Machiner 55

"Hope that is not any JB Weld on top of the interrupter, there is only .020" (+/-) clearance on the sensor." It is JB weld on top. First chance I get I'll pull the sensor and take a quick look-see and let you know what I see. See? John F.

Kevin, OK. Will do. But not tonight. Too tired now. But again, I don't know for sure when. Tomorrow's "Wife Day" Going to see "The Martian" have dinner out do some shopping etc. Saturday will be busy around here as well. Got some gutter/downspout issues that need resolved then I gotta find someplace (and somhow) to put the stuff I got from Dan up in Flint. I made a round-trip yesterday to grab some inventory before it became totally unavailable. Got some stuff I needed and some stuff I might need and have damn near no place to put it all. Then comes Sunday. Back to work four 12hour days (maybe more) I'll work it all in somehow. Might just be easier to send the manuals down to you. Easier for me anyway. John F.

I replaced a gas tank a few months ago on my '90 and decided to install new everything since it was a new tank being installed. I spent a lot of time looking for that exact twin hose assembly. Nobody had one. It's a discontinued part. So I went to my local auto parts store where I've had pretty good luck with them finding obscure and hard to find parts. They were unable to do so in this case but they do sell fuel line in various diameters. They cut me a length of each diameter and sent me on my merry way. I assumed that the diameters of the metal pipe nipples on the gas tank and the filler neck tubes would be the same but, I found it not to be the case with the smaller of the two hoses, The hose went on the filler neck pipe OK using a soapy water solution but I paid H*ll trying to get that hose onto the gas tank nipple. Not so much with the larger of the two hoses. In addition to the soapy water I Used a pair of needle nose pliers and some heat from a torch to try and make the rubber more pliable. I stuck the needle nose into the end of the hose and pulled on the handles to try and make the ID bigger. It worked but just barely. Check for yourself and see if the ID on one end isn't bigger/smaller than the hole at the other end. The real problem may be that the OD of the smaller gas tank nipple is just larger than the OEM gas tanks. Didn't check it at the time and it's too late now to do so. You may not experience this same problem and the hoses you get will fit just fine. But, keep this issue in mind when it comes time to reassemble. John F.

Brian, THanks for sharing that issue of Wheel Tracks. Besides all the interesting articles including the one of your son's car, I especially liked the small quip of the officers' conversation with the station and the associated photo of the old gal with the AK. Can't wait for my wife to come home from work to show it to her. She likes that kind of thing. John F.

"Not far up the road is a genius machinst with a full shop, he emigrated to Texas 30 years ago from Detroit and makes parts for NASA, among others. The question is, how many should we make ?" No, The real question is, Is he adopting and will he pay for relocation? Seriously though, it's a wonder I hadn't thought about this in the way you have. Within minutes of you suggestion, I conjured an image and a method of making these. Mostly, all one would need was a decent small lathe and micro table saw or a Dremel tool in a pinch. As you said earlier, the correct plastic would have to be found as well as the proper bonding agent to attach the magnet to the plastic holder. As for the polarity issue, I can't see why one couldn't place a compass next to a stock OEM magnet and see which pole is attracted to the magnet(s). Should it be, say, the South pointer that pointed to the magnet, then when you go to insert the New magnet in it's New Holder, Just make sure to orient the New magnet so that when held next to the compass the South pointer points the same way it did with the OEM mag. Once that is determind bond the magnet to the plastic insert. Of course, the plastic holder could be formed in such a way that there is a mechanical bond (snaps in place) between the two but an adhesive component couldn't hurt in that case either. Another method would be to form the plastic holder in such a fashion that the magnet is pushed into the holder from the front or the rear and a plastic "plug" inserted over the magnet. Of course the plug would be bonded to the plastic insert so that it would be as a one piece unit with the magnet "magically" sealed inside. So many ways to skin that cat ain't there. On the other hand, I was so impressed with the longevity of the Padgett method that I decided to use the JB Weld compound to coat and secure the brand new unmolested OEM magnet to the sprocket of and engine I'd reassembled not to long ago (2 years) Photos included with this post. John F.

