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Originally Posted by MadMan
The Infinity almost certainly required an amplifier, which you didn't have. Then you got a radio from a Sebring/Stratus, the only cars that used a different bracket setup, but identical other than the brackets and the orange display.
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I asked on the Allpar forum about whether or not the missing amplifier was the cause of the no-sound issue, and got conflicting responses. Some claimed the head unit would output sound regardless of whether or not the amp was there; others claimed that the silence was due to the missing amp. I did eventually find a later head unit with the right bracket setup, but was handed down the Concorde before I could install it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMan
Not surprising. For all the shit people give it, as an actual certified transmission mechanic myself, I can tell you that they're pretty hardy little things. My favorite transmission actually. It's a breeze to work on, and it's so simple, there's almost nothing to go wrong with it. Also, you'd be surprised just how often limp mode was triggered by a corroded battery termimal.
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From what I've heard, at least some of the A604 failures were due to lazy transmission techs using Dexron instead of the required ATF+3 fluid. When it started making noise in reverse, I bought five (IIRC) quarts of ATF+3 in preparation for having to drain the existing fluid. When we ended up taking it to a mechanic instead, I gave him the bottles of fluid I'd bought so he wouldn't go the lazy route.
As for when it dropped into 'limp home' mode: After it occurred, I immediately drove it to my mechanic, who found nothing wrong with it, and it never did that again. I can only figure that it was some sort of glitch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMan
Maybe you just got a lemon dude. My 94 Concorde got T boned by a utility truck, and kept going. It went and went, literally the only time I ever had to have it towed was after it was hit. The transmission is literally the same A604, just twisted around to fit the other way. And mine NEVER overheated, it was the most temp-stable car I've ever had. Then again, I had the 3.3L, maybe you got the 3.5L, they were new for the LH cars, and did have some problems. Legit the 93 model ones would spontaneously combust. Fuel rail problems.
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I've long figured it was a lemon; I've seen a fair number of Concordes of this style still on the road. This one indeed had the 3.5L engine under the hood. When it worked, it was a decent engine; I even put mid-grade gas in it, as recommended in the owner's manual. I don't know why its 42LE failed; one day I was driving around in it with my mother (who owned the car before me), and we noticed that the car would vibrate like a jackhammer if we tried to accelerate faster than 40MPH or so. $1,700 or so later, it was back on the road, and never had a transmission issue afterwards.
When we got the car used (former lease car) some years before, there was a recall on it due to fuel system issues. We brought it to a dealership for the recall work, then the day after we got it back from them, my mother noticed a large puddle of fuel under the gas tank when she was getting ready to leave work.
Back to the dealership it went for more work, and it never had that issue again.
The overheating issue was an odd series of events. The first time it happened was while I was getting onto the highway. I had it towed to the mechanic, who claimed to have fixed the problem. Not long afterwards, while driving to class, it overheated again. I had it towed back to the mechanic, who managed to find the cause of the problem this time around: the A/C compressor had seized, causing the belt running it to break; the belt then got jammed in the cooling fan, which popped its fuse. How the mechanic missed this the first time around, I have no idea.
-Adam