Tom_

I replaced the check valve and the problem improved but did not completely go away. I assume there's still a small leak in the hard vacuum line going to the HVAC controller. I am replacing the evaporator following a long and expensive trip through the A/C system this weekend and I will check the line when I have it undone and out of the way like Ronnie's site says in the instructions. If I find anything I'll snip out the section of effected line and put a length of soft rubber vacuum line in its place with zip ties as a patch. Do any of you gentlemen have tips for the evaporator replacement procedure? It's my first one and I'm getting kind of spooked from all the posts about how its a major PITA.

The vacuum check valve. It was only $13. The universal ones are available for around $6 but I wanted an identical replacement.

Thanks Ronnie. It was there and the line over to the check valve had been replaced with a slightly longer hose with a hose clamp. I have inspected the lines you showed and they are pliable and there are no signs of leaks. So I have ordered a direct replacement and I'll update when it comes in.

I thought so. Does anyone have an image of their check valve location? There has very clearly been some vacuum lines replaced and I'm not sure it's all connected as it was originally.

On a 600 mile drive over the weekend I noticed a problem with the HVAC damper system that has not happened before. While cruising or decelerating with the vents set to "BI-LEVEL", everything functions as it should. However, while accelerating the air slowly stops coming out of anything but the defrosters. Now I understand that this is because of a vacuum problem but I cannot for the life of me find a hissing or whistling sound under the hood. Do our cars have a check valve in the line somewhere? What are some common places to find leaks on these cars? Does this sound like a check valve issue to any of you?

I think the switch in the dash is bad. I'm going to be replacing the pods soon as well but I'm just trying to get the pressing issues out of the way. I'm driving from East TX to Panama City Beach this weekend and kind of need headlights

Alright. Contact cleaner on the connectors got the motors spinning. The driver's side one is now displaying the same effects as when the bushings disintegrated the first time. If I coax it just right I can get the headlight to lift up but it is definitely binding on something. So, it has indeed crushed the bushings but the good news is the motor still works. So, with that in mind, I should in theory just rebuild the motor again and be fine. I'm thinking that the simple act of taking the assembly apart and putting it back together will fix the binding issue but I'll 100% test the assembly in the car without the motor attached to be sure. If this has happened to anyone else, I'm curious as to what yours hung up on. In regards to tapping the brake pedal to make the lights pop up, I have no idea why they do this now. I've had a lot of quirky, high mileage vehicles so I've just learned to deal with it. I'm thinking it has something to do with the higher wattage headlamps and voltage drop when pushing the brake pedal but I'm a mechanical engineer not an electrical engineer and I have no problem admitting when I have no idea what I'm talking about....like right now

Also to clarify, the lamps are both turning on. It's just the doors. I'm going to get some contact cleaner on the connectors after work today and report back. I'm hoping that fixes it, if not I guess I'll try the standard wattage lamps as that's the only other thing that has changed.

It has less than 6 month old bell cranks from Reatta Specialty Parts.

What I meant was, I spin the knob and it didn't go up. Like the knob was spinning on the shaft. Because when I replaced the little delrin bushings I could still spin the knob and raise the light while lifting the door. The resistance was uneven then and the bellcrank moved. This time the bellcrank didn't even move. I'll mess with it some tomorrow to confirm that's repeatable.

Hey guys, I replaced both headlights with the Xtravision versions of the stock lamps. Ever since I've had problems with the doors not wanting to open. Sometimes just one opens, sometimes they both work, but more often than not, they open after pressing the on button and tapping the brakes. Today the drivers side door has refused to open and the knob doesn't even move it. I've rebuilt these motors and have the reatta specialty parts bell cranks. Could it be something like moisture in the connectors? Wattage difference in the Xtravisions vs originals? It's pissing rain out so I can't fiddle with it so I'm left in my house to scratch my head until the weather clears. Ideas?

I assume that I just need to go through all the connectors with contact cleaner and make sure there are no signs of water. It sure would be nice to have a garage to keep it in

I'm having an intermittent problem with my driver's side headlight sometimes not wanting to flip up. It usually works and I've rebuilt both motors and it has new bellcranks. The knob isn't spinning when it does this but the lamp is on and the indicator in the button is on. It may be moisture related but I can't be sure that's the culprit. Is there a relay for each headlight motor that may be going bad or do they both run off the same fuse/relay?

