Hello there,

I'm getting ready to do a 4cyl to V6 swap in my '87 SE. My car has the V5 A/C compressor, whereas the 2.8 V6 uses the DA6/HR6. I'd like to keep the V5 compressor because:

1) It's superior to the DA6/HR6
2) My compressor works perfectly

So how would one get the V5 to "play nicey-nice" with the V6? My V6 didn't include a compressor, so I have no basis for comparison.

So far, I see 2 points of concern, the pulley and the wiring. Will the DA6/HR6 pulley fit on the V5? As for the wiring... does the DA6/HR6 have both pressure switches (high and low) on the compressor? Or is the low pressure switch on the receiver/dryer?

Thanks!

Hi, I only know basics on a/c stuff--but how about a mid morning bump to the top to get some answers for you..

Physically, the pulley will fit. You MAY have to change the magnet coil and if you do, that's the wiring connector anyway. It's not a big deal to remove the coil if you have the pulley and clutch off anyway. You do have to have a special puller and installer to remove and replace the clutch. No hammers allowed.

Why do you think the V5 is superior? I find all of that particular era harrison compressers equally unreliable.

I haven't paid that much attention to the 4 cylinder wiring. My Mitchell wiring diagram shows a note in it that says the low pressure cycling switch is 6 cyl only, but I know that's not correct because my '86 that had a 4 cyl had a pressure cycling switch on the accumulator. The wiring diagram has several differences in the wiring, for whatever reasons.

The only one you really need to worry about is your high pressure safety switch that will cut out the compresser in case of very high side pressure. As long as you have a properly functioning low pressure cycling switch in the accumulator, it will take care of the low pressure safety side. I can get you a picture of the '87 wiring diagram for a/c if you think it will help.

John Stricker

quote Originally posted by Blacktree: Hello there, I'm getting ready to do a 4cyl to V6 swap in my '87 SE. My car has the V5 A/C compressor, whereas the 2.8 V6 uses the DA6/HR6. I'd like to keep the V5 compressor because: 1) It's superior to the DA6/HR6 2) My compressor works perfectly So how would one get the V5 to "play nicey-nice" with the V6? My V6 didn't include a compressor, so I have no basis for comparison. So far, I see 2 points of concern, the pulley and the wiring. Will the DA6/HR6 pulley fit on the V5? As for the wiring... does the DA6/HR6 have both pressure switches (high and low) on the compressor? Or is the low pressure switch on the receiver/dryer? Thanks!

My V5 compressor has both the high and low pressure switches on the compressor. I know the pre-87 4cyls had the low pressure switch in the accumulator, but wasn't sure about the V6.

Thanks for the info. Looks like I'll be modding my V6 engine wiring harness. Wish me luck!

Luck!

Just an update: I'm now working on the V5 compressor install as part of my 4cyl to V6 swap. I have a V-belt pulley, and the electrical connectors from the '87 Duke wiring harness.

I mocked up the compressor on the V6 engine, and it looks like a good fit. I may need to shave some material from the groove in the lower compressor mounting bracket. But I'm going to try loosening the bolts and wiggling the brackets around first. That may do the trick.

The tough part is finding a tool to remove/install the compressor clutch. Autozone didn't have a tool that fit. And none of the other local auto parts stores had anything, either. So I had to order the tool online.

On a positive note, it looks like the wiring should be fairly easy. Looking at the schematics in the Haynes manual, it seems that all I need to do is splice in the high/low pressure switches where the accumulator switch usually goes (the location in the electrical circuit, not necessarily the actual physical location), and ground out the black wire that connects to the high-pressure cutoff switch on the HR6 compressor.

It'll be about a week before that clutch tool arrives. So please be patient. I will post more info (with photos) when I make more progress.

Alright folks, the V5 on a V6 swap has now been done.

As I mentioned earlier, you'll need a special (metric) tool to remove and install the clutch. You can remove the pulley with an ordinary gear puller. Just make sure to remove the snap ring first.

The V-belt pulley from the DA6/HR6 compressors fits the V5 perfectly. However, the V5 does not fit perfectly into the V6 mounting brackets. But with a Dremel tool and some grinding bits, that isn't hard to fix.

The first order of business is to grind a shallow recess behind the top mounting ear on the compressor. This needs to be done to provide clearance for the top mounting bracket. See the 2 photos below.





After that, I found that the lower mounting ear didn't quite match up to the slot in the lower mounting bracket.



The compressor sits a bit too high. So I loosened the 3 bolts on the top bracket to let it drop down a little. That helped, but didn't completely solve the problem. So I ground some material off the top edge of the slot. I didn't take the time to grind the whole thing, just the area where the mounting bolt will be.



And finally, here's a shot of the V5 compressor installed.



In a few days, I should be able to provide details on the wiring. So stay tuned!