Ac evaporator coil

[6.7 Powerstroker]

I have my 2011 f250 at the dealership and because my ac keeps cutting on and off even after putting Freon in it. It cools some but keeps cutting on and off. They are thinking it's the evaporator coil but haven't given me a price since they are still looking at it. What cost would I be looking at to replace the evaporator coil and anyone else have a similar issue? When I turn the compressor by hand it seems to be stiff so I think it's fine. I was hoping it was the TXV or something easy. Any ideas? Thanks

 

[6.7 Powerstroker]

They called back and now say the compressor came apart and the have to replace it, the condenser, accumulator and it will be $2,300 altogether. This seems really high Especially since they said it involves 8 hours plus $1100 in parts and I looked on rockauto.com and motorcraft parts even with overnight shipping was like $600. I then asked him if I could buy my own parts and have them shipped and he started to say it would not include a warranty. So I told him these were motorcraft parts and he stumbled a little bit but finally said he could warranty and wanted me to send him a link to the prices to see if he could match them. I did see on eBay where you could buy an aftermarket kit for like $200 -$300 and included everything. Then I could just do it myself and buy a $100 vacuum pump from Harbor freight and vacuum it for 24 hours and then refill it with freon and only be in it a few hundred. Anyone try one of the after market online kits? Also does this sound like similar pricing from a Ford dealership? I really doubt I would put some cheap parts in it just because I'd hate to have to redo it in a couple years. Is it as simple as replacing the parts, pulling a vacuum, then refilling it?

 

[79jasper]

Always get a second opinion. I would personally try to stick with motorcraft.
No big deal doing it yourself. I've done a handful.
Manifold gauge set, good vacuum, some like a scale.
You wouldn't necessarily need to leave it under a vacuum for 24 hours. I don't know of any shops that do that.
A few hours at most.


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[d50h]

Evaporator replacement means the dash has to be removed including steering wheel. I just had my 14 f250 w/ 55k miles replaced under extended warranty. The service man said it would have cost 2600. They replaced compressor, evap core and belt.

 

[79jasper]

Yeah. Price sounded right, imo.
Especially if the evap does need swapped.
One post said evap, second said condenser.

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[6.7 Powerstroker]

To clarify they now say it only needs the compressor, condenser, and accumulator/dryer. This price does not include the evaporator in the dash. Sorry I wasn't to clear on that. I have a manifold set but no vacuum pump. Can I have them just drain the Freon then I replace the parts and pull a vacuum for few hours. Then hook up the manifold set and with a good vacuum pulled fill it with the correct amount of Freon? Would the oil be in it already from the new compressor or do I need to add some? Also what about flushing anything?

 

[8WR_ZJ]

If it was mine I would flush it first. I do ac jobs on the side. Down here in the south there are alot. I have a good set of gauges and the twin stage pump from harbor freight. Thing has been doing its job for about 8 years. And I do roughly 100 ac jobs a year. If the compressor comes filled there is usually a tag on it. Sometimes they do sometimes they dont. Manufacturers all have different amounts of oil and freon to add to the system just check what they want and go from there. I have had vehicles run to hot and too cold just doing what the manufacturer recommends. That's why I say it a good starting point. Pull a vacuum minimum of 2 hours. If it drops at all wait another hour. If it drops more find the leak.

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[6.7 Powerstroker]

If it was mine I would flush it first. I do ac jobs on the side. Down here in the south there are alot. I have a good set of gauges and the twin stage pump from harbor freight. Thing has been doing its job for about 8 years. And I do roughly 100 ac jobs a year. If the compressor comes filled there is usually a tag on it. Sometimes they do sometimes they dont. Manufacturers all have different amounts of oil and freon to add to the system just check what they want and go from there. I have had vehicles run to hot and too cold just doing what the manufacturer recommends. That's why I say it a good starting point. Pull a vacuum minimum of 2 hours. If it drops at all wait another hour. If it drops more find the leak.
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So your saying before doing anything at all I should flush it then pull a vacuum? As in it's possible there's just debris in the lines? How would you flush it?

 

[8WR_ZJ]

So your saying before doing anything at all I should flush it then pull a vacuum? As in it's possible there's just debris in the lines? How would you flush it?

