Installed A/C Kit Myself in my Civic DX

civicboy · 04-10-2006, 10:34 PM

I just finished installing the A/C kit myself in my Civic. The kit itself was very straight forward very easy to install for someone that is mechinically inclined. Everything was pretty much plug and play. I vacuumed down the system with a 1.5 CFM pump. It took me roughly 5 hours from start to finish. The A/C blows super cold in my car. This is what I want for that long hot Texas summer. It sure is nice to have A/C what would we do with out it. At least I saved myself some money by installing it myself. I would estimate that I saved at least a $1000.00 installing the kit myself.

Gone · 04-10-2006, 10:45 PM

Holy Crap! Does that say 32 Ferenhiet (sp)?

_karu_ · 04-10-2006, 11:08 PM

i think that says 36F

civicboy · 04-10-2006, 11:09 PM

I believe the thermometer reads 34 degrees Ferenhiet. The compressor wasn't cycling on and off. The computer didn't recognize that the compressor was there so it didn't cycle on and off. What the dealer told me is let the car run for about an hour and then the computer will recognize that the compessor is there. I just went out to get a bite to eat, and the compressor is now cycling on and off like it should. The A/C truely does work great in the car. I got the kit from Collegehillshonda. The total shipped to my door was $925.62. They were definately and awesome dealer to deal with and saved my self at least $150.00 ordering the kit from them.

Kroze · 04-11-2006, 12:59 AM

did you take pics and post tutorial ?

2RotorMotor · 05-30-2006, 10:03 AM

Damn I didnt know they were still selling cars without a/c... How much did you save in terms of buying an lx with power windows and a/c???

radiocontrolhead · 05-30-2006, 12:30 PM

dx comes w/ power windows. no ac.

2RotorMotor · 05-30-2006, 01:31 PM

WTF... That sucks.. How much do you save by not having a/c?? I would've just paid the extra $30 a month to have a/c

taste · 05-31-2006, 08:46 AM

Nice work getting that installed man. Great job.

arisenfury · 05-31-2006, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2RotorMotor

WTF... That sucks.. How much do you save by not having a/c?? I would've just paid the extra $30 a month to have a/c

I also have a DX, and at 19, on my own without a cosigner even under a lease, an LX would've thrown me into the $400+/month catagory, which is way over my budget. As it is, I pay $327 for 12,000 miles, for 15,000 I was told around $380. I plan on buying it and trading it in at the end of the lease anyways, so the miles didn't bother me. However, power door locks and a/c were not worth having no spending money. My reasoning is, my past 3 cars never had a/c, or it wasn't charged, so I'm used to it. Plus the weather in Connecticut doesn't get too hot. And secondly, I have a coupe so it's only my door I need to open half the time. If I'm with a guy, he can wait, if it's a girl I should be opening it for her anyways.

2RotorMotor · 05-31-2006, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arisenfury

I also have a DX, and at 19, on my own without a cosigner even under a lease, an LX would've thrown me into the $400+/month catagory, which is way over my budget. As it is, I pay $327 for 12,000 miles, for 15,000 I was told around $380. I plan on buying it and trading it in at the end of the lease anyways, so the miles didn't bother me. However, power door locks and a/c were not worth having no spending money. My reasoning is, my past 3 cars never had a/c, or it wasn't charged, so I'm used to it. Plus the weather in Connecticut doesn't get too hot. And secondly, I have a coupe so it's only my door I need to open half the time. If I'm with a guy, he can wait, if it's a girl I should be opening it for her anyways.

hold on, it has power windows but no locks or a/c? thats crazy..

arisenfury · 05-31-2006, 12:19 PM

Yeah it's pretty f-ed up but I fell in love with the car and my father refused to cosign so I took what I could. Oh yeah, it also doesn't come with a radio, but I told them I wasn't taking the deal without a radio and they had an aftermarket Alpine put in for free. It was a cheap one, but they still took on the cost of the installation kit and the installation fee from one of the aftermarket shops near by.

