New to me 1989 Coupe

[Studebaker]

Hello 89Red.......looks like we both just recently bought 89 Reattas, and are doing alot of tweeking/repairs to them.  Keep posting what you are doing, as it will be helpful for me and others.

 

I have an ongoing thread about repairing the ABS issue in my 89.  I just finished posting pics and cleaning the front Reluctors and Sensor bottoms, and repairing the cracked sensor wires.  I will next pump out the old brake fluid and install new and bleed all the brakes.  Hopefully this will allow my ABS light to go out.

 

 

[89RedCoupe]

My ABS is on solid. Codes indicate that the rear brake sensors are both inop. Hopefully, some cleaning and repairs will fix that issue as well. One day at a time.... It is a nice car out on the road with fabulous visibility.

 

 

 

[Studebaker]

89Red.......I agree, they seem to ride nice on the highway, and great visibility.  When I bought my 89 last month, I drove it 3hrs to my home, and it ran superb......except for the ABS light coming on/off, and then on full time, and then the red Brake light coming on at times also, and an electrical warning which I need to trace down.

[89RedCoupe]

Gads! I spent several hours working on the window regulator/motor for the 89 car. Once the door panel was off, I discovered that the front part of the door around the speakers was covered with Dynamat which is VERY adhesive.

I drilled out the 4 holes around the regulator and couldn't see the extra rivet up front until I reread the forum instructions and found it. Unfortunately, the eBay regulator assembly was nothing like mine. I don't know what they pulled the part from but it didn't seem to be related to the Reatta. I read the instructions about changing the motors and disassembled the used part to remove the motor (Made in China!). I drilled out the rivets for the motor. Hadn't drilled the keeper hole, but stuck a screwdriver in some adjoining holes. When the motor came loose the spring tension overcame the screwdriver wedge and the whole thing unwound without injury. I had to rewind the spring and put a bolt into the newly drilled retainer hole. Eventually, the parts were melded together and slowly installed into the door. I used some 6mm metric bolts instead of rivets. I held the two forward bolts in place using some small o-rings which worked out pretty well. I'm not fully happy with the window stops, but I'm done with it for now. I ran the car a bit more and the temperature worked up to 215 on the display. I checked the fan motor and it wasn't working. I touched the fan with a little nudge and it started running, cooling the car back to 195 in a few minutes. Definitely going to have to replace the fan motor and double check for any leftover interference from the fan to the housing. 

[Studebaker]

Did you test the wiring going to the window regulator?  Was it getting juice to it when you hit the window button?  While you have the door panel off, a good time to lube the tracks and all moving joints. 

 

[Ronnie]

2 hours ago, 89RedCoupe said:

I drilled out the rivets for the motor. Hadn't drilled the keeper hole, but stuck a screwdriver in some adjoining holes. When the motor came loose the spring tension overcame the screwdriver wedge and the whole thing unwound without injury. I had to rewind the spring and put a bolt into the newly drilled retainer hole.

I'm glad you didn't get hurt!  Did you follow these instructions to replace the motor?  

 

I do my best to make sure the tutorials point out the dangers involved in doing your own repairs. I also try to make it clear what safety precautions need to be followed.   If you ignored all those warnings and continued to remove the motor without securing that large spring then the Window Motor Replacement Instructions need to be removed from ROJ. Although I take no responsibility for you getting hurt while you are working on your car, I don't want it on my conscience that someone got hurt while using one of the tutorials here on ROJ.

[89RedCoupe]

Your direction on the tutorials was fine. I misjudged the spring tension based upon the received part which had apparently been disassembled with tension relieved. I appreciate the tips in the post and no harm has befallen me. I was clear of the dangerous bits when I pulled the motor away from the regulator. The stops need some adjustment at a later date, but the window is now working properly whereas it was moving a few inches then stopping with a grinding noise. All is well and thanks for your information and concern.

[89RedCoupe]

Another day another dollar spent.... I discovered that NAPA auto parts had cooling fan motors in stock for $39 each, so rounded one up for installation today. I also had the thermostat seal coming my way in the mail. The mail usually comes around noon, when I was working on the car, but it was past 4 before he arrived today. In the interim I wondered if I had something else on hand that would work. I had ordered some 34mm o-rings for my Honda Reflex scooter intake manifold and they were the perfect size to fit down inside the little recess of the thermostat housing. I used Super Glue to secure it in place, then put it back together along with the new fan motor. I warmed up the engine in the driveway. I tried the AC settings and both pusher and puller fans came on without the necessity of a finger push. I let the car run for another 15 minutes as I watched the gauge panel readouts climb up past 200 degrees. I was afraid that something would blow up if it got much hotter, but when it hit 210 degrees, suddenly the temperature started dropping back down (AC off) and I checked the puller fan which was running on its own just fine. I have left the 180 degree thermostat in place so far.  A nice 20 minute drive through town and on the freeway showed the coolant temperatures staying right around the 180 degree mark, plus or minus 10 degrees depending on whether it was on the highway or in traffic. The temperatures are in the 60s today, so that helps keep things cool on the highway.  It was all wrapped up when the thermostat seal finally arrived. It was smaller than I expected and I can see how it nestles into the housing without jacking the height up too much more. I will keep it aside and perhaps put the 195 degree thermostat back in to try to improve the gas mileage, which has been hovering around 17 mpg thus far. Tomorrow I will revisit the window stops in the driver door, now that the window is fully functioning again. Thanks to all for the feedback, suggestions and encouragement so far.  

[Studebaker]

Hey 89 Red......I used to buy alot of parts from Advance Auto and other local suppliers until someone mentioned Rock Auto.....and now I always at least go there and check their prices.  It seems that usually they are far lower, and that includes the shipping costs.  For example, your $39 fan is on sale at Rock for between 12 -15 bucks.....so, you may want to give them a try sometime. 

