Leaderboard

The forum has been overwhelmed with an attack by spammers trying to register for an account, mostly from Russia. For that reason I have temporarily disabled new forum registrations. I'm hoping that the spammers will go away soon and new forum registrations can be restored. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

After two failures of brand-new AC Delco HR6 Compressors, I did some research and found that there is a known manufacturing defect, or "decision" as it might be put. For whatever reason, GM removed the dowel pin from the body of the compressor. Some speculate that it was done to make it easier to assemble at the factory. There is just one problem with this. When the unit is installed on the car, tightening the bolts without using shims to make the mounting surface fit perfectly flush with the compressor results in the compressor housing twisting and coming apart at the seams in the middle of the housing, and complete loss of refrigerant in short order. There are improved aftermarket versions of the compressor available that have dowel pins wisely reinstalled where they belong to keep the compressor body intact. Note that these compressors use PAG 46 rather than the PAG 150 of the original design. I hope this helps someone else who may be experiencing this problem, or prevents it from happening entirely.

Just today hit 333,200 miles on the Red of which almost exactly 220,000 were put on by me. Bought the Red in December of 2006 for my 50th birthday. Flew to Fort Lauderdale to get it. Bought it from a private party and drove it home. Took the rest of the fly in day and the next to get home. Had my first experience of sleeping in a Reatta with 16 way seats!

The servo was used on multiple GM cars in multiple years. take a walk through a you pick yard and look for a lower mileage Buick. Once you get it off suck on the big hose nipple. If it holds while you have vacuum on it, it probably is good.

I was able to purchase them at my local Lowes store. There is an assortment of them in drawers in the hardware section.

I have 4 servos in my parts bin and never replaced a one. Use the one off your parts car. Next week I will turn 331,000 miles on the Red of which 220,000 were put on by me.

I understand you wanting to save spare parts when you can but the cruise servo may be the most plentiful part you can get for a Reatta. Your time would be better spent picking up a few spares at a junk yard and testing them on the car before storing them so you know you have good ones.

You, can use any small air-tight tank to replace the vacuum tank.

I built a 12 X 12 shed in the backyard just for spare parts.

We made it just fine where i live. Not much wind at all and no flooding. Just a lot of steady rain. East of here as you start toward North Carolina is a different story. Don't know if there was much wind but flooding is a real problem in small towns in the mountains as you get closer to NC. I-40 is blocked in both directions right now. Below are photos my daughter sent me of I-40 near the TN and NC border. The river along there has cut under the pavement and washed all the dirt away. The hillside on the opposite side of the road is a solid rock wall so there is no cutting it down to move the highway over. It will probably be months before that stretch of highway is fully open again.

Holy cow, that eBay listing wants $15 per piece on an individual basis. The Amazon 50 pack is a hell of a deal by comparison. Now whether or not they are as strong as OEM is the question, since all those listed there are aftermarket.

It's been several years ago. I guess they have been discontinued.

Here’s a picture of the part number you need can’t remember where I got the part but I believe they’re still out there. Good luck

I have a new "NOS" GM part, in the box for 35.00 and shipping.

Try Jim Finn from the vendors list at top of page: reattas60@gmail.com He has helped me many times in the past

Try: Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market

Thanks 2seater! Runs great and no warning lights! Everything works as it should too...

Update today on Dave’s odometer reading. And it still looks 👍

Strange. I’ve only noticed 1 on each front ball joint, and 1 on each tie rod end so far. I’ve never seen 4 on steering stuff?

that may be, but that ship has sailed. I'll just enjoy "what could have been" in the Regal...

I have been having trouble for years with my 1990 Reatta refusing to start when it is hot. I have scoured the owners journal for leads and have found many...and I have been attacking each possibility in turn (thank you all!). Having taken the side battery terminals off so many times, I thought I might have a risky connection at this point. So I tried copper washers. But the bolt threads weren't long enough to keep things tight. I have a dual terminal battery so I decided to I was going to use a side-to-top-post converter and put new ends on the cables (The larger cables weren't long enough to simply use the existing top posts.) So I proceeded to cut up the red rubber coating over the positive cable ends and discovered some pretty significant corrosion. I thought I would mention it here because from the outside it looked absolutely PERFECT. If you suspect this and just want to eliminate it as a potential problem, you don't have to cut it up (its a miracle I didn't cut my hands). You could just cut the cables below the rubber, of course. So far the car is starting fine...but we'll see...the saga continues...