The following FSM's arrived in todays afternoon mail: Good condition 1987 Cadillac Factory Service Manuals as follows: 1987 Cadillac DeVille/Fleetwood 1987 Cadillac Eldorado/Seville 1987 Cadillac Brougham 1987 Cadillac Cimarron Within the next few days I expect to recieve the following: Good condition 1990 Cadillac Factory Service Manuals as follows: Volume 1 Allante Volume 2 Eldorado and Seville Volume 3 Brougham Volume 4 DeVille and Fleetwood Volume 5 1990 Cadillac Service Bulletins. Kevin, what's the next step? John F.

Brett, I was trying to answer this post hours ago but my wife kept talking to me even though I was giving her the 'Hey, I'm just a bit busy here." look. When that happens, I know what she's saying without saying it is that if I don't stop doing what I'm doing right now, there will be H*ll to pay later and I won't even know why I'm paying it. So... To answer your question. The cable pictured is not the Intermediate Cable that you are looking for. It is the one they send when you order the Intermediate Cable. It is also the cable they send when you order the parking brake pedal cable otherwise known as the Front Cable. You see, there are four cables in the Parking Brake System. 1.) Front Cable. 2.) Intermediate Cable 3.) Left Rear Cable and... 4.) Right Rear Cable. There is a Master System whereby once a mistake is made in the cross reference index of the Master System, any and all vendors using said Master System will send the Front cable anytime an Intermediate Cable is ordered. That’s the bad news. The good news is that when you order a Front Cable, you will in fact receive a Front Cable. Ta-Da!! Sooooo… If you were to order a complete set of all four cables You would find in the box sent to you, Two Front Cables, a Left Rear Cable and a Right Rear Cable. No two ways about it my friend. This has been going on for years now so it's apparent that once a mistake is made in this Master System it will not, cannot, shant be fixed by anyone, by any means or any effort great or small. I tried to purchase one through the Reatta Store in the land of OZ. I whined and complained like a spoiled little girl to the Great and Powerful Ronnie over this issue and even he could make no gains against the Master System. His message to me regarding the acquisition was "Nobody gets to have an Intermediate Cable... Not No way, Not No how! After much fussing and knashing of teeth, I was instead sent on a quest by the Great and Powerful Ronnie to find and return with the gearshift lever belonging to the Wicked Witch of the FLAPS. We all know how that story ends now don't we. The Great and Powerful Ronnie floats away in a balloon and I'm stuck with a burnt gearshift lever whining about going home to see Eminem. Now Brett, wasn't that answer worth waiting for? Hmmm? John F.

The manuals have been shipped but as yet have not arrived. John F.

I'd always wondered what that noise was I'd hear from time to time. Thanks for clearing that up for me. John F.

PD210, For everything you would want to know about that mount, click here. John F.

tb3, What happened? John F.

Padgett. I have not. I think I alway bought the pump with a new pully already attached. I probably have an assembly out in the garage pulled from my '88. You are welcome to it for the cost of shipping to FL. Let me know if you want it and I'll go rumage through the garage for it. I think I know where it is but thinking and knowing are two different things. I've got Thurs., Fri., and Sat. off so I'll have the time. John F.

I know, Right? John F.

I'm also missing a #15 Torx bit. It is attached to a 3" magnetic bit holder extension. I used a small inspection mirror and 350 lumen flashlight as well as a fiber optic camera to look for it in the consol area into which it fell. No dice. Now I'm wondering who's car it fell into... John F.

Padgett, Good to know. John F.

I've found that sometimes a spot of heat on the pulley (not the shaft) will help free the pulley’s grip. Once you’ve tightened the puller to the point where you think something’s going to break and you don't want to break or bend something, Add heat to just one spot on the pulley 'til it goes "BINK" then it will come off with ease. A small, precise flame works best. Like the kind you get from a Mapp Gas torch works very well. A propane torch may work as well but I feel the flame body is a bit too big (too blunt a tool), heating too big an area but it just may do the job. John F.

