nwg916

Does anybody know if an s14 ac condenser will fit into an s13 without any modification? I converted my ac system to r134a and feel like the performance sucks with the stock condenser and want to switch to the parallel flow s14 condenser. Any info on this would be appreciated.

S14rebuild

No the fitting sizes are diffrent, the lines wont connect...

R123a will never cool like r12


What are ur gauge pressure readings? Cabin temperature/ outdoor air temps?

nwg916

Yeah from what i seen as well i would need the s14 lines. But other than that I dont see why it wouldnt work. The measurements are both 13x24 for s13 and s14 condensers. All of my pressures are fine nothing abnormal and the reason i wanna switch is because the older style stock s13 condensers dont cool r134 very well. Im also having issues with the air getting warm when the car comes to a stop. The parallel flow s14 one was made for 134a which is why i want to switch.

S14rebuild

What are u running for cooling fans for rad/condensor?

nwg916

Stock fan clutch, stock electric condenser fan. I previously had on dual electric altima fans which made the actual temperature of the car extremely cool but the ac performance was the same. Still would get warmer in stop and go. I should mention also when I charged the system I charged it with the exact amount of refrigerant using a scale so it cant be low.

inopsey

if the s14 condenser has a different flow design the internal size will be different as well. if you charge ac based on weight, your required freon amount will be different than either a s13 or s14 system if you try to mash the 2 systems together. save yourself the headache and the large possibility that your ac will run worse than it does now and leave it alone.


edit
forgot the useful part.


you will get further cooling by doing a good recharge ie. change out the dryer, pull a vacuum for as long as you can (6+hrs) to remove all water etc. flush the lines, and ensure you have proper r134 pressures (you should be using a r134 sensor with the conversion?

nwg916

s13 and s14 systems take almost the same exact amount of refrigerant according to the fsm's. s13 take 1.8 - 2.0 pounds of r12. Converted to r134a that would be 1.55 lbs of refrigerant. s14's take 1.32 - 1.54 lbs of r134a. I have just recently flushed and replaced every single component in my system besides a new compressor and a new condenser and the pressure switch because the compressor I had worked fine and you can't find new condensers any where now. Would the pressure switch cause issues when idling. It shouldn't right? Its just supposed to switch the compressor off if the system gets too high or too low. All of my pressures are normal. The only issue i'm having with the system is it getting warm when idling or at a stop which is because of the design of the stock s13 condenser. I dont think swapping the condensers would be too big of a headache honestly just cant seem to find anyone who has done it to see how difficult it was.

mechanicalmoron

People are stupid and scared. Do it.

nwg916

I mean I appreciate the insight from everyone, just can't seem to find anyone who has done this yet. Everybody just rips their ac out lmao. Where I live this summer it was up to 110 degrees so its needed here unless you wanna sweat your ass off. I'm currently trying to source the parts, have a couple people with the condensers so i would just need the lines and i could test fit it and go from there.

S14rebuild

If it fits then there is no issue.

What are ur high and low readings at idle/stand still?

nwg916

It all depends on a day where its 105 out the pressures are usually around 40-50 low side and 250-300 high side. When its 90 degrees out pressures are usually about 25-35 low side and high side is 150-225.

S14rebuild

that should be blowing cold inside reguardless....

Any chance ur compressor cutting off while u come to a stop for a few seconds, then comen back on?

nwg916

That's why i'm at where i'm at. Everything checks out, everything functions as it should which is why i'm thinking the condenser just isn't efficient with r134a. It is a know issue with serpentine style condensers which is what the stock s13 condenser is. They work great with r12 but not 134a. There is no issues with compressor cut-outs or anything. The problem is only when idling or stopping.

mechanicalmoron

This is common/the rule with conversion systems, IME. Never messed with 240 AC, but I would assume the same. When they're stable, not leaking, good pressures, functioning properly, they just don't cool at an idle.

I'm interested to see your lines/fittings.

nwg916

I 100% agree. Man if only they still sold new condensers or an alternative parallel condenser for s13 I would have bought one instantly. Just not enough people utilizing ac anymore so people have stopped making the ac components I don't even think rock auto sells the compressor anymore. I have a couple people with s14 condensers so we'll see if i can get one of those and then get the lines. If anybody has s14 ac lines I will buy them! Just pm me... I've been trying to find these locally but nobody seems to have anything....

inopsey

are you using a full shroud with the stock fan? if its only at idle your not removing the latent heat from the ac system which is impacting your ac performance. can you feel air being drawn across the condenser? do you have a FMIC on the car? improving your air flow across the condenser will fix this issue (provided everything else is fine from the conversion) of poor cooling at idle (assuming this issue is only at idle)

nwg916

Everything is all stock. Stock fan clutch shroud, stock condenser fan. I ran a dual altima fan setup on this car previously which were so powerful they would cool the actual car down like the temperature gauge would go below normal because the fans were working so well but the ac performance was still sub par at idle. At this point I am like 95% sure the condenser is at fault. Everything else works as it should. The stock condenser just doesn't work well when converted.

TheRealSy90

What condenser do the 96-98 kouki 180sx use? They would have used the same refrigerant as the S14. Maybe find one of those.

__________________

nwg916

I was just looking into that, they use different condensers at least different part numbers from what I have found after 95. They also seem to have r134a fittings in the pictures I have seen. 95 is the year r134a came out so I think those might be parallel flow condensers or they could be the same style I have no idea honestly. They have kind of a weird design and everything also goes back to one side back to the evaporator box but I'm sure it would work with some fabricated lines. If the s14 condenser doesn't work this would probably be the next best bet. Don't know how hard they are to find, it seems like there are more s14 condensers around.

jb9

Have you considered HPI's s14 Radiator Rescue condenser?

I don't think they ever made them them for s13s but from what I remember when I went down this rabbit hole is that they designed the condenser to cool as well as oem while blocking less air to the radiator. No idea how a rhd s14 condenser would work with lhd s13 AC lines. I'd assume you could flip it around/upsidedown and maybe get some small conversion lines so the factory lhd s13 lines hook up and if you're already modifying an s14 condenser into an s13 that really doesn't seem like too much more work. And the condenser is probably actually going to be designed for r134a and it'll probably be alot easier to just buy a new one than having to find and probably ship a used kouki 180sx from japan and still deal with the rhd issues.

I found the measurements for the hi pressure/low pressure houses on rhd japan so you could measure yours and at least know if the fittings will physically fit

https://www.rhdjapan.com/hpi-radiato...5-4mm-s14.html
https://www.rhdjapan.com/hpi-radiato...0-1mm-s14.html

nwg916

Hey, Appreciate the info! Yes I have looked into this, it doesn't seem any more difficult than throwing the 95 and up 180sx condenser in and fabricating some lines up but I feel like the s14 one is just more straight forward. The s14 system follows the same route as the s13 while the rhd stuff is on opposite sides. That HPI condenser looks like a parallel flow condenser for sure and would definitely work very well, if only they made them for lhd 240's... I'll leave some pics below so you can see the routing i'm talking about.... And I have found a couple s14 ac condensers already, 180sx condensers are probably super expensive and probably mostly in japan, not sure how the shipping would work with the coronavirus going on.


(s13)
https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/reso...2e39ff502c.png

(s14)
https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/reso...ed70e50015.png

(180sx)
https://image.nengun.com/catalogs/im...terisk_003.png

(s14 silvia rhd) this is probably how the routing would be with the hpi condenser
https://image.nengun.com/catalogs/im...terisk_001.png