Explorer Serp Swap (Updated with photos)

[Broncobowsher]

12V into one side of the coil.
12V on the other side, that just shows there is no ground. The coil can't do any work if there isn't a voltage drop. Take that "output" (it isn't) and ground it. Now you have 12V on one wire for the coil and 0V on the other. And it will be 0V if you ground it.

That will energize a magnetic clutch A/C compressor.

 

[bronconut73]

Gawd, I sure do love you guys.

When i get back to the house I am going to try that.
Had to run out to the "mouse house" this morning then to the lab, then I will head home and try it.

Thanks again guys!

I am so much further along on my eb than I deserve to be and that is because of all y'all here at CB.

Special thank you to Bowsher and Deepwoods.

 

[Attac]

Just had another thought. Is the AC compressor getting a good ground. maybe try a direct ground if it's grounding through the bracketry
Chuck

Hey
Did you miss this a couple of days ago??

 

[bronconut73]

CLICK!
HAHAHAHA
YEA!

Thank you Bowsher and Deepwoods!
I hope you understand my fear of grounding that contact since I got 12 volts from it when I energized the other contact. Grounded one of the contacts with power to the other and got a loud and clear click from the clutch.

worked perfect immediately. Real cold in just a few seconds.

I previously put in about 29 oz of R134 per my old BV/VA a/c instructions but the compressor never came on due to my ignorance, explained above, lol. I was amazed the system allowed me to put in all of that refrigerant with out the compressor running, but it did, and it is very cool. The compressor is utterly silent.

Hell yea!

I am doing my Happy Dance right now!

Decades of chasing the BTU gods and I now have a cooling system (Flow Kooler from WH) that can tame central Florida traffic.

Decades of being dissatisfied with my oem power steering, then only a little happier with the Saginaw upgrade although I realize it was stronger than the Thompson it never felt good. I assumed this was as good as it got. I was wrong ....my Explorer PS pump kicks ass, smooth, strong, effortless steering,
"Did I mention smooth?" Didn't know the pump would make such a big difference, huge difference.

Decades of an inadequate charging system for all of my accessories. Done. The DB Electronics new not rebuilt 4G is spectacular, handling my loads without the volt meter barely moving, awesome.

And now the a/c works better and quieter than ever!

No belt squeal, squeak, or groan!


I should have done this in 1996. I should have stolen a brand new 5.0 Explorer off the lot and stripped its serp system, lol.

Thank you Bowsher, Crush, Deepwoods, Donk, Attac, and of course Sandmann for making this mod so easy to start by compiling all of the pieces for us.

All said and done I probably have $600 bucks total in this mod but that includes "all new parts" even idler pulleys, r134a, sundries and such, but I am using the original Explorer ps pump with great success.
A worthy mod for those not trying to stay original.


Thank you everybody.
This has gone really well!
A great mod!
A great success!

 

[Attac]

HELL YEA !!!!
AC in central FL..
Super Happy for ya
Super bummed that i spent 600 on march kit when i could have done this to my green one....Gotta Pm Sanndmann... I think im gonna need 2 kits now
Congrats Steve and now you can keep cool when you Drive up here when i put a Florida Bronco event together at the range!!

 

[bronconut73]

Hey
Did you miss this a couple of days ago??

Well, what I did was confirmed that the compressor itself was grounded as I assumed if the case was grounded then it would get its ground through the case.
The BC unit only had a power wire because it got its ground through the case I guess......

It all works so good Chuck!

 

[bronconut73]

HELL YEA !!!!
AC in central FL..
Super Happy for ya
Super bummed that i spent 600 on march kit when i could have done this to my green one....Gotta Pm Sanndmann... I think im gonna need 2 kits now
Congrats Steve and now you can keep cool when you Drive up here when i put a Florida Bronco event together at the range!!

Just don't make too much fun of my marksmanship, lol.

 

[Attac]

Just don't make too much fun of my marksmanship, lol.

