The Tale of the AC Compressor

I achieved a great personal victory today.

Though I had a lot of help, it still felt like such a victory because it was something I'd never considered myself capable of, and I like surprising myself.  So here's the story.

I drive what I still think of as my dad's 1997 Lincoln Mark VIII, a car I've come to love over the two years I've been driving it.  My dad had had it for quite a while, putting tens of thousands of miles on it, though it was I who pushed it over the 200,000 mile mark.  Mary Todd (Lincoln, get it?) now has just under 216,000 miles, and her engine is running just great.  However...

Lots of other things aren't. The Lincoln was ahead of its time in terms of accessories, with things like an air ride suspension system, onboard computer display, and other fancy - and relatively fragile - luxuries. So over the years, it's needed a lot of work. Just in the two years I've had it, my dad and I replaced a good amount of the air ride suspension system, the upper control arms on both sides, all 4 rotors, one caliper, and there's more that I can't remember. Before I had it, he and we had replaced or repaired so many parts and systems that the file that contains all the paperwork is about 4" thick.

But now, I was faced with the most serious thing I'd ever had to do to the Lincoln, and my dad isn't with us anymore. This is a (functional) AC compressor, and it is connected via the serpentine belt to just about every other motor and compressor in the vehicle. The compressor on the Lincoln was shot, not spinning freely, and screwing up the rest of the components on the belt, even threatening to shred the belt itself.  Dad's Lincoln was very, very sick.

At a local dealer where I received the above diagnosis, I was faced with a $1052 estimate.  Shit.  The Lincoln is barely worth $2000 in its current condition, and I just plain ol' don't have a thousand bucks to spend right now.  I could have spent the money on Wednesday, but eating lunch on Thursday would have been tricky.

Luckily for me, my dad had purchased the service manual for the Lincoln. This isn't the manual that comes with the car, but a digital copy of what the actual Ford mechanics use when servicing the vehicle. It's awesome. These 14 steps are the instructions for the removal of the AC Compressor. Holy shit. After initially rejecting the idea, I got good boosts of confidence from my step-mom, Loretta, and her brother Peter, and decided to do the work myself.

I got a compressor from a junkyard, and with the help of my buddy Chris, replaced the compressor in about 10 hours of work over two days. There were, as you saw, a lot of steps, hardly any of which were straightforward or easy.  Like I told Chris, "If I ever meet the guy that designed this engine, I'm gonna shake his hand, and then punch him in the face."  There was a lot of swearing and smashing of knuckles, but we got the job done.

Here are some pictures of the work. Regarding the "F*@# These Things" picture, these are the instructions for separating them - that was not fun, and my back still hurts. Also, I got very, very dirty during all this. This is me after washing my hands a bit.

After spending two hours replacing all the crap we'd pulled out, I started up the engine successfully and just started laughing wildly, giddy with excitement and a profound sense of accomplishment. I really wish Dad could have seen me do this. He would have been so proud of me at that moment. He also would have found the image of me giggling at myself in the car pretty funny.

So what's the end of the story? The Lincoln is once again running smoothly, though it needs an A/C recharge. Also, I think I'm now officially a "car guy," though I really have no idea what I'm doing. Thanks for the service manual, Dad.