I have a 2003 Ford Windstar LX with 183,xxx miles, and I have been having issues with the AC. I’ve had this van for about 3 years and I’ve never had working AC. If I were to turn on the AC it would blow hot air so I thought it needed to be charged but then on the gauge it said the pressure was at the correct level. I touch the lines with my hand and it was hot. The compressor clutch was spinning but I assumed it was bad so tomorrow I’m buying a new compressor that is pre-oiled with the clutch to see if it solved the no AC issue, but I wanted your input before I replace it. What could cause me to have hot air?
How did you measure the pressure to come to the conclusion there is enough refrigerant? Static pressure doesn't really tell you much. What are your high and low system pressures with the compressor running? As Scotty says there are many things that can go wrong in an AC system that will prevent cooling even if the compressor is good.
I bought the gauges that connect to the high and low end, I know there has to be enough refrigerant because I’ve put whole bottles of it into my car when it needed. And I looked and tested the clutch to see if it engages or not, and it engaged.
You can't judge the refrigerant charge by pressures on a vehicle that has a variable-displacement compressor. (That's most vehicles made in the last 20+ years.) Those will keep up pressures within a fairly broad range of refrigerant levels. Overcharge is at least as bad as undercharge. The only way to know for sure you have the correct amount is to evacuate the system and put in the specified amount by weight.
Where there's actually dozens of things that can knock out an AC system. You're getting a compressor so I would change the compressor the filter dryer and the orifice tube and pray it's not worse than that
