A/C compressor

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Howard57

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Last seen
Joined
Jul 30, 2015
Thunderbird Year
2005
Hello all

I am the proud 3rd owner of a 2005 Silver Ford Thunderbird with approximately 25,000 miles. The car is garaged, covered and attached to a trickle battery charger for our winter in the Northeast.

Before the winter I noticed a small drip under the front drivers side and my mechanic said that the leak was coming from my a/c compressor which would have to be replaced.

Has anyone had their compressor replaced and if so approximately how much did you pay? It would also be helpful if you could tell me if it was a new or rebuilt compressor and if replaced by an authorized dealer or other local mechanic.

Thanks in advance and can't wait for the Spring.

Moderator Note: 2020- https://forums.fordthunderbirdforum...ne-side-2002-2003-2004-2005-thunderbird.9446/
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Howard57 said:
Hello all

I am the proud 3rd owner of a 2005 Silver Ford Thunderbird with approximately 25,000 miles. The car is garaged, covered and attached to a trickle battery charger for our winter in the Northeast.

Before the winter I noticed a small drip under the front drivers side and my mechanic said that the leak was coming from my a/c compressor which would have to be replaced.

Has anyone had their compressor replaced and if so approximately how much did you pay? It would also be helpful if you could tell me if it was a new or rebuilt compressor and if replaced by an authorized dealer or other local mechanic.

Thanks in advance and can't wait for the Spring.
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I had to have a new compressor by the dealer this fall. $1800. If it still cools I would not do this. Condensation is normal in all cars.
 
Thanks CBBIRD, I appreciate your response and advice. I think it is a leak and not normal condensation but if it continues to cool then I may choose to ignore it.
 
Check to see if the leak is coming from the manifold on the compressor pump. You may need to replace the two O rings on the manifold, Ford should have them for a few dollars.
 
Howard57 said:
Hello all

I am the proud 3rd owner of a 2005 Silver Ford Thunderbird with approximately 25,000 miles. The car is garaged, covered and attached to a trickle battery charger for our winter in the Northeast.

Before the winter I noticed a small drip under the front drivers side and my mechanic said that the leak was coming from my a/c compressor which would have to be replaced.

Has anyone had their compressor replaced and if so approximately how much did you pay? It would also be helpful if you could tell me if it was a new or rebuilt compressor and if replaced by an authorized dealer or other local mechanic.

Thanks in advance and can't wait for the Spring.
Click to expand...
 
Hello,
I own a 2005 . I have approx 22,000 miles. Last year, I too had a leak in garage. Took it in and they said it was the ad compressor. PEP BOYS ! They replaced for.........1600 . Two weeks later it wasn't cooling. By now I moved . I took to a different place and they said I had a leaky hose that should have been replaced with the compressor. Another 400 bucks. About a month ago I turned on at and no cool air. WT HECK! I took back to pep boys. They said I needed a new compressor. I said I JUST GOT ONE LAST YEAR ! Well the warranty expired a couple months ago. It will be 1800 AGAIN . This pep boys said the prior pep boys didn't use a top of the line compressor that it was a mediocre and that they would use the better one and give me a 10 percent discount.
I took it back to the place that replaced the hose and had them do it. It cost 1,600 the mechanic said the compressor that was installed prior was a piece of crap. SOOOOO all in all I've spent 4,000 in less than 2 years on the compressor. DO NOT GO TO PEP BOYS ! I'm sure by now you have resolved your problem. I will read further to see how things went.
 
Oh boy! That sounds like a disaster. I rarely drive my TBIRD in the winter so have ignored the leak but it's still there. After reading your story I will certainly not use PEP BOYS but had no intention of using them anyway. The lesson that I am learning from your experience is to seek out a reputable ford or lincoln service department and use them to replace the compressor. It may cost a little more but at least I will know that I am getting genuine ford parts.

Will post again after I take care of it.
 
Howard57 said:
Hello all

I am the proud 3rd owner of a 2005 Silver Ford Thunderbird with approximately 25,000 miles. The car is garaged, covered and attached to a trickle battery charger for our winter in the Northeast.

Before the winter I noticed a small drip under the front drivers side and my mechanic said that the leak was coming from my a/c compressor which would have to be replaced.

