308 York compressor

Then it's off to NAPA to find a replacement belt. Looks to be about 2" shorter than the old one. I hope to have everything installed tonight, then get it to a shop to vacuum and charge the system tomorrow.

 

The clutch is a Ferrari Dealer only item, unless the one Steve found for me works. I have not reassembled the system yet....Go Sean, go!

 

Well, everything is on but my vacuum/fill attempt at Steve's shop was aborted by an emergency call.

I did get a belt on and working with the AC but it was quite an ordeal. 33 5/8" belt to short, bring back for 35 1/8"...oops, picked up the wrong belt off the counter but didn't know it until I got home and was asking myself why this new belt didn't seem that much longer...back to the store, get the right belt off the counter and bring home. Too long. Return to store get 3/8 x 34 5/8" belt...BARELY fits. In fact, I had to losten the bolts which hold the bracket on, get the AC into it's adapter bracket, tighten bolts which hold new adapter onto existing onto existin Ferrari bracket. Belt length is perfect with everything tight but I don't like this set up.

If you've got the time and equipment, take the adapter bracket and fabricate a new one almost exactly like it. However, make the ears taller and set up on of them so you can rotate the new compressor so it will act as the belt tightener (like the Alternator is).

Gotta go, kids are screaming and wife is too. I'll try to clear this up later.

It's a GATES 7450 belt (34 5/8" x 3/8")

 

Ok, I'm going to try and make this a little more clear. The best access if from the wheel well and below (for attaching the lower bolts on the condener - it's a JOY let me tell you!).

The AC mounts on the adapter bracket. The adapter bracket looke like and "L" with an ear in the middle (lets just use that description for ease of description with out photos - sorry, I don't have a digital camera).

First, you need to mount the existing Ferrari AC bracket on the car. Put some washers behind it so that it's set off from the timing belt cover ~3/16 - 1/4" or so. You'll have just enough stud left to get the nylon lock nuts on.

Mounting the L bracket on the car, or condenser first is your choice. Both represent challenges in regards to reach, use 3-hands and an eyeball to attach the compressor to the car! I feel it's easier to mount the L bracket to the car first. Below I describe how the bracket should be modified or re-fabricated to facilitate better installation.

The base of the L will be towards the cam cover. The condenser will fit so that the mounting holes will be inside the L (between the base and the ear). Put a washer b/w the L bracket and the Ferrari AC bracket so it will stand off (two would probably be OK as well). Note that you'll need new bolts/nylon lock nuts for this operation (3-total ~3" long). Leave it lose so there is ~ 1/4" gap b/w the new bracket and the old one. Once that is on, you'll be ready to put on the AC compressor. Remember to loop the new belt over the pulleys. The whole system barely fits. Tighten all the condenser attachement points. The belt will be snug but not tight. Tighten the adapter bracket to Ferrari AC bracket bolts. This will tighten the belt up nicely and it should work OK. You will not need the lower mounts from the old set up, or the tensioner pulley. Remeber to make sure everything is square before you tighen things up.

Note that the 3/8" belt is just a little large for the crank pulley but is perfect for the AC. It works as intended however, using the sides of the belt to turn everything. You may also find that the 35-1/8" belt works for you. I could not believe that 1/2" of difference in length took up so much slack in the belt. I had intended to mount the tensioner pulley with a spacer behind it (to get rid of the lower bracket which really doesn't fit anymore) and using it to tension the belt. The 35 1/8" belt just had too much slack. If I were you, I'd buy both sizes and see if you can get the existing tensioner pulley to work (remember you'll need a spacer behind it AND the stud where the pulley rotates about, the same thickness as the old lower mounting bracket that it used to rest against). I may even try to find a different brand of belt just to see if it's a little longer/shorter and get my tensioner on there.

Now if you cannot get the tensioner pulley on there a better way to do this would be to modify the bracket so that the AC hangs down towards the crank pulley a little more - down and back (longer L base and ear) and so that you have some method to rotate the condenser to tighen the belt rather than rely on it fittings exactly right. What you want is a pivot point on the "down" side and an oblong/angled hole on the "top" side. Look at the atlernator to understand what I mean. In fact, you'd probably have to fabricate a new bracket to make this work.

I'll see if I can borrow a digital camera and post a picture of this set up so you'll have something to look at before you start this.

I could only get one existing hose to mount on the new condenser. But it does not have a charging port. The new drier has a high pressure charging port. I'm going to have to cut off the old fitting and install a new fitting on the low pressure side. It will just be easier to do this. It will have a low pressure charging port on it which means my ports are at opposite ends of the car. Kind of a pain but Steve had at least 6' of hose on each guage so it would not have been an issue. I may still put new fittings on both lines at the condenser just so I'll have ports close to each other. Of course you could also make new lines, get a new exp. valve and set it up even better but that's up to you.

Note that I exchanged the drier for a Mercedes unit (UAC Part# RD0954T). It is 3" dia and ~6" tall. It had some mounting ears welded to it which I cut off and painted over. You cannot tell the difference. Best of all it was only $35.99, well below any price I've seen for a drier for the 308 and it fits in the existing bracket perfect. It also has a port to install a low pressure cut off if you chose to do so.

Good Luck.

 

Morrie,

I had a lot of trouble getting a new fitting on the HP line last night. I wanted to replace it so that I would have a charge port on both lines at the same end of the car. I could have used the old HP line as it was, but then I have a charge port for the high side at the front (new drier) and low side on the rear. You will probably not be able to use the old LP line b/c of the way the fittings are on it. You'll need a 90° fitting to get it hooked up to the compressor and the existing one is straight.

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33730

 

BigTex could probably use a stock AC clutch if one hits the floor on one of these projects........

His old one went in the dumpster by accident....


*big sigh*

He doesn't mind the stock system, it forces his dates to dress lightly.....

 

The AC system is up and running.

Pulled 30" for about 10-minutes, turned the vacuum off and it held for 10-minutes longer.

Pulled a vacuum for ~ 45 minutes to remove the moisture in the system. Charged with ~2 12oz cans of R134a. System ran at 44-deg while I was parked and cooled the car nicely. The real test will obviously be when it's 95 outside and I've got it on, but it sure cooled teh car off nicely on the way home.

Sure glad this is over and it works. Not to bad really. Lots of on/off with the compressor to make it fit and get everything lined up. Ended up with a custom long 90 on the LP side so that both lines are on the top side and away from the gas tank where they used to rub.

I'll borrow a camera and post some pics of the set up.