Matt, Thank you for your rapid response to my question. There was a spell check function on the previous Forum platform and I miss it dearly. I just thought that maybe there was a way to enable it on this "new" Forum and I just couldn't find it. Now, I just cut and paste my more "wordy" posts to MS Word to spell check it then cut and paste it back into the reply box. If I start out knowing that it’s going to be a long one, I'll just start it in Word and correct as I go. For shorter posts, if I'm not sure of a word, I'll cut and paste it in the Google search box and hit enter to get the correct spelling. Again, thank you for your time. John F.

Matt, anyone... Speaking of fun with the functions on the Forum, how does one turn on/off the spell-checker function? John F

tb3, In the mean time, could you check the mount you are wanting to replace and tell me if there are 4 studs coming out of the mount or just three? John F.

tb3, If you find that it in fact does not fit, I'll buy it from you for what it cost you for the part plus what it cost to ship it to me. John F.

The suspense is killing me! What -up? John F.

I've fixed my issues with rearview mirrors by not reinstalling them once the mount pops off the glass. No more cleaning the thumb smudges in the center from flpping from day to night driving positions. No more obstruction to cleaning inside glass. No more glare from the vehicle behind me. No more "What's that guy's problem ridin my a** like that?". No more obstruction to my forward view, etc... By paying attention to my side-views and a minimum amount of situational awareness I've found I spend more time seeing where i'm going rather than where I've been and what that jerk behind me is doing. John F.

I just noticed that the diagram in post #5 is marked for Model Year 1991. Disregarding the Part numbers for the moment, this is the same setup as used on my 1990's. What I'd been doing here to locate that right rear engine/trans mount was to plug in the year make and model and see what pops up in the searches at AutZone and AdvanceAuto. Anchor PN 2691 (item #20 in the diagram) shows up as the correct part for model years 1989 and 1990 but not 1988. This is what led us to believe that, that part wasn't the correct part or that the correct part was unavailable for MY 1988. Even Amazon's "Check to see if this part fits" function says "This part does not fit your car" when you plug in MY '88. So, like I said earlier, I noticed that the diagram in post #5 is for MY 1991. So I plugged in MY 1991 and searched AZ and AA for that right rear engine/trans mount and, as with performing the search for it on a 1988, it doesn't show up. Item #20 in the 1991 diagram in post #5 is clearly Anchor PN 2691. Why it's being listed as available for 1989 and 1990 and not available for 1988 and 1991 is beyond me. I guess what I'm saying is that once tb3 gets his part on Monday or Tuesday he'll probably find that it is the correct part. Once confirmed then maybe Ronnie can add a note to the listing in TRS that this is so. He could also provide a link to this thread to further clarify (confuse) potential buyers about this parts availability and model year fitment. John F.

tb3, I was going to suggest that you do this very thing. The part in question cost less than 15 bux and can be taken back if it doesn't fit correctly. Looking at the diagrams here in this thread and in the 1988 "Final Edition" FSM I have leads me to believe that the Right Rear Engine/Trans. mount listed as Anchor PN 2691 will fit as shown in figure 9 in post #10. The only thing I can think of as to why it wouldn't is that the studs won't line up with the mounting holes by a wide margin. I have no idea why such an enginering change would take place between the model years 1988-89 but looking at the figures here and in the manuals, it doesn't appear that that happened. But, the question beggs to be answered.... Why do the online catalog listings for this part not show this as fitting a 1988 Reatta? Only by doing what tb3 is going to do, will confirm whether or not the part fits both 1988 and 1989's and the computer catalogs are incorrect for some reason that we'll never come to know. The infamous "Intermediate Cable" fiasco is an example of the fallibility of those systems. John F. PS. Buy from Dave and save!

I just looked at autoZones site and it shows PN 2943 as the front engine mount not the right rear trans. mount PN 2691. They show both of these mounts as being available. Here's the AutoZone link. John F.