Canuckican
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2017
- Threads
- 30
- Messages
- 322
- Reaction score
- 349
- Location
- NE Wisconsin
- Vehicle(s)
- 2016 Mustang GT Premium - Race Red
- Thread starter
- #1
The compressor on my 2016 GT started making a bit of a noise last fall, just a subtle rattle/infrequent scraping sound but still blew cold air. I figured I didn't want to deal with it then when I knew I would not be driving it much over the winter.
So, it's no longer winter and the noise is still there and still only when AC is on. A month or so ago I replaced the compressor clutch with a new Motorcraft kit from RockAuto. Everything went okay with the change and the sound was gone for about 3 weeks. Then it came back worse than before. It does not always make the grinding noise when I engage AC and it still blows cold. But I notice the clutch now sometimes disengages after 5 or 10 seconds.
Not wanting to just throw more parts at it without knowing the exact target, this morning I took it in to a shop that specializes in AC repairs. They said the line pressures are fine and there are no leaks. But they did say the compressor is shot, that they put a magnet down by it and it was getting a lot of metal shavings thrown on it. That I can see.
But here's where my lack of AC system knowledge really comes into it. They gave me the quote to replace the compressor and recharge the system and it's about what I expected ($1,300). But I was surprised to see that replacing the drier and condenser were not on the parts list since I thought when a compressor went bad, that the shavings would contaminate the lines, drier, condenser and valve and the condenser/drier need to be replaced since they can't reliably be flushed. I asked them about this and they said this was not necessary in this case because all the shavings are on the outside of the compressor, not internal.
Other than the clutch itself, what else on a compressor can fail like this and throw a bunch of metal particles on the outside of the compressor? I am not doubting them, I just don't know what is happening. Maybe the compressor shaft itself is failing, causing the clutch to not spin in the expected manner. Or maybe the mice/chipmunks that have infested my garage have been at work.
I'm leaning toward having a go at this myself and getting a Motorcraft compressor, condenser, valve and lines for about $500 less than the quote I got today, flushing the evaporator really well when everything is apart, reassembling with all the new parts, then getting it vacuumed/charged. In a 9 year old vehicle where the AC was heavily used for the first 7 years of its life in southern Florida, I am fine with ponying up for the new hoses just in case.
So, it's no longer winter and the noise is still there and still only when AC is on. A month or so ago I replaced the compressor clutch with a new Motorcraft kit from RockAuto. Everything went okay with the change and the sound was gone for about 3 weeks. Then it came back worse than before. It does not always make the grinding noise when I engage AC and it still blows cold. But I notice the clutch now sometimes disengages after 5 or 10 seconds.
Not wanting to just throw more parts at it without knowing the exact target, this morning I took it in to a shop that specializes in AC repairs. They said the line pressures are fine and there are no leaks. But they did say the compressor is shot, that they put a magnet down by it and it was getting a lot of metal shavings thrown on it. That I can see.
But here's where my lack of AC system knowledge really comes into it. They gave me the quote to replace the compressor and recharge the system and it's about what I expected ($1,300). But I was surprised to see that replacing the drier and condenser were not on the parts list since I thought when a compressor went bad, that the shavings would contaminate the lines, drier, condenser and valve and the condenser/drier need to be replaced since they can't reliably be flushed. I asked them about this and they said this was not necessary in this case because all the shavings are on the outside of the compressor, not internal.
Other than the clutch itself, what else on a compressor can fail like this and throw a bunch of metal particles on the outside of the compressor? I am not doubting them, I just don't know what is happening. Maybe the compressor shaft itself is failing, causing the clutch to not spin in the expected manner. Or maybe the mice/chipmunks that have infested my garage have been at work.
I'm leaning toward having a go at this myself and getting a Motorcraft compressor, condenser, valve and lines for about $500 less than the quote I got today, flushing the evaporator really well when everything is apart, reassembling with all the new parts, then getting it vacuumed/charged. In a 9 year old vehicle where the AC was heavily used for the first 7 years of its life in southern Florida, I am fine with ponying up for the new hoses just in case.
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