Ronnie Posted June 3, 2022 Share Posted June 3, 2022 37 minutes ago, DAVES89 said: Wiped down the vinyl inside so it all looks pretty good. I found a product I really like for plastic and rubber parts (interior or exterior) like the dash, door seals, etc. It will make them look almost like new without having a greasy look like some products do. It is a little pricy but a little bit goes a long way. It's called 303 Protectant. I don't use it on the leather part of the seats or the steering wheel because I don't see leather listed on the bottle. I still use Meguiar's Gold Class Leather Conditioner for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 3, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 2 hours ago, BlakesReatta said: Daves89, is this your Red with 300,000 miles? That is the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 3, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 2 hours ago, Ronnie said: I found a product I really like for plastic and rubber parts (interior or exterior) like the dash, door seals, etc. It will make them look almost like new without having a greasy look like some products do. It is a little pricy but a little bit goes a long way. It's called 303 Protectant. I don't use it on the leather part of the seats or the steering wheel because I don't see leather listed on the bottle. I still use Meguiar's Gold Class Leather Conditioner for that. i I use Meguiar's Natural Shine Protectant for the interior. Under the hood I use the Tire Shine product I use on my tires. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 3, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted June 3, 2022 I also use old white cotton socks for this kind of work. I slide my hand into the sock and then I can wipe everything down quickly and easily. Then when I'm done and the sock isn't too dirty I tie it around the sprayer so I have the "correct" rag for the next time I do it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ship Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 I used 303 Protectant on the vinyl roofs of my '92 Rivieras. The stuff is great as a UV blocker and gives a very good shine, also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 I need to start saving my holy socks. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ship Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 Went to a "Dull Men's Club" car show on Saturday in Pembroke, MA. Yes, they actually call themselves dull men, but not boring! (I posted this subject in the AACA Forum, as well). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 Great looking Reatta Ship! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 20, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 Friday Kendall and I went to the Green Bay Auto Museum. The have a collection of cars from the 19teens to pretty much today. Most of the cars are owned by the Auto Museum but a few are displayed by various owners from around the country for a period of time. We had a great time. At any rate while I was driving the Red up [it was a hot day and the A/C was on] I noticed that my temperature gauge kept showing close to 220-225 the whole trip where it should read between 185-195 with the 185 thermostat I installed when the engine was built. I thought it might have been a bad relay not running a fan [I had that issue some weeks back] but that wasn't it. Never thought more about it until after I got home and checked further to see that I was down about 2 quarts of anti freeze. This bothered me so I checked around the engine and saw no leaks. Saturday we drove to my brothers house and home [temperature was reading fine] but I popped the hood and saw that the coolant was again low in the overflow tank. Picked up the passenger side floor mat and the carpet was saturated with antifreeze. So this morning ordered out a new heater core as well as some new heater hoses. I was told by Advance Auto that the preformed hoses were discontinued but Amazon had them for about $10.00 each so I bought 2. The core will be in tomorrow but the hoses by the end of next week. [Amazon had one and the outside vendor had the other one and is shipping later]. So today's business was getting the parts needed, downloading the "How to" [thanks Ronnie!], removing the passenger seat, cleaning up the carpet/floor mat, installing a bypass of the existing heater core and refilling the antifreeze so I can drive the car as I have a number of business appointments this week. 33 years and 313,000 miles on the original so I guess it could be about time. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 I drove my Reatta back down the road where my crank sensor went out a couple of weeks ago to checkout exactly where were located when it went bad. Where we were sitting on the side of the road was even more remote than what I thought. There was nothing for a mile and a half in either direction. When I returned home and pulled in the driveway I noticed my yellow ABS light was on. I think I need to stay away from that place. LOL 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 20, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 Twilight Zone! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 1 hour ago, DAVES89 said: So today's business was getting the parts needed, downloading the "How to" [thanks Ronnie!], removing the passenger seat, cleaning up the carpet/floor mat, installing a bypass of the existing heater core and refilling the antifreeze so I can drive the car I just read through the instructions for replacing he heater core. Surprisingly it seems to be easier to change than it is in most cars. If you find something that needs to be changed in the instructions while you are doing the job let me know and I will update them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 20, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) 8 hours ago, Ronnie said: I just read through the instructions for replacing he heater core. Surprisingly it seems to be easier to change than it is in most cars. If you find something that needs to be changed in the instructions while you are doing the job let me know and I will update them. He didn't explain how to remove the heater hoses. Very simple. Remove the trim piece on the top of the engine bay at the fire wall [the long panel held in place by thumb screws]. The hose clamps are easily seen and loosened using a 1/4" drive ratchet and a longer extension with a 1/4"socket. Once the hose clamps are loosened a simple pull of the hoses by reaching in [nothing else to move or remove] at the strut tower while twisting and the hose should slide right off. The hoses also connect to the engine just below the power steering pump. Also readily accessible also with nothing to move or remove using the same socket, extension and ratchet. Edited June 20, 2022 by DAVES89 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Should removing the heater hoses be the first step before starting the work that needs to be done inside under the dash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 20, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) In my case there was minimal leaking of antifreeze from the engine after I removed the hoses so I would say removal of the hoses could be before starting the interior work or after the preliminary work is done[removal of glove box, controller, etc]. However I would do it first because then you could wash your hands and keep everything a bit cleaner inside the car. I would think that cleaning/drying the carpet would be first before starting work as one will be laying down doing the swap. I also removed the passenger seat to give way more room. Edited June 20, 2022 by DAVES89 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlakesReatta Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Ronnie, that might be a haunted road. Some lost soul toying with people's vehicles at that particular spot!!! I guess they didn't scare you enough on your first visit! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 18 hours ago, DAVES89 said: He didn't explain how to remove the heater hoses. Very simple. Remove the trim piece on the top of the engine bay at the fire wall [the long panel held in place by thumb screws]. The hose clamps are easily seen and loosened using a 1/4" drive ratchet and a longer extension with a 1/4"socket. Once the hose clamps are loosened a simple pull of the hoses by reaching in [nothing else to move or remove] at the strut tower while twisting and the hose should slide right off. The hoses also connect to the engine just below the power steering pump. Also readily accessible also with nothing to move or remove using the same socket, extension and ratchet. I updated the how to guide to include your information on disconnecting the hoses. If you see errors let me know. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted June 20, 2022 Topic Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 Looks good to me... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 On 6/19/2022 at 8:53 PM, Ronnie said: I drove my Reatta back down the road where my crank sensor went out a couple of weeks ago to checkout exactly where were located when it went bad. Where we were sitting on the side of the road was even more remote than what I thought. There was nothing for a mile and a half in either direction. When I returned home and pulled in the driveway I noticed my yellow ABS light was on. I think I need to stay away from that place. LOL I drove about twenty-five miles today and no yellow ABS light. Maybe it won't come back on. If it does it will just have to stay on until it gets cool weather. I avoid working on cars in hot weather if I can. Especially when we are expecting record high temperatures like last week and this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2seater Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 53 minutes ago, Ronnie said: I drove about twenty-five miles today and no yellow ABS light. Maybe it won't come back on. If it does it will just have to stay on until it gets cool weather. I avoid working on cars in hot weather if I can. Especially when we are expecting record high temperatures like last week and this week. You didn't pass the ghost of Rod Serling hitchhiking, did you? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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