1983 320i - Calypso Red

[Somjuan]

Here's a decent thread on replacements that will bolt on, looks like the mkII VW is the way to go

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/show...t=91139&page=2

[Thecatmilton]

Thanks! My York lines don't match up, if you get them made could you tell me where to do so? I can't find anyone around here to do it Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Hosefast hydraulics in Dallas would be able to do it. You could call them and see if they know of any similar companies in Houston. You could try and see if they could ship them to you.

They made a few new hoses for my York system.

[ca18sean]

A couple updates to the problems I was having.

Pulled the brake master cylinder and booster this weekend. Booster had markings on it from the junkyard indicating it had been changed before. I noticed the o ring between the master cylinder and booster was missing. Put that on and vacuum leak solved. Idle is rock solid now. I'm concerned the previous owner messed with the air fuel adjustment to compensate for the vacuum leak but I won't mess with it until I get a wideband o2 on it. Also re-ran the vacuum line to the distributor, no clue why the previous owner removed it. Holds vacuum fine and feels like it runs better now.

As far as my slight overheating, put a new recored radiator in with a new 75 deg wahler thermostat and all new hoses. Jacked the front of the car way up to make sure and get all the air bubbles out. And changed from a mechanical fan to a pair of new SPAL pusher and puller electric fans. It now sits rock solid right in the middle or slightly below even after full throttle runs through twisty roads. I'm very happy with the progress next up, get that AC installed!

[Somjuan]

Looking absolutely gorgeous. The pusher puller fans don't keep it too cool? Was there a trick to that?

[ca18sean]

I put a slightly larger than stock pusher spal in place of the factory AC fan and a small puller on the back by the radiator. I had to offset it to the driver side and raise it up to clear the water pump pulley. It's not ideal but in Florida summer with the AC running I don't think such a thing as "too cool" exists. Lol. I wired them using this diagram I found without the optional light or switch. I used a waterproof hella relay I got off amazon.

[ca18sean]

Took some time to finish up the fan wiring this morning. Took a couple pics of the whole setup. Tomorrow I'll be heading up to my shop to install AC.





I know not everyone loves them, but I'm a fan of the Delphi connectors. I use them on equipment at work and they seem to work well.



Added the shroud back on. This thing is like a wind tunnel under the hood now. I'm very happy with the spal pusher/puller setup.



Wiring and relay all wrapped up.

Edit* for anyone else wanting to run a similar setup the fans I used are:

Spal 30102030 12" Swept Blade Fan (pusher)

Spal 30100435 10" Curved Blade Fan (puller)

[ca18sean]

Got the AC compressor installed this weekend. Took it up to my shop yesterday to recycle the freon so I could pull the old compressor off. Recovered 0.6 lbs. I don't have a refrigerant tag under the hood, does anyone know how much freon an e21 takes?

Got back home, pulled the York compressor.





New bracket installed.



Lines swapped over fine. We will see if they deal right when I go to charge it.



Installed. Need to go back up to the shop to vacuum the system and charge it up.



I'm also pretty sure I need motor mounts because all my pulleys are very close to the sway bar and when I was running the mechanical fan it sat too low to install a fan shroud. I'll order a set of those too.

[laptop4079]

Looks great! What model sanded did you use? I need to buy one but there are so many

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

[ca18sean]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/351437381269

My kit called for Sanden 7207

[Somjuan]

Nice, just installed and charged my Behr. I'm hoping to get cold air sometime later today once the electrical's sorted, currently have a loose bolt I can't reach shorting the clutch when it goes to turn on. Wish I knew there was a bolt up model to the york, the 84 e30 had a 12mm low pressure side

[ca18sean]

Update on the AC. Had to run a slightly smaller belt so the tensioner wasn't right on the sway bar. I think it's because the car is lowered so the sway bar is rotated up slightly. Vacuumed it down, no leaks, charged it up and I'm getting right around 40 degrees out of the vents on a 95 degree day. It's fantastic. Airflow isn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, it feels about the same as my 2000 Toyota Tacoma. Definitely happy with it

Edit, forgot to add, new motor mounts and trans mount didn't do anything to raise the motor any. In fact the mounts that were on there looked nearly new. I did full them with window weld urethane but I didn't notice any difference. Smaller belt moved the tensioner up enough that it works.

