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What did you do with your Reatta today.


DAVES89

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The CRT on my car is telling me the Freon is low and the compressor is locked out each time I start the car.  I will clear the codes and the warning will go away until I use the AC again. Cool weather is getting close so I won't fill it up again until next spring. Adding a can of Freon about once a year is common for for my car. I have never been able to find a leak with my electronic Freon detector.  I don't know where it goes. I might try some of the Freon with red dye in it next time and see if I can find the leak with a black light. Not a big deal to have to add a can a year but I would really like to know where it goes.

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As our cars are getting older I find that local parts houses carry fewer parts for us, so I went to Rock Auto to look for hub assemblies and other parts. Having 4 driving Reattas I like/need back up parts to keep running with minimum down time. So I first settled on hub assemblies ordering 2 as I need one now and one for back stock. I then looked at a bunch of other parts as a wish list adding them to my cart. When I got done I had orders coming from 5 warehouses which is crazy so I pared down the list ending up with the 2 hub assemblies and two Cam Sensors from one warehouse. Already have two Cam Sensors, but will need one for the '88 Black as I have an e041 code [already have two Cam Magnets]. Total order with freight less then $60.00 which is cheaper then one hub assembly fro Advance or AutoZone.

Edited by DAVES89
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Cheaper than Amazon too. They wanted $67 for the same Timken hub that was $19 at RockAuto. You got a good deal!

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Dave, I still have that '88 pump you gave me. It is the pump only and it turns freely, but the plastic inlet elbow is broken off. If memory serves, there was something wrong with the motor that was on it, or maybe it was the electrical connection was partially melted, I don't remember exactly. I do remember the wiring on the motor was soldered on for '88 and not the removable end cap as done later. If anyone knows how to remove and replace the inlet elbow, it could likely be salvaged but I have no way to test it other than to possibly see if it actually moves fluid. 

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Hey 2seater keep that pump for me. As luck would have it I have an extra elbow that Bob my retired machinist friend figured out how to remove them when I burned up a motor last summer. So all I would have to do is swap a motor.

 My first thought was to swap an entire Teves unit out of the Red '89 I'm soon to part out, buit this would be a better way to go.

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12 minutes ago, DAVES89 said:

Hey 2seater keep that pump for me. As luck would have it I have an extra elbow that Bob my retired machinist friend figured out how to remove them when I burned up a motor last summer. So all I would have to do is swap a motor.

 My first thought was to swap an entire Teves unit out of the Red '89 I'm soon to part out, buit this would be a better way to go.

10-4 on that

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This morning I pulled out the "new" Black to take another "look" at the car. When I got it pulled out I saw a big puddle of brake fluid on the floor and thought that there was no way I could have overfilled it when I topped it off last week, and the resivour was almost empty. So checked the low pressure hose and saw that the hose had come off. Upon closer inspection I saw the hose was damaged on the end so I nipped it off and slid it back on and used a hose fitting for peace of mind.

 Pumped up the brakes and again filled up the resivour. Then turned the key to the "on" position and the pump/motor wouldn't run. So I got a screwdriver and tapped the relay and the pump started to run. 

 Brakes are now good and I need to replace the relay. Had one, but today was "yard day" and I still had to clean  up the brake fluid off the floor.

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On 10/19/2019 at 12:41 PM, DAVES89 said:

today was "yard day"

Did you find any good stuff and the yard?

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3 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Did you find any good stuff and the yard?

I think he means the yard that surrounds his house. It's the time year when the leaves fall, the shrubs get trimmed, the garden gets cleaned out, etc..

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5 minutes ago, 2seater said:

I think he means the yard that surrounds his house. It's the time year when the leaves fall, the shrubs get trimmed, the garden gets cleaned out, etc..

Ding, ding, ding!

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2 hours ago, 2seater said:

It's the time year when the leaves fall, the shrubs get trimmed, the garden gets cleaned out, etc

Haha. I guess I've got Reatta parts on the brain. When Dave says yard I just automatically think junk yard. 

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Okay, today was the day to look at the cradle bushings over at Bob's house [my retired machinist friend] and then help him with a little carpentry project. As I pulled into the driveway with the '89 Black my red brake warning light came on and also the low brake fluid warning. Yep, front brake line had developed a pin hole leak and needed to be replaced [We did the other brake lines almost 3 years ago. About 6 hours later after getting repair lines and fittings, lunch and then a second trip because we didn't have brake fluid the car was done. I also had done a "backyard" alignment about 2 weeks ago after doing ball joints and tie rods this spring [going into storage so no real rush to do it] I have to say the car rolls down the road well. I got the directions off YouTube and I think I did great. I have a mostly worn out set of tires on the Black now and I will see how they wear. If they start to wear "funny" then I will take it in for an alignment. I really don't want to spend any more money on it as the car has a small leak in the Rack and Pinion that I am using Lucas sealer on. The rear shocks are also giving me a rougher ride then the Red or the 'vert so looking at rear shocks, rack and pinion, alignment and labor I would be close to $1000.00 which is just what I bought the '88 Black/Tan for. So I'll drive it until it acts up then it's off to Gibson's for junk. I'll part it first of course.

 I have bought other Reattas just to part out but this will be the first one I have driven [308,000 of which 9 years and 120,000 from me]. It's been a good car but winter only driving has really taken it's toll on her.

 Pretty sure I'll get to spring. And the cradle bushings are still good...

Edited by DAVES89
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Looks like the brake line will hold up and the car seems to be running well after about [at the end of today] about 1000 miles this week. The rack seems to have dried up after adding more Lucas Power Steering Sealer/Treatment. I believe that if you are going to add these products to help with seals you then have to drive the cars to let it get into the system and do it's job.