I understand that now the Delco Accumulator I could have bought just 2 years ago is discontinued. From browsing about 100 topics here it seems the only place that stocks one that will kind of fit our cars is spinningwheels and it's a Hydac. They're also out of stock (I assume always since everywhere else is out of all the alternatives as well). I'm not going to pay ~$400 for one on ebay even if it's NOS for a Jag or Saab. Does anyone have a part number for the Hydac so I can try to source one from somewhere else or my local hydraulics supplier? I don't see it on spinning wheels site. I want to be proactive this time and not burn up a pump since those are getting expensive too.

Over a year for me. My problem was when I did Padgett's repair I pushed the magnet in too far and it couldn't interrupt the sensor enough for it to actually register as a signal. I ended up working over one weekend and redoing the repair without jamming it in there so far and it works flawlessly now. I'm pretty sure everyone here has felt that way at some point with these things

Try hooking up the passenger's side motor to the driver's side connector and see if it works and vice versa. The connector itself may also be the problem if the wires aren't fully seated or it got water inside it. I find with these things it's best to just work your way back through the system until you find the problem. Bear in mind that this is a GM product and you'll get all sorts of problems if you have less than perfect grounds. So check those too.

Shaft seal on my compressor started leaking so I pulled one out of a 92 Regal in a salvage yard and replaced the compressor. Got a new accumulator and orifice tube as well. When I pulled the orifice tube it was pretty blocked up with various particulate and the new one made a pretty noticeable change in AC performance. With summer just down the road I figure I'd remind anyone who has a system that's low on freon to go ahead and replace the orifice tube while it's empty and you'll be in for a cool summer

GM uses a special tool you can rent from O'Reilly's or Advance. Yes you can remove the clutch without removing the compressor.

I had a similar problem where my AC would only work at certain speeds/engine rpms. At 50 it would blow ice cold but at 60-80 nothing. Ended up being the compressor clutch air gap. You can check youtube for any GM late 80's early 90's cars and there's videos for the correct way to adjust it. It requires a special tool that you can rent from your FLAPS. The improper way to adjust it is to put a socket over the middle of the clutch and smack it a couple good times with a hammer until it's close enough for the magnet to pick it up. Essentially the clutch works by a floating pulley with a disk attached to the actual compressor input shaft. An electromagnet inside the pulley will magnetize when the computer tells it to and pull the disk inwards to fasten itself to the previously floating pulley. If the gap between the pulley and the clutch is too far, which always happens over time due to completely normal wear, then the magnet will be too far away to actuate the clutch. It's a simple fix to what seems like your problem. The evaporator could also be freezing over as stated above if you leave your AC on high for a long time.

All of the motors under there have yellow shafts. That one doesn't look exactly right. When I get home from work I'll take a picture of the motor as it's mounted. Essentially it's just a motor with a threaded shaft right through it's center and a spring to help it. It has a longer shaft that goes to the other side which has an unpowered version with the same spring and threaded shaft. Sort of a master/slave configuration.

Barney, maybe you know of more GM vehicles that used the same seat parts as ours do. If I can't find one from anyone here I'll be headed to the salvage yard Wednesday and I want to know what to look for beyond '85-'94 Rivs and Park Avenues.

If you happen to find a recline motor PM me and we can compare what they look like. The rest of the motors work fine enough, although every once in awhile the forward/backward adjustment needs a good smack with a wrench to make it move again. But I'm the only one who drives my car, so once everything is set the way I like it, it never moves.

The small threaded stud in the driver's side seat recline motor pulled a murder suicide on the threads in the motor base. Stud's threads are trashed, and the hole in the motor base is like machined smooth from trying to get a coarse thread tapped and put in as a last ditch effort to save it. Found out after rigging a temporary fix that the motor somehow seized anyway and wouldn't work with 12v applied directly applied to the wires. Does the Reatta share at least the mechanical parts from the seat with say a Riv or Park Avenue? If not I'm in the market to buy a driver's side one from anyone here who has a spare laying around.

Ronnie, mine doesn't have a cat anymore and since I haven't heard a stock one with a cat I can't make a fair comparison. I will say it definitely sounds like it has larger diameter tubing than it actually has because of how much more open it is without the cat.

To be fair, I do like the way it sounds stock at idle it just goes all quiet in the higher rpm range. To be more specific Barney the other one I saw was in downtown Tyler. Also for those who remember all the E041 troubles I was having, Padgett's JB Weld fix for the cam magnet would have worked wonderfully if I hadn't pushed the magnet too far into the hole in the timing gear. I ended up taking the car to a mechanic I trust and he figured out the magnet was just far enough away from the sensor to not give a good signal. So we ended up pulling the timing cover and putting a new magnet in from the back on new timing gears and a new timing chain. No more codes and it runs smoother than I think it ever has.