[laptop4079]

Update on the AC. Had to run a slightly smaller belt so the tensioner wasn't right on the sway bar. I think it's because the car is lowered so the sway bar is rotated up slightly. Vacuumed it down, no leaks, charged it up and I'm getting right around 40 degrees out of the vents on a 95 degree day. It's fantastic. Airflow isn't nearly as bad as I was expecting, it feels about the same as my 2000 Toyota Tacoma. Definitely happy with it

Edit, forgot to add, new motor mounts and trans mount didn't do anything to raise the motor any. In fact the mounts that were on there looked nearly new. I did full them with window weld urethane but I didn't notice any difference. Smaller belt moved the tensioner up enough that it works.

What refrigerant did they fill it with?

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

[ca18sean]

I filled it with PAG oil and r134a. Someone had previously converted the York to run on 134 as well.

[SoCalE21]

Great work on the AC!

I contacted the seller of that ac bracket and he doesn't have any more. Bummer!

But looking at your pics of the York bracket and the Sanden bracket, do you think the York bracket could just be redrilled to make holes to fit the Sanden?

The brackets look pretty much the same, just with different hole placements.

[ca18sean]

Absolutely! The brackets are very similar. I also saw someone on eBay sells York to Sanden adapters. One of those might work too.

I was really concerned that the AC was going to suck even if it blew cold, but I think people exaggerate how poor the cabin flow is. It's not going to blow like a brand new car but it's definitely worth fixing! The 30 minute ride to my shop in 95 degrees without AC was miserable. The ride back home had me grinning the whole way! Lol. I love this car even more now.

[benjaminfrankln]

what is the advantage of swapping to this compressor? I never realized there was a kit for this conversion. Is it similar to the e30 compressor?

[laptop4079]

what is the advantage of swapping to this compressor? I never realized there was a kit for this conversion. Is it similar to the e30 compressor?

From my research
They're more efficient and lighter. Some e21s came with that compressor from the dealership. Company's still make them for newer cars so you can get them made for 134a

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

[ca18sean]

More efficient, quieter, designed for R134a refrigerant. Google search York vs Sanden. It's a common upgrade for older vehicles. I will eventually change over to a modern parallel flow condenser to replace the tube and fin that's in there now.

[SoCalE21]

Absolutely! The brackets are very similar. I also saw someone on eBay sells York to Sanden adapters. One of those might work too.

I was really concerned that the AC was going to suck even if it blew cold, but I think people exaggerate how poor the cabin flow is. It's not going to blow like a brand new car but it's definitely worth fixing! The 30 minute ride to my shop in 95 degrees without AC was miserable. The ride back home had me grinning the whole way! Lol. I love this car even more now.

I agree. Even with my old York compressor, when everything is working right the AC is very functional.

Would you be interested in selling me your old York bracket? That way I could experiment with adapting it to fit the Sanden without having to take my car apart.

If I can figure out an easy way to make it work I'll do a write up on it.

PM me if so, thanks!

[ca18sean]

Would you be interested in selling me your old York bracket? That way I could experiment with adapting it to fit the Sanden without having to take my car apart.

If I can figure out an easy way to make it work I'll do a write up on it.

PM me if so, thanks!

Absolutely! PM sent. Yours for the price of shipping.

[SoCalE21]

Absolutely! PM sent. Yours for the price of shipping.

Cool, I PM'd you.

[ca18sean]

I promise I didn't forget about the AC, just haven't had a chance to get it boxed up yet

I did get a sweet package in the mail today from the Ukraine. An eBay seller there who sells re-wrapped euro wheels to support his theatre happened to have a coarse spline M-Tech wheel with M tri stitching and I couldn't pass it up. He also threw in a matching shift knob with a little note saying "surprise!". Awesome! Definitely made my Friday!

Untitled by CA18 Sean, on Flickr

[benjaminfrankln]

nice steering wheel!

I am curious about your front fan mount. Are those the factory brackets for the original AC fan? And they happen to fit perfectly for your Spal 30102030 12" Swept Blade Fan (pusher) fan?

[ca18sean]

Thank you!

And yes, factory brackets. I had to redrill them so they mounted slightly farther out because the fan is larger but other than that it fit right in there. The Spal fan also uses the same plug as factory so it could potentially be a direct replacement.

[ca18sean]

Quick pic of the installed wheel. I ended up keeping my weighted factory M knob, but the new matching knob is pretty sweet looking. Feels so much better than the old wheel. Very happy with it