestamations and wing it.
The relays are already in the kit. I have looked at the wire diagram for the Isuzu LR and the Td5 and have I think worked that through. I could forward that later (it is in the garage somewhere and will need to find it).
I wasnt going to do anymore on this project till after the 60th at Cooma hoping that there may be some more parts down there.
Please keep in touch with this as it would also help me.
Cheers,
David

[County3.9]

G'day Dave,
Finally, someone how knows what I'm going through. :p

What I've discovered so far...
The KIT
I got the kit from Range Parts company in Sydney. Very helpfull people. It was brand new but didn't have fitting instructions. If I knew who manufactured them I'd write off and get the instructions sent to me. I get the impression it's made here in AUS. Anyone know??

Condenser
Yes, it's not fitting. I have a second condenser I bought years ago to replace the origional County one (origionally I was intending to fix the county aircon, then I found out it's reputation), but was unsure if it needs to be matched to the system. The 2nd condenser is bigger than the one supplied in the kit.

Compressor
Too much trouble using the TD5 one, wrong pully and engine mounts. I've discovered one that should fit the existing 4BD1 mounts. part no. CM7863. $310 from Ashdown Ingrahms in Perth.

Relay
I've got the relay (2 mounted together) in the kit but was wondering where it's suposed to be mounted.

Low pressure switch
Do you know where this is mounted? They're normally mounted between the condenser and the evaporator but I can't find a fitting for it??? I get the feeling I'm missing a pipe and that's where the switch would go. What we need is photo's from a kind soul with a 2000 Defender;)

Firewall and vents
I've been getting the bits for the vent's and dash from Triumph Rover Spares in SA. They're good but keep forgetting to send everything that was asked and paid for. To their credit they send the missing parts at their cost and you get what you ask for eventually. I ordered a complete dash and firewall vents last Mon, but only the vents and centre trim section arrived. I'll deal with that tomorrow.

I'll keep you up to date as I discover more.
Col

[rar110]

I also have the same kit. My 110 has a 300tdi firewall as the last one was badly rusted. From memory it has a plate on the pass side with a center hold and four holes around it.

I was told the pully wheel on TD5 Sanden compressor could be changed.

I dont have the pully/mounting brackets for the 4BD1.

Watching with interest.

[yt110]

Hi are you changing the heater box as well?

[County3.9]

Hi are you changing the heater box as well?

Yep, the County A/C is integrated with the heater and I wanted more room in the engine bay for a turbo. I've taken that out and welded up the recirculation hole in the firewall. Unfortunately, I’ve lost the option to have the heater on recirculate now as it’s not possible with the defender set-up. I had to replace the ducting as well, as none of the County equipment will fit the defender heater. Even the controls for the dash demist and foot vents has to be replaced as the county is vacuum controlled and the defender is cable controlled.

...And because I’m an idiot, I’m also retro fitting the firewall vents while I’ve got the dash out.

[yt110]

Hi again I have just finished that same conversion,a couple of exrta things I did was to replace the w/wiper pivots, fitted (2) later model double washer jets through the holes the old single ones used to be,so I have 4 jets,I kept the heater as far as I could to the left of the hole in the fire wall so theres plenty of clearance for the air filter, I used a defender heater, the outlets are bigger than the county heater pipes so I used 2 bypass hoses for a ford 289 I think it was to adapt the heater they L shape stepped hoses 2 joiners and they line up good.Did you get the plastic baffle that fits in between the air duct and the heater fan ? it looks like a top hat with the top cut out,its supposed to help keep rain/deep creeks etc. out of the heater fan.I also poked some sealant in the gaps in the fire wall were the heater hole is between the lower dash,fire wall and heater so the air blows into the lower dash better. I also replaced the black tin bit that runs the length of the dash and had been chopped up to fit the original a/c vents.It all fitted ok.I tested it all on the weekend and it great having air flow in the cab,the old a/c unit is in a heap on the shed floor and is working about the same as it every did. Good luck jim.

