2000 GMC Savana 6.5 Air Conditioner (A/C) Delete Help

[buffalowagon]

Hello.
I'm James.
I recently acquired a 2000 GMC Savana 5 window minibus with a 6.5 Diesel and a corbeil body and I'm in the process of converting it into my super sustainable living space.
I've kind of run into a catch with the A/C.
I just chopped things out and was going to put on the Dorman A/C delete pulley, because I HATE A/C. I could spare you my vehement feelings about it, but they're only personal and just for me. The unit was pretty messed up/neglected so I just.... chopped it out. All of it. The condensor/radiator on the roof, the condensor below the floor.

Anyways, the Dorman pulley doesn't fit. The pulley off to the corner of where it's supposed to mount, relative to the bracket and Dorman isn't helping me. If Dorman were correct in their placement, every single pulley would be on the front of the motor EXCEPT the A/C pulley, which would be on the top, right corner, facing the motor from the hood.
I call poppycock. I mean, I'm sure that my Corbeil bus has an after market a/c compared to its base of a 2000 GMC Savana 3500, but no way does the pulley stay in such place. Check out the second photo for pictures of how wrong they actually are! You can see the proper location of the a/c pulley in the first photo.

Right now, I just want my bus to run again. The A/C pulley and bracket isn't removed off the engine as of yet, but all the hoses are removed front to back and the r-134 safely evacuated... now all there is left is a few wires where the lower radiator was and the two hoses that came out of the a/c pulley unit are a few feet long.

I am going to safely plug the radiator hose that went to the A/C unit.
And hopefully find the A/C control unit that everyone says I have to remove. It's likely the mess of wires and relays in the photo I posted of the two hoses that are remaining, coming from the A/C pulley/bracket.

This is my first bus and I'm not a fantastic mechanic (say that 5 times fast!), but it's fun to learn and I've always been getting better, the more I do it.

I haven't been able to find any information on an A/C Delete belt for my vehicle. Someone told me I should just take a string and measure what I need without the a/c pulley after I take the belt off and just don't put the appropriately sized, slightly shorter belt on the A/C unit. Not sure if that'll work or if the belt has to be the spots its in along the serpentine belt routing diagram for a specific reason.

I'd really like to remove LITERALLY everything, if I can. There are still some wires attached to the A/C unit I should remove, but I've been waiting on how to properly set this up to see if i can pull the entire A/c pump off the engine or not.

Thanks for any help!

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Correct part number is 34175. Check first that the part number on the box and the actual part is the correct part number.

Reason being, I used to work at an Auto Zone and I saw people returning all the time because some idiot didn't pay attention or listen to them and gave them the wrong part, or sometimes we actually had received parts for resale, only to find out the wrong part was in the box. Something that usually wasn't discovered until after a pissed-off customer returned. We certainly didn't open every box to verify the correct part was in the box. So verify it is the correct part first.

If the part is the correct one, three things...

One, most of these bypass pulleys will be designed to either bolt to the stock compressor bracket, or replace it altogether. So check to make sure it is not designed to replace the existing bracket. You may have to remove the bracket along with the compressor and bolt the bypass pulley in the bracket's place to make it work as intended. It's also possible this part is designed to fit multiple applications and may have bolt holes in the bracket that aren't used on your application.

Second, you may also find that a shorter belt may be required, if the positioning and bypass pulley are different than the compressor.

Third, it is possible you may be thinking it bolts on a certain way, which may not be the way it has to. I've had that happen a few times and it took a little while of messing with it to realize I was trying to put it on wrong.

If all else fails, I would just leave the compressor in place. The pressure cutout switches will not allow the clutch to engage, so your primary goal is effectively already accomplished. I would disconnect the clutch just to make sure.

I get that some might not care for A/C -- however, it seems a little extreme to gut it down to removing even the compressor just because you can. No offense, just my $0.02. But to each their own.

[CHEESE_WAGON]

I did find this thread that might shine a little light on the subject...

https://www.dieselplace.com/threads/...6-5-td.428310/

It indicates that most have found it necessary to make a support bracket to supplement this part. I think what is going on here is that Dorman thinks this is a bolt-on for the diesel, since the 5.7 Vortec and the 6.2 / 6.5 diesel use the same compressors and the same basic accessory bracket. But apparently the diesel models need a little extra cobbling to make it work.

Hope that helps...

[buffalowagon]

Hey, thanks for the advice. I'm going to ditch the replacement bracket because I still can't figure out how the belt would go.
The pressure cutoff switch... good advice.
So that means that I should leave those particular r-134 hoses unplugged?
If so;
Now I only have 1 single issue before I get her running again.
There's one radiator hose that I'm not sure what it does. I plugged the extra hose that comes out of the radiator that I'm assuming was a "send" hose for the a/c radiator unit underneath the bus, but this new hose comes from this kind of reservoir near the firewall that isn't attached the engine block. It just comes out of the wall there behind the alternator and the battery and I'm not sure what it does.

I figure I have two options...
Attach the two hoses
or plug the two hoses.

My gut is telling me that I should attach the two hoses.
Suggestions?

(Also, I know the a/c delete was a little impulsive, but I'll know better for next time.)

[CHEESE_WAGON]

Leave the hoses, or at least cap off the manifold ports on the back of the compressor and evaporator coil in the dash. Should you ever want to put it back to working order, or perhaps sell your rig to someone who does, it will keep dirt and moisture out of the compressor and evaporator (a major cause of system failure).

If simply leaving the hoses, I would leave them connected at both ends, or if the evaporator has already been removed, at least go over the ends of the hoses with duct tape or something similar to keep moisture and grime out.

I'm not sure it makes a difference to the clutch / hub bearings, but all the same, it's not a lot of hassle to do so, and will be easier for you and/or someone else should circumstances force you to sell down the road.