AC Condensor installed in forward position - June 2009

Here's how I relocated my AC condenser to the front of the radiator support.

In the below pic you see the factory bracket securing the AC lines out of the condenser. I had to remove the bracket because the lines had to be altered and bent to position them where they could attach to the lines from the evaporator and compressor.

Here is where I am running the lines through the radiator support to the left of the radiator. I used a hole saw drill attachment to drill out the holes. I also filed down the points and rough edges to finish it off. Photo was taken before used the file. I also hammered the lip in on the right side of the whole for added clearance for the ac lines.

Here is the condenser minus the bracket securing the lines. I picked up a radiator hose to use as the bottom cushion which the condenser will rest on. I didn't get a photo of this but what I did was cut the radiator hose in a couple sections and split the top open length ways. I laid each section down on top of the frame that was exposed between the radiator support and the bumper support. Its almost a perfect fit there. I bent a small part over to the side of the frame and drilled a small hole and attached it to the frame with a small self tapping screw just so it would stay in place. I then set the condenser down onto the radiator hose sections while threading the lines throught the hole. It is a tight fit but it snugs in about perfect.

This image shows how I altered the hood latch support. I cut the bottom off like the you see in the photo. You have to cut this off because it normally attaches back the the radiator support in the area where you need the ac condenser to reside. I fashioned a bracket from a thick steel mending plate I bought at Home Depot and attached it to the bumper. (an L bracket would work too) I will be going back and putting a better bolt in here as I just used the bolt that originally attached the hood latch assembly to the radiator support because it was handy.

Here you can see a close up of how the lines look as they pass through the radiator support in their new position. It was a rather tight fit getting a wrench in there to tighten those lines, let me tell you.

Here is how it looks all together and installed. The bottom of the condenser is resting on top sections of radiator hose attached to the frame. I split some heater hose and attached it to the top of the condenser as well. Note that I did cut sections out of the hood latch assembly where you can see the heater hose attached for extra clearance. Its pretty secure and tight.

Its very important to have a shop evacuate the system before you try to charge it back up with coolant. If any humidity is in the system whatsoever, it will clog the system and your AC will quit cooling. And if the system has been sitting for an extended period of time you need to put a new evaperator on. This is not negotiable. If the evaperator clogs up it can damage the AC compresor and cost you more money.

DONE! Now all there is left to do is have the shop charge the system back up. (or do it yourself)

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