Bob H Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Greetings all: Trying to upgrade the headlight door opening mechanisms on my recently acquired 1990 Reatta convertible and ran into a couple of problems or questions. First, how much end play should the short gear shaft have? On the right hand motor there are more than 2mm which seems excessive. Based my experience with the driver's side all the parts look to be there. Also, didn't check end play as closely on the driver's side but it wasn't that much. When I pulled the cover off the gear case the outer bushing and an O-ring were detached from their places in the housing. Nothing looks damaged. Do the bushing and O-ring look correct for the application (see photo)? Additionally, the cover was not down tight to the housing. It looks like someone really over tightened the cover screws and distorted the ears preventing the cover itself from pulling down tight and allowing the excessive end play. Tried to make a picture but as you can see didn't do real well. Is the gear housing cover malleable enough to let me straighten the ears or are they going break (I expect)? Anticipating the worst, who would I go to for another cover? As a point of interest, the gears were not the "white plastic" described in technical posts on this site but metal, see photo. Is this an aftermarket upgrade or a feature of the 1990 cars? Another difference was the tear down procedure on the right hand motor. The help bulletins describe the right hand motor as problematic but this one is exactly like the drivers side only a mirror image and no problem at all to tear down. Th mounting lugs are on the other side of course. Shortly after I bought my Reatta an ad for a lot of new mostly chassis parts was posted locally on CraigsList and I bought them. Attached a photo of what more parts than one needs for a 34,000 mile car looks like. Not sure whether to make the available to others or wait until I need them. Thanks, Bob H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 Your headlight parts look quite normal except of the gear.......never seen one like that but since several GM cars use the same gear, there is probably someone making replacement gears. Don't worry about the end play, just make sure you have some...I have seem them with maybe .062 but that is not an issue.....just take the shims you have and divide them equally on each end of the gear. The "O" ring goes in first to keep dirt away from the bronze bearing which goes in next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 15 hours ago, Bob H said: The help bulletins describe the right hand motor as problematic but this one is exactly like the drivers side only a mirror image and no problem at all to tear down. That's because your metal gear doesn't have the solid section on the shoulder of it like the white plastic gear does. The area where there is no teeth (marked in red in my photo) is what makes the plastic gear hard to remove from the gearbox on the passenger side. You have to force that past the worm gear and it can sometimes be difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDirk Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 FWIW, I've seen various vendors offering brass, aluminum, and apparently grey or black plastic replacement gears for the headlight motor. I've not yet tried any of the alternative gears, so can't speak to their quality or durability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 After rereading your post, the excessive end play is probably because the replacement grey gear is not as thick as the original. Assuming the casting has not slipped on the shaft, you could add a washer on the side with the threaded end and eliminate some most of the movement. The only concern is clearance on the bellcrank end.....I don't know if 2 mm is going to cause the bellcrank to hit anything if it moves in and out. Because of the worm design, the shaft will automatically move in and out when the motor changed directions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob H Posted February 21, 2018 Author Share Posted February 21, 2018 Thanks to all for your suggestions and ideas. First, the end play on the right hand assembly is 0.080+ inches. My working career as a cartographer involved a lot of measuring in both metric and US systems. Whichever tool I pick first is what gets used, sorry. Went back and checked end play on the left hand driven shaft and even that seems excessive at 0.040". I have found the shop manual to be nearly useless for technical details and realize that the experience of others is the best source of information. We are getting the Reatta ready for a trip to Virginia from Oregon and back leaving in late March. Even though the recently acquired Reatta has only 34,000 miles I am trying to catch up on the high maintenance items the experts here have described. Headlight motors and floorboard wire splices are examples, other suggestions are appreciated. We repainted the rear panel where the Trump sticker was removed along with the paint, no political statement intended. Who has headlight motor parts? I think that the distorted gear cover is contributing at least partly to the end play in the right hand opener assembly and that it should be replaced. The two ball end links have some slop in them and need to replacing. There was a larger bellcrank retaining nut available and would like to replace the smaller one , the left hand mechanism has the larger nut already. A couple of cover gaskets would be nice if they are available and eight or ten extra shims. Thanks again, Bob H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDirk Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Bob, The following link has both headlight motor gaskets (laser cut cork) available with together sets of 3 delrin bushings. http://rodneydickman.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=55&products_id=261 The gaskets themselves are available from various eBay sellers, and Barney sells the delrin bushings and crank arms, but not sure he has the gaskets. Barney, can you chime in and veriify? There are also several vendors on eBay selling the gears as replacements, some with related parts like bushings and gaskets, others selling just the gears. Looks like Rodney Dickman sells a metal gear for 87-92 Fiero that would fit, but more costly and not sure I'd change it to metal from plastic. The earlier Fiero gear 84-86 won't work as it takes 4 delrin bushings thus the recess in the gear is different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I have what many call "Barney" cranks probably because I was the first to have a alternative to the GM part. Also have the plastic rollers and UP-STOP nuts, but have not found a source for the gaskets in bulk........if you are careful when you disassemble the motor, you can save the gasket and the few times I have needed a replacement, I just whittled one out of gasket material. At one time Steve in California and Kingsley Baker were both offering replacement bellcranks......I believe Kingsley has retired but Steve has his on Ebay continually My parts do not look as strong as the other but I have never had a failure and offer a lifetime warranty........at about 2/3 the price. I sell the KIT which includes the bellcrank, 3 rollers, 1 UP-STOP nut, instruction and shipping for $40 If you just want the bellcrank they are $35.......and rollers are 3 for $5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDirk Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Barney, thanks for the quick response. I've bought a few sets of gaskets off eBay, just recently found Rodney Dickmans site. Also found a Fiero only parts site recently that sells the unusual E-clips that go on the bell crank shaft, they aren't so easy to source OE style if you have damaged or mising ones to replace. I just wish there was a source for replacement knobs. I have had a few crack due to age/heat and can't find anything convincingly close in appearance so have taken to substituting some that are the right size and have an inset at the rear like the OE knobs, but look noticeably different. These are more like stereo control knobs (because that is their intended application). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saj26 Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 (edited) On 2/21/2018 at 6:56 PM, Barney Eaton said: "...My parts do not look as strong as the other but I have never had a failure and offer a lifetime warranty........at about 2/3 the price. I sell the KIT which includes the bellcrank, 3 rollers, 1 UP-STOP nut, instruction and shipping for $40 If you just want the bellcrank they are $35.......and rollers are 3 for $5" What is the best way to contact Barney about a replacement kit or rollers? Thank you Edited September 17, 2022 by saj26 Formatting (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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