Botched AC Repair?
 

2-1/2 months ago, I took my 03 F150 to the dealer because the AC was blowing hot and looked/sounded like the compressor/clutch was fried. Turns out it was and they replaced both in addition to the hose manifold leading the the condenser which they pinpointed as the leak of all the refrigerant (there was none in the system). 1,300 greenbacks later, was fixed. Started to get hot and noticed the system was not blowing cold. Checked the refrigerant level and was way low. Recharged it and within 4 days was 1/2 the operating pressure. Took back to dealer and they want to charge me $350 for further diagnostics and to replace the schrader valve(s).

I didn't think much of it but when I first took the cap off the upper valve before I took the truck in the first time, heard some air escape which means those valves didn't just go bad since they fixed it 2-1/2 months ago. I agree I owe them for replacing those valves but $350 for the job? $75 of it is their std diagnostic charge for the AC system. Do you agree they should have found those bad schrader valves the first time?

Yes they should have, I had the AC in my eddie expe repaired and it did the same thing the shop that fixed it recharged the system and fixed the problem no charge!

What's the saying... the odds favor the dealer?! Those schrader valves are the most expensive schrader valves I've ever seen. $46 for the two of them... and they claim when they 'fixed' it 2-1/2 months ago they were fine. So I got hit for another evac and recharge, diagnostics parts & 1-hr labor. At least the A/C is cool... :smoke:

Jesus christ! Unless the valve is part of the hose they are a tiny little valve very very easy to replace. Sounds like they ripped you off man. The shop I work at I have never seen a $1300 bill for a compressor (comes with clutch) and a manifold hose assembly.

Also, after you take off the hoses they should check to ensure no freon is being pushed back out a shrader valve. My guess is they put it together and didnt have an oring seal and being on flat rate the guy didnt want to fix it for free and warrenty his work.

I looked on Motorcraft's website and the dealer's prices were (of course) a bit higher but still expensive. But $9 for the plastic cap over the schrader valve!! There was nothing wrong with the old one! All it does is prevent crap from getting into the valve. What ticks me off is they didn't suggest to replace these valves the first time when they knew the system leaked all the refrigerant out. But of course they said they tested the system and it was all good. Sure, for the 5 min or less they probably had it under test.

I guess I need to come to your shop IRONS. You're right in my hood so PM me the name of the shop you work at. I'm done with E@rnh@rd!s.

The caps are way more important than that. They are the final barrier to prevent refrigerant that makes it past the Schrader valves from leaking out.

I wish... those caps are not pressure rated and will hold little to nothing back. Pressure on the high side is about 150psi. On my home AC unit, the service guy put on some brass caps which he said will seal if the valves leak but said the plastic ones are only from keeping debris out of the valve. Said they're junk on those systems too.

I've had problems with the shrader valve on my accumulate on my 97. I had had surgery one my hand and didn't have a very strong grip for a couple of years. During that time, my A/C kept leaking down also.
But the problem I was having was getting the connector to lock on the valve. So i would get someone to hold it tight against it while I put freon in, and I also found a brass cap to seal it. But this year when the time came to gas it up , I also was putting die in it. But when I put the connector on, I somehow managed to get it locked on the coupler. Now the valve seems to be working right, and I don't seem to be losing freon. Time will tell, but I do believe it was leaking at that shrader:beers:

The caps shouldnt hold freon in, or atleast you shouldnt have to rely on them to do so. In arizona high side pressure will be anywhere between 200-300 during the day. No way in hell can a plastic cap keep that in if the shrader valve leaks. A good shrader valve should never leak. I didnt realize they said the shrader valves were bad and put caps on to fix it. Something is seriously fishy.

to the OG post if they replaced the manifold hoses the valves should have been new and the repair should have been free to you. all ford "stealerships" have a 12 mo 12k mile warranty on repairs i kno i have worked for them.

yes
 

[Q I had the AC in my eddie expe repaired and it did the same thing the shop that fixed it recharged the system and fixed the problem no charge!
I took my 03 F150 to the dealer because the AC was blowing hot and looked/sounded like the compressor/clutch was fried. Turns out it was and they replaced both in addition to the hose manifold leading the the condenser which they pinpointed as the leak of all the refrigerant (there was none in the system). 1,300 greenbacks later, was fixed. Started to get hot and noticed the system was not blowing cold. Checked the refrigerant level and was way low. Recharged it and within 4 days was 1/2 the operating pressure. Took back to dealer and they want to charge me $350 for further diagnostics and to replace the schrader valve(s).

I didn't think much of it but when I first took the cap off the upper valve before I took the truck in the first time, heard some air escape which means those valves didn't just go bad since they fixed it 2-1/2 months ago. I agree I owe them for replacing those valves but $350 for the job? $75 of it is their std diagnostic charge for the AC system. Do you agree they should have found those bad schrader valves the first time?[/QUOTE]

Buddah damn! Quit using my Lord's name in vain. :smoke:

Long time now to reply here, i hope the problem has been resolved that time but i wanna share that last night my car air conditioning unit's blowing hot air when i was on the way to home.Then few minutes later it was started blowing cold air. I am bit confused what to do with it whether take it to the dealer or have help from ac repair expert.Please share your thoughts , your help will be appreciated.

First thing to check is the low and high refrigerant pressures and making sure the compressor is running when it is supposed to.