Hello, I have a 1995 Ford Ranger 2 wheel drive, 4 cylinder 2.3/

The truck came factory with no AC unit, nor did it come with power steering. I have owned the truck for the last 20 years but now have people who ride with me on a daily basis and they are not able to enjoy themselves due to the heat in the cab. I have decided I want to install an AC unit in the truck, but no one in my area (all junk and salvage yards) do not have any of the parts I need.

I know a mechanic who is willing to install it if I can get the parts, and I have a list of about 11 items he gave me to find. I can see on the internet some of these items, but not sure how legit they are. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you.

Truly there are two ways to logically approach this unfortunately. The Pro is there are A/C kits available to purchase for this function. The Con is, they're generally more expensive than purchasing a vehicle with A/C to begin with.

The other recourse is the overly stated obvious - consider looking for another vehicle/Ranger


The amount of cost, time (again cost), installation, would be tedious that just trying to find junkyard part which in the first place we wouldn't recommend except for maybe brackets, wiring pig tails, maybe housing's for components, etc... You would likely have to change out the entire blend door system, obviously switches/cables and the like. The I/P would have to be pulled and although you could do without the truck for a couple to few days? there's some hours that are gonna be put into it. Average shop puts labor at $85-105 hr, Electrical $105-130 hr. Not everywhere, but most places with a good reputation are because they bring in long term customers and they only want to pay for labor once without returns for warranty issues. Unless your mechanic guy is a GREAT friend even then i'd be leery (as now he has a foot in the door to take advantage of you, lets face it people are this way), hes not offering to do it because its "easy as pie".. but because its a money maker with loose ends to fudge the cost of parts/hrs. There is a reason those kits start at $3200 plus installation.

Again, you would be better off investing all of that money for parts, labor, and time - down or otherwise and use that to buy another vehicle equipped as you desire or need.. Otherwise you're looking to open a can of worms on a 23+ yr old vehicle.

Just a perspective & opinion

__________________
12° North Industries
Las Vegas, Nevada 89118
Web www.12degnorth.com

I bought a complete aftermarket kit for an 85 2.3 years ago from these guys:

https://www.ackits.com/after-market-ac-systems

At the time Warren was running the show. The parts were pretty good, and the price for all was around $700 from memory. The factory switch with the A/C button was defective and they supplied a replacement without any hassle.
I'd submit a request to see if one of theirs would work. Brand new stuff, good compressors(Sanden, IIRC).
tom