New AC Compressor.....or not? Ford Expedition

[NewGuy]

I have a situation with my wife's Expedition and would like to hear some thoughts and opinions on what should be done.

My wife's 1998 Ford Expedition (5.4L) has 115K miles on it. It runs great, looks terrific and is perfect for hauling our family. We have a 2 year old son and we are expecting Son #2 within a few weeks. My wife is staying home with the boys and will probably not go back to work for 12-18 months. We had hoped to keep the Expedition running for 2-3 more years. It has new tires, plugs, fuel filter, coil, plug wires and is on a 2nd ARx cycle.

We began having some problems with the AC (not cooling well and sour smell). I took it to the Ford Dealership in town and they tell me that the pump is going bad on it. They say that it is only a matter of time before it quits completely.

The total bill for compressor, miscellaneous items and labor.....$984. I am hesitant about spending $1000 on a 7 year old vehicle, but it is still cheaper than buying a new one. My gut feeling tells me to have the compressor replaced. Should I replace it now or wait until it totally goes bad? Am I missing an obvious course of action? I don't believe a good option exists....only differing degrees of bad options.

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[wavinwayne]

I would look at having the compressor replaced by a reputable independent shop, not the Ford dealer. You will likely save several hundered dollars by staying away from the dealer.

If you don't know of a reputable independent shop, just bite the bullet & take it to Ford. The A/C repair will cost a whole lot less than a new vehicle & your Expy will likely make it way more than 2-3 more years.

Best wishes going forward!

 

[Mike242GT]

I would think that a bad compressor could be confirmed by testing the system pressure once it is fully charged. Sour smell sounds more like mold in your evaporator, a not unknown problem. There are independent A/C shops in most areas; I'd think you'd be better off with one of them than with the Ford dealership.

 

[Chris142]

I have been getting those trucks in my shop in droves this week!

Fortunatly Ford puts UV dye in the system at the factory. All you need to find the leak is a UV light and the yellow glasses.

Most auto parts stores have the light and glasses for very little cash.

Look on the back of the clutch coil from under the truck as this seems to be where the leaks are showing up. The front seal goes bad and the dye ends up on the coil. No way to repair this other than replacing the compressor.

You should also replace the reciever drier and orifice tube.

Replacing these parts is a major PITA due to the design of the truck! I get $1200 for parts + labor.

 

[punisher]

Just to chime in, It is often better to act early when an FS-10 compressor is starting to go out. They are infamous for the "Black Death" in which it sheds teflon and aluminum particles into the AC system. If it is confirmed to be a shelled compresor, take care of it.

So, who put the "plug wires" on it?

 

[NewGuy]

Thanks for the advice on the AC. I guess we will go ahead and have it replaced. I sure don't want teflon and aluminum in the cabin with the babies. $900 sounds like a deal compared to $1200. The way that engine is shoved back under the cab makes working on this thing a huge task. I will ask around and see if I can find a good AC shop in town.

Punisher....the "plug wires" were the boots from the coil down to the plug. We only had to replace 2 of them. It has the coil-on-plug design (which you obviously already know) and we replaced a couple of the boots that connect the coil to the plug. I wasn't sure what to call them....so I defaulted to plug wires. You know your stuff!!

Thanks to everyone!

 

[davefr]

He's absolutely right. When Ford compressors go bad they can contaminate the entire system up to and including the evaporator, condensor, etc.

Flushing the system usually doesn't fix "black death".

The repair is cheap relative to the cost of a new vehicle. Find a well respected independent shop and get it fixed right away.

quote:

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Originally posted by punisher:
Just to chime in, It is often better to act early when an FS-10 compressor is starting to go out. They are infamous for the "Black Death" in which it sheds teflon and aluminum particles into the AC system. If it is confirmed to be a shelled compresor, take care of it.

So, who put the "plug wires" on it?

---

 

[NewGuy]

I thought I would give you guys an update on the AC issues. I took the Expedition to a very good local garage. The owner was the Service Manager at the Lincoln/Mercury dealership before it closed and has a good reputation.

They told me that I didn't need a new compressor and that we needed freon. They added freon and a dye and sent me home for ~$110. They checked the system several weeks later and confirmed that it wasn't leaking. I saved $900 and the AC worked like new. I wonder if the dealership made an honest mistake or if they were trying to milk me for $1000?

 

[kc8adu]

this is a pattern failure and the dealer may have heard or seen a precurser to compressor death.
when a fs10 or fx15 dies its often going to take a total replacement of system parts to fix it.
anything that holds on to even a tiny bit of the debris of a failed compressor will let it loose later and kill replacements as fast as you can bolt them on.