 

Here is a copy of their page showing the fans:

 

 

Glad to see you got the fan/o-ring issues taken care of.

 

 

[Ronnie]

12 minutes ago, Studebaker said:

someone mentioned Rock Auto.....and now I always at least go there and check their prices.

I don't buy a lot from RockAuto but I use them a lot to check part numbers to make sure what parts will fit correctly.  They have the most accurate catalog of any of the auto parts stores and the largest selection of brands to choose from. Once I use RockAuto to determine the correct part number I need I go to Amazon to see if they have a better price that includes free shipping. I purchase most of my parts from Amazon.

[89RedCoupe]

Wow,  great prices, especially on close-out items. I imagine that some shipping charges are added to those prices, but it looks like a great time to stock up on some of those parts. Thanks for the tip..

[DAVES89]

I go to Rock Auto and look for close outs and then buy them to stock up my parts bin. Things like air/oil filters, wiper blades, spark plugs/wires, O2 sensors, water pumps, tie rods, hub assemblies, serpentine belts, cam sensors/magnets, etc. stuff I would always need. Then if there is something I'm low on or a surprise repair, I go to Advance and "window shop" putting something in the cart. Then I wait for an e mail from them offering 25% on my cart item. Then if I have a coupon for $5.00 I use that as well. If I'm under $25.00 I add a couple of low cost items to get there and the price is pretty close to Rock. I also use E bay and Amazon to compare pricing. We are Prime members so I get stuff fast and free from Amazon.

 Then of course I sell a few parts from Gibson's my local You Pick yard to offset my parts purchases...

Edited December 31, 2019 by DAVES89

[89RedCoupe]

Great strategies from an obvious Reatta expert. Thank you! 

[Studebaker]

89 Red.......Yea, it took me awhile to discover how to go straight to all of their discounted parts.  When you click on "Reatta", you then click on the Yellow square that says "RSS".   This takes you to a new screen, and then you go to the right where it says "Love A Bargain", and then click on the Blue square that says "HTML".  Then it takes you to some deeply discounted parts, sometimes about 80% off. 

 

Dave89.....Yep, I try to stock up a bit for my various vehicles, especially on those discounted parts.  I used to use Advance coupons like you do, but have usually always found Rock to beat them in a big way, but will compare on big ticket items.

 

Ronnie.....I will have to try Amazon more often, but dont have the free shipping as you do.....and that shipping can add up big time.

[89RedCoupe]

New and interesting things....  The car has a random miss, like a leaking plug/wire or air leak. I put a timing light on the coils to see if I could isolate the misfire visually.... The timing light fired on the rear plugs, but not the front ones, even though it was running on all cylinders....!?!?

Reworked the driver side window stops properly and it is working fine now. I wonder if someone can 3D print the door panel plastic studs to replace old bent and broken ones....?

[DAVES89]

I believe the studs you are after can be found in the hardware department of Home Depot or in a "Fix it" revolving display at AutoZone or Advance. 

[Studebaker]

89Red.......That is odd/borderline impossible to not see a spark on the front bank, but spark on the rear.....and you said the cylinders were firing on all 6.  Maybe just the way the light was hooked up, or the light getting a short in it? 

 

Speak of random miss, you might find this interesting:  While crawling under my Reatta and checking for any issues I noticed a rubber line had come disconnected from a metal line.  It had aged over the years, developed a crack, and then the end 1" piece broke off.  Right beside it are the fuel lines, so I was thinking it was the emmissions one.  I added a small section, then reconnected it to the metal line.  I then checked the shop manual, and it did show that this line goes to that carbon cannister near the engine, and it traps fuel vapors and sends them back to the engine to be burned.  There was a note in the book that said if the vapor line was broken/loose, then it could cause the engine to idle poorly.  I believe my engine was idling a bit on the high side, so am curious to see if reinstallation of that vapor line will help anything.  Anyone else ever have a vapor line broken or fallen off????

[2seater]

5 hours ago, 89RedCoupe said:

New and interesting things....  The car has a random miss, like a leaking plug/wire or air leak. I put a timing light on the coils to see if I could isolate the misfire visually.... The timing light fired on the rear plugs, but not the front ones, even though it was running on all cylinders....!?!?

Reworked the driver side window stops properly and it is working fine now. I wonder if someone can 3D print the door panel plastic studs to replace old bent and broken ones....?

I have tried with an inductive timing light, or tach, to illustrate the reverse polarity of one bank of the engine with limited success. The waste spark system has a complete ignition path through both cables on each coil. Try reversing the polarity of the timing light clamp on the front plugs and see if it fires.  

[DAVES89]

1 hour ago, 2seater said:

I have tried with an inductive timing light, or tach, to illustrate the reverse polarity of one bank of the engine with limited success. The waste spark system has a complete ignition path through both cables on each coil. Try reversing the polarity of the timing light clamp on the front plugs and see if it fires.  

Or go to Harbor Freight and get one of their spark plug wire testers. They cost less then $10.00. Years ago I thought about buying 3 of them and putting them on the front bank just to see them spark... 

[Ronnie]

This is my go-to spark checker that I use in the garage. You just lay the U shaped tip of it on the spark plug wire and the fluorescent tube to the left of the word "Champion" will flash if the wire is getting spark. The U shaped tip rotates so the flashing tube can be turned toward you when the tip is on the spark plug wire.  A lot of mechanics carry them because it is the shape and size of an ink pen and it can be carried in you shirt pocket so it's always handy when you need it.  I've had this spark checker for over 30 years and it still works.