Defender wagon air-con

[Ranga]

Are they any good? I'm thinking of buying a Defender, and have been told the air-con doesn't work that great anyway, so not to let it be a deal-breaker if the vehicle doesn't have one.

Personally I couldn't care for it (I did the air-con pulley on my troopy at Lake Eyre, and didn't bother fixing it for 4 years!), but with a wife and 2nd child on the way, I'm concerned the QLD heat might not be that great without air-con.

Is there any better options (e.g. aftermarket air-con) for cooling a Defender?

[p38arover]

Pullsy did a conversion with an aircon up above the rear door. The pix have disappeared unfortunately.

See aftermarket air con unit is fitted (w/ pics)

[Captain_Rightfoot]

How old are you talking? It has been a standard fit for several years now. If you have a cargo barrier you can put some plastic over it to seal it. That helps.

[Ranga]

So, are 2nd air-con units or new aftermarket units hard to find, and/or expensive?

[Scallops]

The latest model Defender has real A/C - good as any car.

[tempestv8]

I have my concerns about the a/c on even the current Defenders - the HVAC system only has two face vents, so only two openings for cold air to discharge from. There are no side vents, which is customary design for most vehicles.

So in a large 7 seater like the 110 wagon, will these two vents be sufficient to cool the vehicle on a hot day with 7 bodies in the vehicle?

[CraigE]

They are useless. Passengers in the back get none. People in the front get frozen knees, but hot torso and arms. They are pretty much the most poorly designed and installed air con I have seen.
If you can buy one without and install a minivan internal roof mounted unit behind the rear seats. I have seen them installed to the roof immediatelly behind the rear seat, right at the back of the Fender roof and directly behind the back seat blowing air up. I have seen them as stand alone units that work better than the front one or as an addition. I believe new they vary from $400-$1000 depending on design and features, then there is fitting and regassing your system. With labour I would expect $1500-$2000 maybe.
Most van units can be fitted, but try and get one with a remote mounted control box as it could be annoying having to reach in the back all the time. I would also try and get one with a heating element so you can warm the car up as there is only one thing that is more useless than a Defeneder air con and that is Defender heating.
Of course I am only talking up to TD5. Do not know what the Pumas are like.

Now to be able to save enough cash and get everything else done so I can fit one to mine, but it is a lower priority down here in this mild climate.

[Scallops]

The current Defender does have more than 2 vents - the others are just not adjustable. So it has 4 forward vents. Also, it does have side vents.

As I said - the system works very well - I have had 5 (large) people in my truck - In Victoria at Christmas - 41 degrees outside - it was very comfortable inside Grover and I was sitting in the back. AC as good as any car. As with all things Defender, the AC in the new model is the least of your worries. If anyone is going to complain about that - HTFU!

[Michael2]

I regassed the standard AC on my 300Tdi 110 SW and it cycles between 2 and 7 degrees at half throttle. My wife says it's better than the AC in her Range Rover, and always asks me to turn it down over summer.

So I suggest a good service before deciding a system isn't up to it. Before the service it was cool up till a 30degree day, then struggled.

I did put clear plastic over the cargo barrier before the service, and have let it remain since.

I also wrecked an ex-tour vehicle Defender that had front & rear AC. The front unit has now been sold, but the rear unit is available for sale. It's not mine, I'm selling it for a friend, but I removed it from the vehicle and everything was working fine at the time. It T's off the front unit, but has seperate solenoids & controls.

It Fits over the back door with 4 forward facing vents. Follow the link below the photo for a full series of photos of the removal of the unit. The AC unit fits behind the LHS wheel under the wheel arch.

The vehicle had been used in Darwin & the Tiwi Islands, so I'm guessing the AC would have done the trick in cooling the 9 occupants.

I'm asking $600 for the complete rear unit (pipes, wiring loom, ducting, AC). [note to mods - I'll delete refference to the price if it's inappropriate, but I thought the link to the photos and the story behind the unit was appropriate to this thread]

Defender AC pictures by konstantinoufamily - Photobucket