***Jrfish007*** · 05-31-2006, 01:26 PM

hummm.... something doesn't add up here. You said the kit was around 1,000, and you saved about 1,000 by installing it.... so you are saying it was around 2,000 to get A/C installed on the DX? The DX civic is 14,500 and the LX is about $2,000 more. So then for the extra 2,000 you would get not only A/C, but power mirrors, a radio, keyless entery and a couple of other small things I'm forgetting.

$925-$935 I guess is the going rate, (I found two other places selling it for that on google), but something still seems a bit off on the pricing.

2RotorMotor · 05-31-2006, 05:20 PM

WHAT!?!?!?!? I TOTALY REFUSE TO BUY A NEW CAR WITHOUT A RADIO OR A/C... Im telling you that you could've gotten an lx atleast for a few dollars more monthly...

arisenfury · 05-31-2006, 06:23 PM

I probably could've worked harder on them, but they were they only one who got me approved, and gave me $2000 more on my trade in so I didn't have to come up with a substantial downpayment (which also affected my monthly payments). Oh well, it was my first time buying a car byself, live and learn.

***Jrfish007*** · 05-31-2006, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arisenfury

I probably could've worked harder on them, but they were they only one who got me approved, and gave me $2000 more on my trade in so I didn't have to come up with a substantial downpayment (which also affected my monthly payments). Oh well, it was my first time buying a car byself, live and learn.

I think you did fine. I've bought 4 new car now, and looking back, a DX gets where you need to go and after 7-8 years, they are worth only a little less than an EX. They hold their value better than any other model of civic (expect Hybrid, which is on shaky ground IMO) which makes them one of the best buys finacially. I remember seeing a value after 5 years chart in my Honda dealer, and the DX held around 55% of it's value after 5 years, the EX was only around 45%, making them close to the same value. The other thing I have noticed is that when you look at these Honda's that have 300,000 miles on them, most of them are lower models. Lower end model simply have less parts, less parts mean less parts to break and less stress on the car. Just an observation.

burniksapwet · 05-26-2008, 02:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by civicboy

I just finished installing the A/C kit myself in my Civic. The kit itself was very straight forward very easy to install for someone that is mechinically inclined. Everything was pretty much plug and play. I vacuumed down the system with a 1.5 CFM pump. It took me roughly 5 hours from start to finish. The A/C blows super cold in my car. This is what I want for that long hot Texas summer. It sure is nice to have A/C what would we do with out it. At least I saved myself some money by installing it myself. I would estimate that I saved at least a $1000.00 installing the kit myself.

Did you use a original honda civic kit or did you use something else? The reason I asked is I want to find out how you got your a/c that cold. My a/c doesnt seem to get as cold as I want it to be and I was planning on replacing it to try to make it much cooler.

DTNguyen107 · 05-26-2008, 04:00 AM

There is mix reviews on if A/C affects mpg dramatically or not.

Now that your driving with A/C, do you think your getting less MPG OP?

04-10-2006, 10:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
civicboy Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Austin, TX Age: 26 Posts: 141 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Installed A/C Kit Myself in my Civic DX I just finished installing the A/C kit myself in my Civic. The kit itself was very straight forward very easy to install for someone that is mechinically inclined. Everything was pretty much plug and play. I vacuumed down the system with a 1.5 CFM pump. It took me roughly 5 hours from start to finish. The A/C blows super cold in my car. This is what I want for that long hot Texas summer. It sure is nice to have A/C what would we do with out it. At least I saved myself some money by installing it myself. I would estimate that I saved at least a $1000.00 installing the kit myself.

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04-10-2006, 10:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
Gone Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Columbus, Ohio Age: 26 Posts: 832 Andy iTrader: 4 / 100%	Holy Crap! Does that say 32 Ferenhiet (sp)?

