A/c

[john roeder]

Just wondering how many use there dash A/C. Seems everyone runs thier genset and roof A/C. If that is the case could you remove the A/C from the motor or would that be a mistake. Also on the right side manifold the air tupes were removed and pluged. The left side still has em, not cracked or anything, just wondering if i could just remove the hose to em and put a plug there for now. Then do away with those air pumps. Still learning and having fun . Thanks for everyone's help.

John

[Fyrzowt]

Originally Posted by john roeder

Just wondering how many use there dash A/C. Seems everyone runs thier genset and roof A/C. If that is the case could you remove the A/C from the motor or would that be a mistake. Also on the right side manifold the air tupes were removed and pluged. The left side still has em, not cracked or anything, just wondering if i could just remove the hose to em and put a plug there for now. Then do away with those air pumps. Still learning and having fun . Thanks for everyone's help.

John

I'm not sure I understand the question, but then I tow a trailer.

Dash A/C = cool while driving.
Roof A/C = cool while stationary. Must be plugged in to power to do this - either shore power or generator.

Respond back with further questions or clarification, or one of you MOHO operators set me straight.
Dave

[noiva]

John,

I had a 1989 370LE for a few years, and although my dash AC worked, it was good only on moderately warm days. Simply too much heat with all that glass up front. Most of the folks who have the classics seem to agree that, in general, the dash air doesn't even work. I was a little unusual in that area. However, front dash AC operational or not, you would need the front roof AC (assuming you have two) when the temperature gets hot enough. That's why you read so much about gen sets and roof AC. I used mine when it got too warm, and learned to close off the back half of the coach as well as close the back vents on the roof AC to force as much cool air toward the front as possible. Sometimes I could get away without the additional cool of the dash AC, so I'd run with just the roof air. Most of the time I'd use the dash and roof.

Hope that helps.

Best,

[john roeder]

Sorry Dave i guess more information would be better. Have 76 Argosy 28. Just wondering about the dash A/C if it was worth using. Also wondering about the air pumps that goes into the exhaust manifolds. Can you do away or disconnect them. Read were you can, take some work off the motor.

[68 Overlander]

I would not remove it whether or not you use it. I know they won't keep up in extreme heat but for moderate days, if it blows cold, why not keep it. Also, relieving the engine from turning the compressor and pulleys on that engine would be hardly noticeable. Correct me but I don't think you will make up any "substantial" gain by removing it.

[noiva]

I agree with Randy. The effort to remove a functional AC, along with the re-belting problems aren't worth the effort, IMHO. Now, if you're talking about a completely trashed, unrepairable unit, you might get your value out by removing all the stuff, especially the coils in line with the radiator - to give you better air flow. One problem with that, however, is that once it's gone, you'll likely never be able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again, should that become desirable at some future date.

Best,

[GlenCoombe]

All the above posts make sence so I'll reply to your AIR needs. Going half way makes little sense to me so .... can't figure out why the po did it. You can remove the tubes and plug but a much better idea is performance headers.
Headman or Doug Thorleys are the most inexpensive fixes here. The manifolds on the 454 are suspect at best. They leak, crack and blow gaskets. The smog/AIR pump drags horsepower from the motor as does the A/C.
If you remove the pump and go to headers you'll be surprised at the amount of room you'll have to work on your motor. That and you'll notice a cooler dog house temp as the headers dissipate heat much better too.
Oh, and you'll have gobbs more power and a bit of economy to boot.

[noiva]

Just to add to Glen's comments. Be glad you don't have the Ford 460 in a 370LE. I checked on getting headers for mine, and they couldn't fit them in the doghouse space. (At least that what my truck repair shop told me, and they could have made some money by selling me headers.) The best you could hope for on that one was to disconnect and plug, a process way too tight for me to tackle. Apparently there's more room in the 454, P 30 setup. Lots of folks have done headers on them. Glen practically lives in his, so he should know.

Best,

[john roeder]

Thanks Glen, I got the air pump removed and when the gasket blows again i am going to the headers. Did you remove the A/C pump or are you still using it. It just seems with all the space to cool it is not worth running and with it off there would be a lot of drag taken off the motor and a lot more room to work. Just seems more practial to use the roof top, seems it would cool a lot quicker. New to this and you guys know what your talking about, you been there done that.

Thanks a lot John

[ALANSD]

Glen is right on track. The ac is notoriously bad in these old Chevys, and I used our roof air and two high mounted front fans exclusively. It only got uncomfortable when the outside temps were 95 plus.
Insulating the doghouse and the front floor area around the driver and passenger went the furthest in cooling our interior. I used two layers of insulation under carpet on this area, and then corked the floor thru the living area

[GlenCoombe]

John, sorry to be so long getting back on the board.... I still have my A/C compressor in place. As it is inop. the clutch is not engaged and there is little drag. I left it in place as I didn't want to mess with the tragectory of the belts on to the hydroboost pump which is on the same belt/pully as the A/C compressor. I'm sure that sooner or later I'll have need to get into it but I am using the old ..."if it ain't broke...." mentallity. I've got enough on my to do list.