[andrew e]

Hey Defenderbilly, do you still have that isuzu AC mount that wasn't mounted on a car? If you do i may be able to get some more made...

Andy

[defenderbilby]

Hey Defenderbilly, do you still have that isuzu AC mount that wasn't mounted on a car? If you do i may be able to get some more made...

Andy

PM Sent

[defenderbilby]

Hi County 3.9,
I will try and get into the workshop (my very cramped garage) this weekend and take some photos of what has been done so far. Will include the circuit diagrams so that you could also check them over.
My issues so far is the location of the holes that need to be drilled. I drew up a sketch of the passenger footwell and posted on the forum but still havent found the measurements (anyone with a ?2000 firewall lying around to take some measurements?). Hope to see some firewalls at the Cooma show.
search -airconditioning in county- for picture of footwell if anyone has the measurements (dont know how to make a link sorry).
I am also planning on removing the dash again and put a sound barrier material between the dash and the firewalll but only after the holes have been drilled.
Once the condensor/fans, compressor and underdash unit have been stalled I was going to leave the plumbing to an aircon specialist, they could also put the drier in line and the pressure switch I think goes into the side of the drier.
David

[defenderbilby]

The kit I also brought from Range Parts minus the compressor. No instructions in the box. I beleive the company that made these no longer exists so we are on our own.
I had major problems sourcing the compressor brackets for the 4bd1. I could buy from a truck wreck and they will fit OK with a bit of modification but the compressor that will fit is smaller than the County one. Lucky for me that I was able to buy a bracket from Andrew, otherwise it would have been a smaller compressor.
The Relays and some brackets come in the kit. Look at the wire harness in the underdash unit and it is obvious where they fit. I intend to mount the relays and plugs in the fuse console under the dash.
Low pressure switch I was also scratching my head on that one but it looks like it fits into the side of the drier, see photo from a Defender Td5.
I was lucky in that the LR120 didn't come with air, only the front flaps so that part was very straight forward but will add that the heater box which I had to rebuild due to rust (radiator was totally rotted) is not the same as the Td5. Earlier ones have a copper radiator, Td5 is aluminium alloy and the housing is different. I finally found a copper heater core to match the copper of the main radiator and salvaged parts from a Td5 heater box and rebuilt it.
It is also worth while to strip the dash and replace the foams in all the flaps. With no air leaks the demister fan actually works and blows bucket of air through the screen vents.
Front condensor is just a standard county one with the cowling made of fibreglass.
Apicture of the plate that I need to know where to drill the holes in footwell.
To be continued...

[defenderbilby]

The circuit diagram or how to wire up. I am NO ELECTRICIAN SO PLEASE DONT TAKE THE FOLLOWING AS BEING CORRECT.
What I did was look up a County circuit diagram and a Td5 circuit diagram.
The connector plug in the underdash unit is labelled C0786 so worked out all the connectors on the Td5 diagram and will wire mine up as follows:-

See photo. Find an ignition live wire and take 2 fused links 10A. Feed one to plug1, other to plug3. Main cable assembly positive with 30A fuse to plug6 which is relay blower circuit.
Plug7 to earth. Plug4 not used.

Before I make this final I will get someone to recheck the diagrams to check that this will work.

[County3.9]

Gday Dav,
Thanks for the info,that has helped a lot!! I suspected that the drier was back there on the wheel arch. Can you get more photos of where the pipes route? I also need photos of where the condenser brackets attach.
If you can wait a few weeks I'll be fitting the AC unit to my firewall. I'll take photos, measurements and leasons learnt and post them. No use in both of us re-drilling holes to fix mistakes :)
Col

[defenderbilby]

Hi Col,
Just get all the brackets and condensor from a County wreck. When you fit it all the holes will have been predrilled into the guards.
Also go and buy a parts book for the county, that even in most cases shows the orientation of brackets better than anything else.
David

[County3.9]

I've got all the bits from a TD5 (came in the kit). The way it fits on a TD5 is what I need. The county condenser I've got has a hole and therefore unusable.