Ford AC problems, think I'm getting the sort end?

sublauxation

Lieutenant
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
1,317
Over the past several months the clutch on the AC Compressor of my Wife's 2011 Explorer started sticking partially engaged. The AC worked fine and it would lock in when the AC or defrost were turned on. I took it to a mechanic to replace the compressor and picked it up after hours. It immediately made a new and different sound, more of a fluttering dadadadada kinda sound.

I took it back to him today and his exact words to me were, "Sell it right now!"

First he said it was a bearing in the compressor (definitely doesn't sound like most bearings I've heard fail), then said there must be some contamination that plugged up a line or the Condenser and that it would be minimum $1,000 to find the plug, possibly up to $2500. For $115 he could do some diagnostics that may or may not give him a better idea of what it is.

Does that sound at all logical? It's definitely a different sound than what it went in with. It only seems to happen when the AC or defrost is on and it's definitely coming from the Compressor area. They did also replace the belt. Could that be too much/too little oil or refrigerant?

Thanks
Chad
 

MTboatguy

Fleet Admiral
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Jul 8, 2010
Messages
8,988
If he is suspecting a plugged line, then just replace the lines, they are not really that expensive in the overall scope of things, I think the last time I replaced them and had my system charged it was less than $150 bucks to do it. Now I just do them myself, I have a evacuation system I bought from Harbor Freight and capture what ever and take it to a recycle place.
 

jimr

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 21, 2004
Messages
723
Ford recommends replacing the condenser when compressor replacement is warranted. along with the orifice tube and flush the lines if they didn't do it speaking from experience it wont last long.
 

sublauxation

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Oct 13, 2008
Messages
1,317
Would they recommend replacing the condenser even when the failure of the compressor wasn't an internal failure, just the clutch itself? Whatever contamination happened, in this case, I'm guessing would be from reassembly?
 
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