Hey All, took the Ex in today because the front AC is blowing ambient temp air. I had them re-charge the system and they tell me no leaks were found but the air never blew cool. Took it in today and they just quoted me the following.

AC Manifold P&A LAB 3.0 5C72 190850 DA - $335.66
68oz R134 P&A LAB 1.0 - $68
AC Oil/Dye Kit P&A - $12

Total: $876 (im thinking with labor)

Have you ever had to do this kind of work? Is this an easy task to do? Thanks

 

That includes 4 hours labor. Is the repair that hard? No. But to do it correctly, the system needs to be vacuumed down after the hose is replaced. You could do the parts replacement and then have a shop vacuum and charge it. You can get the manifold hose a lot cheaper in the aftermarket. Everco (Autozone) number is 56698.

 

Thanks for the reply. Is the manifold hose one of those parts that is best to go with "FORD" parts or will after market parts work the same as far as longevity and function?

 

I wouldn't have an issue using an aftermarket manifold especially at that price difference. I'm a Ford parts manager.

 

I have the same issue with my Ex.

Looks like I have a big bill heading my way. Have you taken it to a Ford stealership or a regular repair shop?

 

I took it to the dealership the first two times. But I had the repair done at a different shop. They had lower prices and did the work quickly while I waited. I was impressed by their service that I think they'll be my go to shop from now on. I have a road trip scheduled this weekend so I'll give it a test run.

 

I would either find out exactly what they did to test the system or get a second opinion. Locally I see a lot of "guess and replace" especially with A/C issues. I have had the following issues with the front A/C:

1) Vacuum leak causing system to always suck in outside air. Found the leak and system started working properly.
2) Baffles had become stuck due to always being in the same mode (locally A/C is required 359 days of the year). The heater would kick in when RPMs exceeded 1200 rpms which with the A/C working made it feel as if the A/C would kick out. I don't know why engine RPM would make a difference but cycling the system through all of the different modes caused it to start working properly.
3) Expansion core was clogged solid with dirt.

In each of these cases the shop's initial guess as to the cause was wrong.