All Activity

Welcome to the forum! You have packed a lot into one post. That is OK, but I would recommend you start a new topic for each problem, beginning with the one that is most important to you, and work your way through each one until you have resolved the problem. That will avoid a lot of confusion. With one large post that has multiple problems it is hard to follow what is being said about each of the problems you listed as people start offering suggestions.

Jim Finn has them as well.

It looks like this is becoming a common problem where older parts are no longer stocked, but Rock Auto shows several choices yet. The sender was only used up until 1990 on the Reatta as newer models with the 3800 have a different operating pressure (higher).

The deck lid is held up by a clip. Your repair of the clip evidently is not working. You can get a replacement from East Coast Reatta Parts. https://www.eastcoastreattaparts.com/collections/interior/products/convertible-tonneau-cover-hold-clip

Welcome. It looks like you have quite a job in front of you. Regarding photos; it sometimes helps to have a general overall photo with locations noted as well as the detail photos. I am just speaking for myself, but I do not have color codes and wiring configurations committed to memory🥴. That said, a couple of things are obvious and that is the area of the brake system in the engine bay has been converted to some sort of standard type brakes. The original anti-lock system is missing and the photo of the cluster of harness plugs is what used to plug into the motor and anti-lock module. You will probably have multiple warning lights related to brakes. I see the corner of what appears to be a cone type air inlet filter, and the sensor out in the open is probably the inlet air temperature, which is installed in the stock air filter housing. I do not know what is being referred to as an aftermarket MAF, but the photo appears to be the stock style setup with the protective loom covering missing from the last portion of the harness to the plug.

Greetings everyone! I have a 1990 Reatta convertible with a tonneau cover that likes to smash down on my head when I am folding away the soft top. There are two methods that may hold the thing up, but I haven't been able to figure out what the intent was and I am hoping someone can tell me? The first is a plastic C-shaped catch that is attached to the body cross piece between the tonneau and the trunk lid. It was cracked in my case, so I reinforced it with metal and repaired it the best I could. It now works "sort of". The second possibility are some rollers and two tension bars (similar to the design of a lot of more modern trunk lids). The tensioners are meant to lift the tonneau a few inches when it is unlatched. But they also catch on some rollers and I am wondering if that was the primary means of holding the tonneau up? Mine are not weak to pop the tonneau, so I am not sure if they should be adjusted. If they should be adjusted, there are three notches that could be used to tension them more. The shop manual says that there is a "J Tool" that should used for this, while the image in the manual shows a breaker bar being used. My Reatta does not have a bracket that will accommodate a breaker bar, so wondering if anyone knows what this magic J Tool is? Lastly (ok, not really), can anyone confirm that moving the bars to the notches closer toward the front of the car makes them more (tense?). The manual says, "The forward most notch will give the highest amount of tension." but I don't trust my reading skills. Photos attached...and uploaded in random order for inconvenience...sorry.

Where can I obtain an oil pressure sensor. I went to my local auto parts store and they show none available. Being a Buick 3800 motor I thought it should be easy?

