Hello friends,

I just bought a sweet little white 1990 Pickup with 180K miles and I'm wondering what the procedure is if I want to add air conditioning to it. She's never had it before so I'd need everything.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'm thinking I'll source the parts and then find a shop to put it in for me.

Your advice is gospel. Cheers.

 

It might be cheaper to just move to a cooler part of the country ...

In all seriousness though , it's a pretty major undertaking IMO . Your best bet would be to find a complete A/C system from a similar truck that came with A/C . I mean everything , electrical , plumbing , compressor , condensor , and a new pulley . Also to note : I believe if you have it installed by a shop , the shop needs to be certified to do A/C work ...

Good luck ! I could never justify the cost and time of it for the 4-6 weeks a year it gets really warm around here .

 

I'm pretty sure "certification" is required only if you're trying to buy R22. A "new" system would be R143a. And bradstyle doesn't have to worry about recovering used refrigerant; he doesn't have any.

But having done "only" a compressor replacement myself, I agree that this is a really big job. No one is going to sell you a "kit" of all the parts, so you will be constantly running into problems of missing brackets (for instance).

Good luck!

 

The technician servicing it will need to be certified by an EPA section 609 authorized training program. I think most shops have people who are certified to do this.

I obtained my EPA 609 certification which allows me to buy R12. It also allows one to work on mobile a/c systems for compensation. I only work on my own vehicles however.

Here are some excerpts for the EPA website... http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/609/...655.1432336612

..."All persons repairing or servicing motor vehicle air-conditioning (MVAC) systems for consideration must be properly trained and certified by a program authorized by EPA".

..."Note, that while certification is required in order to service motor vehicle air-conditioners, certification is not required to purchase R-134a."


I agree that this would be an expensive project.

 

Up until the mid 1980's you could go to many stereo shops and get a universal a/c kit installed on any car. There are still universal kits on eBay. The evaporator is mounted under the dash:


http://www.ebay.com/bhp/universal-a-c-kit


This kit for $498 reminds me of the "nippondenso" kit that the Toyota dealer installed on my dad's 1973 Corolla. It worked well but it was R22 where today it would be 134a


http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-C-KIT-UNIV...-/261800956333




I have the whole shebang from a junkyard 88 4Runner in a box but have never gotten around to getting it installed. I think Terry87 has done it on one of his.

 

I just fixed my ac, it's worth it!

Find a yota yard and strip the parts, install and take it to a shop.

 

Retrofitting factory A/C is a pretty big job but if you are used to doing mechanical work and have access to the shop manual for your vehicle it's just like any other project. The first step is a detailed look at your truck and the Toyota service manual to determine every part you need.

I drive a '91 4Runner that we bought new without A/C but around 2001 I decided that air would be nice. I researched the shop manual to see what extra parts were needed vs what was already on the truck and made a list of what was missing. It turned out that most of the basic wiring harness for the A/C was factory equipped so you don't have to dig into that. You still need a lot of parts but you should be able to just send the list you put together to a reliable dismantler for a quote.

In my case, they agreed to send me everything I needed at a reasonable price (this was 2001 remember, before all the dismantlers decided that all used parts were made of gold). It took two tries for them to send me working parts that were packed well enough to survive shipping but they eventually succeeded (the aluminum tubing is especially fragile and must be really well packed).

I received a shipment including a compressor, evaporator, radiator fan, fuse/relay box, aluminum tubing, wire harness extender, dashboard switch etc. which I then proceeded to install piece by piece. You will probably want to switch to R-134A instead of R12 and you will need to get a set of appropriate o-rings from the dealer or your local A/C shop. I recommend getting to know a local shop that you can get parts (you will also need a new receiver/drier) and advice from and then get them to do the pressure test and refrigerant fill when you are done.

Good luck!

Jim G.

 

I installed a factory similar kit from ackits.com in my 91.
Works perfect and took a day to do.
Just had to take it to a shop for a vaccum/charge.

 

I know this post is 3 years old but how is the AC holding up? Have an 88 Pickup without AC and was quoted $1325. Trying to decide if I want to go that route or try to find all the parts. Living in SW Florida I need something. The truck was my stepdads so I'm not planning to sell and buy another. Thanks.

 

 

What kind of garage did you go to get a quote? Are there A/C specialists in FL? In the early 80's there were tons of shops that advertised A/C installation. I guess there's little need now. I'd gladly pay $1325 tomorrow for A/C!