F-150 won’t start, A/C compressor replacement.

I went to the gas station to buy a rockstar and when I came out my 2001 F-150 wouldn’t start. I thought maybe the engine had locked up because the starter was engaging but it wouldn’t turn over.

I paid a local towing company $80 to tow it to my house so I could diagnose and repair it. It turned out to be the A/C pump. I got on YouTube for some research and couldn’t find any videos on how to reach the top manifold bolt and wire. So I made my own video with that as the intro.

I’m not going to lie that top compressor bolt almost sent this pickup to the car crusher as the price of scrap is up a bit currently and it tested every bit of patience I have. I’m not a certified mechanic obviously. Take any advise at your own risk. This pickup was my dads. He bought it with 9k miles on it in 2003. He sold it and his camper to me at a discounted price with the promise that it will be my son Calvin’s first vehicle. I don’t know why Ford made the A/C pulley a mission capable part of the 5.4L Triton. A guy used to be able to just kick the belt off and keep driving but I guess that would defeat their planned obsolescence.

I always leave some weight on the jack and some weight on the jack stand when working under a vehicle with the tire removed. I also put the removed tire under the lowest part of the frame as close to where I’m working as possible so it won’t completely crush me if it falls. I’ll put 100% of the weight on the jack stand and then give the jack a couple pumps so they’re spitting the load. I don’t know where I learned it but it’s just my standard for working under a vehicle. It also helps so all of the weight isn’t on 1 spot on the ground. You should always give a jacked up vehicle a good body weight wiggle. You might bump the jack with an elbow or have to pry on something and that’s a similar force so better to test it first when you’re not under it.

To get the pump somewhat held in place I put the manifold bolt in a little bit and hung it on the manifold. Then I tightened it down and was able to use the hard lines to move the pump around as needed without having my hand down on the actual pump. I used a tiny bit of oil to lubricate the top housing bolt so I could get it started easier. I didn’t use locktite. Think this truck will have a new engine before the compressor vibrates the bolts lose.