Hi all, Brand new Reatta owner here and brand new to the forum, so don't hesitate to let me know the ins and outs, I've read a fair bit already so I'm trying to do my best for forum edicate! I recently acquired a 1989 Buick Reatta with 295km on the odometer for $2300, the guy I bought it from owned it for about 3 weeks and bought it out of a barn. Thankfully I took it off his hands as he wanted to attach a ski rack to it and make it some kind of off road abomination. The ownership history as I understand it, is that I'm the 4th owner. 1st owner purchased new 2nd owner was an older lady who died and the family lost the keys and it was stored, the engine bay is covered in dust and there's a number of odd impact points to the body which indicates to me it was stored long term in a garage/barn. The coolant tank also has some kind of algae in it (will be flushing and cleaning) 3rd owner bought it out of the front yard and trailered it to a mechanic to get a new key made, owned it for 3 weeks and sold it to me, however I did find a sticker for a shop in San Antonio on the inside door, so it may have been US originally. The downside is, he absolutely tore apart the interior in the short time he owned it as he was trying to sell the interior on ebay so there's a lot of broken plastic and when I got it, it was already half disassembled. I'm in the process of diagnosing a number of issues and trying to find the common threads so any help is massively appreciated. I'll write out the oustanding issues in point form and then provide background below - Sunroof inoperable (see photos, may just be missing fuse) - CRT screen is off (was on before without any issues, no dimming or flickering) - Park lights are on continuously unless I unhook the battery - Trunk unable to open from outside - Ignition Cylinder was replaced improperly need to manually push a piece inside the steering column forwards and backwards to start (likely source of many issues) - Cruise control light came on but wouldn't set speed - Codes/errors prior to CRT going out - B448 - E063 - Check doors (even when shut) - AC Coolant extremely low - Rear defog non functioning - Engine sensor harness unattached with an aftermarket MAF (see photos) - A number of interior pieces missing or broken including latch to trunk from inside, console latch, window buttons on center console, exterior trim pieces missing - Missing Cabin light? - Light open and retract system issues - Leaking Roof Sunroof When purchased the owner said it wasn't working and he was going to remove everything, I pulled down some trim to observe, there is a harness still and it looks like it's missing a fuse, I can't seem to find online what fuse belongs in there, it also looks like they've possibly stuffed additional foam around the sunroof? it doesn't seem trimmed correctly. CRT When I bought it, the CRT was working fine and worked for the whole drive back to my house (2 hours). When I got back I went to my friends house and we poked at it for a sec noting that there was a harness in the engine bay that wasn't plugged in and an aftermarket MAF, upon touching the wires the engine RPMs dipped so we left it alone for the time being. When I got back in the car the CRT was out, I still have the physical buttons working and light up on touch but the CRT has been out since that point. I still have console lights Park Lights This was an issue the former owner didn't seem to be aware of, so possibly was not an issue prior to purchase, in an attempt to turn them off he almost smashed the button in which I stopped him from doing (an ongoing theme is him using brute force instead of assessing the situation). From what I've read this is a RAP issue and likely linked to the ignition cylinder Trunk Interior button doesn't open trunk, doesn't seem to be an exterior latch option or if there was it's been removed Ignition Cylinder The only work the previous owner did aside from an oil change and new battery was have a mechanic replace the ignition cylinder, this will need to get redone as they didn't rekey any of the doors and the door cylinders do not match the key. The key can turn almost freely forwards and backwards but I need to stick my finger in to move a square piece forwards or backwards to start or shut off the car, assuming this may be related to park light/CRT issue. Cruise Control Cruise control light was coming on at time of purchase but wouldn't set speed, later in the drive it would not light up. Upon looking inside the fusebox the fuse is blown, so that may be remedied there, may also be linked to engine bay harness issue. Prior to the CRT being out I had these error codes B448 and E063, it also said to check the doors being shut which I assumed had a lot to do with this guy ripping out the interior, I also can't turn the park lights off so it remains parked with the battery unhooked when I'm not working on it. Engine Sensor Harness Honestly this one is a bit baffling, I'm not sure what these belong to but I'm sure they're not meant to just be hanging out. The aftermarket MAF lines are extremely shredded as well. The duct taped line is a vaccuum line that was just sucking air so I figured it's best to just close it off. Light Opening and Retract Issues When I open the lights they pop up right away, however the right headlight motor can be heard running continuously for an extra 10 seconds with some clicking seeming to test resistance, I dissassembled yesterday and greased up everything as it all was quite dry and tried tightening things up but still persists. Also the retract button only works if I shut them off first, is this the norm? Leaking Roof The day of purchase it was raining sheets and I ended up getting soaked driving home anytime I had to stop. I'll assume that this is more a matter of replacing the seals around the sunroof, as all the window and glass seals look well, they look 35 years old and unloved. However it does present the risk of water touching electronics In the time I had yesterday to work on it, I managed to get the seat controls working again as they were non functioning at time of purchase. However if anyone knows anything about the orange/black harness under the seats and if it serves and purpose that would be helpful. End goal with this vehicle is to have a fun summer car alternative from my pick up truck, I fell in love with these cars because of the dash so it's definitely a big priority to get that back running. A full restoration seems unlikely as there's been much interior plastic broken and the exterior needs a lot of love and possibly a whole repaint but I'm a handy/tinkering personality so I don't mind working on things as I go. Appreciate all help!

I am trying to diagnose intermittent non-starting of my 1990 Reatta Convertible. I suspect it is something to do with the anti-theft system. After reading what I could in this AMAZING forum, I went searching under my dash for the starter interrupt relay and the anti theft module. Not far in I noticed a disconnected module and would like to ask if someone can tell me what it is. It is located above a metal bracket above the hood release latch. Photos attached. The second photo shows the best pic I could take of the wiring associated with it. Pink, Green, Red, Blue. Thank you!

