What A/C Compressor are you using?

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K5ride

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When I started fixing up my 75 Stepside I was going back to stock with everything...... that ship has sailed. I've now made many upgrades. I orginally purchased a new A6 A/C compressor with brackets, hoses, condensor, evaporator, etc. I now want a more custom look instead of stock. I'm thinking of going to an aftermarket serpentine setup and it comes with the Sanden "peanut" compressor. What type serpentine setup / a/c compressor is everyone using? Are there some compressors to stay away from? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
 

Joshua Keith

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When I started fixing up my 75 Stepside I was going back to stock with everything...... that ship has sailed. I've now made many upgrades. I orginally purchased a new A6 A/C compressor with brackets, hoses, condensor, evaporator, etc. I now want a more custom look instead of stock. I'm thinking of going to an aftermarket serpentine setup and it comes with the Sanden "peanut" compressor. What type serpentine setup / a/c compressor is everyone using? Are there some compressors to stay away from? Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.


I went sanden 208, normal pulley system, Custom hoses from coldhose.com, and my bracket I used was from original air. The condenser and evaporator were “stock” from Rockauto.
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K5ride

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I went sanden 208, normal pulley system, Custom hoses from coldhose.com, and my bracket I used was from original air. The condenser and evaporator were “stock” from Rockauto.
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Are you happy with it? Does it work good? That would be much easier for me than changing everything over to the serpentine.
 

Joshua Keith

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Are you happy with it? Does it work good? That would be much easier for me than changing everything over to the serpentine.

i do like it. The compressor works great and only bogs the engine down probably 200 RPMs when on. No need for an idle solenoid unless you have one already. The bracket is beefy and allows you to fit multiple belt lengths. I will say this isn’t the cheapest way to go. The bracket itself is 120$ and the hoses were about the same. I’ve heard people going to junkyards and finding serpentine setups there to save some money.
 

Craig 85

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My system is stock except for the Sanden SD5S14 compressor and bracket. The rest of the system is totally new and works great. Had a local A/C shop make up some hoses and charge it.

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K5ride

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My system is stock except for the Sanden SD5S14 compressor and bracket. The rest of the system is totally new and works great. Had a local A/C shop make up some hoses and charge it.

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Did you purchase the compressor and bracket and install them yourself? If so, where did you get it? I see many people with the Sanden compressors but they all seem to be different models. How do you know which model to use?
 

Craig 85

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Did you purchase the compressor and bracket and install them yourself? If so, where did you get it? I see many people with the Sanden compressors but they all seem to be different models. How do you know which model to use?

The local shop, a Vintage Air dealer, ordered them for me and gave me his discount. They were the same price on line. The shop is a one man show and he's close to 70 years old. To expediate the install and save some labor, I installed the compressor and bracket myself. I had to paint the bracket before install anyways.

Here's a link below to Sanden. The compressors have a max RPM and I believe some are not designed for reverse rotation Serpentine set ups. I would call a company like Vintage Air and talk with their techs. I called around before I went this route. Most of the companies that have kits are using "Sanden Style" compressors, but not true Sanden brand compressors.

https://www.sanden.com/pistoncompressors.html
 
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