so the A/C compressor died on my truck. I am looking at replacing it myself and it looks rather tight in there. my labor manual says I have to pull the fan/fan clutch, fan shroud and right inner fender to gain access.

any of you Ford techs out there have any tips/tricks/short cuts?

 

A 10mm swivel head Gearwrench will be your best friend is all I can offer for this, and just about any other repair on a 6.0L.

 

thanks M-chan, I was hoping you would respond.

do I have to remove the fan, clutch and Shroud? or can I get away with just pulling the inner fender?

 

I would remove the fan, stator and shroud. This will prevent a lot of cursing and cuts to your hands.

 

thanks for you input,

I guess I need a special tool to remove the fan clutch?

 

I used a thin jaw pipe wrench and long screw driver through the holes of the pully to hold it still.

 

yay... $298 for new Motorcraft A/C compressor w/clutch, accumulator and orifice tube.

wonder if I should replace the Serp belt while I am in there....

 

might as well. your gonna need a new one eventually. Every time i have done the ac compressor i did the belt also. just my 2 cents tho

 

You didn't need a vacuum pump to install a new compressor? How did you remove the air from the system? Are car compressors so resilient that they can compress non-condensables and survive?

I am the owner of a residential/commercial A/C company. I don't have much experience with car A/C systems, but the basics of the refrigeration cycle still apply.

In a building A/C system, air in the lines would grenade the compressor in a very short time. With some refrigerants, the air actually turns the oil in the refrigerant into acid.

I'm not sure what kind of oil R-134a has in it, but can only assume, that any kind of air in the system would be pretty detrimental to the lifespan of the compressor.

 

Yes, the truck was already at a ford dealer, they recovered all the freon and put a vacuum on the system. I will replace the parts and take it back to the dealer for them to vacuum it again and recharge the system with the proper amount of freon.

 

r134a uses pag oil. so far as air in the system goes they will not cool well and the other reason for the vacuum is moister boil off. Im not a home a/c guy but they work about the same.

 

well, crap... so much for doing that job in a weekend. I fought with the fan clutch for 6 hours and managed to break the Fan stator in the process.

new stator is on order... another $240 into the project

 

warranty pay 1.2 to r/i a fan clutch.
sory I have had those days too.

 

8 Days later, I finally got this S.O.B. back together. compressor came off easily once I figured out the rear bottom bolt had a 13mm head, instead of a 10mm head like the rest of the bolts.

new compressor, dryer, orifice tube, serpentine belt, and fan stator.

 

How much did all those parts set you back if you don't mind me asking?