I get a in a lucky guess every now an then. Glad you got your problem fixed.

Update - Ronnie hit the nail on the head with this one. I pulled the brake hose on the left front wheel and the new hose indeed fixed the problem. It is so nice to have correct brakes again! Thanks so much!

Still having intermittent ignition issues and believe it is not the ignition module or coils. After doing a bit of online research I have determined that there is a short harness that goes from the main harness splits to go to the ignition module and ignition module ground, goes on a bit farther and splits again ending at the crank sensor and cam sensor. It is discontinued by GM but Dorman makes a replacement. I have one on order and every indication is that this is the issue. I had a no start situation yesterday and rather then swap out the module again I thought I would jiggle the wires between the harness block and the loom protecting the wires. Tried a start and no go. Then tried jiggling the harness block that igoes to the module that the wires run through. That did the trick and car started like nothing was wrong. So I think that is my issue. Hopefully the new harness will do the trick.

I usually use Google to search this forum (and others), by adding ::reattaowners.com (or whatever site you want to search) after my query. That forces Google to prioritize hits from the site you are interested in. e.g. Oil pan gasket ::reattaowners.com brings up two threads

Your brakes may be worn down to where the "squealers" are touching the rotor when you apply the brakes. The squealers are attached to the pads and warn you when the brake pads worn enough that they need replacing.

I inspected my brakes and they seemed to me okay, the pads are nice and flat, seem a few months old at least but they still got some life left in them. however im not well acquainted with these vehicles so even if theyre still good should i replace them? or maybe i should look at the hardware itself as ive noticed my brakes do not have those metal clips on them like are present in most vehicles. the calipers and rotors are like new as well. Thanks for all the suggestions and future support.

Sounds like an inspection of worn brake pads to me. The intermittent abs yellow warning light could indicate a worn abs lead. You should ceck the lead for fraying or cracking. It is the lead at each wheel that is not a brake line.

So recently i purchased an 88 reatta and since purchase it has had a strange grinding sound when braking or going around 5-15 MPH that is very obnoxious and sounds detrimental to the car itself. however i have had some trouble finding any information about this. Also, maybe related or not i have a yellow ABS light on intermittently when braking and i also lose about .1-.3 voltage when I apply the brakes, these may be normal but i figured id include these in here incase it’s pertinent information. I was hoping someone could point me in a direction to someone else’s post or they could give me some information about what to do. I’ll take a video of the brakes working later today. Thanks.

Odd that a rubber plug would be used to stop brake fluid from coming out. I'm wondering if the rubber is intended to be a dust plug for something else that is supposed to seal the brake fluid behind it. If all you need is a rubber plug, one of the "Christmas tree" style push pins like hold inner fender panels and such on might work. My local Autozone has a big selection of styles and sizes. I had to get some for my mustang to hold the trunk carpet in place when I replaced the rear shock absorbers.

It doesn't look too sophisticated so I would think it would be a great candidate for someone with a 3D printer since you have a good sample?

I swapped the rubber plug from one to the other and it stopped the leak. I just have to find another or something that will work

I think this is a better pic, of course not in stock. Maybe try Ebay. ACDelco 18020180 Valve - Walmart.com

I pulled this one off of the other proportioning valve. It is made of soft rubber. It has identification markers BAF and 56. I wonder if there is any way to get another one of these.

Like most things, it sometimes makes no sense. People are repairing, or at least trying to repair, Reatta's that should be parted out and others are just the opposite. Seemingly decent cars that deserve some TLC are being scavenged and discarded. Definitely well under $1k for a running parts car, much less than that for a lawn ornament, unless of course it has exactly the stuff you need. Mixing and matching colors, inside and out, or model years with incompatible content really limits the usefulness.

It sounds odd to be missing a part unless it had been worked on recently?? I have no knowledge of the Bosch system and if you trust this shop, what do they recommend?

The wheel bearings were in good shape. I’ve replaced the output seals, axles, sway bar bushings and end links, inner and outer tie rods, and ball joints. All on both sides. Everything went ok besides the ball joints I selected being too tight a fit and rubbing on the passenger side. There was only one AC Delco ball joint left on Rock Auto so lazily I went with the Mevotech ones rather than trying to find and order another one. Thankfully I have another passenger side axle I bought from Jim Finn that I’ll swap this damaged one out with. If anyone has replaced their ball joints, what part did you use?