2 Days Gone

[Mike Kauntz]

Once again I assumed I was right and the world was wrong. I decided to remove the A/C from my 89 LX. I saw advertisements for A/C eliminators in catalogs, nah why spend $85 bucks when you can just buy a smaller belt and the little diagram near my radiator showed the serpentine with and without the A/C. The belt recommended for a non-A/C Mustang was listed as a K060845 so I went and bought one, NOPE! way to small. So I got string and measured the serpentine at 86.4 inches, still to small. I went back and forth to the auto parts store and finally narrowed it down to one belt and it fit, BUT the clearance between the belt on the top and the water pump was about 3/32", to close for comfort. I tucked my tail between my legs went back to the auto parts store, admitted defeat and gave them money for coffee and doughnuts for putting up with me for 2 days. My A/C eliminator kit will arrive in three days. If any of you are inclined to try what I did, don't. If you insist the best belt for the task is a K060870, but don't say I didn't warn you.

 

[Dart68]

Once again I assumed I was right and the world was wrong. I decided to remove the A/C from my 89 LX. I saw advertisements for A/C eliminators in catalogs, nah why spend $85 bucks when you can just buy a smaller belt and the little diagram near my radiator showed the serpentine with and without the A/C. The belt recommended for a non-A/C Mustang was listed as a K060845 so I went and bought one, NOPE! way to small. So I got string and measured the serpentine at 86.4 inches, still to small. I went back and forth to the auto parts store and finally narrowed it down to one belt and it fit, BUT the clearance between the belt on the top and the water pump was about 3/32", to close for comfort. I tucked my tail between my legs went back to the auto parts store, admitted defeat and gave them money for coffee and doughnuts for putting up with me for 2 days. My A/C eliminator kit will arrive in three days. If any of you are inclined to try what I did, don't. If you insist the best belt for the task is a K060870, but don't say I didn't warn you.

I intend to race my car so I got rid of the AC and got the AC delete pulley. But the size belt for no AC listed in the parts catalogs didn't fit. I ended up buying 5 belts of different lengths to try them on and when I found the right one I took the others back to the parts store.

 

[TOOLOW91]

It really doesn't make a difference having the ac on your not loosing mega horsepower. It's minimal .

 

[Mike Kauntz]

It really doesn't make a difference having the ac on your not loosing mega horsepower. It's minimal .

Not really concerned about the HP. The evap coil was shot, I rarely if ever use A/C and I wanted to clean up the engine compartment a bit.

 

[Mike Kauntz]

I intend to race my car so I got rid of the AC and got the AC delete pulley. But the size belt for no AC listed in the parts catalogs didn't fit. I ended up buying 5 belts of different lengths to try them on and when I found the right one I took the others back to the parts store.

What belt did you end up with just in case? Basically I did the same thing, I took 4 belts home and tried them but I didn't have to buy them. It's a little mom and pop place and they know me.

 

[02 281 GT]

Have you considered the Ford Racing A/C delete kit? It eliminates the A/C compressor bracket entirely and repositions the power steering pump.

https://lmr.com/item/M8511A50/85-93-Mustang-50L-A-C-Eliminator

 

[Mustang5L5]

Have you considered the Ford Racing A/C delete kit? It eliminates the A/C compressor bracket entirely and repositions the power steering pump.

https://lmr.com/item/M8511A50/85-93-Mustang-50L-A-C-Eliminator

That should really be the only A/C eliminator considered. The one that replaces the compressor with a pulley is just a failure point waiting to happen.

Amazing how much the price of eliminator kits has gone up. When I bought mine, it was $35 or so for the Ford kit. Now I see that same kit up near $100 or so. I sold mine, used, on ebay for $70 shipped not to long ago, and that was a bid war with 5-6 different bidders. Amazing.

Anyway, I'd take all belt references with a grain of salt and just string it. Over the years, pulleys have been swapped. Many people have 3G alts, with the stock 3" pulley, so that throws everything out the window. Replacement pulleys aren't the same exact diameter, and it's just tough to figure out what size you need. All you can do is run the string (preferable one without any elastic "give") and measure and buy a few belts.

When I put my A/C back on my my Fox, it took me 3 trips to the parts store to get the right belt for it due to my underdrive pulleys.

 

[Dart68]

It really doesn't make a difference having the ac on your not loosing mega horsepower. It's minimal .

Agreed, but for me as this was going to be a drag race car, I wanted the weight off of the front end.

 

[Dart68]

What belt did you end up with just in case? Basically I did the same thing, I took 4 belts home and tried them but I didn't have to buy them. It's a little mom and pop place and they know me.

I don't remember off hand. I'll have to take a look at it and let you know.

 

[Mike Kauntz]

View attachment 576554 View attachment 576554

 

[stpete]

No matter what pulley configuration I had on mine, the "recommended" belt size never fit. Mine had no smog pump. Then I upgraded from underdrive to stock pulleys and had to go through the whole process again.

 

[Mike Kauntz]

After installing the A/C bypass pulley assembly I used the stock belt and all was right with the world.