Hi.

My air conditioning seems to be shot in my 2009 Ford e350. Mechanic says it's the compressor. We just replaced the fan clutch with him about 2 months ago. It worked ok for about a month, then went warm again. He added freon, lasted about 3 weeks, then went warm again. He said there is not a leak in the system, because the freon pressure was fine when he tested it. I live in Miami, and cannot drive without a/c. It is oppressively difficult. Quote we got was 7-800. Is there any way to try to do this cheaper? Is it even worth trying? Are there any other suggestions? Trying to see if there is any way to save money on this repair as money is tight. Hoping you have some good suggestions.

 

I don't know how the 96 and the 09 systems are different, but I just replaced the compressor, condenser, drier, o-rings, and orifice tube on my 96 in March. It was about $250 on eBay plus another $100 to have it vacuum tested and charged. It wasn't all that hard, and was worth it over spending extra to have a shop do it. But again, not sure of the differences since our van years are far apart.

Anyway, whatever you do, it's advised to replace the orifice tube and drier if you open the system (at least that's what I was told). Good luck!

 

I don't think my husband has enough know-how to be able to fix this on his own. He has never really done anything within the hood of the van.

 

Also, we were told only to replace with OEM. Otherwise we could expect to only get about a year's worth of usage out of the fix.

 

The mechanic has me a little concerned... If the pressure was correct why did he add freon? Also, if it needed freon, it had a leak. SO I'm a bit confused. I would seek another mechanic if it was me.

 

I agree, find another mechanic, either you misunderstood him or he doesn't know what he is doing. I used to live in Fort Lauderdale, A/C is definitely a necessity down there. Whatever you do, stay away from R and Y A/C in North Miami. I bought a "rebuilt" compressor from them for my Isuzu via Amazon and it looked like they took an old one, spray painted it silver and threw it in a box. The compressor seal leaked from from the start.

 

We took it to a different mechanic that specializes in air conditioners. He told us the following: the front end evaporator needs to be replaced. It is leaking freon from there, and the fan clutch that we had replaced by the original mechanic is not doing the job it is supposed to. I think we are going to have the evaporator replaced at the a/c place and then go back to the original mechanic about the fan clutch.

 

I would get yet a 3rd opinion from another shop that specializes in AC work.. Like everyone else, I doubt the compressor is bad. Sometimes the condensers can leak where the hoses connect and just need new O-rings.
As to the fan clutch, new aftermarket parts are known to go bad or be no good from the start. Again though I would get a 3rd opinion and not tell them what the other 2 shops said.