Anyone have experience installing the upgraded FM FMIC and keeping the A/C on an NA? I have a 96 and a used FMII Hydra kit on the way and since I'm in Texas, I'd like to keep my A/C. Just a little upfront research for mod ideas.

 

Custom route that **** bro.

Took me about 2 hours to completely fab up a custom setup with an ebay kit and another hour to make the intercooler brackets (With only a hacksaw and a drill.)

 

what's the hurdle - a/c lines, condenser? I could see the lines being in the way and I could bend or fab new ones to keep smoother airflow. just getting an idea if the problem area is where I think
it is.

 

The dryer will want to fight the intercooler. Eric (RotorNutFD3S) put the larger FM intercooler on his 96...maybe he'll chime in.

 

I fit an 18x12x3" core with a/c. If you cant make it work, you have the dumb.

 

I know I got the dumb, but that's never stopped me before. Knowing the dryer is an issue gives me something to do while I wait on the kit to ship.

 

If you're looking at the car from the front, you will need to unbolt the dryer can from the condenser core and move it to the left. I think I recall that interfering with the horn, but it can be bent out of the way. Be careful bending the a/c lines, they can snap easily if you bend them in the same place multiple times. I never remounted it to anything, don't honestly know if that's bad, but it didn't vibrate against anything and the system worked great without any issues.

Get the dryer can to be in approximately the location seen below (view from the top) and you should be good to go, worked on my '95 like Doppelganger said:



Test fitting the intercooler, main pipes, and condenser core:

 

Thanks rotornut, that's the info I was looking for. I get Ancy waiting on it to arrive, so it helps to know what to watch for and make some plans now.

 

No problem! I understand completely! Although I recommend doing the work when you actually have the intercooler to work around. You'll also notice when you get everything that the mounting bracket offsets the intercooler toward one side or the other. I personally would have preferred it to be centered but having it offset toward the driver's side actually helped the clearance around the a/c stuff. I think the install instructions show it being mounted the other way. As long as the silicone pipes haven't been hacked up (there is a step that calls for some minor trimming on initial install), you should be able to get away with it. It'll make sense when you have the parts on hand if it doesn't now, but this is what my intercooler ended up looking like installed:



Good luck!

 

yeah, I won't do anything until I have it to fab around. knowing that I may not have to fab new a/c lines and that the dryer is an obvious issue helps me visualize in the meantime. Sounds simple enough for when I get my kit next week. thanks

 

Yes be very careful with the ac lines as they are very fragile especially around the corners and the plugs.

I ended up cracking one of my lines right at the joint. That was next mourning right after my buddy told me a story about one of his buddies in college that froze his hand since he ripped off the fill/drain plug with a wrench on accident. It did scare the crap out of me. I've never gotten out from under the car faster.

 

Mine was easy, just gently moved the drier and added some rubber grommets where the A/C lines would contact the IC. no problem at all, but we'll see when I start driving and stuff starts vibrating and moving around.

 

Thats why I tried to bend mine so I can get them out of direct contact. Instead I ripped 1 off, "somewhat".

 

the line soldered to the condenser worried me, but so far so good. I haven't even fired it for the first time since adding the turbo, so I'm not out of the woods yet.

 

Make sure that if the ac lines are not touching at any point where they cross, and that you use something to pad them if they are. I have the regular fm intercooler and the ac lines rubbed together because of the piping and it put a really small hole in one of my lines. Luckily the oil that seeped out made it easy to find. Bad for the ozone good for me. Had to take the line out and weld the hole. Just got it back in and made sure there were no other line rubs anywhere.

 

I'm using rubber grommets, cut to fit over the line and zip tied around the middle. I also used black duct tape, then a layer of flex cutting board and another layer of tape where the IC tubes may rub. I considered using an oring or rubber band on the drier in case it contacts the IC.