AC question Aspire motor Factory installed ac

[chadhuskey]

it gets hot here so I was in process of sourcing the accumulator and hoses to reconnect my AC... when I remembered
I swapped the engine to an aspire engine so my compressor doesn't fit without modification.
has anyone been down this road?

the question now is does it make more sense to;
1) use the aspire compressor and get custom hoses made to use the stock (180 pass-thru) accumulator & stock Condenser?
2) fabricate a custom compressor mount to keep the factory system intact all festiva items?
3) use aspire compressor, accumulator, and Condenser make custom hoses for the connections to evaporator?

the aspire condenser, compressor, accumulator are fairly easy to locate
the festiva factory condenser is already hard to find new and the accumulator (180 orientation) is $45ish with limited supply


they all seem to be doable options, I am open to advice.
thanks,
-Chad

[1990new]

I though the bracket that holds you Festiva compressor would bolt right to the Aspire block. Isn't it the same B3 block with the threaded holes for the bracket.
Do you have the 4 rib crank pulley for the AC? If so, it's easy to change the Festiva compressor pulley to a 4 rib clutch and use a 4 rib idler pulley.
Or won't the AC Idler/tension mechanism from you Festiva bolt to the Aspire B3 block?

Your #3 choice seem like it would be the hardest to do.

I haven't mounted a Festiva compressor to an Aspire B3 block so I'm no expert at that but I have remove and replaced several Festiva AC systems.

[chadhuskey]

Mine is factory installed with "ears" to mount.

the dealer installed AC compressor is completely different, although mounts similar to the aspire.
I'm not sure but they do not appear interchangeable.

[1990new]

I assumed that you had factory installed AC on your Festiva which has the compressor with the ears and the bolt on hoses.
So are you saying that don't have the cast iron compressor attaching bracket that was on your Festiva engine. Do you have the idle pulley bracket that was on your Festiva engine?
If you have those two things you should be able to bolt on your Festiva factory compressor.

[chadhuskey]

"cast iron compressor attaching bracket"

oh, I didn't notice that part was a bolt on... no unfortunately it was scrapped with the block.
I do have an idler installed i cannot remember if it is from the aspire or festiva.

[1990new]

"cast iron compressor attaching bracket"

oh, I didn't notice that part was a bolt on... no unfortunately it was scrapped with the block.
I do have an idler installed i cannot remember if it is from the aspire or festiva.

I assume your pulley on the Festiva compressor is the single groove type. is the AC crank pulley on the Aspire engine a single groove or 4 groove? Is the idler pulley single groove? Does it tighten using a long thin bolt that goes through the back of the idler pulley shaft or is it a rotating arm? I have the bracket you need to attach the compressor to your block that you can have for $5 plus cost of shipping if you want it or it's Free if you come pick it up.

[chadhuskey]

I was thinking the compressor was a 4 rib, but maybe not.
I will have to dig it out and verify.
the idler (rotating arm) and drive pulley are definitely 4 rib.

hmmmm i'm scheduled to be in in Hanahan soon (next couple of weeks) I just may take you up on your offer.
if not I will definitely buy it.
-chad

[1990new]

I was thinking the compressor was a 4 rib, but maybe not.
I will have to dig it out and verify.
the idler (rotating arm) and drive pulley are definitely 4 rib.

hmmmm i'm scheduled to be in in Hanahan soon (next couple of weeks) I just may take you up on your offer.
if not I will definitely buy it.
-chad

If you do get to Hanahan PM me and I'll give you my cell number so you can call or text to set up a time to come by.

Your compressor on the Festiva with factory air would have been a single groove pulley, but you can put a 4 groove clutch and pulley on it. (Pretty sure I have one of those too).

[chadhuskey]

you are correct, my compressor is a single v-belt.
the hose connections for an aspire compressor seem (from pictures) to be the same as the festiva.
can anyone confirm or dispel this?
it would be super easy to put an aspire compressor back in (factory belt etc)

[1990new]

Even if the ends of the Festiva AC hoses look as if they may fit into the Aspire compressor, there is no practical way that the Festiva hoses can be routed to make the connection to the compressor.
Look at the positioning of the holes on the two compressors and you can see for yourself.
Sorry, but using the Festiva compressor is really the only practical option that you have.

[chadhuskey]

Fair enough, I am sufficiently convinced.
If you are willing, shoot me a price for the mount and 4 groove conversion.
Thanks for the help,
-Chad

[1990new]

A couple more questions first:
Are you certain that your Festiva factory AC compressor is in good condition? I ask because you will be doing some work to change the pulley and it would not be good if you found that it had leaking seals or had been run with a mixture of freon and R134a lubricants in which case failure would be eminent.
If you are not certain about it, I would recommend the you get a rebuilt compressor which already has the 4 rib clutch/pulley on it. That would cost you a little more that twice what just the clutch/pulley would be and you would not have to switch the clutch. Here is a link to one on ebay... on that one you would have to remove the manifold from your old compressor and switch it to the new one however.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/REMAN-14-27....c100643.m3226
Do you have the 4 rib idler pulley?

The clutch/pulley I have is just like this one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcraft-...1aFYkB&vxp=mtr

[1990new]

Here is a link to the parts which I have... Tell me which ones you need and I will PM you a price.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/OBdKDE2E1CAPuDZu1

(Just shipping for the bracket that hold your compressor).

[chadhuskey]

I was thinking to rebuild the existing compressor, however your point is well made.
After performing the conversion and rebuild I am not too far from the cost of a rebuilt compressor.

Do you know if the aspire idler will work?
it is spring loaded, not manual adjustment.

I will double check that I do not have the mounting bracket, and will get back to you.
thanks,
-Chad

[1990new]

I was thinking to rebuild the existing compressor, however your point is well made.
After performing the conversion and rebuild I am not too far from the cost of a rebuilt compressor.

Do you know if the aspire idler will work?
it is spring loaded, not manual adjustment.

I will double check that I do not have the mounting bracket, and will get back to you.
thanks,
-Chad

I cannot speak from personal experience about the idle adjuster and I have not mounted one with the manual adjuster and a 4 groove idle pulley.
I was told by other forum member that it would work though.

The 4 groove idler pulley on the manual adjuster you see in the picture is one that used to have a single groove pulley on it. I put that idler together and also bought a 4 groove AC crank pulley
to use in case the used single groove pulley should give out after I switched it out with the 4 groove pulley that came on the new compressor that I installed on Rosie. I have since found a new single groove clutch/pulley at a good price so that is my backup now.

An FYI... when you go to install the ac mounting bracket, you will need to remove one of the oil pump bolts and I found that to be a little tricky with the engine installed.