K-cars

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I heard that drag racers that used push-button Powerflites considered the main problem with the pushbutton system to be the placement of the R button too close to the forward gear buttons...If not careful they'd mash it into reverse and mess things up.

In defense of Chrysler's pushbutton mech I've always heard, it was solid and reliable...It was a great step up from the other pushbutton shifter of the time the steering wheel mounted electric selector in the Edsel...Which supposedly liked to short and change gears when turning the wheel...That scares me a hell of a lot more than hitting the wrong button by mistake.

A friend had a '58 Mercury that had a form of a push button transmission.
It had a park position lever that had to slid to the right. IDK, if the neutral button had to be pushed before the park was set. The transmission stayed in drive while the engine was in fast idle. The transmission burned up.
IIRC, the push button selector was outlawed by the government, stating all automatic transmission cars had to be uniform to minimize mishaps.

[WISCOJIM]

If I recall correctly, you couldn't do any real damage shifting from drive to reverse in a Chrysler pushbutton automatic. I think their was a safety that hitting the reverse button while the car was moving forward would put it into the neutral mode and not reverse. Been a long time since I drove one, and I don't ever recall making that mistake.

.

[AdamAnt316]

My first car was a 1991 Dodge Spirit, aka a refresh of the Dodge Aries. Had the 'piss poor' Mitsubishi 3.0L V6 under the hood, which made the car quite peppy. Not as fast as the Spirit R/T, I'm sure, but it got up and went when called upon. I can say for a fact that the car would begin to shake violently if I tried to drive much faster than 95MPH..........

It had its quirks, to be sure. It resisted every single attempt I made to upgrade the stock AM/FM stereo (installed a 'Infinity I' cassette stereo, and got nothing out of the speakers; tried using a later version AM/FM/cassette head unit, but the brackets didn't line up correctly). The previous owner had been extremely obese, and had managed to break the front seat, though we got it fixed. One nice "feature" was that I could remove the key from the ignition while it was running, which came in handy when it was cold, as I could keep the engine running with the doors locked.

I put a few dents and dings in it as a rookie driver, but it just kept on running. Even the infamous "A-Sick-Oh-Four" 4spd automatic just kept on going, apart from one time it glitched and got stuck in "limp home mode" (wouldn't shift higher than 2nd gear, which made highway driving "interesting".....). The one time I thought it was a goner, it turned out that it was bad motor mounts that were causing the engine to tilt when trying to drive in reverse, making a nasty racket as I backed up.

It was somewhat ugly and didn't have much in the way of features, but it was a solid little car. I sure can't say that of its successor, a 1996 Chrysler Concorde that was handed down to me. Looked sleek, and had all sorts of bells and whistles, but had more reliability issues than Carter had liver pills. Dead transmission (before I started driving it), overheating issues, stalling issues, and culminated with the entire rear suspension collapsing as I pulled away from a stoplight. Should've just stuck with the Spirit. Here's a 'beauty shot' of it in its later days:

[MadMan]

Originally Posted by AdamAnt316

It had its quirks, to be sure. It resisted every single attempt I made to upgrade the stock AM/FM stereo (installed a 'Infinity I' cassette stereo, and got nothing out of the speakers; tried using a later version AM/FM/cassette head unit, but the brackets didn't line up correctly).

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.

Originally Posted by AdamAnt316

Even the infamous "A-Sick-Oh-Four" 4spd automatic just kept on going, apart from one time it glitched and got stuck in "limp home mode" (wouldn't shift higher than 2nd gear, which made highway driving "interesting".....).

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.

Originally Posted by AdamAnt316

a 1996 Chrysler Concorde that was handed down to me. Looked sleek, and had all sorts of bells and whistles, but had more reliability issues than Carter had liver pills. Dead transmission (before I started driving it), overheating issues, stalling issues, and culminated with the entire rear suspension collapsing as I pulled away from a stoplight. Should've just stuck with the Spirit.

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.

[dieseljeep]

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.



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.



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.

I had a '92 Dodge Dynasty that had the 3.3 engine. Mine ran perfectly and when I sold it, it had 162K and didn't leak any fluids and didn't use any oil between changes. It still used the old push-rod design.

