Stereo Question

[Bnewton530]

My 2004 LS has that touch screen stereo with built in nav. Sadly, the previous owner somehow cracked the screen pretty bad and I cannot control my radio. I am sick of having one station all of the time! Anyways, I am wondering if I can use the factory non touch stereo in place of the touch one. I want a factory look but hope to spend less than 100 on the repair.

 

[joegr]

Well, you can, but not easily. You'd have to rewire much of the car. The THX nav system that you have sends line level audio to an amp in the trunk that powers all the door speakers. The other factory radios all have built in amps, so you would have to run wiring from the radio to each of the door speakers. Also, while the main connector is physically the same, it is pined out very differently for the THX system. If you just plug another factory radio into it, bad things will happen.

It would probably be easier to convert to aftermarket, but that too is not as easy to do as it is with the other LS radio options.
THX navigation to aftermarket

 

[Bnewton530]

Do you happen to know if it's possible to repair the cracked screen? I heard of guys using patroleum jelly before. I seriously do not have the money for this repair

 

[RigsLS]

Hey Newton, sorry to sidetrack, just noticed your avatar.

Check out my old Z
Holy crap, my old ride!

Thing never had coil or degas bottle issues, no plastic plumbing on it either.

 

[Bnewton530]

Wow! That thing is clean! Now that is a black out done right! Did you do a 5 speed swap? I know that they didn't have a 5 speed to use with the 350 when they were new. Mine is getting a t56 once I survive my last year of college!

 

[joegr]

Do you happen to know if it's possible to repair the cracked screen? I heard of guys using patroleum jelly before. I seriously do not have the money for this repair

The screen can be replaced, not repaired. Here are a few on e-bay.
03 04 05 Lincoln LS Navigation Radio 6 CD Disc Player 3W4T-18K931-AN GPS Screen | eBay
03 04 05 Lincoln LS Navigation Radio 6 CD Disc Player 3W4T-18K931-AN GPS Screen | eBay
03 2003 Lincoln LS Navigation GPS CD Player Radio PN:3W4T-18K931-AL OEM LKQ | eBay

You could look for a non-working one with a good screen and then swap the screen out.

 

[Bnewton530]

Okay. Well it looks like I know my options. Either replace with factory/repair or do what you did and replace with aftermarket