Old Air Hurricane Install (1 Viewer)

[Honger]

And I feel like I owe this thread an update.

The AC works great! Once I got a leak isolated and fixed it has worked quite consistently. I can drive the truck in the mornings and late afternoons with no issues. It's plenty comfortable.

Mid-day it struggles a bit in the heat and direct sunlight here... but I think that owes more to the fact that it is trying to cool a giant metal box of a car with no insulation.

The engine temp gets quite a bit higher than it used to. That owes mostly to the condenser sitting in front of the radiator. I'm toying with ideas on relocating the condenser to a different location and putting an electric fan on it. That would enable better cooling when using the AC and also let the engine radiator and fan do it's job without constriction.

But on the whole the unit works great and blows well. I'm happy with the AC. And it keeps my truck usable throughout the summer.

 

[Will Van]

Fantastic thread. I was looking for other options for A/C, Heat, and Defrost because I don't want to move my ARB air compressor.

This is exactly what I needed.

Thanks!

 

[Honger]

@Will Van posted here and reminded me to update again.

Inspired by @UZJ40 I relocated my condenser to the underside of the truck with it’s own electric cooling fan. That has greatly reduced how hot the engine would get with AC running... and actually has kept the engine cooler overall with no obstruction in front of the radiator.

The AC works. Things I’d do differently...
1. Some lizard skin or spectrum on the firewall to insulate from the engine heat.
2. Some clear tinting on the windows to cut the heat from direct sunlight. The FJ40 is literally a greenhouse in the hot desert summer with sunlight. The AC fights that a lot.

 

[Honger]

Fantastic thread. I was looking for other options for A/C, Heat, and Defrost because I don't want to move my ARB air compressor.

This is exactly what I needed.

Thanks!

Your compressor is where my hoses exit, however they could have exited differently. You should be able to use the Old Air and leave the compressor.

I’ve since done a second Old Air install in one of the trucks I’m selling. We did the heat as well as AC on that. The heat works amazing! As does the AC.

Very happy with these units.

 

[Will Van]

Your compressor is where my hoses exit, however they could have exited differently. You should be able to use the Old Air and leave the compressor.

I’ve since done a second Old Air install in one of the trucks I’m selling. We did the heat as well as AC on that. The heat works amazing! As does the AC.

Very happy with these units.

Yessir, it looks like you can route the A/C and H2O lines however you prefer. I like that the Hurricane unit is so compact and has room for flexibility.

 

[1Fine40]

Any pix of where you mounted that condenser unit? Curious what you used for a fan on it too.

Thanks!

 

[Living in the Past]

Curious of how the condenser is mounted as well. Any type of protection? Skid plate made with expanded metal would be a good option for wheeling in AZ.

 

[Will Van]

@Will Van posted here and reminded me to update again.

Inspired by @UZJ40 I relocated my condenser to the underside of the truck with it’s own electric cooling fan. That has greatly reduced how hot the engine would get with AC running... and actually has kept the engine cooler overall with no obstruction in front of the radiator.

The AC works. Things I’d do differently...
1. Some lizard skin or spectrum on the firewall to insulate from the engine heat.
2. Some clear tinting on the windows to cut the heat from direct sunlight. The FJ40 is literally a greenhouse in the hot desert summer with sunlight. The AC fights that a lot.

Any pix of where you mounted that condenser unit? Curious what you used for a fan on it too.

Thanks!

Curious of how the condenser is mounted as well. Any type of protection? Skid plate made with expanded metal would be a good option for wheeling in AZ.

3rd. Any pics of how you mounted the condenser?

 

[Honger]

Doh! Let me get some photos this evening and post them up.

 

[Will Van]

@Will Van posted here and reminded me to update again.

Inspired by @UZJ40 I relocated my condenser to the underside of the truck with it’s own electric cooling fan. That has greatly reduced how hot the engine would get with AC running... and actually has kept the engine cooler overall with no obstruction in front of the radiator.

The AC works. Things I’d do differently...
1. Some lizard skin or spectrum on the firewall to insulate from the engine heat.
2. Some clear tinting on the windows to cut the heat from direct sunlight. The FJ40 is literally a greenhouse in the hot desert summer with sunlight. The AC fights that a lot.

Doh! Let me get some photos this evening and post them up.

I did a little snooping around. I assume this is the UZJ40 setup you are referring to?