[john roeder]

Thanks Glen,
Going to do the same. Thought that air cleaner was cool so i did the same thing, turned out great, my freinds thought it was the coolest thing they ever saw. Next thing is to replace the brake fluid and bleed the system, just been setting so long thought it would be a good idea. Got my boy checking out the plumping being that's what he does for a living. Other then some small things, i think we'll be ready to go come spring. Again thanks for everyone's help.

[steelbird312]

Originally Posted by john roeder

If that is the case could you remove the A/C from the motor or would that be a mistake. John

John, If I'm not mistaken, don't GM A/C's run when you have the defrost function running to clear the windshield, even in cold weather?

Originally Posted by john roeder

Also on the right side manifold the air tupes were removed and pluged. The left side still has em, not cracked or anything, just wondering if i could just remove the hose to em and put a plug there for now. Then do away with those air pumps. John

The air pumps are part of the smog system. I have no idea what your smog tests and inspections are like, but you might need to check locally about that first.
By the way, I have a 390 XL, and after chasing down the entire system through ACME CO, I found that by RE-INSTALLIING the system as Acme meant for it to be, I could cool my unit acceptably through using the dash A/C up to say 85 degrees outside temp, IF I was not facing the sun head on. Above that, or with full head on sun, we run the roof units too.

[choctawmel]

I use my dash air. I keep it charged properly and it cools good. I have thought about making some drapes to go behind the cockpit area making it even more comfortable and would also dampen the noise from the wife's pots and pans on Oklahoma's third world roads.
Mel

[noiva]

Mel,

I'm with you. I always found it much more pleasant to run the dash air when it wasn't too hot outside because it was much more quiet than having the gen set and overhead AC running. Got better mileage w/o the gen set, too. I often thought of putting an air block just behind the cab to keep as much of that dash air forward as possible. I'm sure someone has done that, and could send some pics. No comment on Oklahoma's roads. Southeastern Virginia has plenty of highways, but the traffic is so bad you'll never get a speeding ticket during normal driving hours.

Best,

Originally Posted by choctawmel

I use my dash air. I keep it charged properly and it cools good. I have thought about making some drapes to go behind the cockpit area making it even more comfortable and would also dampen the noise from the wife's pots and pans on Oklahoma's third world roads.
Mel

[Robfike]

We run our dash A/C, and it works great. Proper charge is the key. It is also a good idea to "back wash" your radiator and condensor from time to time. By this I mean taking your water hose and spraying water through the units from behind. You won't believe all the crap that will shoot out the front.
Rob

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, STEELBIRD312 is right. If for nothing else, the A/C helps defogg your windshield. Leave it in and working. As for the smog pump, if you take it off and have to restore it for smog tests, it will be a big hassle. And if you disconnect it or dissable it incorrectly you could cause an engine fire. Very common; The check valves burn out due to no input from the air pump and the exhaust burns the hoses and the fire from the hoses burns anything near them.

[noiva]

I fully agree with Rob and Robert, especially since you have a functioning AC. In addition, flushing the cooling fins is a big help keeping air flowing through the radiator and back through the fan(s) across the block. I do that annually even with my home AC which is on a concrete slab behind my house. Amazing the dirt and junk that blows out of those fins. Finally, regardless of the smog laws in your state, if you go to sell your MoHo, I can tell you from experience buyers typically want the original equipment on the vehicle. If a buyer is from a state that is tight with smog laws, he would be reluctant to buy a vehicle that had all the smog stuff removed.

Best,

[Jimarq]

Both of our roof mount air conditioners put out cool air but not "freeze you out of there" cool air. We have been told that the best we could ask for is 20 degrees cooler than the outside temp. was the standard and both of our units can accomplish that. However, when this Texas heat hits 110 degrees, 20 degrees cooler is not a comfortable temp for us. As much as we appreciate our mechanic's efforts to save us money we were wondering if anyone else holds to this 20 degree cooler than the oustide temperature belief? We have a 1982 310 Isuzu diesel Classic motorhome and don't have any information from the previous owners of the age of our units. We are wondering if we should consider replacing one or both of the units or as our mechanic advises be happy with what we've got and try to park in the shade. Any advice or thoughts?

[str8strm]

Jimarq:
We have an '85 345 and were told the same thing about 20 degrees being the expected temp drop. Looking at our inside/outside thermometer, it does seem to be the case. Both ACs work fine. We are getting ready to install 2 Fantastic Fans and have been told that if they are run when we first fire up the AC, it can help by exhausting the heated air.