Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches North Central AIR CONDITIONING

I pretty much laugh at my hard luck anymore. It still sucks, but you gotta pay to play. At least I play harder with mine than probably 95% of the people on the boards. As far as future plans for my car go, it should be getting rebuilt this summer and hopefully running late July early August with the full setup back in it.

Rick

I had Ford look at my car today to see what exactly is wrong with the ac.
He said I'd need a new accumulator, and compressor, and convert it over to the new ac stuff.
Estimate for all of that work:
$1,466.00

So, what do any of you think? Should I just say the heck with ac and keep my money? Or should I get the work done at a cheaper shop? Or just pay Ford almost $1,500 for ac.

Any ideas? Or any ideas of a cheaper shop?

try your mechanic friend in WI. other than that, i say screw A/C. My car does not have it and it is just fine.

I'm about 95% sure the accumulator and compressor are the same off of mine. I'm sure at least a third of the cost is parts. If you decide to get it done, maybe you could use these parts and another place to do the work. Did they give you a written estimate with part numbers and such? If so, you could use that as your guide to which parts you need. After that they can't be too hard to put on.

Rick

I am going to Ford in a little bit to pick my Contour up. I will get part #'s and all of that information when I get there. I am never going to Ford again. Over the phone they told me the estimate was $59.99, well once you get there they change the story and price of the estimate. They should have told me that, before I drove there. $100 plus tax for the estimate. Lesson learned, never going to Ford again.
I have one more appointment to get another estimate from a shop in Hammond someone from work directed me too. If he is any cheaper there is where I will go. I will figure out something. I will keep you in mind. If I decide to buy your ac parts,I could probably drive down there and pick them up from you if they would work out.
:rolleyes:

Damn, that sucks on the estimate. I had an electrical shop screw me like that once. I told them to give me an estimate, instead they found the problem and fixed it before giving me a quote so I got stuck with the whole bill.

I don't think the parts are going anywhere too fast, so just let me know what you find out and decide.

Thanks,
Rick

Actually I was incorrect. They charged me $99.95 for the estimate, and an additional $10 for shop fees. What BS.
I don't understand why they couldn't tell me how much it was going to be before I went there. I even asked the guy how much it was and when he said $109.95, he said that was $100 plus tax. Like I said. I am not going to Ford again.

I have a question for you guys.
What ac system-from the factory, is my 1995 Ford Contour? Does it come from the factory R12 or R134? If it is R12, what year did the R143 come out. I assumed mine was the R134.
So many questions.

Under your hood it should have a sticker that will tell you what type of refrigerant is in your car. I believe it is actually located on the bottom of the hood by the center grille.

HTH,
Rick

I thought all Contours were R134... Could be wrong. My 1994 Sentra was R134.