Honolulu City Lights

Hi Folks, My 1989 Reatta's alternator voltage regulator plastic connector needed replacement as the plastic clip holding the connector to the voltage regulator broke off. Got a replacement pigtail and removed the wiring pin connectors from the old connector to the new one instead of cutting and soldering the new wires with the new connector. As you look down at the installed alternator with the voltage regulator connector installed on the alternator what colored wires are in the connector from left to right. When removing the pin connectors from the old brittle connector, had a bit of time getting the wires out as the old connector started to crumble and the pins were somewhat difficult to remove. Just want to be sure the wires are in the right spots. Should've taken a photo of the connector before taking it apart, but the thought occurred to me much later after I moved the wires to the new connector. By the way, there's a seller on eBay currently selling the wiring diagram schematics for the 1989 Reatta for $13.34. Schematics are on oversized pages for easy reading- https://www.ebay.com/itm/1989-BUICK-RIVIERA-REATTA-OVERSIZED-WIRING-DIAGRAMS-SET/391731315842 Thanks for the help.....appreciate it.

Just found according to GMPartsGiant.com that the 1988 Reatta fuel sending unit #25092736 was replaced with # 25094830 so it seems the 88 and 89 Reattas has the same configuration.. GMPartsGiant.com info at: http://www.gmpartsgiant.com/parts/gm-sender-as-25092736.html

Hi Folks, Have a transmission fluid leak and appears it's coming from the oil filler tube seal. Rock Auto shows (2) listings: ATP-SO33 which is an O ring seal and ATP-SO35 which is a rubber bushing type- both for the THM440-4. Found my 88 Reatta FSM and the diagram looks like the ATP-SO35 bushing type. The 88-89 uses the same transmission so will order the ATP-SO35. Oil filler tube has a bracket than bolts to engine block so appears to remove, just unbolt the bracket and pull on the dipstick tube to remove/re-install after new bushing is in place. Thanks for the help. Ken

The factory inner tie rod end had a green plastic cover over the inner tie rod end which fooled me into thinking it was a round type with no flats. Had to pry the cover off to expose the inner tie rod end flat. The Lisle # 45750 tool with its 1 7/16" crows feet fits the factory inner tie rod end flat. Was able to remove the inner tie rod end. Bought this other inner tie rod end tool by Kochs Tools #KT20362 which has 3 cams to remove/install the inner tie rod end with or without flats. The 3 cams auto-adjusts to the right diameter to grab the inner tie rod end- no crows feet to deal with in tight spaces. It is a lot easier to use than the Lisle #45750. Fits tie rods 35-45mm or 1 3/8" to 1 3/4". To remove or install tie rod end, just rotate the handle and the 3 cams lock in place depending on which direction you rotate the handle. The handle is long enough to use a 1/2" drive breaker bar to remove and a torque wrench to install. Koch Tools #KT20362 bought for $40 plus shipping off eBay at http://www.ebay.com/itm/Inner-Tie-Rod-End-Remover-Installer-/350604685670?pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item51a1aaf166&vxp=mtr from the eBay seller "wniaura" in Mesa, AZ. I sold my Lisle #45750 and now just use the Kochs Tools #KT20362. Be sure to coat the inner tie rod end threads with the Permatex threadlock- Blue one so you can manually remove the tie rod end in future replacements.

Just replaced my 90 Reatta with new front struts, strut mounts and strut bearing. The original old strut mount had the plastic race facing down towards the upper coil spring bracket and the rubberized side of the bearing facing up towards the thick rubber strut mount with 3 bolts going thru the fenderwell strut tower.

Thanks for the quick reply. Very glad to hear the rack and pinion assembly doesn't have to come out and the aftermarket ones has a jam nut to lock the inner tie rod end in place; somebody was thinking about someone eventually having to remove/replace a worn tie rod end. Think the factory staked the 2 flats on the inner tie rod nut to prevent it from backing off and the reason why the inner tie rod nut is so hard to remove. Plus the torque is 70 lbs. My passenger side is knocking also. Thanks to your tips, will tackle the job.

Hi All, Anyone replaced the inner tie rod ends on the Reatta without dropping the rack and pinion ? I have the Lisle inner tie rod end remover/installer but wondering how tough of a job it is to to remove the bellows clamps and will the tool fit in the tight space. Thanks for the help.

