My Aveo has no A/C but it does have the evaporator in the passenger compartment with pipes capped at the firewall. I can find a kit of parts on the internet for $1k or from the dealer for $1.5k, but I don’t want to pay this much. Can someone tell me what’s involved in getting the needed A/C parts from a junkyard and going that route? Are there rules involved to prevent shade-tree mechanics like me from access to refrigerant?
The Refrigerant Part Of This Deal Is The Least Of Your Concerns. If You Get It That Far, I’d Recommend An Air Conditioning Professional For The Charging, Anyhow.
Does it look like all the controls in the cabin are set up for A/C ? Find one with A/C already in it and examine the connectors, like the one at the compressor and other connectors, brackets, etcetera. See if your car has the A/C wiring harness installed with the connectors just taped or dangling there. Then there’s the condenser and relays and stuff.
I’d very carefully compare everything on both vehicles to see what you’re getting into.
Then you could try removing a system from a cadaver vehicle. That is probably the best way to learn how to install it.
Usually if an Aveo doesn’t come with A/C, it’s best to buy a new air conditioning unit with an Aveo already attached to it.
Good Luck,
CSA
I’m not familiar with the Aveo at all but most modern vehicles like this are set up where the A/C systems are somewhat easy to install. It will involve condenser fans, compressor and brackets, condenser, hoses, etc.
The big issue is the wiring harness in my opinion. Many vehicles like this have the connectors in place. Whether this one does or not I have no idea.
The cheapest way is a donor car from the salvage yard. Finding one without condenser damage by be a bit harder as most are damaged from front end collisions.
Charging the system is a minor issue, comparatively speaking. If you DIY you will need a vacuum pump to evacuate it and a proper set of gauges to make sure that everything internally is on the up and up.
Are you really sure that you want to invest over $1,000 for adding A/C to a car that has a book value of–at best–$6,000? If I were you, I would spend that money, plus the trade-in value of the Aveo, on buying a car that has factory-installed A/C.
If you spend $1k or more on installing A/C in this car, I hope that you still have a reserve fund for the repairs that this car will likely need in the next 1-2 years. These cars are…let’s just say…not exactly the most reliable vehicles on the road. I fear that you will invest $1k or more on this car’s A/C, only to find that other repair issues will soon crop up and your repair fund for the car will have already been spent on A/C.
VDC D, Muellhalden States He / She Doesn’t Want To Pay That Much.
" . . . $1k or from the dealer for $1.5k, but I don’t want to pay this much. "
He / she is talking junkyard salvage parts and even wants to DIY charge the system. “Can someone tell me what’s involved in getting the needed A/C parts from a junkyard and going that route?”
The car may be prepped for A/C already. Notice that I suggested “Usually if an Aveo doesn’t come with A/C, it’s best to buy a new air conditioning unit with an Aveo already attached to it.”
CSA
hi
muellhallden i joined this forum just so i could rteply to your post i too have a neww aveo with a/c provisions-and you are correct dealer wants way too much for the a/c install
im gonna buy a good used compressor on ebay for under 100 bucks the lines and climate controls. it seems all else is there already.
im sure i can do it all for less than 500.00 and sure u could as well,the aveo a/c provision options in our cars make it easy ,i was thinking about removng inner fender for a little elbow room while i was installing the compressor, but dealer tech told me it was so easy it wasnt necessary.
this is my second aveo my first 06 value model has 200000 miles.
i have too have been looking on web for a lil tech help
and when i sawe your post i felt super bad for you,
its certainly not cheaper to have dealer do it. if two grand raises your mnonthly payment 20.00 each month it adds up and thats what dealers will charge to do it.
instead of u getting an aveo attached to a/c perrhaps people who posted that can get some mechanical ability so they could answer your question. im not a certified tech i work for a telco, but i do know a lil about cars and this install looks no harder than a major break job. good luck
I think you’re offbase a bit about CSA’s answer (which makes perfect sense) and odds are that you’re going to get an education in regards to this A/C homebrew install; the same education the OP likely got.
Since it’s summertime now, maybe the OP could let us know how that unit is working.
“this install looks no harder than a major break job”
A first-time DIY A/C conversion does indeed have the potential to be a “break” job.
;-))
Given the expense of the A/C parts, the high probability that something will go wrong and you’ll end up having to pay someone to fix it, and the high depreciation of the Aveo. I think the best course of action is to sell your Aveo and buy another one of the same vintage with AC
Dlc1970, Looking For “A Lil Tech Help” Are We Now ? Here Ya Go ! This A/C Can Be Modified To Fit Almost Any Car, Even An Aveo And Almost Anybody Can Do It ! Got Duct Tape ?
This is by far the cheapest and easiest installation available. All you need is a garage sale room air conditioner, a back-up generator, and some duct tape ! Enjoy !
CSA
VDCD, Give Me A Brake (I Can’t Stop Laughing) ! I Almost Split A Gut Laughing At Your “Break Job” Comment.
The Comment that was made, " . . . looks no harder than a major break job. " Gives New Life To “Freudian Slip”.
CSA
And if the heater core ever goes out why spend big bucks replacing that?
Just do what a guy did here many years ago with an older Ford full-size station wagon.
He knocked the left rear quarter glass out, replaced it with a piece of sheet metal, and mounted a cast iron potbelly stove in the back end with a 4" chimney sticking out the side.
I was actually behind this abomina…eh, marvel of engineering at a traffic light one winter day watching smoke billowing out and wondering just how solid that 200 pounds of cast iron stove was mounted in the back end. And on the driver’s side to boot.
No idea as to whether he was carrying a chainsaw and felling trees for a heat source as he traveled.
At one Chevrolet Dealer the time for a dealer installed AC system on a early S-10 got cut back to 3 hrs. Well one of our more “in your face” mechanics had one dispatched to him. He pulled the parts put them in the bed, parked it and said “that’s what they get for 3 hours”. Guy was a Quadrajet and driveability expert so they kept him.
That’s pretty funny. I’d like to have been there and seen that one. 
Made in Japan Subarus used to get port-installed A/C units that were done by 2-man teams.
One guy under the hood, one guy under the dash and 45 minutes later it was a done deal with each guy getting 20 bucks per unit. Great money at the time and not shabby today.
The drawback was that the units only had an installation warranty of 90 days and if the car was sold new at 91 days and that slow leak due to a loose fitting had not been discovered the carp (sic) always hit the fan with the techs being coerced into A/C repairs for free.
Real nice. The port guys cash in and the dealer techs get dragged across the coals fixing someone else’s screwup for little to nothing.
(The most a leak repair paid under warranty anyway was .2 hours and that included resealing the complete system if necessary. Twelve whopping minutes!)