Purchase new air conditioning condenser, and receiver / drier

[mcfwordsworth]

Hi All,

My R33 GTSt has a broken air conditioner condenser, and receiver drier.  Trying to find replacement parts (specifically a new receiver/drier) has been a nightmare.  Is anyone able to point me in the right direction, please?  It doesn't need to be OEM, just fit in the OEM space with the appropriate pressure switch.

Many thanks,
Michael

[robbo_rb180]

Good kit using modern components
https://frenchysperformancegarage.com/products/fpg-nissan-skyline-r32-a-c-air-conditioning-replacement-kit-r134a-fpg-039?variant=43586428862642

 

[R3N3]

6 hours ago, robbo_rb180 said:

Good kit using modern components
https://frenchysperformancegarage.com/products/fpg-nissan-skyline-r32-a-c-air-conditioning-replacement-kit-r134a-fpg-039?variant=43586428862642

 

+1, i have this kit and is great.

[mcfwordsworth]

Thanks Both - that's an option I hadn't thought about at all.  I'm hoping not to have to spend $3k (by time it's regassed and fitted) on the a/c though. 

[R3N3]

15 minutes ago, mcfwordsworth said:

Thanks Both - that's an option I hadn't thought about at all.  I'm hoping not to have to spend $3k (by time it's regassed and fitted) on the a/c though. 

I looked at buying new genuine Nissan stuff and the price wasn’t that different. Key plus with the frenchys kit is that it users much more modern parts. Other option is second hand.

[GTSBoy]

You can easily burn a thousand trying to track down leaks with the old crap.

Ask me how I know.

[joshuaho96]

3 hours ago, mcfwordsworth said:

Thanks Both - that's an option I hadn't thought about at all.  I'm hoping not to have to spend $3k (by time it's regassed and fitted) on the a/c though. 

If your luck is anything like mine, what happens is in the process of pulling hoses to get access to the one leak you create many more leaks because every o-ring was on the verge of failing and the strain of pulling it apart caused it to fail. Sometimes life is simple, sometimes you pay twice trying to save once.

For the R33 you can still get most AC components from Nissan, I use nissan epc data or amayama to look up the part numbers and then search for the cheapest/most practical way of sourcing from there.

[mcfwordsworth]

Perfect - thanks Joshuaho96!  Will see what I can source.

[MBS206]

1 hour ago, mcfwordsworth said:

Perfect - thanks Joshuaho96!  Will see what I can source.

The Frenchy's kit linked above, will cost you about the same as factory Nissan. The difference with staying factory Nissan is, you'll end up with an inferior AC system.

[GTSBoy]

26 minutes ago, MBS206 said:

you'll end up with an inferior AC system

....that still needs to be retrofitted to take R134A also.

[Duncan]

Where things are NLA new, you can always try Yahoo Auction JP.

I bought 2 C34 stagea compressors and the first one I fitted worked OK, but feels like a real lottery.

Any future failure I would modernise with the Frenchy's kit or similar for sure.

[GTSBoy]

10 minutes ago, Duncan said:

Any future failure I would modernise with the Frenchy's kit or similar for sure.

I'm just going to recondition one of my R34 compressors. It's not rocket surgery.

[Duncan]

5 minutes ago, GTSBoy said:

I'm just going to recondition one of my R34 compressors. It's not rocket surgery.

Probably OK if you can do it yourself, our local Auto Elec couldn't get a kit for it so couldn't be bothered fixing....

[joshuaho96]

19 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

....that still needs to be retrofitted to take R134A also.

Aren't R33s R134a? 

[GTSBoy]

30 minutes ago, joshuaho96 said:

Aren't R33s R134a? 

I thought not. R32s certainly weren't. R33s definitely could have been, but I thought they had much the same gear in them as the 32s. I could be wrong.

I had my r32 converted to R143A before I put the Neo motor (and its R34 compressor) into it. So I didn't even really consider the original refrigerant for the 34's compressor. Seeing as the very idea of "conversion" means that it doesn't really matter anyway.

What it would really come down to, in the car in question, is what ports are on the lines and if they are R12 or R143A ports. And the little bit of work required to convert them and clean the system out of the old juice.

[joshuaho96]

17 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

I thought not. R32s certainly weren't. R33s definitely could have been, but I thought they had much the same gear in them as the 32s. I could be wrong.

I had my r32 converted to R143A before I put the Neo motor (and its R34 compressor) into it. So I didn't even really consider the original refrigerant for the 34's compressor. Seeing as the very idea of "conversion" means that it doesn't really matter anyway.

What it would really come down to, in the car in question, is what ports are on the lines and if they are R12 or R143A ports. And the little bit of work required to convert them and clean the system out of the old juice.

 

Apparently very early R33s had R12, after that they switched to R134a. So if it's all OEM R134a and the parts still exist it might be worth keeping it stock. But from a quick search the condenser is really, really expensive if it's still available. Hard to say which actually ends up cheaper here, if you end up needing a new compressor the FPG kit is probably cheaper.