Cam swap without removing AC condenser? How are the folks doing that without removing it from the car??? I don't get it. My AC condenser is hooked to the radiator with these aluminum tabs that sit in a groove on welded range on the front of the radiator and same range on back to hold the dual electric fans. I have to pull mine out all as 1 unit...radiator...fans...AC condenser all as one puece... now in my defense I purchased a new all aluminum welded radiator 1 1/2 years ago and struggled to get it all together and in the car because those ranges stuck out just more than 1 inch and stock radiator had maybe 1/8th of an inch so I had to cut them all off and trim them down and weld them back on the radiator again front and back so everything would fit in the space provided in the front of the car. Those radiators say they are a direct fit but then after I bought it I looked it up by part number and brand and it says direct fit for over 150 different cars (mostly GM but some other brands as well) so if I did not have those tab problems it would have been perfect but back to my questions...my car. 1998 Pontiac trans am ws6 has all hard aluminum lines to the AC Condenser so I can't see how it's possible to "swing condenser out of the way" I am planning on taking out all 3 as one piece but if there is a way to do this and not remove it all I am all ears........ this trio of things to get in and out was a back breaking pain in the a$$ x 20000 to the 945th power doubled x 3005
I don't even see how you would have enough room to swing a cam in and out with the radiator and condenser sitting in it's spot. So please someone that has pulled this off please tell me and if you have photos I would love to see how this magic is done because I'm getting ready to do all my upgrades and just put the car on the lift in my garage so let's see it please

thank you all...

jay.

 

You have to push condenser off rad then pull rad and fans together it's a pain but can be done. When pulling cam and reinstalling, I tied a piece of rope to driver's side of condenser then to hood latch to hold it up.

 

AHHHH ding ding ding now i get it.....so you leave it in place after wrestling the condenser off the front of the radiator.....
..okay I see BUT.... with my triple core radiator + ac condenser + fans I dont have any more than a sixteenth of an inch of extra space since the radiator is so fat. I was surprised it even fit at all but i had to do the surgery on those tangs on both sides to bring the fan housing and condenser much closer to the surface of the radiator on both sides to get it to fit so sadly this process you described will not work for me with this setup i have... i can not pull the fans off or condenser off in the car. It must be removed all as 1 piece. Oh well I tried... worth asking...
But i will say that's an INCREDIBLY AWESOME idea to use some string to tie the condenser or radiator or fans if need be to the hood to suspend the a side or maybe both sides if you prop the hood up with a strong prop rod so it does not fall on your head..... That's genius thinking for sure. I will keep that in mind as I continue to take everything apart tonight.
thank you spanksStamgs for the help and info...greatly appreciate it...

Jay

 

True that brother. You must have some serious cooling power lol. Just sucks having to mess with ac system.

 

Actually no, AC is really a simple thing to take care of, You only need really 4 things.
1. Knowledge of how much/type refrigerant your car takes
2. Set of decent gauges with accessories
3. Vacuum pump either plug in 110v type or an air compressor type
4. few cans of the required refrigerant

Then you just pull as much vacuum (up to 28-30 inches of mercury) disconnect the vacuum pump and leave gauges connected, and let it sit for a few hours/overnight to makes sure you have no leaks, replace seals as needed, seal kits available from amazon for like 7 bucks, and connect the refrigerant and flow it into the system, start the car and put a thermometer in the vent or use your hand over the vent once the required amount is pushed into the system (Never over oil your AC system, R134A cans without oil are like 8 bucks each!!! you don't need to get suckered into buying those 30-40-50 dollar cans with oil in them and a gauge on the fill tube, not needed) that's it, It is relatively simple, If you can swap a cam, you can totally do AC work blindfolded!!! That's it, that's all there is to AC, if you have a leak, you can add colored dye and get a UV flashlight and find the leaks, and then fix it, swap a hose or component but 99% o the time its an O ring and or a washer with a rubber ring around it that looks like a star. So harbor freight for gauges and a vacuum pump, amazon for 13 dollars of O rings and washer seals, 4-5 cans of R134A to deal with issues for a few cars and you are an AC pro and everyone will be paying you to handle their AC systems when they are empty and don't work, As far as getting a Refrigerant recovery system, Yeah that Ahhhh.........ummmmm Most people just will let it go POOFFFFFFFFF I can't say that is legal or ethical but they do it.
you can decide that one for yourself. Thanks again for the help, Got my AC condenser, Radiator and Fans out last night as 1 solid unit. Was pretty heavy leaning over that far to pull it all up and out but its done.
Jay

 

I pulled my entire engine out the top without unhooking mine. it can be done.

 

I also made a big mistake which I will fix this week by not only installing an all aluminum 3 core radiator but I installed a 160 degree thermostat, so the past 2 winters I have had NO heat whatsoever. So I ordered the 187 degree thermostat and plan on blowing out the junk caught in the heater core because when I installed the 160 thermostat, a lot of caked up crud came out, so maybe someone put that barrs stop leak garbage in the system at some point or mixed 2 different antifreeze types (green and orange together) or bought the concentrate and did not water it down or whatever but that gunk came out. So ill make sure my heater core is clear, hoses are old so I am going to order all new ones and replace them all, and all new anti freeze again so i can enjoy heat this winter cause let me tell you it blows *** driving around in 20 degree weather shivering your butt off on cold leather seats unable to warm up. The radiator I got is so efficient that 160 thermostat is just not enough to even let the temp gauge move at all, its always resting on the peg all the way to the left at the lowest # on there which I think is the 160 degree mark so i am so looking forward to warmth this winter in the car!!!
I need to clean the radiator and condenser off, and I forgot I have the Power Steering external cooler installed too on this Fan, Rad and Condenser setup so it was not too bad pulling it all out together as one this time around. See photos I attached below showing the thickness of the radiator and you can see the tabs i had to cut off and re-weld on to make the condenser alot closer and the fans alot closer to the surface of the front and rear of the radiator, because when I got the radiator 2 ish years ago, it was about 1 inch away on both sides. .........