04-10-2006, 11:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
_karu_ Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 33 iTrader: 0 / 0%	i think that says 36F

04-10-2006, 11:09 PM	#4 (permalink)
civicboy Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Austin, TX Age: 26 Posts: 141 iTrader: 0 / 0%	I believe the thermometer reads 34 degrees Ferenhiet. The compressor wasn't cycling on and off. The computer didn't recognize that the compressor was there so it didn't cycle on and off. What the dealer told me is let the car run for about an hour and then the computer will recognize that the compessor is there. I just went out to get a bite to eat, and the compressor is now cycling on and off like it should. The A/C truely does work great in the car. I got the kit from Collegehillshonda. The total shipped to my door was $925.62. They were definately and awesome dealer to deal with and saved my self at least $150.00 ordering the kit from them.

04-11-2006, 12:59 AM	#5 (permalink)
Kroze Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 668 iTrader: 0 / 0%	did you take pics and post tutorial ?

05-30-2006, 10:03 AM	#6 (permalink)
2RotorMotor Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,904 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Damn I didnt know they were still selling cars without a/c... How much did you save in terms of buying an lx with power windows and a/c???

05-30-2006, 12:30 PM	#7 (permalink)
radiocontrolhead Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Hollywood, ca Age: 21 Posts: 2,927 Danny iTrader: 0 / 0%	dx comes w/ power windows. no ac.

05-30-2006, 01:31 PM	#8 (permalink)
2RotorMotor Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,904 iTrader: 0 / 0%	WTF... That sucks.. How much do you save by not having a/c?? I would've just paid the extra $30 a month to have a/c

05-31-2006, 08:46 AM	#9 (permalink)
taste Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Atlanta Age: 39 Posts: 168 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Nice work getting that installed man. Great job.

05-31-2006, 12:19 PM	#12 (permalink)
arisenfury Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Central CT Age: 21 Posts: 1,985 Nikon & dSLR squad #6 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Yeah it's pretty f-ed up but I fell in love with the car and my father refused to cosign so I took what I could. Oh yeah, it also doesn't come with a radio, but I told them I wasn't taking the deal without a radio and they had an aftermarket Alpine put in for free. It was a cheap one, but they still took on the cost of the installation kit and the installation fee from one of the aftermarket shops near by.

05-31-2006, 01:26 PM	#13 (permalink)
*Jrfish007* STIG: a tamed race driver Join Date: Sep 2005 Age: 28 Posts: 1,631 iTrader: 1 / 100%	hummm.... something doesn't add up here. You said the kit was around 1,000, and you saved about 1,000 by installing it.... so you are saying it was around 2,000 to get A/C installed on the DX? The DX civic is 14,500 and the LX is about $2,000 more. So then for the extra 2,000 you would get not only A/C, but power mirrors, a radio, keyless entery and a couple of other small things I'm forgetting. $925-$935 I guess is the going rate, (I found two other places selling it for that on google), but something still seems a bit off on the pricing.

05-31-2006, 05:20 PM	#14 (permalink)
2RotorMotor Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,904 iTrader: 0 / 0%	WHAT!?!?!?!? I TOTALY REFUSE TO BUY A NEW CAR WITHOUT A RADIO OR A/C... Im telling you that you could've gotten an lx atleast for a few dollars more monthly...

05-31-2006, 06:23 PM	#15 (permalink)
arisenfury Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Central CT Age: 21 Posts: 1,985 Nikon & dSLR squad #6 iTrader: 0 / 0%	I probably could've worked harder on them, but they were they only one who got me approved, and gave me $2000 more on my trade in so I didn't have to come up with a substantial downpayment (which also affected my monthly payments). Oh well, it was my first time buying a car byself, live and learn.

05-26-2008, 04:00 AM	#18 (permalink)
DTNguyen107 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,353 iTrader: 0 / 0%	There is mix reviews on if A/C affects mpg dramatically or not. Now that your driving with A/C, do you think your getting less MPG OP?