My 86 has air conditioning but it doesn't work. The compressor won't engage and the truth is I don't care about it. I live in a valley in Oregon so the hottest it ever gets is 105 and is usually around high 80's in the summer. Right now I have 40lbs of crap taking up extra space and weight.

Should I remove the components or should I leave them?

 

i think you should just leave it alone. the gains wont out weigh the effort

 

I was leaning towards that. I know how simple projects can go wrong.

 

You ought to try to smack the compressor clutch while the car is running and the ac is on. if it kicks on, it could be as simple as a faulty compressorclutch...
105 seems pretty hot to not have ac

 

or a 5 dollar wal mart r12 to r134a adaptor and a 6 dollar can of johnson r134 freon might just bring the whole system back too.

 

if its a race car take it out, if its just a daily driver dont worry about it, or just try the suggestions the other members listed in fixing it

 

The problem could be something simple like a bad relay or the cluch has worn down where it won't engage. The car is 22 yrs old.

Do not add refridgerant, because the A/C system is under high pressure and adding R12 could cause the compressor to explode. You would really need to get some A/C pressure gauges to determine if the system is properly charged.

You can test the relay by pulling the plug to the compressor clutch and see if it the compressor is getting voltage when you turn the A/C on. If it does then the clutch is bad or is worn down. For a worn clutch, you can remove a shim to solve the problem. The electrical tests are pretty easy to do as well.

Good luck.

 

Have thought about doing some of these except the belt broke and I'm not interested in buying a new one.
It only gets 100+ around once a year.