2000 Concorde XLi - No Air

The neigborhood I live in is 12 years old, we have had 6 well pumps go out in that short of time. (34 houses) That shouldnt happen but it does, should I post a bitch in a plumbers forum? Or should I look for a pump made by Mistsubishi?

If they can't find a way to reduce the failure rate on a component to

They lost a customer or a crybaby?

. plus whoever else might

aftermarket -

If you're comfortable with that pump scenario you made up, fine. Most people I know would look for a root cause rather than chalk that off to chance... and seek redress.

you know what glen i have a 95 grand marq. and it has the same set up with the cowl panel and i have never touched the ac, never had to has always blown cold. never has to add any 134 and i owned it a long time has 150 k on the clock best car i ever owned next to my cuda maxpower wrote:

"John Gregory" wrote in message news:GNZeg.34474$ snipped-for-privacy@tornado.ohiordc.rr.com... > I see. Sorry to hear that. I just got off the phone with Chrysler's Customer > Service. I told them my 1995 Concorde had the evaporator replaced at 78000 > miles and they participated in the repair for all above $100. There was > apparently an extended warranty on the component. This time - the same > general failure at 68000 miles - they have opted NOT to participate. When > asked how this is different, I was told there's no recall, there's no > extended warranty, each case is handled on a case-by-case basis, the answer > is "No" in my case, and the decision is final. That fails to answer the > question of how this is different form the 1st failure but somehow the woman > seems there's sufficient rationale in there somewhere to support "final". I > guess it doesn't have to make sense; it's Chrysler. It may not have to make > sense to Chrysler but it does to me. I don't have to buy another Chrysler > and a lot of people ask for my opinion on making major purchases. These are > seniors who aren't finished buying big cars. I can't help being honest and > relating my personal experience; two Concordes, five years apart, both with > evaporator failure between 68000 and 78000 miles.... and Chrysler refusing > to participate. (It took significant arm twisting the first time. I was told > "No" twice. This time. I won't even ask again. I just won't buy another > Chrysler. It's not just the car someone buys when they're a senior citizen. > It's the attitude of then company. Chrysler demonstrated poor judgment in > this case. They saved $900... but they lost a customer good for another four > cars minimum. > "Bill Putney" wrote in message > news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net... > > John Gregory wrote: > >> But I'm here to receive advice, Bill. I don't feel qualified to give it. > >> Thus... what do YOU recommend... and why? > > > > Well in this case, I'm in the same boat as you - I have to replace the > > evaporator in my '99 Concorde, and I don't want to use the OEM evap. if > > it's designed to fail in 4 to 6 years like they apparently are. That's > > why I was asking Philthy the question since he seems to have an opinion > > (based on experience?) on the alternative (aftermarket) evaporators. > > > > Bill Putney > > (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address > > with the letter 'x') > > > > > >> "Bill Putney" wrote in message > >> news: snipped-for-privacy@individual.net... > >> > >>>philthy wrote: > >>> > >>>>thet dash has to come out and it's a very common failure but since it is > >>>>not a > >>>>safety issue it woun't be a recall and d.c won't do squat > >>>>the dealer will charge book time and use a$ 400.00 evap coil when a > >>>>better > >>>>aftermarket part can be had for $160.00 are u in michigan?? i'll do the > >>>>labor > >>>>for 200.00 and i have a recycler to boot > >>> > >>>There appear to be two types of LH evaporators listed in aftermarket - > >>>plate fin and serpentine - which do you prefer and why? > >>> > >>>Reference: > >>>

or=Evaporator > >>> > >>>Bill Putney > >>>(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my > >>>address with the letter 'x') > > The problem is when leaves and debris gets past the cowl screen it falls down next to the bottom of the evap, it corrodes and causes the failures. When the evaporator gets replaced with a MOPAR part it comes with a special cowl screen which is supposed to stop foreign material from getting into the HVAC box. Was that screen installed at the time the new evap was replaced? Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech

I feel you.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Evaporators in all makes are not holding up because the new refirgerant is corrosive and not as efficient as freon so evaporators are made thinner to make it more efficient and get eaten up by the freon substitute quicker.

