Is it possible to upgrade the A/C?

I wonder (with my tiny little brain), if aluminum-wrapped poly foam is any better for preventing melting the PE foam versus simply running the rubber insulation version that has a 40* higher heat rating.

If just running from the orifice to the firewall, there's not as much heat over there so I wouldn't worry about it as much. Split rubber insulation would be easier to install than the tape because the line runs really close to the fender and around the outside of the PDC so there's not much room to work with if you have to wrap it.

If insulating the part of the suction line that runs over the valve cover and intake all the way to the compressor, that's where I'd be more concerned about it. The aluminum really only helps against radiation, so it's what I would run if there was direct line of sight to any part of the exhaust. But short of that, the rubber is probably better.
 
If just running from the orifice to the firewall, there's not as much heat over there so I wouldn't worry about it as much. Split rubber insulation would be easier to install than the tape because the line runs really close to the fender and around the outside of the PDC so there's not much room to work with if you have to wrap it.

If insulating the part of the suction line that runs over the valve cover and intake all the way to the compressor, that's where I'd be more concerned about it. The aluminum really only helps against radiation, so it's what I would run if there was direct line of sight to any part of the exhaust. But short of that, the rubber is probably better.

I don't believe the rubber would be any worse off because my guess is that the aluminum won't make a 40* difference (I'm purely guessing). I'll install some rubber insulation asap just for the experiment and then report back.
 
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I don't believe the rubber would be any worse off because my guess is that the aluminum won't make a 40* difference (I'm purely guessing). I'll install some rubber insulation asap just for the experiment and then report back.

Depends on the situation. Like I said, I think rubber would be fine over on the passenger side, but where they cross the engine and run down within inches of the manifold is cause for concern. The thing is, heat transferred by thermal/infrared radiation is proportional to the exposed area (percentage of field of view to be specific), to the temperature difference, and to the emissivity of the surface. The exhaust is really effing hot so it's radiating a lot and and black rubber will absorb almost all of it (emissivity 0.95) while shiny aluminum absorbs almost none of it (emissivity 0.05). That means the foam under the aluminum is unlikely to ever exceed the temperature of the surrounding air, while any rubber that can "see" an exhaust manifold runner or precat could easily reach way hotter than the air (think of a blacktop surface in direct sunlight). It could definitely make a 40° difference but I'm not sure either option would stay below their rated temperature. The safe bet would be to just not insulate the last few inches going to the compressor at all, but rig up a heat shield. It might not even be a bad idea to shield the discharge line from picking up exhaust heat, even though in general you don't want to insulate that line since it acts as condenser surface rejecting heat.

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That emissivity factor I described earlier is somewhat a factor of color but it's also about the surface finish. Just because those lines are aluminum doesn't make them equivalent to foil- the unpolished matte surface probably bumps their emissivity to 0.7 or worse.
 
Depends on the situation. Like I said, I think rubber would be fine over on the passenger side, but where they cross the engine and run down within inches of the manifold is cause for concern. The thing is, heat transferred by thermal/infrared radiation is proportional to the exposed area (percentage of field of view to be specific), to the temperature difference, and to the emissivity of the surface. The exhaust is really effing hot so it's radiating a lot and and black rubber will absorb almost all of it (emissivity 0.95) while shiny aluminum absorbs almost none of it (emissivity 0.05). That means the foam under the aluminum is unlikely to ever exceed the temperature of the surrounding air, while any rubber that can "see" an exhaust manifold runner or precat could easily reach way hotter than the air (think of a blacktop surface in direct sunlight). It could definitely make a 40° difference but I'm not sure either option would stay below their rated temperature. The safe bet would be to just not insulate the last few inches going to the compressor at all, but rig up a heat shield. It might not even be a bad idea to shield the discharge line from picking up exhaust heat, even though in general you don't want to insulate that line since it acts as condenser surface rejecting heat.

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That emissivity factor I described earlier is somewhat a factor of color but it's also about the surface finish. Just because those lines are aluminum doesn't make them equivalent to foil- the unpolished matte surface probably bumps their emissivity to 0.7 or worse.

A heat shield seems like a great idea for the compressor area. What's your opinion regarding wrapping the exhaust manifold?

I ended up going on a hike this evening so I only got some of the rubber insulating installed. So far no issues with the material being close to the hot valve cover or high-pressure AC line. The manifold area will definitely be the biggest test though.

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The exhaust is really effing hot so it's radiating a lot and and black rubber will absorb almost all of it (emissivity 0.95) while shiny aluminum absorbs almost none of it (emissivity 0.05).

I found this after a little search. What do you think about this for the line near the exhaust manifold?

