Guest Posted December 15, 2000 Share Posted December 15, 2000 This is a letter that I sent to Barney Eaton today. <P>Hi Barney,<BR>I flew to Salt Lake City yesterday and bought that 88 Reatta Coupe. It has the suede/leather seats. <BR>That suede part is questionable. The color is already worn through on part of the drivers seat and <BR>generally looks dull compared to the all leather seats in my wife's 90. I'm not sure what I'll do with <BR>them. I may even have them replaced with all leather seats, though I know that will be punishing to <BR>the wallet. I'm going to talk to a leather repair specialist before I decide. Any thoughts on this <BR>would be appreciated. <P>It was a 700 mile drive back and the brakes failed at about 600 miles. Hard (though not rock hard) <BR>pedal and both warning lights. Oddly the warning lights only came on during the brake pedal push <BR>and went off by the time I came off the pedal. During the braking I could feel some vibration in the <BR>pedal (probably the pump coming on) though I had the radio so loud that I couldn't hear any noise <BR>coming from under the hood. Similar to the failure in my wife's car, but hers didn't show any lights.<BR>I think it's the switch. I'm even more convinced now than the last time this happened with my wife's <BR>car. I think what happened is the brake pressure bled down to where the pump start portion of the <BR>switch should have turned on the pump, but it didn't. Pressing the pedal down caused a sudden loss <BR>of pressure which shocked the switch into making contact and kicked on the pump and lights. <BR>Then the pump built up pressure and the lights went off again. All during one pedal push. The <BR>brakes were normal again for the last hundred miles. I think I'll replace the switch, accumulator and <BR>relays though, just to be more confident. <BR>I had some wide road and little traffic so I tried a bit of a brake test myself by getting the car up to <BR>70 and stomping on the brakes. The car practically stood on it's nose, with no pull to the side or <BR>warning lights. The car has new tires and the road surface was also new and dry, so I didn't get the <BR>anti lock to kick in, but the braking ability was impressive. I'll try more tests, on a parking lot after <BR>we get some rain, to check the anti lock system. <P>Regards,<BR>John Friese<P>Car details:<P>VIN #: 1G4EC11C0JB902404 <BR>1988 Maroon/Burgundy coupe<BR>16 way seat.<BR>18205 miles <P>P.S. I'll post this letter to the BCA for their comments too.<p>[This message has been edited by jfriese (edited 12-15-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2000 Share Posted December 16, 2000 This is reply to the brakes problem. I own an 89 Reatta with a KKK supercharged 3.8 I had that problem with the brakes as well. I took it into my Father in laws Brake and Alignment shop. The only way we solved the problem it by removing about 4 ounces of brake fluid from the canaster. It reduces the level about 3/8s of an inch from the fill line. I've never had the problem again!<BR>Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2000 Share Posted December 16, 2000 I find that my 89 never goes into anti-lock mode during regular braking. Even stomping hard on the brake pedal at speed on a dry road will produce straight, short stops just short of fantastic. <P>However, when on a gravel road, stomping on the pedal at 10 MPH produces a cycling of about 4 times a second on the brake pedal, showing the ABS is operating.<P>I feel a sane driver anticipating stops and leaving a safe following distance will never need ABS. But if some jerk cuts in front of you and stops quickly on a rainy, icy, or snow covered road, ABS could prove beneficial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2000 Share Posted December 16, 2000 If you need to add or remove brake fluid the accumulator must be discharged first or the level will be way too high.<P>------------------<BR>Hal, btk@vbe.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2000 Share Posted December 16, 2000 To Korricharged 3.8,<BR>These brake problems are VERY intermittant and I don't think that fluid drain really was the answer. You just haven't experienced it since then. <P>John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 16, 2000 Share Posted December 16, 2000 I just thought that I would let you know that I've owned that car for a little over two years now. I haven't had the problem for about 13-14 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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