Lincoln/Mercury Repair: noisy ac, mercury cougar, orifice tube

Question
hi i just bought a 1997 mercury cougar 30th anniv. wit the 4.6l v8 last night it is carfax certified with 1 owner and has 200,000 miles i drove it from angleton tx to houston no problems except wen the ac is turned on it makes a loud rattling sound around where the belt is located so i kept the ac off and its quiet and everything seems good wat could this be

Answer
Shelby, either the a/c compressor or pulley bearing is bad on your vehicle. The good news is that winter is just around the corner and will give you some time to save up for the repair....which should be done by a qualified tech. Expect them to want to replace the compressor and/or clutch & pulley assembly, the accumulator and orifice tube, plus freon & oil. Keep in mind that the defroster also uses the compressor, so expect to hear some noise when its on too.