Might come in handy for other areas as well...like fuel lines or wires near heat sources. I might wrap one of my 02 sensor wires in this that's near my pre-cats.
 
I found this after a little search. What do you think about this for the line near the exhaust manifold?

Might come in handy for other areas as well...like fuel lines or wires near heat sources. I might wrap one of my 02 sensor wires in this that's near my pre-cats.

I like it.
 
I just got done with a short drive around town and hit some surfaces under the hood with the IR gun when I got back.

The area between the air filter box and PDC where the liquid line runs was all around 150-170.

The valve cover was about 180 and the head immediately under the valve cover was well into the 200s. The little black bracket that holds the two AC lines where they cross in front of the valve cover was 165. The high pressure line coming out of the compressor was 170, the suction line was 110 , and the exhaust manifold was around 500.

It's only 86 right now, so my observations today rule out any polyethylene option even with aluminum shielding.
 
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It would be interesting to see how intake temperature reported by the computer compares to what you read with the temperature gun. They might be pretty close to the same number you read around the PDC.
 
It would be interesting to see how intake temperature reported by the computer compares to what you read with the temperature gun. They might be pretty close to the same number you read around the PDC.

I don't have a direct correlation but last time I had Torque running with live data, it was in the upper 90s and the IAT got into the 170s idling, and would hang around 120 running 75mph down the interstate.
 
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I just got done with a short drive around town and hit some surfaces under the hood with the IR gun when I got back.

The area between the air filter box and PDC where the liquid line runs was all around 150-170.

The valve cover was about 180 and the head immediately under the valve cover was well into the 200s. The little black bracket that holds the two AC lines where they cross in front of the valve cover was 165. The high pressure line coming out of the compressor was 170, the suction line was 110 , and the exhaust manifold was around 500.

It's only 86 right now, so my observations today rule out any polyethylene option even with aluminum shielding.

Those temps all sound reasonable.

My IR gun is not consistent so I can’t speak to the vent temps I took. I’ll shoot the engine bay as well to see what I come up with bc I think it will be more accurate for that purpose.

No point in running PE when u can run the rubber version which has a lightly higher R-value and 40* more temp rating.

I have heat shield sleeves on order and will report back after things are wrapped up.

I plan to wrap over the rubber flex portion of the low pressure line and wrap over the rubber foam insulation assuming what I purchase will fit.

So far, the rubber foam insulation is holding up but I don’t plan to push it near the header. I will likely double heat-shield wrap that area.
 
I don't have a direct correlation but last time I had Torque running with live data, it was in the upper 90s and the IAT got into the 170s idling, and would hang around 120 running 75mph down the interstate.

I’ll check my IAT using torque pro if my obdII dongle didn’t get stolen (pretty sure it’s gone though).
 
I used thermo-tec sleeves for my fuel rail. It was really cheap on ebay, it would probably do the trick.

Did u buy the kit that’s listed for 97-04?

Not sure why 05–06 is not also listed for that kit.
 
if my obdII dongle didn’t get stolen (pretty sure it’s gone though).
Who steals dongles? He bro, lets look under the dash for a $5 chinese dingle dongle.

Did u buy the kit that’s listed for 97-04?

Not sure why 05–06 is not also listed for that kit.
I bought the Thermotec 14002 Thermo Shield Tape 1 1/2 x 15 ft for $9 and the Thermo Tec 14030 Express Sleeve Heat Barrier Thermal Tube 1" Diam x 36" for $9 on ebay and made my own. You could probably do the whole rail with the sleeve, the tape isn't easy to work with. You have to be crafty either way.
 
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Who steals dongles? He bro, lets look under the dash for a $5 chinese dingle dongle.

They stole many things then damaged my dash using a pry tool. :cautious:

I bought the Thermotec 14002 Thermo Shield Tape 1 1/2 x 15 ft for $9 and the Thermo Tec 14030 Express Sleeve Heat Barrier Thermal Tube 1" Diam x 36" for $9 on ebay and made my own. You could probably do the whole rail with the sleeve, the tape isn't easy to work with. You have to be crafty either way.

Thanks!

I ordered similar hook n loop wrap (multiple sizes) that will be arriving soon.

Did you have any fraying issues on the ends that your cut?
 
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Did this the other day so far holding up well to engine temps. I believe that I can tell a difference. Don’t know the true before/after vent temps bc my IR gun’s readings jumped around too much.

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Update:

Drove the Jeep around today in 101* (soft-top-canopy up, doors off, and no windows).

The cold air from the center vents had more bite on my arm and cooled the steering wheel area more than it previously did in this configuration.
 
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