1950-1966 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Hi!
I have a 1975 99L 2 door which I retrofitted a/c about 3-4 years ago. The process is fairly simple if you get hold of someone who has done it before like I did. The chap that did it for me had done his training on 99's.
You will not get any new ones and Saab never really designed the 99 for a/c but there was an aftermarket Saab approved kit that was fitted to cars as an option for warmer countries like here in Australia. I live in Brisbane where the weather can get quite warm and used to live even further north where it sweltered during summer!
Basically you have an underdash fan unit which sits in the front passenger side. Whilst it does take some space, the 99's are blessed with enough room to still be very comfy footwise. There are a series of ducts that run along under the whole length of the dash. The switchgear consists of a on/off + fanspeed combi and a separate temperature control dial. These 2 knobs are usually placed on either side of the "FASTEN BELT" warning sign on the dash.
The compressor I used was a Nippon Denso (the smallest had to be fitted for space reasons) with the new gas (R134 I think). The compressor sits on the spark plug side of the engine. You will need a mounting bracket for the compressor or get one made but make sure its STRONG and HARDY! Else the compressor vibrates too much and you end up with quickly worn bearings.
I got mine off another 99 and it was there since new.
The condensor sits in front of the radiator...your wiper motor and gear will have to be sacrificed if you have one. Due to space restrictions, there can only be a small one fitted which is why the compressor capacity has to be small....else there will be major overheating + pressure problems.
For a the warm temperatures we see in Oz, my system still gave a few problems which I have since sorted out.
The condensor is usually too small....so the hot gas pressure builds up too much. You do not want the hot gas pressure to go beyond 240-260 Kilopascals. Mine did (and I did not know) and my compressor chewed its bearings out after 15 months. Luckily I had a 2 year warranty which got me a new one. But that set me thinking about reducing the hot pressure. so I had a relay set up placed that automatically turned the a/c off during idle, which was when there was insufficient airflow past the condensor. The original electric fan motor could still not cope so I had that replaced with 2 fans mounted onto my radiator (believe me it is possible!) and wired up to the a/c so they were always on when the a/c was on.
I also put in an oversized radiator but that was more to do with the summer temps than the a/c....but it all helps. with a bit off difficulty and abit of lateral thinking, I was able to measure in real time the pressure of the hot gas whilst the car was moving and it was well under 250Kpa. But idle is still a problem and I dont let the a/c run for more than 30 secs. Which is enough to cope with for most traffic lights.
You will have to source a secondhand fan blower unit and underdash ducts(they come as one integrated design) and the compressor bracket. Everything else you can buy new like your hoses, Tx valve, condensor etc.
There will be 2 holes that will be drilled just near where your wiper motor sits for entry into the passenger compartment.
As for the hoses, have a loop placed for the section coming off the compressor....this allows for a bit of "play" in the hoses and prevents the hoses fittings from fatigue fracture (as you guessed, this happened to me also).
So I hope this helps....I have another 99 I want to eventually place a/c in and despite the problems initially, my a/c has now been running problem free for at leat 2 years.
Good luck!
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