Has anyone had their compressor replaced and if so approximately how much did you pay? It would also be helpful if you could tell me if it was a new or rebuilt compressor and if replaced by an authorized dealer or other local mechanic.

Thanks in advance and can't wait for the Spring.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have an o5 TB and I had to have my compressor replaced. Got it done at a Lincoln dealer to the tune of 1300.
 
Thanks Chas, I found a Ford dealership service department near me that actually got pretty good online reviews. Will get an estimate and report back.
 
Rockauto.com has rebuilt AC Compressors for under $400. It is time consuming and difficult to change out but not impossible. Remove drivers side plastic cover. Remove air filter box and everything connected to it. Remove serpentine belt. Unplug electrical connection to compressor. Remove four mounting bolts from compressor. If you have access to an air conditioner charge machine remove refrigerant other wise it will vent to atmosphere when you do the next step of removing the hose manifold from the compressor. The compressor can now be removed with a bit of difficulty. Install new O rings for manifold in new compressor and reinstall. Air condition will have to be charged at a shop if you do not have a charge machine.

This process should cost no more than $600 total. Just be sure that the leak is the compressor and not somewhere else.
 
Thank you booty_malone for taking the time to write such detailed step by step instructions. Very nice of you. Based on what you wrote it sounds like more than I can handle on my own as I don't have the experience. But it does sound like an auto mechanic with basic skills can handle the task. If you agree then I can save some money by ordering the parts for my local mechanic from rockauto.com and pay him a few hours labor at a lower rate. No need to pay the Ford/Lincoln dealer their margin on the parts and their high per hour rate.
 
hsmolin said:
Thank you booty_malone for taking the time to write such detailed step by step instructions. Very nice of you. Based on what you wrote it sounds like more than I can handle on my own as I don't have the experience. But it does sound like an auto mechanic with basic skills can handle the task. If you agree then I can save some money by ordering the parts for my local mechanic from rockauto.com and pay him a few hours labor at a lower rate. No need to pay the Ford/Lincoln dealer their margin on the parts and their high per hour rate.
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Sorry for not replying sooner as I have been away from the forum for a while. A local mechanic should be able to do it but it is in a difficult place to work in and would likely be a five or six hour job with all the parts in hand. An all around auto air conditioning shop might also work.
 
MissyS said:
The air conditioning in my 2005 T-Bird isn't working. When it's on it sounds like a steam pipe hissing and there's just outside temperature air. Is this the compressor?
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Missy, I had the occasional hissing for a couple years. A/C would still cool but it took a long time to cool the inside of the car and I noticed there was never any water dripping from under the car (condensation). Finally the A/C stopped cooling and took it to Ford. Compressor had a leak and $1800 later the A/C cools like a brand new car! Hope your outcome is better than mine.
 
I am the original owner of a 2002 t-Bird with 38,000 miles. A/C quit last year. Had it repaired today June 8th with a new compressor and clutch. Total price $759.00 Repaired at an ex-ford shop. (Dealership was sold and moved and original employees stayed behind and opened as an independent shop)
 
Mine started blowing hot last week. A local Jaguar/BMW independant mechanic quoted me $650.00 out the door for new reman compressor, evap, dryer, flush and charge. He installed my Borla system for $140.00. Appears to know his stuff.
 
Motogeezer said:
Mine started blowing hot last week. A local Jaguar/BMW independant mechanic quoted me $650.00 out the door for new reman compressor, evap, dryer, flush and charge. He installed my Borla system for $140.00. Appears to know his stuff.
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Wow, that's a great price.

I was told it would take around 5 hours to replace just the compressor without the evaporator. Was told by my mechanic that the estimated hours for replacing the evaporator was another 5 hours and he suggested not doing so.

Hope your repair worked out OK.
 
Finally getting around to the a/c work. Supposed to be done next week while I'm at a conference. Will let you know how it goes.
 
My mechanic was not well for a month, but has recovered and in the last few days got my a/c done. He got a kit with new compressor and clutch, oil, drier, expansion valve and a bunch of o-rings. He flushed all the remaining stuff out, pulled a vacuum then recharged. It works great. $630.00 total. Happy camper so far ;)
 
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