My new-to-me F-250 has factory air, but the belts have been removed so I imagine it's inoperable.

I'm thinking of removing the compressor and lines, too as I clean up the engine bay.

Should I do that or try and see if I can get it going?

The truck is a part-time driver and I have another car to drive if it's too hot to roll without AC.

 

Wish mine had A/C. I vote leave it and repair.

I would put way more miles on mine if it had it.

 

Best get a handle on the costs involved first. The old York compressor is quite inefficient by today's standards and is a major league horsepower thief. Replacing the York with a Sanden unit can be a good move. It's a common upgrade so adapters are available.
Recommend that you collect up info on the condition of what you have and what it will take to fix it right and then compare that to upgrading to some of all modern components.

 

Read this to get some info on the factory a/c. Then fix it.

NORTH COUNTRY SPECIALTIES ®

1979 F100 Air Conditioning

 

If that's a York on there, maybe consider keeping it and converting it to Onboard Air?

And then stuff a Sanden somewhere to make the A/C happy come out!

 

I recommend you find an AC shop that has some R12 and pay them to diagnose/leak check it. My guess, it needs a compressor and reciver/dryer and orfrice tube.

Id stick w/ R12 and have the "green" o-rings installed at all accessible fittings.

 

I know the brackets make working on the distributor a pain in the neck....on mine I have to use a crow foot and a long extension just to adjust timing.

 

If you really don't want A/C, +1 on setting up onboard air. If you don't want that either, wanna trade damper pulleys? All you need is a cheap air tank of some sort, some hose and fittings, and about $25 worth of switches and valves.

Personally, same as above, I'd fix the A/C, wish mine had it too. Depending on what you have access to, you can pretty much get a set of gauges and a cheap air-powered vacuum pump for around $100-150, and fix it yourself with pieces from any parts store - it's not the rocket science and witchcraft they make it out to be.

 

I believe that old trucks should have no AC, but then again, we only have dry heat out where I live. Questions to consider: How hot does it get? Is it muggy? You may want to keep your AC. How far do you want to get rid of the system? All the way to the evaporator? You'll have some fabbing to do for the heater to be intact and working correctly. That being said, I removed anything AC from my 460. I now have room to attack the fuel pump, run the hard fuel line from the pump to the carb and am able to remove the rear spark plug with ease. I love my open space.

 

The 1984 F150 302 short bed, my son and I just restored and sold, had it's AC removed. I made 2 trips the the JY to get the missing comp, brackets, evap* and re-installed it. It cools great and the buyer really liked (paid) for it.

So few older vehs have working AC ("Must need a charge" BS) that a functioning one it appreciated!


* knuckleheads cut the evap fittings, presumably because lack of correct wrenches!

AFAIC they sold millions of York compressors. Not the most "efficient" but a good one will work fine.

 

And yea, the AC made the F-pump hide!

 

Sell the parts, block off where the lines lead out for the Evaporator, modify the pump for use as onboard air ��.

 

I installed factory AC after cutting the firewall (l made template from one donor truck) in Summer 1986, robbed two donor trucks for all parts, installed new evap & cond, changed controls, etc.

When it was my only truck, those road trips were better because of it. If it weren't for that big hole in the firewall and if I had the oem heater, I'd revert back now. At this stage, it'll go with the truck.

 

There is an alternative that keeps you from having to weld-up the hole in the firewall... some A/C box Trucks and Broncos had no A/C actually in them as there was no Evaporator installed and just plugs added. This is from a 1978 Bronco with no A/C but still had a facory A/C box...

 

If you don't have some really good reason that you need the A/C removed, then I say keep it in place. That way if you should sell it, then that asset is still preserved, and for a lot of people, A/C is an asset.

David