AC Compressor Removal/Bypass question

[conker]

My AC compressor on my 88 2.5 MJ sounds like its on its way out and I want to just remove it (already took every other AC components out)

 

My issue is that I have that belt routing with the Alternator over top of the AC compressor, has anyone ever deleted the AC with this routing, and did you have to move the alternator down to where the AC was?

 

I don't want to accidentally turn this into a week long project by removing it and then finding I can't route the belt like that or something.

 

[schardein]

I don't have any experience on the 4 cylinder, but on the 4.0 there is a bracket and pulley that bolts on in place of the AC compressor.  I got mine from a junkyard XJ that did not have AC from the factory (I was in Hawaii at the time, never have seen another one), but I have seen similar "AC bypass" pulleys before.  I don't know if they are available for the 4cyl though.

[mjeff87]

My 87 2.5 did not have AC and the alternator sat exactly where the one in that pic is.  You will most likely need a shorter belt, should be the size of a 2.5 without AC.  See the upper radiator hose in that pic (is that yours?).....it's molded like that to fit around the AC compressor.

[conker]

My 87 2.5 did not have AC and the alternator sat exactly where the one in that pic is.  You will most likely need a shorter belt, should be the size of a 2.5 without AC.  See the upper radiator hose in that pic (is that yours?).....it's molded like that to fit around the AC compressor.

Yeah thats my picture. Thanks.

 

Can you use the non-AC rad hose when the alt is up there? It had that hose on it when I bought it.

[mjeff87]

Your setup is a bit different than mine was, my alt bracket sat on top of the alt and a bit lower than how yours is.  This is a stock 87 non-AC setup, with the non-AC rad hose:

 

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Looks like you might have room, but I don't know about the pulley on yours....

 

edit:  thinking about it some more, you probably need the non-AC alternator bracket.  Should be easy to find, most 2.5's I've ever come across didn't have AC.  I have the A/C bracket, as I was going to mount a compressor on mine for an OBA system, but never did:

 

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[conker]

Figured I'd just give an update on this, wound up actually being extremely easy to bypass the AC.

With the compressor out i found the mounting points on the alt and the AC bracket were square with eachother so i was able to just bridge them with some metal. could be a bit more scoocum but she's been working fine.

A piece of angle iron (i cut the angle out for some armchair engineering reason), a bolt out of the magical bolt bucket, 2 nuts out of the nut bucket (one for the bolt and the other for to sleeve the bolt), and a different size belt.