air conditioning from other vehicle

We have a 10 year old Mazda Tribute 3 litre which is "fully loaded" with extras including the best air con I have had in any car. Quite a lot of work is anticipated for the MOT, and Japanese cars being what they are (well it was also sold as a Ford) the unique parts are expensive and we are replacing it with a new car.

Meantime the Mazda is worth peanuts, and I am wondering if the air con components could be harvested and installed diy style in my 110 v8. For the pump I would aim to double up one of the pulleys on the fan belt and add an extra bracket like the dual alternator kits. I need to check whether the matrix is incorporated into the radiator or separate. The rest is trunking to get the cold air into the blower, and the temp control.

Stupid idea?

I have read about the proper defender kits (££££) and the standalone kits (plan B).

Will be used for UK holidays and commuting / deliveries.

I'm not an expert on this (or anything else)- but I believe the compressor is engaged / disengaged by a signal from a relay or ECU. A clutch then connects the compressor to the belt. Without this your compressor would be permanently engaged, meaning very poor fuel eco and risk of damage to the system with ice build up (so I've been told).

So there would be a electronic aspect that should be looked into.

My defender has some sort of after market (frankenstein) system It used a standard compressor for the 300TDI engine, then a fan driven heat exchange under the drivers seat tucked into the chassis recess (to keep excessive heat away from the engine) and a blower unit in the roof above the passage seats. It works great, and I'm in 50c at the moment!

But

Really....Oman!

I just returned to the UK after 15 years working in Muscat. Have seen friends posts about it being nearly 50 degrees for the past three days. Makes me glad to be back in Blightly.

However, back to the original post. I am sure it would be possible to connect the compressor to a V8 as some versions had AC anyway so there should be belts and brackets available.
For the on/off of the compressor clutch I am sure a 12v timing circuit can be bought quite cheaply and adjusted so that you get the right amount of on to make it cold.
As the system is free all it will cost you to find out is time.

Interesting responses, both. I hadn't considered the timing of the engagement - obvious now you mention it. I also got some advice that the changeover of the system might effect the refridgerant circuit and therefore be against regs for me to fiddle with it, and consequent cleaning and recharging.

Its beginning to seem like the devil is in the detail.

Removing the refrigerant from the Mazda would require a Refrigerant management station and the operator would have to hold a valid refrigerant handling certificate and trained in the recovery of RM110 which contains HFC's.
These gases damage the ozone layer and have global warming potential of over 150 and will be phased out soon under the kyoto agreement.

None of the pipework will fit so new pipes will have to be made.
The evaporator will be inside the blower unit of the mazda and wont fit in the defender so an after market add on would have to be purchased.

Depending on the system type FOT or TXV either the receiver dryer or suction accumulator will have to be replaced due to moisture ingress from the system being left open and the desiccant becoming saturated. Failure to do this will result in premature failure of the compressor?

The condenser will have to made to fit behind the rad and the fan made to cool both of these efficiently, the fan will have to be made to run on, like when stood in traffic etc.

The compressor will have to be mounted then wired not to the ecu as suggested but to a binary or trinary switch that monitors high/low pressure in the system then wired in series with the heaters blower switch and a thermostat on the evaporator.

Once all the system has been installed it must be vacuumed out for at least 1/2 hour for all the the moisture to evaporate and to be removed then leak tested assuming this goes ok it can then be recharged with the correct amount of gas and oil, this could only be trial and error as changes will have been made to the previous systems pipework and this cannot be done without a refrigerant management station (aircon machine).

In short great idea, highly possible but and its a big but, it would be very labour intensive and cost a small fortune and probably not be that good.

Given the UK's blistering summers NOT it hardly seems worth it

All the best
Lee