can anybody tell me how easy it is to fit air con to my 1991 318i lux . also can anyone tell me what i need to do the job.
cheers
fiting air con
Moderator: martauto
-
ian332isport
- E30 Zone Team Member
- Posts: 5380
- Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 11:00 pm
- Location: West Sussex
I guess it depends on what you class as an 'easy' job 
The biggest headache is having to remove the entire dash to swap the standard heater for the aircon version. Removing the dash is not as bad as it sounds, but is a bit daunting if you've never done one before. It's only held in by about 6 screws, but you have to remove the instruments, centre console, heater control panel and various other bit's of trim to get it out.
You don't need to do any additional wiring under the dash (assuming you are using a proper BMW aircon setup), but you will need to add the aircon loom under the bonnet. This runs down from the fusebox and controls the auxillary electric fan, and then across to the pressure switches, temp switch and compressor.
The main parts of the system (and all require fitting) are:
1. Aircon heater assy
2. Compressor (mounts on engine)
3. Condenser and Aux fan (both mount in front of the main radiator)
4. Receiver/Dryer container
5. Pipework
6. Wiring
When I did mine, I did it in stages. You can fit the aircon heater box and get all the car back together before having to mess with the other parts. The heater still works as standard, so you can still drive the car. All the other bit's can be added in stages as you have time/money/patience (delete as appropriate).
They don't come up that often, but a used setup usually sells for around £250. You will need to factor in some new parts on that though. At the very least you will need to change the receiver/dryer canister and if you are doing this then converting to run r134a at the same time makes sense (also cheaper as the r134a retrofit kit from BMW is cheaper than buying just the receiver/dryer on it's own - by a long way). Realistically, it's going to cost around £500+ (if you do all the install work yourself) to fit and get running. A lot depnds on the condition of the parts you get though.
Cheers,
Ian.
The biggest headache is having to remove the entire dash to swap the standard heater for the aircon version. Removing the dash is not as bad as it sounds, but is a bit daunting if you've never done one before. It's only held in by about 6 screws, but you have to remove the instruments, centre console, heater control panel and various other bit's of trim to get it out.
You don't need to do any additional wiring under the dash (assuming you are using a proper BMW aircon setup), but you will need to add the aircon loom under the bonnet. This runs down from the fusebox and controls the auxillary electric fan, and then across to the pressure switches, temp switch and compressor.
The main parts of the system (and all require fitting) are:
1. Aircon heater assy
2. Compressor (mounts on engine)
3. Condenser and Aux fan (both mount in front of the main radiator)
4. Receiver/Dryer container
5. Pipework
6. Wiring
When I did mine, I did it in stages. You can fit the aircon heater box and get all the car back together before having to mess with the other parts. The heater still works as standard, so you can still drive the car. All the other bit's can be added in stages as you have time/money/patience (delete as appropriate).
They don't come up that often, but a used setup usually sells for around £250. You will need to factor in some new parts on that though. At the very least you will need to change the receiver/dryer canister and if you are doing this then converting to run r134a at the same time makes sense (also cheaper as the r134a retrofit kit from BMW is cheaper than buying just the receiver/dryer on it's own - by a long way). Realistically, it's going to cost around £500+ (if you do all the install work yourself) to fit and get running. A lot depnds on the condition of the parts you get though.
Cheers,
Ian.
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cass1_5503
- E30 Zone Regular
- Posts: 722
- Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 11:00 pm
- Location: cardiff
thanks for the info mate it is a bit scary havin to take out the dash but ill think ill end up doin it coz the black seats just cook me when it gets hot lol. i might also do as you said and do it in stages.
thanks for the help dude
thanks for the help dude