AC Condenser Replacement?

ebbnflow · **Posted:** Sun Sep 22, 2019 7:05 pm

My Jeep got a hole in the condenser a few months ago. Put a can of stop leak in and it has worked great until a couple weeks ago. I've been trying to source an affordable replacement, but have come up empty handed. Cheapest I can find is about $250 for a new one with the integrated trans cooler. Has anyone been down this road? What did you do?

I'm inclined to replace it with a gasser version as they are cheap. Does anyone know if I can cut the condenser off the trans cooler, keep it installed and install a gasser condenser above it? Will it fit? Are the gas and diesel condensers the same physical size? Your help will be greatly appreciated.

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thesameguy · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:24 pm **Posts:** 652

I just pulled my condenser out, and it looks like you could do that. But, rather than modify the system, why not just get both a gasser condenser and an external trans cooler? Hayden, Mocal, Setrab, whatever?

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Tue Sep 24, 2019 4:28 pm

thesameguy wrote:

I just pulled my condenser out, and it looks like you could do that. But, rather than modify the system, why not just get both a gasser condenser and an external trans cooler? Hayden, Mocal, Setrab, whatever?

That's what I would do! There are some very nice stacked plate type oil coolers available that are much more efficient than the tube types.
I have already added an extra oil cooler on mine just to help lower transmission fluid temperatures during very hot humid summer driving in my area.
Located it in the opening below the bumper.
viewtopic.php?f=98&t=89140

65Corvair · **Posted:** Tue Sep 24, 2019 10:32 pm

For reference a AC condenser for a 3.7 is 18.5 inches high by 17 inches wide.
The mounting screws on top are roughly 23.25 inches apart.
The lower portion of the condenser has a set of tabs that go into "hooks" on the radiator. The tabs are 12 inches below the mounting screws.

I hope to do the same "conversation" on my CRD in the future, to go to a larger transmission cooler.

ebbnflow · **Posted:** Wed Sep 25, 2019 8:24 pm

Thanks for the replies. I do have an auxillary cooler right behind the grill. I think it's a Hayden. It's about the size of a sheet of paper. I'm just not sure if that will be enough cooling on its own.

Thanks for the gasser condenser dimensions. I'm going to take a stab at it this weekend. Got a gasser condenser on order and already received a new orifice tube hose and dryer. I'll let you know what I discover when I have it apart.

I also ordered some jb weld to patch my intercooler. I think it's leaking a little. There are oil stains near the inlet port.

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thesameguy · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:24 pm **Posts:** 652

I'm very interested to hear what you come up with on the condenser. I'm about a month out from putting mine back in, and if moving to a larger condenser and an external transmission cooler is an option, I'd like to pursue that.

IME, it's tough to know what size heat exchanger you need for a transmission. There's some science you gotta know, and I certainly don't know it.

Probably if you monitored transmission temps for a while, you could determine whether you need more or less cooling and go from there. Unfortunately my Jeep is in pieces, so I can't do that. Also, trial and error sucks.

On my motorhome I use a B&M cooler that has a bypass built in, sort of like a poor man's thermostat. I'm not sure what I want to do on the Jeep. Ideally a thermostat, but that gets into real money and space is tight up front!

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Thu Sep 26, 2019 2:34 pm

My theory has always been the "Bigger the Better" especially when towing in hot weather as fitting the largest transmission fluid cooler that will fit as space allows.
But I do realize folks in the the very cold northern climates must find a happy compromise somewhere in between just right and not running too cold.
We don't have that problem in the south.
Even with the OEM cooler and my added Hayden 10 row stacked plate cooler after the factory one (in series), I can see 220 temperatures on hot 100+ days in stop and go in town driving. But I am reading temperature of the fluid right where it comes out of the transmission going to the coolers. Temperature after the coolers may be much cooler?

thesameguy · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:24 pm **Posts:** 652

Yeah, I have to cope with 110 degree July days and 30 degree January days... and the whole point of this thing for me is to not have to drive the Suburban up to Tahoe. I wanna keep my fluid in that 160-180 degree sweet spot - not give up fuel economy with cold fluid and not give up transmission wear with hot fluid.

I just did some quick looking, and it looks like there are now a lot of options for super compact thermostats....

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ear- ... gKlkPD_BwE

or

https://www.mishimoto.com/mishimoto-in- ... gJZ9fD_BwE

Those could be good options to do exactly the right thing. With even a small stacked plate (way more efficient than a fin & tube) cooler like

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004X ... uage=en_US

or

http://www.improvedracing.com/setrab-oi ... p-249.html

I think you'd be in good shape. Both thermostats have a port for a temperature sensor as well, so that's a convenience.

