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Old 09-23-2016, 07:16 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by caroline5757 View Post
I removed my rear air conditioner by myself with no consequence a year ago. I have zero skill or knowledge for anything mechanical.
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Well, maybe if you are a 21-year-old woman they are happy to explain things for free, but not so much if you are a 40-something man asking ;-)


...not to mention the giant hole poked in the ozone layer right above your van......

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Old 09-23-2016, 07:42 PM   #12
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I'm a 70 something non-mechanic wanna-be no guts and former older SMB owner. Can't even follow some of the tech talk, but do I ever love this dialogue.
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Old 09-23-2016, 08:39 PM   #13
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Well, maybe if you are a 21-year-old woman they are happy to explain things for free, but not so much if you are a 40-something man asking ;-)
Ha ha, I was thinking the same thing.

But seriously, don't damage that rear AC and try to get the lines out from as far forward as you can, someone will want to buy that from you.
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Old 09-24-2016, 07:25 AM   #14
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I would just like to say I removed mine because my entire air conditioning system was shot. And t was quoted at $1500 to fix.. I didn't poke a hole in the ozone layer because I was told when I boight the van they had already cut the pipes and lines at the front of the van leading to the rear air and sealed them off. The coolant lines they had left running through the rear air and left the unit in just in case someone in the future wanted to fix it.

I was not About to spend $1500 on a $4000 van for air conditioning. and I personally have never had air conditioning that worked in a car I owned, so I didn't care.

I would agree with most people, if it works I would definitely keep it. The space it saves isnt worth it. I wanted to take it out and use that space since the thing didn't work anyways. So there are valid reasons for removing it.
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Old 09-24-2016, 08:27 AM   #15
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Unacceptable, you should never remove a rear AC unit, working or not...

Ha ha, I don't blame you, I wouldn't have paid for someone to do that either!

Did you get the front fixed at least?
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Old 09-25-2016, 06:07 PM   #16
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Unacceptable, you should never remove a rear AC unit, working or not...

Ha ha, I don't blame you, I wouldn't have paid for someone to do that either!

Did you get the front fixed at least?
Nope, like I said I've never owned a car with working AC, so it not working was no change from my previous cars.
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Old 03-05-2017, 06:27 AM   #17
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Hello. First-time poster here.

I hope that I'm not making a poor first impression by violating forum etiquette by posting on a stale thread. But I'm dealing with these issues in my drive way as we speak.

I am in the process of preparing to convert my '97 E-350 EB to a camper van. We have removed seats, floor-liner, and the interior side panels. We have not touched the headliner or the rear AC unit. Right now, we are giving this thing a deep clean and looking toward neutralizing rust issues in anticipation of insulation.

As the posts above indicate, there are at least some here that are (strongly) advising against removing this rear AC unit. I believe I understand at least the fundamental premise in their critiques. And indeed my gut reaction to seeing it once we removed the panels was that it could add some valuable utility to the van. The competing concern is obviously the unit's complication of bed placement. We do not have a high top, and probably won't for some time, if ever. So working around that unit will be difficult.

My plan going forward is to get the van stripped and insulated, then take it out on a short trip or two to get a feel for how we want to design and complete this build. In doing that, we were looking to build a temporary bed frame to see whether we could handle the transverse bed orientation. That seems impossible with this unit in place.

Generally, I'm just looking for some help on what I should do. I have at least a couple of preliminary questions.

First, will removing the headliner present any problems for this AC unit? I know that the ducting which ran along the driver-side wall was dependent/completed by the side-paneling. Does the headliner perform a similar function such that removing it would compromise the system? I'd like to get it down to see everything and what I'm working with.

Second, what are the competing concerns when deciding to remove this unit or not? Can it be moved? Modified? To me, the added utility of additional air circulation/cooling/heating is highly likely to be secondary to the bed placement, which dictates the entire design potential of the interior.

Thanks in advance for any help!
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Old 03-05-2017, 06:36 AM   #18
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If I'm not mistaken the roof ac ducts are incorporated in to the headliner. If you remove the headliner the ducts go too. Many people have modified the ducts, including Sportsmobile when they convert a van with rear ac or add it to one that doesnt' have it from the factory. It's just ductwork. You can get creative and run piping and vents wherever you choose but it's not going to work as amazingly as the factory 'in your face' system blowing down from above. There are millions of pics of this here and ways it's been done but I can't think of any specifics builds right now.

As for removing it for a transverse bed if you remove the interior panels you'll see that they are much more intrusive than the unit itself. It seems to me like you could just ditch the huge factory duct that goes from bottom to top and replace it with something more slimline and/or reroute it. As for the unit itself won't your bed platform be above it? It sits pretty low.

Good luck and welcome. I think what you're going to find is that unless you are 5' or so a transverse bed in an Econoline isn't going to work very well anyway.

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Old 03-05-2017, 06:41 AM   #19
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Thanks for your response. And I feel like even more of a bonehead because while I thought, based on the search function, that this was a primary thread for this issue, I see that there was one right around the corner, which you were participating in even.

I agree that the transverse bed is a long shot, though we wanted to keep the dream alive. Ideally, we were thinking that we could build a futon-style bed that was bench-height. With such a design, the unit interferes with saving every valuable inch that we can.

If we were to assume that the transverse placement were impossible, even without the rear unit, then keeping it presents no problem and indeed an added bonus.

The biggest bummer (right now) is perhaps that the headliner can't be removed without messing with the system. It's in pretty bad shape.
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Old 03-05-2017, 09:09 AM   #20
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Should not be too hard to make new ductwork. Even PVC gutter downspouts could be used. Or even fabric tubes! I think moving the ductowork is a good workaround for having a transverse bed, since that would allow you to leave the actual a/c unit where it sits.

Moving the actual unit could be done, but its not a DIY project. You could probably have a shop evacuator your freon and cap the line, you move the unit and re-route the heater lines, then return to fabricate new a/c line and reconnect and re-charge everything.

Before you ditch the unit entirely, rent a U-haul van on a hot day and make sure you're ok with a with a traveling oven.
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