That's actually a transmission cooler pictured, but I think UZJ40 sandwiched an A/C condenser and SPAL fan in there somewhere. Pics of your setup would be awesome regardless!

 

[Honger]

By popular demand!!

Some photos of the condenser mounted up under the tub.

To mount it we made some stand-off brackets that bolted to existing captured nuts in the body. Two of those captured nuts were there already holding in a heat shield. So we stood off of that. The other two captured nuts were ones that I had welded in during the restoration to eventually bolt down a platform into the back of the 40. When it comes time to do a platform back there I'll have to figure out how to make that best work.

Mounting looked something like this...

Here's how the hoses exit and fun...

And the drier bottle still sits next to the radiator up front.

The condenser is the same one I'd originally mounted up front, a 14" x 18" x .86".
The fan is a SPAL VA10-AP10/C-61S. The link is a to a UK site that shows a technical drawing of the fan. But they are available in the States.

 

[Living in the Past]

How well did this work in the Middle East heat? Can't see a good air flow mounted horizontal when it suppose to be vertical. Would think a electric fan is needed. I also would need protection in AZ for off road use.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Bookmarked this @Honger. Great stuff. Need to get this done on a few rigs. It’s hot here in Texas man!

 

[Will Van]

By popular demand!!

Some photos of the condenser mounted up under the tub.

To mount it we made some stand-off brackets that bolted to existing captured nuts in the body. Two of those captured nuts were there already holding in a heat shield. So we stood off of that. The other two captured nuts were ones that I had welded in during the restoration to eventually bolt down a platform into the back of the 40. When it comes time to do a platform back there I'll have to figure out how to make that best work.

Mounting looked something like this...

Here's how the hoses exit and fun...

And the drier bottle still sits next to the radiator up front.

The condenser is the same one I'd originally mounted up front, a 14" x 18" x .86".
The fan is a SPAL VA10-AP10/C-61S. The link is a to a UK site that shows a technical drawing of the fan. But they are available in the States.

Thanks so much! Very helpful. Any pics with the Spal fan too?

 

[Honger]

How well did this work in the Middle East heat? Can't see a good air flow mounted horizontal when it suppose to be vertical. Would think a electric fan is needed. I also would need protection in AZ for off road use.

Thanks so much! Very helpful. Any pics with the Spal fan too?

The fan is up there... it's sandwiched between the body and the condenser. It's a pusher fan. The fan doesn't touch the body... just barely. The electric fan is tied in, via relay, to the AC compressor power. So if the AC compressor is on, the electric fan is running. I've tested it, put my hand under the condenser with the AC on, and it moves quite a bit of air.

I'll try and get my phone up in there tonight to see the fan.

 

[Honger]

How well did this work in the Middle East heat? Can't see a good air flow mounted horizontal when it suppose to be vertical. Would think a electric fan is needed. I also would need protection in AZ for off road use.

The Middle East... Arizona... it's mostly the same in terms of AC performance. In the mornings and later afternoons the AC works a treat!

In the middle of the day when then sun is out in full force there's only so much it can do. Our 40's are giant sheet metal boxes with no insulation whatsoever. They are practically an oven. The dark gray upholstery in my truck radiates heat from the direct sunlight during the heat of the day for example. I think two things would help a bit further... tinting the windows to reduce radiant heat and some sort of insulation at the firewall to block all the radiant heat from the 2F. But I've largely just conceded that my FJ40 is not a deep summer vehicle. =)

 

[Honger]

One more thing... in humid places (like where I was in the Middle East) the perceived effect of the AC is much greater. The AC may have struggled in the middle of the day to keep the 40 really cold on the inside, but it did dehumidify nonetheless.

The dry heat of AZ doesn't strike the same contrast.

 

[Living in the Past]

One more thing... in humid places (like where I was in the Middle East) the perceived effect of the AC is much greater. The AC may have struggled in the middle of the day to keep the 40 really cold on the inside, but it did dehumidify nonetheless.

The dry heat of AZ doesn't strike the same contrast.

What happens when you dehumidify air you loose BTU of cooling. Want to increase the cooling in mid day add a spray mist of water to the condenser. Water transfers heat better than air. Back in 1990 when the temperature reach 122 degrees Fahrenheit I spent the afternoon on the roof of a commercial building running around with a hose spraying condensors down to keeping them from going off on high head pressure.