i just took my 99 f150 to the ford shop and they informed me that the compresser was shot and they wanted $1000 to fix it . my question is what is the cheapest way to go about geting my a/c back? and will i be able to remove and install the necesary parts myself?
Any information will be very benificial to me!

 

I just changed my compressor on my 01' with the 5.4L. It was not that bad. I recovered the A/C at work. If you have a local shop they could probably recover and charge it for you after. I had to removed the fan belt. Then removed the plastic cover over the radiator that has the warning labels and belt routing sticker on it. Then removed the fan shroud bolts just so i could move it around. It will not come out without removing the fan or rad. I also removed the top bolts and clamps that secured the radiator (did not have to drain the coolant). There are some auto trans fluid line that run under the engine to the cooler. I unbolted the clips that hold them. Next i unbolted the compressor throught the fender well and removed the lines that attached to it. Dont forget to unplug the wire to the clutch. It took some work to get it to slide out of the hole it was in but once i got the fan shroud, trans lines and radiator in the right spot it slid right out. Then slid the new one right back in and reveresed the disassembly.

Side note. I have a CAI. Your stock air box might get in the way of sliding the radiator out of the way.

 

Take a look at this site:

http://www.p71interceptor.com/

All sorts of info is there that can help. The info is related to the Crown Vic P71, but
the AC system for it is nearly identical the the system in your rig.

And don't worry about recovering the refrigerant. There are no controls over the use of the stuff for the average garage mechanic. Theoretically R134A is "ozone safe", a statement that is utter nonsense since R12 was never harmful to the ozone layer anyway. If you want the reasoning behind that statement, ask for it.

 

Make sure and vac the system before you charge it to get all of the air and moisture out.

 

ok i have some new light to shed on my original question. i was drivin down the road today and just for the heck of it i turned the ac on (i have not had or done any work on the system since my original posting of this thread) and to my suprise the damb ac was working perfectly. now my first question to myself was how the hell can the compresser be broken if its working just fine right now. but the thing is it only works sometimes (similar to my odometer reading which irratically goes blank).
this leads me to believe that there is a short in the electrical system.

has any body had similar problems? and how would you go about troubleshooting and ultimatly fixing this problem???