 At any rate other then a A/C warning light there are no codes and I need struts but that won't happen as next spring it will get parted out and junked. Just don't want to put more money into a car that's not worth it and is starting to show it's age. Struts and and alignment [ and then the rack as it is sealed but for how long?] could cost $800-$1000 parts, labor and alignment.

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Got the '88 Black/Tan out for a quick drive to fill it up before a ling winter storage. Exhaust is a bit loud [has the Camaro muffler] and the red brake light comes on but the pump runs [and then shuts off] so I think I will swap out the accumulator next spring. Anti brake light is also on but the leads test good. I will start with a new relay and go from there. Also have low freon warning and E041 cam sensor. With 189,000 miles I'm thinking take off the timing cover and do timing chain and the sensor.

 Needs a bit sorting out but hopefully it will be as good to me as the Red and the Black are. 

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I have been reading about Dave getting his act together with winter closing in, sooner than later in our case. With that in mind I realized I am way behind schedule and we have had a couple of light snowfalls, so I was concerned about salt on the roads. Friday was cold but dry so I figured this was my opportunity. My storage is now at my cottage so I could kill two birds so to speak. On the way there, I noticed the telltale white dust on some rural roads so I stopped for a drive through carwash at the closest town before arriving at storage, about 13 miles short. I wanted to tuck the car in close to my pontoon boat and being alone, I had to get in and out several times to be sure of the positioning. I have been having some issues with the automatic door lock/unlock function in park. It always locks but sometimes only partially unlocks so I must manually unlock. To cut to the chase, it let me out but wouldn't let me in. The only saving grace was the door was just on the first latch and not closed tight. Here it sat, idling, the other side approx. six inches from the boat, and the other set of keys fifty miles away. The only possibility I could see was hooking the drivers window control to roll the window down. It sounds pretty straightforward except the switch is chrome so it is relatively slippery and requires a fair amount of force. It took over an hour to find the correct instrument which I took as a sign the car was letting me know it wasn't happy with my tardiness. 

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Hal, I have been there and experienced what you have gone through. Next spring we should get together and I'll show you the vacuum hose trick I used. The passenger door latch was doing exactly what you are describing and after I put the hose on the actuator where it goes through the little rubber boot it works so well I am actually looking forward to the next opportunity to go in all the other doors on my Reattas. 

 And the other thing, if you get a "winter" Reatta it is easier to put the "good" Reatta away as you still have one to drive. That has worked for me for 10 years now...

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3 hours ago, 2seater said:

I have been having some issues with the automatic door lock/unlock function in park.

I'm glad my '88 doesn't do that.  My Equinox does that and I hate it.   I don't know if an '88 is supposed to that or not but I'm glad mine doesn't. Who would have ever thought that all those things would happen at once the way they did that would result in you being locked out of a running car.  I guess you could call it the perfect storm.  The way your luck is going you might want to consider getting one of those magnetic boxes to hide a door key somewhere under the car. You've got me thinking about doing that myself. ?

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1 hour ago, Ronnie said:

I'm glad my '88 doesn't do that.  My Equinox does that and I hate it.   I don't know if an '88 is supposed to that or not but I'm glad mine doesn't. Who would have ever thought that all those things would happen at once the way they did that would result in you being locked out of a running car.  I guess you could call it the perfect storm.  The way your luck is going you might want to consider getting one of those magnetic boxes to hide a door key somewhere under the car. You've got me thinking about doing that myself. ?

Now that I think about it, I should defeat that feature myself. Not sure what it will take, but as it ages, things that aren't strictly needed may get left at the curb. I do carry a hidden key in my old Ranger, which is what came out of storage for winter duty. It has a terrible location for the electric lock buttons, right on the flat of the armrest where it is apt to get hit as you exit the vehicle. I can tell you that over the more than 20years of ownership, it has happened about a dozen times, and would be more if I didn't leave the drivers window down for occasions where I am not parking and leaving the truck.

I will still attempt to fix the locking mechanism per Dave's suggestion.

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16 hours ago, DAVES89 said:

Exhaust is a bit loud [has the Camaro muffler] and the red brake light comes on but the pump runs [and then shuts off] so I think I will swap out the accumulator next spring. Anti brake light is also on but the leads test good. I will start with a new relay and go from there. Also have low freon warning and E041 cam sensor. With 189,000 miles I'm thinking take off the timing cover and do timing chain and the sensor.

 

I think you are wise by changing out the timing chain with that many miles.  You need to select the chain and tensioner carefully on the '88. If I remember correctly two different tensioners were used that year and maybe two different chains.  One was better than the other so you want to get the right one. I'm sure Hal will know what you need to get if you don't.   All the other stuff is pretty easy to fix without spending much money.

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1 hour ago, Ronnie said:

I think you are wise by changing out the timing chain with that many miles.  You need to select the chain and tensioner carefully on the '88. If I remember correctly two different tensioners were used that year and maybe two different chains.  One was better than the other so you want to get the right one. I'm sure Hal will know what you need to get if you don't.   All the other stuff is pretty easy to fix without spending much money.

10-4 on the different tensioners and it mostly comes down to how it attaches to the block. I don't know of any way to know ahead of time which one to buy. I continue to recommend the O.E. Morse brand timing chain (about $65) as having the smoothest top surface alignment so it doesn't wear out the tensioner prematurely. I am not a fan of the later style replacement tensioner which looks like it should have additional contact area to lighten the contact load but it is mostly illusion and the hollow design of the shoe doesn't allow for much wear before breaking through. Almost impossible to find the original style so make the best of the available one. JMHO

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