lil_loco Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Hey folks I tried to run a search but no success. Has anyone retrofitted ac into their 86 with the i4 2.5l? What should I be looking for (shopping list) to make it happen? I checked out jeep air but they don't have any kit or decent lists for the Cherokee or Comanche just wranglers (don't know why they advertise they have a.c. for all jeeps if that's the case) Thanks ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Find a 88 in the JY for bracketry. Go to Rockauto and look up 88 Comanche AC and you will find all parts less the brackets. You will also relocate your alt below the AC compressor. I suggest the 88 because you are more likely to find the brackets.....also beware of hood clearance. My guess is if you do the work........have a shop vacuum it down and install freon.......$800 to $900. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I did this a couple years ago. I had a '86 MJ, WO Air, and a '86 XJ W/AC sitting side by side, both 2.5 so it was just a matter of swapping parts. Took most of the day but I wasn't in a hurry so wasn't pushing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil_loco Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 Cool I retrofitted a TJ before but those ares dime a dozen. Just got to find another 86 xj. Jeep driver - do you mean 88 YJ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Cool I retrofitted a TJ before but those ares dime a dozen. Just got to find another 86 xj. Jeep driver - do you mean 88 YJ? No, XJ or MJ. 85-86s are different, I posted a pic in the other AC thread here. There is not a 85-86 within 400 miles of me that is being parted out (only three complete for sale and none are running), I look nearly daily as I'd like to buy an 85 XJ. 88 MJs with 2.5 are still plentiful by comparison, you may be looking for a year or more for a 86 donor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil_loco Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 Ah was trying to figure what you meant by " Find a 88 in the JY" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbyluvv Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I just put ac in a cj7 and I'm doing a j10 right now. Both kits were from vintage air and were really user friendly. The 84-86 are unique beasts and are hard to find parts for used. The compressor, mount and hvac box are pretty much the same for all 2.5 MJs. Your issue will come from finding a used condenser and lines. You will have to more than likely buy them new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil_loco Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 Condensors ares like rads and lines are like any line I don't think I'd want to buy used too many headaches ahead. I'll check out the vintage air option. Being in Ontario I was lucky enough to find an 86 and should have bought a lotto ticket when I found two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Ah was trying to figure what you meant by " Find a 88 in the JY" Junk Yard.........>JY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil_loco Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 That's a near impossibility in the GTA :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 I did this to my 87 with some parts from an 86 2.8 and bought used compressor brackets to mount that. I had to make some of the harness to make it work. In my 87 there is a connector for "dealer installed AC" that I connected what wiring I didn't have to. The under dash connector for the HVAC box already had the wires in it I needed for the new HVAC box and wiring to work. I transferred the whole HVAC box with cables and control head all together and plugged it right in. The wiring I didn't have I made following the wiring diagram in the downloadable 88 factory service manual. It works great but leaks down within a years time. I can live with that. Good luck with yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil_loco Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 I'm worried that the 86 has such year specific parts could it be backwards compatible? That's a big issue with the TJ 1999 only was compatible with 1999 :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 The HVAC box, condensor, and all lines will work at least to 87 I know. The 86 2.8 V6 and 86 -87 2.5 use the same radiator and condensor so a condensor and lines from an 86 2.8 will also be an option. And when I was doing the wiring from the 88 model diagram, most all of thise were the same also, at least close enough for me to figure out what I needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil_loco Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 Is there good writeups on installing a.c.? I've picked up an hvac/plenum box and dash dash control from a 1990 xj as it looked identical to mine but with the a.c. option, vacuum actuator and a.c. core and it was a good price (gas and coffee) to pull. Bought brackets from ebay for the engine pulled from an i4 86XJ. Had to bite the bullet since there are none up here. But what about wiring? Will the harness from the 1990 4.0 xj work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86mj2.5 Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 Would using a 4.0 cherokee to swap ac parts work on a 2.5 Comanche? Not really any 2.5s or 2.8s available in the junkyard around me. Truck came with factory as just was taken out by previous owner. So would need condenser and lines. Compressor is still there. What all parts would swap? Any information would be helpful and appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 3 hours ago, 86mj2.5 said: Would using a 4.0 cherokee to swap ac parts work on a 2.5 Comanche? Not really any 2.5s or 2.8s available in the junkyard around me. Truck came with factory as just was taken out by previous owner. So would need condenser and lines. Compressor is still there. What all parts would swap? Any information would be helpful and appreciated. You might be able to get away with using 4.0L hoses but you will need a 2.5L condenser. Depending on the year as well as the condensers are different from 84-86 and 87-01. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86mj2.5 Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 5 hours ago, eaglescout526 said: You might be able to get away with using 4.0L hoses but you will need a 2.5L condenser. Depending on the year as well as the condensers are different from 84-86 and 87-01. Yea mines an 86 so I would need a 2.5 from 84-86 to get the correct one? Is the because of fitment or something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglescout526 Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 4 minutes ago, 86mj2.5 said: Yea mines an 86 so I would need a 2.5 from 84-86 to get the correct one? Is the because of fitment or something else? The radiator is different. On my 84 XJ, the radiator is thinner than the one in my MJ. Course that being said I have seen 86 MJs with the later normal radiator. So the only thing that leaves as to what could possibly be different would be the radiator mounting set up between 86 and 87. You can also look into the 2.8L stuff as the condenser and radiator were shared with those years. So you do have options, just maybe not extensive enough. Course if I were you, I’d find a 2.8L that someone is junking, yank the AC parts and see if you can get them to fit. I feel like they could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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