I posted before about my malfunctioning air con, but can't reply into that thread because google wont allow it.
The problem was: air con would start working fine when I started the car, but after a few miniutes (sooner ona hot day, later on a cool day) would start to produce a musty smell then pack up.
I had it recharged but that made no difference.
I took the car to a specialist in Norwich and they diagnosed the problem as being the compressor clutch. the car is seven years old and it turns out the compressor clutch plates were wearing out. The clutch was strugglikng to close the plates together and as the car warmed up, it could no longer push them together.
The fixed the problem by remiving the shim and that now allows the plates to come together and the thing works fine again. they made the point that next time it fails as it will inevitably do so one day, then it will need a new compressor clutch. Ford would charge about 750 for clutch (probably compressor) and labour. The specialists estimated they would charge about 2/3 that figure, ie around 450. the cost to me was 60+vat to get the thing diagnosed and fixed.
the company is called MA Autos in Norwich, but they don't look actively for car work, as they have all the business they can handle, and mostly focus on commercial and public sector vehicles. If they can do the work for you should you be in Norfolk and need your car's air con looked at, I can heartily recommend them. their engineer explained in detail what he was doing and why, he showed me what he was doing and I came away very pleased with the quality of the service and feeling I know a little more about my car. Great guys.
I normally get my car seen to at east Coast motors in cromer, the local ford dealer and generally find them fine. I wasn't too sure about their ability to handle the aircon though. I suspect had they diagnosed the problem it would have been a case of 'new compressor and clutch gov, 750 to you'. Perfectly legitimate answer under the circumstances, but MA did find a cheaper alternative.
However, East Coast had previously recharged the Air Con, and MA recloned they had done the job correctly (many companies don't). So my confidence in East Coast for most things is retained.
Hope that little note above helps someone.