Today went over to Bob's [my machinist friend's house] to do rear struts on the Regal. By prior agreement I was "the guy" doing the work with just a bit of help from Bob. From start to finish it was just 2 hours and much easier then when I did the Reatta. Two bolts on the bottom of the strut, one nut for the sway bar end link, and three nuts inside [with easy access] to the top of the strut. Then with a little assistance from gravity and a pry bat the strut drops out of the car. Reinstall is fairly easy as you push the strut up into place and put the three nuts on the top of the strut and slide in the bottom of the strut into the bracket and reattach the sway bar end link and you're done. Did I say the the strut comes with the strut mount attached and are preloaded with the spring? Well they are!

Thank you all. I've kinda determination that it has to be a valve body or something internal. Yes it does hold it's self in park. Gonna put the pan back on and take it in. Automatic transmissions are slightly out of my scope of work lol. I've only ever torn apart a 727 torque flite out if an old dart. This one's a years more advanced for sure.

I know this is likely not the case here, but long about half a century ago, I had a Chebby that cracked the valve body. No warning, just no go in any gear. I have no idea as to the cause, but it happened. I ASSume it lost line pressure due to the internal leak?

Thanks for all the help. Turned out the problem was the shoulders that the bolt from the motor turns were smoothed out, so turning the motor did nothing. The arms were also stuck. I was able to work them loose with a long screwdriver. Driver side worked fine, but I went ahead and replaced both. Everything works terrific now. Next stop... the radio.

Four bolts hold the bumper on. Remove those and the whole front comes off. The bumper is quite large, but not too heavy. You can strip the plastic parts off to get to the entire bumper. Get some aviation stripper and the top layer can be removed. I took mine to a polisher and they polished them. I only had the part that shows polished because the plastic covers the rest. Like I said before, I use "Whiter Diamond' polish to keep them shiny. Keep your and everyone else's hands off, as the oil from your fingers leaves marks on the bare metal.

As I was tracking down a vacuum leak under the hood, I managed to snap one of the vacuum line nipples off of the cruise control servo. What is the servo body made of? ABS? PVC? Obviously, the real question is what glue will stick to it well enough to hold the nipple in place with a heavy vacuum hose attached, under real driving conditions. As manufactured, I'm guessing the hoses were supple, and the servo body was nice and stiff. Now, the hoses are stiff, and the servo body is brittle...

The post above brings up a good point, check the simple stuff. In this case, you can watch the built in diagnostics to see what gear it is in, as well as most of the sensors. You should verify actual fuel pressure, verify the quality of the spark, check the ignition module for a sticky ooze if it is the original Magnavox style. Verify throttle position sensor and ignition timing in diagnostics. All that info is at your fingertips from the drivers seat. Catalytic converter replaced but was the intake system checked in smog inspection?

Sorry about the misdirection stated above. Yes there are none to be had............☹️. I'm happy to say that the 91 I just bought did have new struts all the way around before I bought it............😃

I have not tried them but Crutchfield is pretty good at solving these kinds of problems. Give them a call.......... No money in Crutchfield etc, etc, etc..............

While component speakers are generally more expensive, that was the way the front speakers were designed and located for the best imaging. Just my opinion, but burying the tweeter portion down by your ankles is a step backwards. A two or three way in the rear seems to work fine.

Yeah, I borrowed the axle picklefork from AutoZone to get it out. I guess I'll yank on to see if it's secure. If it comes out, I will have to pull the axle to make sure the circlip is not damaged.

Ronnie, I'd give up all the space in my cellar any day for a three-car garage!

You're lucky you have space to store an inventory of parts. I have a three car garage but it is full of cars and toolboxes. Not a much room in it to store a lot of parts. Having a good parts inventory is the key to keeping a Reatta on the road.

Run a second ground wire and see what happens.