I'd find a new well repair guy. I had a well and the wires broke every year to it. Finally I got a new well guy and he told me to put the wires in a sleave and they would never break again. Problem solved. Get a new well repair guy.

Good advice about the well guy. That's exactly what I'm doing with Concorde; gettin' a new car guy.

About the your comments concerning the new coolant and the thickness of the evaporator fins... I think you may find the problem lies elsewhere. I've had involvement in refrigeration and air conditioning manufacturing and from my experience, the leaks nearly always involved poor welds (solder). The air conditioning plant was moving to sonic welding when I retired but they were having a hell-o-va time controlling leaks at connections. I suspect that's the issue here. But that's really irrelevant. Chrysler has final say on the components it chooses to accept. If it's like any other major manufacturer/assembler today (and I'm sure it is) it even sends it's engineers to the vendors plants for routine quality reviews which include observation of all (except proprietary processes). So they have two teams of engineers working on any given component; theirs and their vendors. No excuse for the failures I've encountered... assuming this wasn't a fluke and the failure rate is actually higher than industry standard (or that of GM, Toyota, and Ford). The only way a manufacturer successfully combats these issues when they occur is through a lenient repair policy. Barring that, it opens itself to criticism, ill-will, rumor, and ultimately lost customer. This is one main reason Japanese manufacturers were able to gain the market share they did a number of years ago; attention to quality and support of the customer. It paid off for them... it's killing US manufacturers 'casue, although they're trying to adjust (Delphi bankruptcy, Ford, and GM at junk credit rating) they've got a rough road to hoe.

I understand why Chrysler rejected this repair. They're suffering financially as well. The issue is, this was a short sighted decision. They won't notice my meager loss... but they will when they see it spreads by way of mouth. Make a bad product today and don't stand behind it and your in serious trouble. But... what the hell. That was my last fight with Chrysler, and I lost.... but so did they. My loss ended... theirs continues.

"Art" wrote in message news:41jfg.182$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net...

Quite frankly, a bigger gripe would be the power windows on these cars. At least the 99's. On my 300M some were fixed 3 or 4 times under the service agreement I bought. Chrysler should be fixing them all for free since it was an obvious screw up.

As for the evaporator, Chrysler sent letters out extending the warranty on the first generation LH cars. They did not do the same for the second. We never had trouble with the 99 300M ac. One poster said that leaves getting into the evaporator caused corrosion. We kept our 300M in the garage all night so it was only getting half the leaves as outside cars. Was yours kept garaged or on the street.

By the way, people are bitching at Honda because their evaporators are sitting right up front and very low in the current accord and are being hit by stones. The stones cause leaks and Honda refuses to fix them under warranty unless you bitch even if the car is almost brand new. Everyone is working at low margins these days. Your best value is probably a Hyundai. They got hundred's of millions of tax payer money to build a plant in the southeast US so you might as well buy one of their cars and get some of your tax money back. A friend bought one. It appears to be a terrific value if it holds up.

Actually I have a friend that bought a 1 year old Kia. It seems quite roomy inside and an outstanding value if it doens't fall apart.

Time will tell. Judging from the TV ads I've seen on KIA over the past year, I'd say they dumped a lot of brad into attracting customers. If the car doesn't hold up, some executives will never work again and shareholders will make noise. So... I'd suspect that car is engineered to hold up fairly well... proportionate to it's price.

By the way, what's the warranty on the labor for a replaced evaporator at Chrysler. I was a little surprised when I got my bill this afternoon from the shop that replaced mine; 90 days. When I thought about it, it sounded right. I doubt if Chrysler would warrant beyond that.

All Mopar parts replaced at the dealership are covered for 12 months unlimited mileage. Except Wear items.

Not parts... labor. What's the warranty on the labor to replace an evaporator on a car out-of-warranty?

If the evaporator is leaking refrigerant, where does the leakage go? Does it go into the airstream and get blown into the passenger compartment?

yup

Is there an odorant added to R134 so you can tell if you're breathing it?