Decent Daily Driver Dosage

With the audio system's in.. what's short on making The Dog decent for daily use? Correct.. Air-Conditioner.. and that's exactly the latest addition to my car. To be honest, AC is not something i'm too keen on having. It takes up too much space on the already crammed engine bay and stands as just one more headache to look after and maintain. Yeah, when it comes to cars, i'm practically old-skool. I say no to power windows, electric door locks, power steering and all that jazz. Cars should only be about reliability. Heck, i still even question my decision on putting the audio. I don't even listen to it that often.

So why did i do it? Just like anyone else running AC on their car, it's simply too damn hot. I'm fed up of soaking my shirt even on short distance driving. The leather Bride upholstery didn't help much on absorbing the heat (and sweat). It's just a matter of benefits outweighing the hassles. So, with the risk of having to add extra joints on my arms when i work around the engine bay, The Dog is now running air con.

First challenge was finding the spot for the compressor. It wasn't too difficult, right next to the EDIS crank position sensor was decided as the best spot. The compressor is brand-frikkin-new Denso originally for Daihatsu Granmax P/N JK447160-22203D This was chosen because it requires no extra tensioning pulley to tighten the belt so that i'm saving up space. The compressor bracket is bolted to the CKP sensor mount.

One minor negligible problem: crank pulley is 5 rib while this compressor has 4.

Belt size being used is 4PK-780.

Next challenge is cramming the condenser in. This is less-than-new Daihatsu Xenia condenser which at first i wanted to place below the rear trunk. However, the fuel tank size and the lowered suspension didn't allow for a reliable mounting spot. Finally, it's decided that i have to risk reducing the intercooler's efficiency by placing the condenser in front of it.

Here's another view of the sandwiched intercooler.

I was lucky enough i was still able to run the old blower motor assembly but the same can't be said about the evaporator. It was in such bad condition that it's better to replace it. The old evap has never been replaced since the car was new which explains the sorry state it's in. The cooling fins were blocked so badly, holes were poked through just so that they would flow enough air!

Charmant's cooling coil is similar to 4th gen Corollas. I couldn't find a Denso branded coil so i had to make do with PACO part number CTK-o1-R.

Verdict? The Dog's now tons more enjoyable to drive. I'm able to shut the windows so that i can listen to the audio better. One minor problem i still need to tackle is the idle up system. I'm still not running one so each time the compressor's engaging, the idle speed would drop significantly and occasionally the engine dies. For now, i'm increasing the idle speed a bit but later i'm going to install an idle up solenoid. I'm also considering on somehow running a pressure switch so that if the turbo's spooling, the compressor will be disengaged.