If you place a test light between the solenoid wire and ground, you will get an indication if the power is consistently hitting the solenoid. I bought a handful of leds with 12" leads and the resistor so they operate on 12vdc. Doesn't add appreciable load and easy to use if made up with little alligator clips or pins for probes.

Good to know! I did trace it. And yes it's the relay center under the liner. When looking at it it's the lower right relay that clicks every time I hit the button to release the trunk. Oddly, while playing around with it, I found that one of the cramps was a tad loose on the relay socket. So I bent the crimp just a bit to make better contact to the relay. Still same results. I measured the voltage from the connector to ground, when I hit the button, saw 12 vdc. So, I continued to play around with it. I plugged it back in and started wiggling the shit out of the wire. Sure as hell I was able to get the solenoid to actuate. But not consistently. So im thinking it's the solenoid. Im not sure yet. I have the same results with my spare latch I found. So I think I may tear open the solenoid and see if I can repair it.

Years ago I upgraded my 90 coupe using 2000 Camaro calipers, brackets and rotors. Decided to do the same with the 90 convert. Again, 2000 Camaro calipers and brackets. Ordered drilled slotted Camaro rotors. Tried installing the calipers on the rotors and the caliper bracket bolt holes would not reach and align with the bolt holes on the knuckle. Did not change the knuckle, so it is OEM Reatta. Bolt pattern on the new rotors are a match to the hub and they fit into the Camaro calipers just as they should so the rotor thickness is OK. Just that the rotor diameter seems too large by about 3/8-1/2". Checked the Camaro calipers and brackets against an old set I had and they are identical. Compared the distance between the rotor "hat" and its outer edge [this would be the total machined surface available to the brake pads] between the coupe and the new rotors I'm trying to put on the Convert. They seem to be the same at about 2.69". According to Delco, Camaro rotors are supposed to be 11.92" in diameter and the new ones measure about 11 7/8" so that is correct. Either I can no longer hold a caliper up to a knuckle as I've done far too many times over the years, or something is amiss with the new calipers.

I don't know much about the trunk latch but have you traced what is actually clicking in the trunk area when activated? The reason I ask is; on the 90 coupe there is a relay center on the passengers wheel arch at the front of the trunk, under the liner. I know there are at least two relays that operate the the inner high filament for turn and brake lights. They only operate the high filament on one light bulb per relay. I know there are more than just the two relays and I am not sure what they operate so maybe that is the click you hear?? I know my 90 coupe uses a 1004 trunk light bulb, which is a two contact single filament bulb meaning it has a dedicated ground wire to that socket. Oddly, catalogs call for a 1003 as does the owners manual, but it is wrong.

I'll attach two photos. Mine is an '89. First photo shows temp set at 65 degrees. Second photo shows next coolest temp which goes to Max Cool and says so. No indicator to show recirculate, though the system may be doing so.

Well, I got permission from my wife and spent some of my first communion money. Bought 5 sets of Monroe 71831's and will remove all the brackets, paint, add the pinch bolt dimple (will require a hydraulic press) and attach the sway bar adapters. Thinking $240 per pair plus shipping, will see how the first few go. Reasonable? Will post pictures when the first set is complete. PM me if interested in a set, pending prototypes.

Unfortunately the small river that caused all the damage in Waverly wasn't part of the TVA system. As far as I know it has no dams to regulate the flow. TVA does a great job of regulating the water levels. They have a flood prediction center that monitors the weather constantly and when they think a flood is inevitable they will lower the water level in advance by running the generators in the dam wide open to try to offset the effects of a lot of rain. When that isn't enough they will open the spill (flood) gates in stages and start letting water out. When they have all the spill gates open it is an awesome sight to see and hear. You just have to be there to appreciate the amount of water coming out of the dam and the power it has. It is so loud you can hardly talk to anyone if you are near it. The concrete building you see on the right is the powerhouse where the turbines and generators are that generate electricity. At the bottom of that building is where water would come out during normal operation of the dam.

I looked up the distance between where the flood was and where you live Ronnie and I was glad you were so far away. We have gotten 6-8 inches of rain and 14" or more of snow but never taht kind of rain. We also live in a higher elevation in our town so we don't worry much about flooding. We are fortunate.

Thanks Dave. I hadn't thought about it but most people will probably remember that song better than they will the group.