Fabia vRS Air-Con delete the non bodge way!!! A “how to” guide

[Lofty]

Fabia vRS Mk Air conditioning delete kit.

 

This is mostly a copy and paste from my project but if it helps others then that’s good.

 

If you want to delete the engine bay side of the air conditioning on a Fabia Vrs there are not too many options.

 

Looking around revealed some bodge ways to delete it, or you could buy a delete kit from Darkside, at over £100 plus vat/shipping.

 

I took the Darkside route thinking it would be straightforward. No such thing. The alternator bracket is essentially a cut down Golf PD/ARL one, tensioner is a Golf one and a shorter 6pk960 belt. Thing was it doesn’t fit a Fabia. The alternator was 15mm too far to the right, the tensioner fouled the cam belt cover and it frankly was no good!!! 

 

I know other people just run a smaller belt round the existing tensioner with the ribbed part of the belt on the smooth tensioner, again not ideal, so some proper research started.

 

Commence with the standard Fabia vRS alternator/air con bracket..

 

 

Cut it along where I have, then clean up the whole casting with the flappy wheel in the grinder, then the power file, some coats of paint and et viola!!

 

 

You could of course leave the original brackets bolt holes empty in the block, but that won’t do, so cut the original bolts right down, refit into the block and fit two 16mm nut covers. Much better 

 

 

Now the tensioner is the OE Fabia vrs one, use an impact gun to remove the 16mm bolt holding the pulley wheel to the tensioner, remove the smooth pulley wheel and you’re left with the bare tensioner. Use the power file to remove approx 3mm from the outer lip, you can see where I’ve done it here..

 

 

This will allow sufficient clearance for the new pulley wheel. This is off a Mazda CX-7 2.3 16v petrol. Part numbers here to see.

 

 

 

Make sure the pulley spins ok without catching the tensioner, refit the 16mm bolt with a dab of loctite and do it up tight with the impact gun.

 

Fit the alternator bracket, tensioner and alternator, using loctite and nut covers to ensure a neat job.

 

The belt you need is a 6Pk975, pennies off eBay, get a decent quality one though. I’m yet to find out if TPS list a 975mm belt to keep it OE.

 

 

Fit the belt in the normal way, and that’s it. Job done, looks OE and will work properly for years to come. 

 

Cost wise the pulley was less than £20 and the belt £10. Bit of work granted but easy enough with normal tools.

 

 

 

That’s it! 

 

Hope it’s a help to some of you thinking about doing the job.

 

Matt

 

 

 

 

 

[Breezy_Pete]

Nice. Very tidy. Thanks for sharing.

[Skoda_Saint]

Great work and guide!

[Damo152003]

Great guide but why would you want remove the A/c ? 

[Breezy_Pete]

14 hours ago, Damo152003 said:

Great guide but why would you want remove the A/c ? 

 

If you hover your mouse over Lofty's username a photo of a racetrack appears, this may be one reason, weight/space/loss/complexity reduction.

Other reasons might include the system being uneconomical to repair into functioning condition if condenser or compressor is bust, etc.

[Lofty]

1 hour ago, Wino said:

 

If you hover your mouse over Lofty's username a photo of a racetrack appears, this may be one reason, weight/space/loss/complexity reduction.

Other reasons might include the system being uneconomical to repair into functioning condition if condenser or compressor is bust, etc.

 

These reasons exactly. In my case the space for the bulkhead air con pipes has been compromised by a much larger tubular manifold and turbocharger, so it made sense if I was going to remove it, then remove it properly.

[Damo152003]

I see didn’t even think that tbh! 

So use to customers wanting there air con. If a system is uneconomical to repair we just leave it there.

Looks a neat job anyway. 

 

[robbiekitch]

On 13/10/2018 at 17:49, Lofty said:

Fabia vRS Mk Air conditioning delete kit.

 

This is mostly a copy and paste from my project but if it helps others then that’s good.

 

If you want to delete the engine bay side of the air conditioning on a Fabia Vrs there are not too many options.

 

Looking around revealed some bodge ways to delete it, or you could buy a delete kit from Darkside, at over £100 plus vat/shipping.

 

I took the Darkside route thinking it would be straightforward. No such thing. The alternator bracket is essentially a cut down Golf PD/ARL one, tensioner is a Golf one and a shorter 6pk960 belt. Thing was it doesn’t fit a Fabia. The alternator was 15mm too far to the right, the tensioner fouled the cam belt cover and it frankly was no good!!! 

 

I know other people just run a smaller belt round the existing tensioner with the ribbed part of the belt on the smooth tensioner, again not ideal, so some proper research started.

 

Commence with the standard Fabia vRS alternator/air con bracket..

 

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/mattevans_photos/206%20180/97045772-764B-4613-B944-AC03907BE34C_zpsatn5xauj.jpg

 

Cut it along where I have, then clean up the whole casting with the flappy wheel in the grinder, then the power file, some coats of paint and et viola!!

 

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/mattevans_photos/206%20180/5753A4CA-0F08-4C77-AAAA-F742677ACCC9_zpsy2qdp3eb.jpg

 

You could of course leave the original brackets bolt holes empty in the block, but that won’t do, so cut the original bolts right down, refit into the block and fit two 16mm nut covers. Much better 

 

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/mattevans_photos/206%20180/96D9A1DF-BD31-4D23-A784-458341BA01B6_zpsdaafgxg4.jpg

 

Now the tensioner is the OE Fabia vrs one, use an impact gun to remove the 16mm bolt holding the pulley wheel to the tensioner, remove the smooth pulley wheel and you’re left with the bare tensioner. Use the power file to remove approx 3mm from the outer lip, you can see where I’ve done it here..

 

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/mattevans_photos/206%20180/D1B154B8-B0A1-43BF-ADC5-24181820A339_zps8aglpzw5.jpg

 

This will allow sufficient clearance for the new pulley wheel. This is off a Mazda CX-7 2.3 16v petrol. Part numbers here to see.

 

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/mattevans_photos/206%20180/DDF5A62F-0702-4457-BC86-66A9E1B9B98E_zps4qe7y0ny.jpg

 

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/mattevans_photos/206%20180/05441336-517A-4A5F-9EDB-26C99F697B88_zpsmrtatgx3.jpg

 

Make sure the pulley spins ok without catching the tensioner, refit the 16mm bolt with a dab of loctite and do it up tight with the impact gun.

 

Fit the alternator bracket, tensioner and alternator, using loctite and nut covers to ensure a neat job.

 

The belt you need is a 6Pk975, pennies off eBay, get a decent quality one though. I’m yet to find out if TPS list a 975mm belt to keep it OE.

 

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/mattevans_photos/206%20180/749ED98A-2454-44DE-840A-BCEC4BE1209D_zpsb9gbh5k8.jpg

 

Fit the belt in the normal way, and that’s it. Job done, looks OE and will work properly for years to come. 

 

Cost wise the pulley was less than £20 and the belt £10. Bit of work granted but easy enough with normal tools.

 

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/mattevans_photos/206%20180/355E22D7-43B1-4B81-8054-F059F6BBA119_zpsalennfmw.jpg

 

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q275/mattevans_photos/206%20180/4E4C6C68-4AB7-4F39-B94A-4EB43126CFD8_zpsbuujix2e.jpg

 

That’s it! 

 

Hope it’s a help to some of you thinking about doing the job.

 

Matt

 

 

 

 

 

I appreciate this is a very old post, i cant see the pics or the part numbers used.. i'm wanting to remove the ac off the fab vrs, and this seems right up my street for the way to do it.. please could you help me with part numbers.. i get the gist of whats going on. thanks