Can't get A/C compressor off!

Joined
May 29, 2005
Messages
879
Location
Ozark Mountains
2000 Ford F 150 4.6 V/8. 222,600 miles

I have it in a private auto shop for a new compressor and they say the bolts holding on the compressor are too corroded to get off. This was a Nebraska truck and it does have a lot of rust from the salt up there.

Any ideas I can suggest to the shop owner?

Thanks in advance, guys.
 
Rust is the super villain of auto repair. Plotting tirelessly to overthrow car owners in the northeast, rust will never die. Like a cliche horror film, you think you vanquish rust but rust laughs at you at the final, closing scene.

A giant pry bar?
Hammer?
Penetrating fluid?
Torch the bolts?
sometimes when the going gets tough, an angle grinder is needed.

hard to say without pics.
 
A torch would be appropriate here, if heat can be applied safely without ruining nearby components.

An oxy-acetylene kit was my first big tool purchase for this reason.

Before that, have the shop soak the area with penetrant for a day before trying again.
 
Those compressor bolts are horrible for access and yeah, they seize into the compressor. Brute force and replace the bolts is the only thing that works. I usually drill a hole in the compressor perpendicular to the bolt drilling through the bolt. Once all 3 bolts are drilled through you can use a prybar between the block and the compressor to get the compressor off the dowels and then deal with the remnants of the bolts.
 
Not sure if they checked, but the bracket that the compressor mounts to is obsolete from Ford. I could easily see a shop wanting to bail when there is a slim chance of successfully removing the compressor.
 
Back
Top