Thread: Perentie Custom DIY Air conditioning…

I guess things that will be of interest before any potential interest in actually DOING it.. Would be approximate cost and of course, effectiveness, as most of these vehicle's are renowned for having poor A/C....

Does look interesting though, well done!

approx cost would be

compressor $350-850 + diy bracket (or $?)
condensor $150-300 (generic) plus diy brackets
receiver/dryer $50
evaporator +Tx valve + fan + heater core $200
dash air vents (4) included
Hoses and fittings (highly variable depending on who you get) $200
muscellaneous stuff like ducting, heat foam, bolts etc usually free but, say $150
charge r134 gas $150

COST parts around $1,150 without skimping

definitely cheaper if you have parts handy Ie second hand often perfectly good

certainly shopping around can lower the cost. We have built this prototype for around $700 - the biggest expense being compressor and condensor… but we have also had a lot of help from experts reviewing the design.

airflow is actually pretty good because it has its own vent system and dual roller fan, but can easily be boosted with a $40 inline electric fan. Cheap and reliable with low current draw.
as I’ve said above a lot of the performance, for example ducting, has had quite a bit of engineering… Ie just like an Intercooler you can’t just plug it all together in different sizes the expansion/pressure rates need to be optimised.
these air vents sit in the middle of dash with 1 to passenger, 1 to driver (closable) and two in the middle all directable. However you could duct the air any way you like as we insulated the existing heater in dash to save space and duct directly from that… so, although we didn’t use it you can duct to footwell without modification.

Cheers

an old vacuum hose can be used for ducting it’s easily insulated
the purpose of plans is to eliminate trial and error and give precise dimensions for brackets etc that you know will fit. As an example one issue is the AC outlet on the box was susceptible to vibrations in the bigger 3.9L engine namely at idle. This can obviously lead to cracks in the core if not mitigated. So, there is an engineering solution for this, as an example. Accessing the footwell for recirculating air needs to be waterproofed and vibration resistant, as an example.

Originally Posted by shack

I guess things that will be of interest before any potential interest in actually DOING it.. Would be approximate cost and of course, effectiveness, as most of these vehicle's are renowned for having poor A/C....

Does look interesting though, well done!

• DD4C4DCA-B97F-476B-B066-6A8DE587866C.jpg
• something like this in centre of dash
• will post pics of setup later if interest
• this type of setup only requires a single duct to feed

dual ducts help but not worth the extra space and effort for a tiny increase in pressure/flow

Originally Posted by Masato

• DD4C4DCA-B97F-476B-B066-6A8DE587866C.jpg
• something like this in centre of dash
• will post pics of setup later if interest
• this type of setup only requires a single duct to feed

dual ducts help but not worth the extra space and effort for a tiny increase in pressure/flow

Hi masato, I interested in your DYI A/C. Keen to hear how the project is progressing and if your at a stage to sell on the details. Location etc.
Thanks Rob

Hi Masato,
Do you know if this would fit later model cars, 300Tdi Defender in my case.
Tony

Hi, I'm interested in your DIY plans, can't PM you as i'm a newbie!

You able to put some contact details here?

Cheers

Originally Posted by Masato

Gday all,

I have just joined this site and I must say it is an incredible resource. I have in my possession a 1990 FFR Perentie recently obtained from the auctions. It’s being done up for a young doctor up north who is keen to get out bush on the weekends.

I have a Unimog (next to get AC) and lots of other ex-equipment and as a result I was requested to design an air conditioning system to fit the Perentie (a nightmare of a job, to be truthful). Of course it had to be cheap but reliable / quality… something usually impossible without spending a LOT of money.

I have invested a significant amount of time engineering this system which is fully enclosed under the bonnet - see an earlier picture of the unit before, being properly fitted. A lot of experts have helped review this design, to arrive at a professional result.

I have for many years supplied plans and other designs for off road additions so that crafty owners can DIY such projects at a fraction of the cost, and I’m thinking this AC is a well worthwhile DIY project for some owners.

Of all vehicles, the addition of air con to the Perentie / LR is not a simple job. There are significant hurdles but we did not want to compromise the already short leg room or footwell etc…

Anyway, I’m throwing this out there - if there is enough interest I will prepare detailed DIY plans at a reasonable cost for others who wish to build this A/C system. It’s not quite finished yet but I can show you how to make a fully sealed evaporator unit for a fraction of the retail cost with easily obtainable parts.

We have heat shielded it to a high efficiency and thankfully the 3.9L Isuzu exhaust isn’t as hot as many other vehicles. It’s not a stressed engine and the heat soak isn’t nearly as bad as we expected.

The unit in the image contains:

- double fan/blower that sucks air / recirculates directly from the foot well
- the AC evaporator unit with Tx expansion valve
- inbuilt heater core that operates from the original dash control
- 4x fan speed controller
- AC temp/thermostat controller to operate compressor clutch

I namely suggest this as a DIY kit because it is insanely expensive to professionally fit a unit (see puma etc) and this design utilises the original dash, which is kinda nice. It fits the entire system under the bonnet and the compressor, receiver/dryer and front condenser fit in snug.

This system can be built extremely cheap compared to what’s available kit-wise (I will need to check costs of compressor etc) but my point is this job drove me nuts solving countless design problems in order to tuck the system away out of site but still looking good on the dash and operating reliably out bush / vibrations/corrugations etc yet easily serviceable if need be. I only took on this crazy job because a very good friend needed it done for his son. I could see nobody would take the job on for less than $8-10k easily, it all had to be designed from the ground up.

It seems to me a terrible shame not to put the design out to all other owners who cannot afford several thousands of dollars to fit an AC system that is bulky and cramped into the existing or replacement dash.

Please let me know your collective thoughts and any questions etc and if you want I can put a few more images up as we complete this job in a few days time.

I’m sure the majority of you are handy enough to follow the plans and build at cost price - the tricky part is the multitude of design measurements and time that has gone into making this custom unit!

Many thanks and sorry for such a long post.

D

Picking mine up next week, definitely interested in this.

Surprised I missed this thread. So, a belated Welcome to AULRO. Interesting stuff. I don't suppose you'd be interested in joining the OKA forum???. If ever there was a vehicle in need of some modern thinking re AC ist's the OKA. Not a big market, I know. There are more Lizards.

I'm only half kidding. Many OKA owners bemoan the AC.