I have a 2002 Mercury Sable wagon that is SOHC. Recently the air conditioning stopped working. Took it to a mechanic and he right away found a puncture in the A/C manifold assembly line. I bought the part, gave it to him and he changed it. From there to the next day the A/C was blowing ICE cold until 5 minutes into driving the next day LOUD clanking started happening and it started to smell. Took it back to the mechanic and he says I have to replace the condenser, a/c compressor and drier because the compressor seized. Now my question is, would I really have to replace the condenser? I thought those only needed to be replaced when in an accident? I’m trying to avoid spending over $600 to replace a bunch of things I don’t need to replace. Any advice would be awesome! Thank you!
Once the compressor seizes, it breaks apart and sends metal shards through the entire system. If you don’t replace all the parts, the metal shards will recirculate and destroy your new compressor.
Agree; you need a thorough purge of the entire system. I had this happen on a Chevy and the price quoted, $950 was not justified, so we did not fix it and sold the car “as is”.