Air Conditioning Installation questions on 96 Legacy

My '96 Legacy GT has no Air Conditioning. It was never installed. I know it was an option for that trim that year.

I want to either have it installed or install it myself. I have been looking around the internet and haven't found a guide or discussion from someone who has done this.

I would rather install it myself, unless it's impossible. It seems like a good learning opportunity.

 

Does anyone know of any online or print resources that would help with this? Other than the service manuals.

Any tools / parts that you would recommend?

 

I assume I would either gather a list of parts I need and order them from ebay or go to my local junk yard / craigslist to look for a wrecked Subaru with the parts I need.

Also to speak with my local dealership for their input before doing anything.

 

I'm still searching the internet for answers. I'll share what I find out and when what I do when I do the installation.

 

I've had a well maintained first car that hasn't required me to go in-depth about maintenance. Though it may seem that I currently lack the knowledge to work on my car. I can't learn unless I work on it. This is a car I want to keep for another 200,000 miles at least.

My '96 Legacy GT has no Air Conditioning. It was never installed.

 

i do not believe this is accurate for the 96 GT.

the brighton, yes,

but not the GT on US cars.

but that is beside the point.

 

the easiest way to do this,

is to buy a wrecked 96 parts car,

that way you will have ALL the parts you need.

and you will learn how to install as you pull the parts.

the hard part , imho,

is passing the harness and coolant lines thru the fire wall.

the dash has to come out.

the under the hood work is / would be pretty straight forward,

but the inside work is going to be a bitch.

 

good luck.

Do you think the unit was removed? There is a space for the a/c button but it is not there.

The previous owner apparently was weird when it came to air movement in the car.

 

Buying a wrecked car sounds like a good plan. I'm not sure if I have room for that right now. But it is what i'd like to do. I'll figure something out,

this isn't something I want to impulsively rush into.

 

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j167/mcan_sic/Noacunitimage_zpsfeugissg.jpg

i've never seen a 90s suabru with no AC.

i know the brighton did not not come standard with it .

 

but i doubt seriously they would leave an open hole where the AC button was supposed to go.

maybe a different face plate ,

but certainly a ''plug / cap / cover'' of some kind to blank it off.

 

can you post some pics of the engine compartment?

front near the rad over flow bottle,

and fire wall on the passenger side?

Here are the images. Let me know if you want other angles / images or if I got the wrong images.

 

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j167/mcan_sic/IMG_0773_zpskrqmtn6m.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j167/mcan_sic/IMG_0781_zpsvtzpsmnz.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j167/mcan_sic/IMG_0780_zpsersoyztd.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j167/mcan_sic/IMG_0776_zps90kduivo.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j167/mcan_sic/IMG_0775_zpstvzakljq.jpg

 

Edit:

I think a different face plate was put on.

if the AC was removed they did a hell of a job !!

were the head gaskets done before you got the car?

 

kudos on a very clean engine bay.

Is it more plausible that the car just never had it installed in the first place?

 

The head gaskets were replaced in 2007 before I got the car. (I got the car in 2012)

It had always been maintained by the Subaru Dealership since it was purchased. I am going there on Monday for some other maintenance and am going to speak with them about getting a full service history of the car from them (at least what they have done).

The only record I have from them from the previous owner is the head gasket and battery replacement.

 

Thank you. Honestly, I haven't done anything to clean the engine bay other than periodically pick out debris that likes to accumulate inside. (There was a whole acorn between the radiator and grille when I bought it...)

Yeah thats weird. GT's are top of the line and pretty much comes with everything and like johnegg's said it was only the brighton that comes basic. Maybe it did came like that from the factory but like john said it will be cheaper to get a parts car. If you buy them individually it would cost you more. If you get a parts car you can sell the rest and probably make money. Also be careful if your grabbing them piece by piece. I noticed that my friends 96 a/c compressor wasn't compatible with my 98 a/c lines (hi/lo) and I believe the earlier 95 uses a different compressor/bracket.

I talked to the dealership who serviced my car since its purchase. As far as they can tell, it wasn't removed. Though, I don't know if they were willing / able to look past 2005 or so. It didn't sound like it over the phone.

The rep told me that since there wasn't a button left in the car for the a/c, it was probably not put in the car in the first place. I didn't really press the matter because that wasn't what the call was about and he probably wanted to go home for the evening.

 

I was going to try to find another 96 to swap over the a/c. Would it be best to try to find another GT to swap over, or would the other models have the same mounting locations?

 

The more I look into this, the more it looks like a project I will continue to research and wait on starting. I don't have room for a parts car at my current house. Nor do I have a vehicle that could tow what might be a non-running vehicle.

That doesn't mean I'm going to abandon this thread. I'd like to keep discussing it with people and get their input and thoughts. I'm happy to share what I find so that if other people have a car whose previous owner was a crazy old lady who hated air can fix things. (She also liked to hit parked cars at low speed).

any 96 legacy, L, LS, LSi, GT, or Outback will work,

even a brighton if it has AC.

Good to know, thank you.

I find this intriguing! Be very careful when you pull the A/C lines from a donor. Those aluminum lines get "softer" over age. Any type of kink when pulling the line is gonna hurt you. Not to mention the braze block fitting that connects to the compressor. Get new o-rings when you replace these lines!

 

I make fluid lines for a living (A/C, transmission, brake lines, etc etc). Kind of boring after so many years, but I can tell you this information is accurate

I have a complete a/c system that I just pulled out of my 97 OB that is functioning perfectly. http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/bunch-parts-sale-242237.html

@bjkroll: Thank you for the advice. If I were to damage one of the lines, how difficult would it be to replace?

 

@subieadam: Thank you for the offer. I would rather gain the experience of removing it from a donor car first rather than having a unit that has already been removed.

No problem, I understand wanting to learn. Just thought it might be easier to have known good undamaged parts to use. If anything breaks and I still have the parts I can help you out.

I agree it could be good to have. If I have any problems / break things, I'll post here. I hope I'm careful enough not to though.

You however have an item I need. The plug for the firewall where the a/c lines pass through. Would you be willing to part with that?

I would be. However, I'm not sure when I will be doing this project. Probably before next summer. (Trying to find time is a bit of an issue right now).

 

I'll PM you when I start to let you know that part is available. It's not something I would be throwing away anyway.