We dont judge..
Me and a few local guys were kicking around having a FL/Ga Meetup at the Range to shoot a while and then taking a convoy over to the Beach and take some pics. After that we would go to My buddys property (he has the black 76 ive been working on) . He built his shop and a huge tiki hut like they have in the carribean on this property. We could have a cookout there and some more social time. Trying to figure out what could work for guys like Tyler who,if they came , would be coming from the west coast..About 4 hr drive. Bax and franko are 3 hrs away also..
Just thinking this out loud. I need to start a thread and get some input.
Chuck

 

[bronconut73]

I am about 3 hours

Franko is about 5 hours

Tampa boys are about 4 hours.

These are eb travel time hours.

If Bax or Franko trailer theirs they will push 90mph the whole way....in which case Bax could get to ya in about an hour, Lol

 

[Attac]

I am about 3 hours

Franko is about 5 hours

Tampa boys are about 4 hours.

These are eb travel time hours.

If Bax or Franko trailer theirs they will push 90mph the whole way....in which case Bax could get to ya in about an hour, Lol

yea i wasnt factoring Bronco drive time and forgot Franko is further south

AT least you would be nice and cool during that 3 hr trip.

Also wanted to see if anyone had interest in meeting up at Turkey Rod on Friday after thanksgiving.

 

[bronconut73]

Oh yea,

When I was a kid say 14 to 28 or so I did not miss a single Turkey Run.
I have hit it a good few times in the 20 years since then but there always seem to be a family thing that hits me that weekend, lol.
Having said all of that, I look forward to it.
Yea!

 

[bronconut73]

Starting to close up some of the shroud gaps.

This is a before and after photo of the gap at the bottom.

I am using 1 1/2" x 1/8" aluminum strap.

 

[bronconut73]

Still have to build the ring to enclose the fan by 1/3 to 1/2....i have room to go further...

I grabbed a 6' strip of 3" x 1/8" aluminum. Probably a bit heavier than needed but it's what they had, lol.

I will bend it into a 20" diameter circle. Then set it into the shroud at the appropriate depth. Finally bend up some little 90 degree pieces of this aluminum to mount it to my shroud.
This will pull every bit of air through the core of the radiator. Although it's running cooler and steadier than ever without the ring. Gonna do it anyway...lol.

 

[thirdtime]

Couldn't quite tell from your pictures but how much clearance do you have with the A/C compressor and fender well? I'm running a 351 with a serp conversion on my 71 and want to add air to mine as well but wasn't sure if there was enough clearance.

 

[bronconut73]

Fits perfect but you have to bolt the compressor on to the bracket before bolting the bracket on to the engine.
No room to bolt it on once the bracket is on unless you drill holes in the inner fender. But the compressor fits the eb fine on the Explorer bracket.

 

[thirdtime]

Fits perfect but you have to bolt the compressor on to the bracket before bolting the bracket on to the engine.
No room to bolt it on once the bracket is on unless you drill holes in the inner fender. But the compressor fits the eb fine on the Explorer bracket.

Appreciate the input, that's what I was hoping. Enjoy the serp setup, it fixes a lot of issues.

 

[bronconut73]

Really worked it hard in bad traffic today. It's in the mid 90's per the weather man, but they lie. My thermometer showed 98 at 3pm.
That puts the feels like temp well above 105 degrees.
On the asphalt it is likely 10 to 15 degrees hotter. In my opinion this is much worse (temp wise) than trail traffic.
Temp gauge went to 218 degrees. Didn't go any higher.
I raised the rpm by about 400 rpm (like 800 to 1,200 rpm) and the temp shot down to 197 really quick.
I loved it.

Question though, does anybody make a smaller pulley for the water pump/fan pulley?

 

[sykanr0ng]

What water pump are you using?

 

[bronconut73]

What water pump are you using?

WH Flow Kooler for Explorer Serp.

 

[sykanr0ng]

As far as I know there is no overdrive water pump pulley available.
You can't even get a stock replacement except used.