So did the compressor acutally come apart? If you are replacing the condenser then really all you will be doing is flushing the ac lines. The newer compressor in today car are pretty hard to get clean and reauable. I almost always replace them. Remove freon and disassembles everything. Flush the lines using clean compressed air and some mild cleaning solvent. Then run more air through it to get it as dry as possible. Then reassemble parts, add oil to the system. Pull a vacuum and then add the freon.

 

[6.7 Powerstroker]

From what I was told the final issue was determined to be that the compressor came apart and it will need replacing along with the condenser and orifice tube. From researching I'm pretty sure the orifice tube comes with a new Motorcarft condenser. They emailed me and said they got the parts down to $887 after I told them I would just buy my own parts and ship them to them to install. Still a few hundred more then online but I understand they need to make some, still seems too high though. 30% markup on the parts compared to Rockautos prices. Unless Rockauto buys them cheaper then the dealership? I told them if they could do it for $1,800 altogether then do it and if not I will do it. So now I'm waiting to hw re back. Since they quoted $1,100 for labor plus $887 for parts I'll probably do it myself. To be honest I'm not worried about doing the job it's just I don't know if I really feel like it. But then again I am that kind of guy who likes to save money where I can and learn something in the process.

 

[8WR_ZJ]

From what I was told the final issue was determined to be that the compressor came apart and it will need replacing along with the condenser and orifice tube. From researching I'm pretty sure the orifice tube comes with a new Motorcarft condenser. They emailed me and said they got the parts down to $887 after I told them I would just buy my own parts and ship them to them to install. Still a few hundred more then online but I understand they need to make some, still seems too high though. 30% markup on the parts compared to Rockautos prices. Unless Rockauto buys them cheaper then the dealership? I told them if they could do it for $1,800 altogether then do it and if not I will do it. So now I'm waiting to hw re back. Since they quoted $1,100 for labor plus $887 for parts I'll probably do it myself. To be honest I'm not worried about doing the job it's just I don't know if I really feel like it. But then again I am that kind of guy who likes to save money where I can and learn something in the process.

30 percent on parts is still high in my book. I guess that's why I do all my own stuff. The money you save on labor you can buy some sweet tools.

 

[6.7 Powerstroker]

Well I was talked in to letting them do it for $2k. About $500 more then I wanted to spend but there's comes with a 2 year warranty and I should get it back by Friday. I'm just hoping there's no need to replace the evaporator coil. Is it possible to have the compressor send stuff into the evaporator coil? Well if they do it all then they're responsible for it.

 

[8WR_ZJ]

I doubt it. However I have seen it happen a few times. Changes are it is stuck in the condenser, drier, orifice tube/expansion valve.

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[6.7 Powerstroker]

So does the TXV need to be replaced also because they didn't include it and in the service manual I have it says it should be replaced along with the suction tube? I don't like hassling them but I do want it done right.

 

[8WR_ZJ]

So does the TXV need to be replaced also because they didn't include it and in the service manual I have it says it should be replaced along with the suction tube? I don't like hassling them but I do want it done right.

Yes I would replace the expansion valve as well. You are pretty much replacing the entire system other than the evaporator. Suction tube as in the line from the compressor to the condensor or from condensor to the filter/ drier? Or is it connected to the drier? I can look at lunch on my truck and see.

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[6.7 Powerstroker]

So if I go pick it up and they did not replace TXV or suction tube should I say anything or let it go?

 

[8WR_ZJ]

If it says to change it in the manual and there is no way to test to verify operation then it's a replacement part. I would ask them if they use the manual to do repairs. If they says yes then there you go, I think they should change it.

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[79jasper]

Imo, it should be changed.

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[6.7 Powerstroker]

So I got The truck back Friday and the ac worked fine. They did not change the Thermostatic expansion valve. Yesterday I didn't use it since it was cooler. Today when I turned it on it took awhile to cool then the compressor started to cut on and off again just like before. So after spending $2k and leaving it at the Ford dealer a week it's still not working right. I sent the service guy an email letting him know what it's doing. Now though I've lost all confidence they even knew what was wrong in the first place. To me it looks like they just threw some parts at it since it is literally doing exactly what it was doing before. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[8WR_ZJ]

Yikes. The txv could be the issue or the liquid pressure sensor. Honestly this is one of the reasons I do all my own stuff. I hate going to bring my vehicle places. I trust one place and there is a 2 week wait to get something looked at there.

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