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Overheating, AC Problems. What would you do with that?
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dstin43
Anonymous Poster
dstin43@gmail.com
Sep 5, 2009, 10:17 AM
Post #1 of 3
(2287 views)
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Overheating, AC Problems. What would you do with that?
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Ford Focus ZX3, 2003, 2.0, dual o.c.
I have a Ford Focus ZX3 2003 and I noticed that the car was overheating. The antifreeze was low so I got some and filled the car. The car was still overheating after few days so I went to a mechanic and he told me that the Coolant Bottle is leaking and it needs to be replaced along with T-State & Gasket. The antifreeze was exacty on the same level as few days ago and I told him that but he was pretty sure about it so he just did that and charged me $296.
On the first longer trip the car started overheating again, but it seemed like it was worst then before. There was also a smell of burning rubber coming from under the hood. I live in Las Vegas, NV and it was in the middle of the summer time when it was really hot. I went back to him and told him all that, he checked the car and told me that AC Compressor and Reciver Drier need to be replaced in order for the car to work properly. He quoted a really high price for that $1300, then went down to $900, but I found several places in $500 - $600 range, but thats not really important.
I did not want to spend the money so I was just driving with AC and the fan inside the car off and I did not have a problem with overheating at all. As long as AC was off everything was fine.
I AM WONDERING HOW MUCH DOES THE AC KIT HAVE TO DO WITH OVERHEATING? WAS THAT PERSON RIGHT ABOUT IT? WOULD THAT SOLVE THE PROBLEM? HE DID NOT KNOW WHAT WAS WRONG IN THE FIRST PLACE EITHER SO I DONT KNOW...
There is more about it and it gets more complicated...
About 2 months later from that time (6 weeks maybe) my car would not start in the morning (I have 81000 miles on it). I took it to a different shop and they had replaced timing belt and also did some rewiring on the fans, because I mentioned that it was overheating before to them etc...
On the first longer trip the yellow "!" mark came on on the dashboard and the engine did not work right for 3 seconds or so. It was just like when the car is running out of gas and it is about to stop, like something would be blocking its movement. It only lasted about 3 seconds and then I was able to drive for a while on the next day. They did not know what it was at the shop so I just continued driving and I noticed more symptoms about it.
After making about 12-15 miles there were 3 things happening at the same time: yellow "!" mark would come on on the dashboard, the overheating gauge would move from the 50% (where it usually is) towards the hot section, it was about at 3/4 of the scale, and also RPM gauge would go up and down quickly below 2 and then went back to normal and up depending on how I was pressing the gas pedal. The whole thing lasted only about 5-8 seconds, maybe 10 and it was going on every 10 minutes on average.
I went back to the shop and told them that. They told me that the computer needs to be raplaced and thats what the problem is with that.
The point is that I did not have that problem before they have done that rewiring thing etc (I have some fuses under the hood etc). They have actually rewired the car again (I did not want to spend no money for a $700 repair etc) in order to have 2 fans working at the same time, but the car stopped completly and I have it parked somewhere in the middle of the city now. They actually warned me about it and told me it might happen and it did.
They had replaced the timing belt because the car would not start and thats ok but that whole rewiring thing caused more problems than it actually solved so it cant stay like that. I did not need to replace the ECU before I came to this shop so why would I need to do it now? I dont know... It all just seems like somebody is messing something up or trying to screw me over. Can you give me some ideas on how to deal with this now.
1) I want to have the 2nd shop wire the car the way it originally was before I gave it to them and just drive with AC and Fans off for now. I also want to get a credit for that, since it did not work and caused problems.
2) What can I do about the first mechanic? He did not fix my problem either. What would you do about all that?
Thanks
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Sidom
Veteran
/ Moderator
Sep 5, 2009, 2:00 PM
Post #2 of 3
(2277 views)
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Re: Overheating, AC Problems. What would you do with that?
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Wow you got a lot going on there....
I'll offer just a bit of advise. Personally I don't like knocking other techs or shops unless I know both sides and maybe there is some miscommunication going on but some of what you said about the 1st place really doesn't make sense. Fixing an a/c system will do nothing for an overheat condition, if anything make it worse but then again I don't know the whole story....
As for the 2nd place, I'll just give you my take and let you decide what parts fit your situation. On certain failures, sometimes there are options to "bypass" certain parts to get the failed system to work. While the bypass is always cheaper the main problem is, its always a gamble. If it works, great everyone is happy. If not, what I have noticed is now the customer is unhappy due to the fact that they've spent X & still have the same problem and now what the vehicle repaired for free. For this exact reason I don't try to "patch" a system anymore. It's just not worth it. They always understand the gamble before you try but if it fails, they don't understand anymore. (Ran into this exact scenario today over a $400 a/c controller and the cust wanting to run a ground wire to leg 86 of the a/c relay to by pass the controller. He "understands" & was willing to "sign anything"......been down that road before. )
If this rewiring you had done was in a effort to bypass a more expensive problem and you approved it......Then it falls on you and if you want it back to original, thats fine but you need to pay for the time and materials to do it..
If it was presented to you as the proper way to repair the vehicle. Then the wiring should be to factory specs and if the problem is something they caused. They should be responsible for fixing it.
You may want to find a shop that is familiar with your vehicle & tooled correctly to find the problem & fix it..... You can talk to friends & neighbors see who they use & does a good job for them. Go to ase.com or iatn.net & use their shop locator feature. The best shop for the job isn't going to be the cheapest. The cheapest ones are good for basic problems but the more complex ones can elude them and in some cases wind up causing more problems.........
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Guest
Anonymous Poster
Sep 5, 2009, 5:30 PM
Post #3 of 3
(2271 views)
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Re: Overheating, AC Problems. What would you do with that?
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Thanks for your answer. I actually got to the car today and replaced a fuse (they told me to do it if it fails; I thing it is called fuse) and I was able to get the car back to where I live.
I was not pushing for that rewiring, I only intended to fix the problem with the car not startig etc... I should be able to get it straight with them but the first mechanic "bothers" me more. I asked at Answers at Yahoo.com and some other people told me that he was only trying to make some quick money, and he did... I think I will have to get my money back from that place.
It is ridiculous how much these people dont care and how much of a gamble it is. I'll see how it goes. Thanks again.
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