Advise needed before I start throwing money at it. Two years ago I had the A/C System checked, and I was told that my compressor was getting weak and I probably had about one more summer until it would need to be replaced. About three weeks ago I noticed the A/C Clutch started clicking. Looked, and found it was cycling off and on alot, but the A/C worked fine. I thought it might be low on Freon. This weekend while on a trip the A/C quit blowing cold and started blowing hot air. I added about half a can of freon. No more clicking. It ran for about 30 minutes (ideling & fan on high) and blew ice cold. Jumped in and went down the road and it quit again. Checked both the high and low sides. High side never got above 200. Low side was around 40. Added more Freon and let it run for about an hour (ideling & fan on high). Same thing, ice cold until I went down the road again. By this point I figure the compressor is going out due to the fact I've added two cans of Freon and the high pressure side has never really moved. On the way back from the trip it worked fine for about 10 minutes, then quit. I shut it off for about an hour and then turned it back on. Worked fine for about 2 hours with the fan on low. I turned the fan up to high, and after about 10 minutes it quit again. This morning I turned it on again on the way to work (fan on low) and it blew cold the whole way for about 40 minutes. I'm planning on going ahead and replacing the compressor, and all the associated componets. I just wanted get a general consensus before I go out and buy everything.

 

This could be a whole lot cheaper to fix than you think...

Anytime the A/C is "intermittent", I now look at the clutch "air gap".

See post #3 in this thread:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/5...-problems.html

Pop

 

one thing I learned with ford, if you want to get it right, you got to do the whole thing. I learned that with my other ford. when mine went out, I knew better than to deal with O'Reilly's, autozone parts.
I struck a deal at a local dealer. It cost me ~$800 if I remember w/ 12 months warranty and cleanings. Everything was replaced, except the evaporator core.

 

I agree with empire, Ford doesn't have a very good reputation for having reliable AC.
My guess is that your condensor is filling up with sludge from deteriorating flex lines.

 

Sounds to me like your compressor is okay since it's doing its job. You didn't say if it was noisy or not -- sometimes they get "clacky" when they're about to go. On the other hand, I've heard clacky compressors that lasted years. Anyway, it sounds to me like you just have a leak someplace. Look for them where the crimps are where the flex hoses connect to metal tubes. You're looking for an oily build up by the crimps. Could be leaking in other places too, but those are easy to find.

I fixed mine myself on my Bronco and converted it from R12 to R134A. I had a bad crimp, so I took the bad assembly to NAPA and they replaced the hoses & crimps for like $60. I also had to replace all the O-rings, orifice tube, and receiver-dryer since I was converting, but that's not a bad idea if you're opening the system anyway just for peace of mind. I also flushed the remaining parts with denatured alcohol and compressed air. It worked great until I dumped it for my Ranger. I think the whole job cost me less than $130.

AC systems aren't that difficult for the DIY'er, IMHO. Heck if *I* can do it, I'm sure you all can. It just takes a little patients and persistence. Just don't add too much refrigerant and make sure you get it evacuated before charging. It definitely helps if you know someone with a vacuum pump.

Oh, one more tip: A spray bottle with dish soap & water can help you look for leaks, too.

Joe

 

I had the same problem recently. Put freon in, go down the road cold for a bit and then hot. Checked under the hood and the compressor was not pulling the clutch plate in. Barely touch it with a screw driver and BAM. Works fine. Check out what Springerpop says about the shims. I did this and mines works fine now. Gotta be careful. Seems every time I say that something goes.

 

Tried it again on the way home and worked for about 3/4ths of the way. It seems as long as I leave the fan on low it will work fine. As soon as I turn up the fan, it will stop. So, I pulled over and tapped on the clutch like noted above, and nothing. Drove on home and let it set for about an hour, went out and cranked it, worked fine. Compressor works as long as the fan is on low, or the truck is just ideling. The compressor has not been "clicking" since I added Freon. Does the compressor work harder under highway speeds and stop-and-go traffic? I don't know much about cycling of the A/C system and how it works under driving conditions. I'm planning on buying a new compressor and rebuilding the entire system, but I'm still not 100% sure the compressor. My brother has all the tools and vacum pump needed to do it. I just hate to fixed something if it is not broke.

 

I think you just have a leak someplace. When the system is running slow (idle), it's not creating as much suction as it does at higher RPMs so less refrigerant will seem to work. As RPMs increase, it will likely start cycling on & off because of the low pressure switch. I doubt your compressor is bad -- you need to find the leak. Now, it *could* be leaking from the compressor, so in that case, the compressor is working but bad because it's leaking. I'd look at the common spots I already mentioned first -- crimps and connections.

Joe

 

Replaced the High Pressure Clutch Cycling Switch yesterday. I found where the old one had corrosion in the conductors. So far the compressor has not cycled off and stayed off. I'm not sure I've fix my issue 100% yet, time will tell.

 

That's good!! These things are kind of hard to troubleshoot long-distance since the only real symptom is "not cooling". Glad you got it going with a relatively easy fix...

 

Thanks for all your help, just keeping my fingers crossed its really fixed.

 

Well, its still not fixed. On the way home today it quit, and would not cycle back on. I left it running and just rolled the windows down unit I got home. Once home, I popped the hood and pulled the High Pressure Switch, and stuck a jumper wire in the end of the connector. The compressor cycled back on. Now I'm at a loss. This would tell me the Switch is bad, but I just replaced it yesterday. Could this be something internally in the compressor iteself? I'm not sure where to go to look now.

 

On edit:
Took out my question. If I'd have re-read the original post, I wouldn't have asked about gauges.

Pop