Miata A/C delete - paging Dr. Keith

When I put the Manic Miata though inspection (which requires removing most of the power goodies), I plan on deleting the A/C. I've driven the car for almost 2 years and haven't turned it on once.

A few general questions:

1) If I take the A/C compressor out, do I need to do anything about the Ubercharger drive belt? Or do I just need a shorter accessory drive belt?

2) I have a delete kit I bought from a GRMer here. It consists of a piece of flexible duct about 18" long that has a rectangular mouth on one end and a triangular mouth on the other. It also has a couple of firewall grommets. Do I need anything else?

3) I can live without changing the HVAC controls, unless that is strictly necessary. Will it throw a CEL for having the compressor removed?

Thanks to all, and especially Mr. Tanner.

For my Spec Miata, I just removed the belt that drove the A/C compressor, then removed the comp. and hoses.

Ubercharger won't care, the belt is independent. Computer doesn't care, no CEL. The only difference is the actual knob. Fun trick to play on a friend - if you're in an NA Miata without AC, pull the HVAC knob off (just pull) and depress the shaft as if it's a button. A little AC light will come on just below the knob. Put the knob back on and watch them try to figure it out.

Delete kit sounds about right. That's only if you want to remove the evaporator, and I think you need to pull the dash for that. Easy option is to just pull the stuff in the engine bay.

Keith wrote: Delete kit sounds about right. That's only if you want to remove the evaporator, and I think you need to pull the dash for that.

There are a number of scans of instructions for dealer-installed AC kits floating around the net that suggest you can do it through the hole created by taking the glove box out.

Haven't tried it myself, although I have the parts for AC delete sitting in my garage now.

Hrm. Removing the glovebox, I've got time for. Dash, not so much. Thanks for the tip, codrus. If I have to pull the dash, I will save the ductwork until I hit the lottery and do my ground-up recreation in my new 40x40 garage with lift.

Thanks, as always, Mr. Tanner.

The dash is incredibly easy to pull, I think it took me about 30 minutes. Hyou should be able to do it by removing the glovebox but some bolts may be a little tight.

Either way the evaporator doesn't weight that much so it isn't hurting much to keep it in.

Reviving a very old thread. If I remove the A/C and P/S as well as the A/C bracket that is bolted to the drivers side of the engine block does a bolt need to be replaced to prevent oil loss or other oil related issues? I read this on a couple A/C delete threads/Blogs. This is on a NB 1999 if it varies by years.

Thanks for any assistance.

IIRC, we unbolted everything on our lemons car and didn't have any issues. That's a 1.6, though.

I think there is one wet bolt in there, but it's been a while since I tried. Easy enough to find out!

Keith Tanner wrote: I think there is one wet bolt in there, but it's been a while since I tried. Easy enough to find out!

There is. You need a short bolt to replace it as well, because the original will bottom out once the bracket is removed.

codrus wrote:

Keith Tanner wrote: I think there is one wet bolt in there, but it's been a while since I tried. Easy enough to find out!

There is. You need a short bolt to replace it as well, because the original will bottom out once the bracket is removed.

Any idea which bolt and size?

In reply to Zeitgeist:

It's the ac bracket bolt that goes into the front of the block and passes through right side of the oil pump. IIRC since I didn't have a shorter bolt laying around I just used a spacer about the same thickness as the bracket and all has been good.

It's the bolt that goes into the AC bracket from the front (as in, the bolt head is pointing at the radiator, instead of at the fender). I don't have a photo of it installed, and you'll need to mentally flip the pump around, but IIRC it's the one on the left in this photo:

Take the length of the stock bolt and subtract the thickness of the AC spacer.

Awesome, thanks for the clarification Codrus.