I wonder what the "side effects" of using the stock cooler are? Conventionally, with the trans cooler built into the radiator you end up with a temperature floor of 180 degree or so (given a 195F thermostat... ) but I don't know what the implications are of sharing a wall with the AC condenser. Until last week, I'd never seen that before!

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Thu Sep 26, 2019 3:32 pm

Yes a bypass thermostat is about the only good option for cold climates if you have to much cooling. :juggle:

On gassers with the cooler in the radiator, the engine coolant temperature can act as both a cooler and / or a heater depending on the differential between the two.
The coolant regulates the transmission fluid temperature. On our CRD's we don't have that luxury.

On a side note: my Dodge Cummins, came from the factory with a large OEM stand a lone transmission cooler and I don't believe it has any kind of bypass thermostat to regulate the fluid temperature unless it is internal inside the transmission and there is no cooler in the radiator either. :shock:

And it has no OD lockout based on temperature best I can tell, but it is a different transmission. 68RFE

flash7210 · **Posted:** Thu Sep 26, 2019 3:46 pm

In theory, replacing with the gasser condenser would improve AC performance due to it not having to share space with the trans cooler.

Then, a new trans cooler, mounted directly in the grille, should perform better than being stuck down at the bottom of the condenser.

I’ve seen my trans temp go above 230F while slowly crawling up a steep bridge in traffic on a hot afternoon.

thesameguy · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:24 pm **Posts:** 652

I suspect most manufacturers run minimal coolers... they usually run transmissions hotter to eek out better fuel economy, so all they're aiming for is something big enough to take the edge off without risking it ever getting too cold. Bean counting, for sure. My old Saabs have thermostats for the ATF cooler, which I always thought was a neat detail, but then those cars were built for a country located in the Arctic Circle.

Maybe if you buy a Ram in Sweden you get a thermostat too.

ebbnflow · **Posted:** Sun Sep 29, 2019 10:46 pm

Leaking Intercooler?

Intercooler is out. Look at all the crud packed into the bottom.

Coated with warm biodiesel glycerin soap.

Intercooler all cleaned up. I pressure checked it and it holds air. The inlet hose can't seem to keep the oil in. I cleaned the inside of the hose real good and used some aquanet to get a little bit of a glue hold on the hose/intercooler inlet.

Backside of my old condenser. That yellow spot is all the stop leak that bled out before it dried.

CRD condenser on the left. Spectre gasser condenser on the right.

Gasser condenser on the bottom. CRD condenser on top. I aligned the condenser bottoms for this photo. You can see the Spectre gasser condenser is a little wider and a little taller. This caused issues with getting the fan to fit correctly.

I had to chip out part of the fan mount to get it to clear the wider condenser.

More fan mount modification.

All back together. It started raining as soon as I got done with an outside temp of 62F. The AC was pumping out 40F. I'll have to wait for a warmer day to see how it performs. I also completely bypassed the factory trans cooler. The one you see in this photo is what remains. I'll be keeping an eye on these temps now as I lost some trans cooling capacity with this fix.

thesameguy · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:24 pm **Posts:** 652

That's pretty great. Do you think a gasser fan would just bolt up?

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Mon Sep 30, 2019 2:54 pm

Good Job! Could you have used a gasser fan or at least the gasser fan housing/bracket for a perfect fit without modifications?
Not sure if gassers are two speed motors like our CRD's?

ebbnflow · **Posted:** Mon Sep 30, 2019 3:35 pm

Those are good questions. I suspect this Spectre Condenser is different than an oem one. I bet an oem gasser condenser would allow the fan to bolt right up. I have no way to confirm that though.

Not sure why photofucket is blurring and watermarking my pictures. That's lame.

Edit: Pictures show up on the main site, but show up blurry on Tapatalk.

flash7210 · **Posted:** Mon Sep 30, 2019 4:04 pm

Every time I've looked up an electric fan for a gasser liberty its a puller fan that fits on the inside of the radiator. Not a pusher on the outside.

thesameguy · **Joined:** Sat Oct 01, 2016 8:24 pm **Posts:** 652

Ah, that makes sense. And, immediately resolves the difficulty I envisioned since the petrol version has no intercooler to bolt the fan to!

AC Condenser Replacement?

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