Tebo

I'm wondering if anyone who bought a Jeep without air conditioning has since added it or purchased an aftermarket ac kit. Is it worth the price? The only downfalls to my X model is that it doesn't have AC and it has vinyl seats. Seat covers are easy enough. Not sure if i should put up with it or look into trading it in. I don't have too many mods but enough that i don't want to trade it in.

pastorsteve

The dealer can install air. Just call them and get a price. It won't be cheap.

sladekos

With the exception of "work" vehicles I drove while I was in the service, I have never been in a vehicle without a/c. I kind of figured everything now had it standard.

Heck, it is December 17th and I had the a/c on this morning on my way to work(top is up... it is rainy).

mwilkie

I had A/C added to my X..... A guy here in San Francisco did it for me...
He quoted me $2100 and that was what I paid him.... though he said the next time it will be closer to $4000...
The kit from the dealer is $1200 and it took 16 HOURS to get the dash completely off. Yes, you have to strip the Jeep down to the firewall to get to the plenum. If you want to see pics of the process there is a webiste that offers aftermarket a/c kits that posted the whole process.... Jeep.... AIR...
How does it work you ask? Great but there are a few differences. The kit is a mixutre of OEM parts and a few aftermarket.
The difference....there is no way to completely add the a/c to the Jeep so I do not have the option of going to MAX A/C and pulling air from the inside. The original heater control is used and a button with A/C on it, sits in the center stack. This button controls the compressor so I can manually turn the a/c off and on.... this is the best thing as I can run the heater without the a/c running.... the computer does need to flashed....
Other than that...works great....
Marc
2008 X

Snickterp

I know this is an older thread but I was wondering if the original poster came to any conclusions on what to do. I'm in the same boat. Got some mods, have the discontinued Sunburst Orange color. I actually even prefer my vinyl seats. They hold up well if they get wet. I'd rather not trade it in just for A/C, but going aftermarket seems almost impossible...

JKlad

I had an aftermarket A/C system fitted to a car about 10 years ago, but it was a 70's sedan without a centre console so the unit hung underneath the dash on top of the transmission tunnel; installation was easy (did it myself & then got a refrigeration tec to connect the gas lines and seal & gas the system) as once the compressor & other engine bay stuff were fitted, it was just a simple matter of running the gas lines through the firewall to the inside under-dash mounted unit.

As identified here though by mwilkie, to have a seamless factory-standard fitting on a JK with it's intergrated centre console you need to pull most of the dash apart first which is extremely labor-intensive.

erol1991

yeah i too am curious, it was humide on a long ride home from school... 4 hours away, and i didnt want to drive with the top down cause of gas millage but yeah i came out drenched with no a/c

ronjenx

Regarding aftermarket A/C kits, this Universal Air Conditioning Kit is the best, considering price, and the fact you can use the generator when your house power goes out.

Lowe's and Home Depot will have everything you need to make the installation look good.

erol1991

i cant see that link?

JeepaRoo

the fact is the JK was never designed to be retrofitted with A/C..

late last year on the lot at a local dealer was a still brand new silver X 2 door.. no options.. I was considering buying it for a second Jeep.. and a friend also was interested in it...

the only downfall was no air-cond.. I just wont own a vehicle without it...

no one wanted this Jeep because of no air-cond. so the dealer had already gone through the process of seeing about getting it added... chrysler reps told them that it could not be done easily and that yes the parts could be purchased separately from MOPAR but there was no A/C kit.. unlike the TJ's where it could easily and cost effectively be added.

I think your best bet is going to be look for a totalled JK and completely pull the system inside from it.. the plenum, controls, coils, blower ,etc... it will come out as a unit...

then you can purchase anything you couldnt get from the wrecked jeep....

otherwise it is going to cost so much you are almost better off selling the Jeep and getting a new one...

ive added Air-cond to many vehicles before.. even my current monte carlo Hotrod that didnt even have dash vents originally.. but looking at what is involved to do it to a JK.. I wasnt going to attempt it....

also for those folks up north this has been an unprecedented hot summer... likely not going to happen again next year.. and this summer will begin to taper off up north so best bet might just be to ride it out....

-Christopher