[MadMan]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I had a '92 Dodge Dynasty that had the 3.3 engine. Mine ran perfectly and when I sold it, it had 162K and didn't leak any fluids and didn't use any oil between changes. It still used the old push-rod design.

Yeah the 3.3L has a few common problems, but nothing that can't be fixed. Very hardy little motors. There's a story on allpar about some engineers getting excited to have a new modern engine (the 3.3), and then being disheartened when they found it had pushrods. lol It's probably one of its strengths, though. No timing belt, less parts, more reliable.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by MadMan

Yeah the 3.3L has a few common problems, but nothing that can't be fixed. Very hardy little motors. There's a story on allpar about some engineers getting excited to have a new modern engine (the 3.3), and then being disheartened when they found it had pushrods. lol It's probably one of its strengths, though. No timing belt, less parts, more reliable.

Some of the engineers had a bit more imagination, regarding new designs. Why mess with a design that's stood the test of time.
The 3.3 evolved into the 3.8 and possibly the 4.0.
My next-door neighbor bought a used Chrysler Pacifica with a 4.0. I said, if that's the engine I think it is, it'll be around for a long time.

[AdamAnt316]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by AdamAnt316

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

Not familiar with those cars, but if the belt had not snapped yet the first time and if there was a cooling fan on a pully the compressor belt shared the stuck compressor could have stopped that pulley...

I'd imagine that with the compressor stuck there would have been a LOT of noise as it killed that belt...If you hear a problem sometimes it pays to grab a flashlight pop the hood and look around carefully. Depending on where they put the compressor it could have been a very obvious fail. (I'm someone who has had a stuck compressor and watched/heard the belt slip on it.)

[AdamAnt316]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

Not familiar with those cars, but if the belt had not snapped yet the first time and if there was a cooling fan on a pully the compressor belt shared the stuck compressor could have stopped that pulley...

I'd imagine that with the compressor stuck there would have been a LOT of noise as it killed that belt...If you hear a problem sometimes it pays to grab a flashlight pop the hood and look around carefully. Depending on where they put the compressor it could have been a very obvious fail. (I'm someone who has had a stuck compressor and watched/heard the belt slip on it.)

I believe these cars used an electric cooling fan rather than one run from a serpentine belt. Not sure of the belt layout for the 3.5L V6, but just recalling what the mechanic told me several years ago. Don't remember hearing any odd noises from the engine before the first overheating incident, but I was known for playing the (very nice) head unit in that car a tad loudly, soooooooooo..........
-Adam

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

A friend had a '58 Mercury that had a form of a push button transmission.
It had a park position lever that had to slid to the right. IDK, if the neutral button had to be pushed before the park was set. The transmission stayed in drive while the engine was in fast idle. The transmission burned up.
IIRC, the push button selector was outlawed by the government, stating all automatic transmission cars had to be uniform to minimize mishaps.

Are you certain it was a Mercury? I was able to find photos of Mopars with a park slider but all the photos of late-50s Mercury controls I've seen show a park lever that resembles a hood release. By the way I'm a little confused by the presence of a "hill control" button in the Mercurys, seems redundant with a park lever. I suppose that could have been what they called the parking brake considering the presence of the "brake release" button.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

Are you certain it was a Mercury? I was able to find photos of Mopars with a park slider but all the photos of late-50s Mercury controls I've seen show a park lever that resembles a hood release. By the way I'm a little confused by the presence of a "hill control" button in the Mercurys, seems redundant with a park lever. I suppose that could have been what they called the parking brake considering the presence of the "brake release" button.

I'm trying to remember something that happened around 50 years ago, but I'm positive it was a Mercury. I drove the owner to the used car lot to pick it up. The owner told me the circumstances of the trans failure. I wasn't there.

[bgadow]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I'm trying to remember something that happened around 50 years ago, but I'm positive it was a Mercury. I drove the owner to the used car lot to pick it up. The owner told me the circumstances of the trans failure. I wasn't there.

When I was a kid I rode in a car with my father and this mechanic he knew. I thought it was a Pontiac but it my have been a Mercury; late 50's/early 60's regardless, and I remember it has a lever on the dash for the transmission. I've also seen a dash lever on early/mid-60's Dodge pickups.