2000 Sable AC & steering rack problem

RJOMAN

MEMBER
2000 MERCURY SABLE

I have a 2000 Sable, 160,000 miles 3.0 Liter EFI. The steering went out and the rack & pinion was replaced. After getting car back the AC which was working perfectly before I took the car in stopped cooling. I took car back & was told there was no way the AC was involved in the repair. My question is could something have been affected, unpluged or disconnected while the steering was being installed. Also while driving with windows down I noticed a thumping in the right front tire that I hadn't noticed before. I was told it was just like before. Could the alignment been affected by the steering repair?

Follow up:
Shop told me AC compressor was locked & needed to be replaced. I decided no & took it to the dealer. It's an EATC AC system & my shop didn't seem to understand the electronics. Turned out the sun sensor #YF1Z*13A0018*AA and the control module #3F1Z*18C612*AA needed to be replaced. The control module was replaced 6 months ago & still under warranty but I had to pay for the sensor. Whether or not my shop caused the parts to go out will remain a mystery. The thumping was the front wheel bearings. The car has 160,000 miles on it so maybe everything just went out at the same time. The steering was making so much noise I may not have heard the thumping.

1 Reply

SERVICE WRITER

MECHANIC
9,123 POSTS

Sounds like the shop is being a little cocky. What they should have done is look over their work to make sure they didn't cause a problem by accident. The best bet is to have the A/C diagnosed to find out the source of why it isn't working. May or may not have anything to do with them.

The rack replacement requires alignment after replacement. However a thumping in not an alignment issue by the way it sounds. Does the noise follow the speed of the vehicle?