Hi All, Have an 89 Reatta that I ordered a pair of Gabriel Strut Mount Kit # 142298 from Amazon.com. The strut bearing is small and will not fit directly under the strut mount. I have a spare set of Mevotech strut bearings, MP901928, and the Mevotech bearing is bigger than the the Gabriel bearing. Checked my 88, 89 and 90 Reatta Tech Service Manuals and no blow-up diagrams on how the strut bearing is installed in the strut. My understanding is that the strut bearing goes directly under the strut mount with the plastic race facing upwards towards the strut mount and the rubberized part of the strut race faces down towards the coil spring insulator. The coil spring insulator has a groove on one side which I believe is for the upper part of the coil spring to seat itself. The Gabriel strut bearing has too small an inner diameter to fit in the center of the underside of strut mount although the Mevotech bearing fits. The Gabriel strut bearing will fit the groove in the coil spring insulator where the upper part of the coil spring would seat in the insulator. Does the Gabriel strut bearing install between the top of the coil spring and the groove in the coil spring insulator ? If it does, which way does the plastic race install ? Seems the steel coil spring would disintegrate the bearing outer races if installed this way. Cannot believe that (2) new boxes of Gabriel strut mount kits have mismatched, wrong parts. Thanks for the help. Update: Received an e-mail from Gabriel's Tech Support and was advised the coil spring insulator that comes in their kit mounts just below the strut mount, strut bearing fits in groove of coil spring cushion with the plastic race of the strut bearing facing up and the rubberized race portion of the strut bearing faces down towards the coil spring seat flange at the top of the coil spring. Mystery solved.

Thanks Wally for the quick reply. Ken

Do you still have the antenna cable for sale ? Thanks for the reply.

Thanks for the tip...I'll be sure to have all four wheels properly aligned with a print-out of the wheel settings to make the necessary adjustments to the rear wheels.

My 89's right rear seems to need some shims added to increase the positive camber as the inside of the tire is wearing more than the rest of the treads. Replacing the struts on the 89. Will have the wheels aligned and find out how much the right rear is off to put some corrective shims in. Hawaii's roads are brutal for the struts and alignment.

Just to mention for those trying this for the first time, put some marking on the coil spring and the upper strut mount to line up with the centerline of the strut mount where the strut mounts to the spindle. If you look at the top of the strut mount after pulling the strut out, there's a keyway that points outward when the strut is installed in the fender mounting pad. The upper strut mount is angled to put the coil spring in proper alignment with the body/frame. If the upper strut mount is installed in another position where the keyway does not face outward, you will have interference with the coil spring and suspension alignment problems and may have problems putting the upper strut mount bolts through the fenderwell mounting pad. I used my floor jack's long steel handle and put the handle under the frame and lower control arm where it meets the lower control arm stablizer bar to gently push down on the control arm to give the strut more room to maneuver out of the way of the front axle. Doing this as a one-man job required all of my body parts: Put my butt on the floor jack bar gently pushing down on the bar while grabbing the strut and maneuvering it out. Press down on the bar only enough to remove the strut away from the axle and not damage the CV joint. The front disc brake caliper had to be removed as the bleeder screw was in the way of removing the lower strut mount bolt. Be sure to support the caliper while working on the strut to prevent the brake hose from tearing. Also removed the ABS sensor from the spindle to get it out the way to prevent damage to the ABS cable as well as cleaning the tips of those sensors. Be sure to put some grease around the sensor bore so removing it in the future will be easy.

Hi Folks, Just noticed one of my rear tires is wearing unevenly with a negative camber and found Rock Auto.com has adjustment shims with various degrees for the rear. Best to get the alignment shop to tell you how much the camber is off to get the correct shims. Shims install behind the rear wheel bearing hub assembly unlike the front that uses an adjustment bolt in the spindle for the upper strut mount bolt. There's aftermarket front camber bolts to increase/decrease camber up to 2 degrees if the camber is to far out for the factory bolt to compensate.

Hi Ronnie, I installed the Monroe 81800 front struts in the 89 Reatta and it fit perfectly into the factory upper strut mount and lower spring coil pad. All brackets for the disc brake hose and ABS sensor cable bracket bolted right up in its original positions. Ken