BGerrells

Thank you everyone

Hey guys what's the best car to grab a engine out of to replace in my 1988 Reatta? The local junk yard here has a 3.8 out of 1990 Riviera. Would that work?

Perfect thanks guys I really appreciate the discussion. I'm going to look at it more today.

Thanks everyone

My 1988 Buick reatta was hit in the parking lot this morning while at work. No note left and no witnesses. It banged up the rear pretty bad. Currently I have Collision insurance with a $500.00 deductible. I've never had any insurance claims and wondering if I should report it to the insurance. How do insurance companies work with the value of such an old car? Is it worth even reporting?

Bad news.. there’s about a 4 inch section under the rails that’s rusted completely through. There are also broken arms on each side that help lift the sunroof up. It’s like they sheared off near the pins. Only one cable works, the other side does nothing

Hey everyone, I've searched back through the old post to no avail. I have the sunroof out of my car, but can't figure out what I need to do to gain access to the cables that need replacing. The top of the sunroof/lid is still attached. Currently the Sunroof does not open at all. The motor works, but the Sunroof stays in the closed position. I read in another post that I need to take the carpeted cover off the bottom side of the sunroof. Is there a trick to getting the lid off? Any other steps to replace the cables? I've looked in the junkyards near me and have not found a Mazda RX7, or a reatta, so it looks like I'll be reparing this one. The problem with my current one is that it's leaking. I will blow out the drain pipes, but it's a tremendous amount of rust build up in both back corners of the sunroof assembly. Thanks Bryan

The warning lights work, and the ipc does not come on when I press test thanks Dave I’ll email you. also thanks Ronnie for the advice

1988 reatta. I left for work this morning and noticed that my dash was dark. No fuel gauge or speed. The touch screen to the right worked and allowed me to brighten/dim with the slider. I’ve read on the forums to check fuse 6 and 9. They look good. Anything else I can try?

My friend suggested I leave the cap off while running to get rid of any air pockets. So I let it run for about 10 minutes with the top off. Now I can drive it up and down the street and the temp stays around 198-210 it goes up and down so I'm assuming the thermostat is working. When I press it hard going down the street the engine is in fact cooling. When idling it goes up to 210 then back down a few times.

Thanks for the link. I drove it up the street and back and it hit 240 again. I did not feel comfortable pushing further than that so I'm unsure if it continues to go higher

Will do. I'm going to let it warm up some today while watching. I cranked it and let it run for 10 minutes and the temp showed 240. Is the normal operating temp 205? What temperature is considered hot?

Thanks again it now sounds and seems to run perfect. I'll top off the coolant in the morning. I love being able to work on these cars, and you guys/this forum makes it possible. THANK YOU

The factory diagram looked different than what I have

Anyone have a picture of how the belt goes back on 1988 reatta In my picture attached the pulley under the generator spun off completely, the one with the rusted cover. It’s sort of to the right and below of the tensioner

I’m probably going to go ahead and replace the balancer , the serpentine belt, lower radiator hose and belt tensioner any thing else while I’m there?

Great! Thanks

you’re right I’ll try to find an old post showing the configuration of the belt

Okay will do and thanks

Friday I was sitting at a stoplight when I started to hear a chirping sound coming from the engine area. When the light turned I gave it some gas and turned into a parking lot. Before turning I heard what seemed like something breaking under the hood. It was almost impossible to turn the steering wheel, and the battery light came on. As soon as I parked I noticed smoke coming from under the hood and antifreeze pouring out under the car. I poped the hood and the longest belt had completely fallen off. I’m trying to work out the sequence of events so I’ll know what to start replacing. Any tips would be great. Did a pulley fail, which then caused my belt to come off and the engine overheat? Could it have hurt the engine even more? Is there anything else I should replace while I’m at it? I love doing the work myself, but lack the knowledge of where to start. bryan

Oh wow I should of read this yesterday!!!!! I put mine back in yesterday, I was surprised how simple it was to remove and install. The window goes up and down, but sometimes I have to help it along. I figured its the wheels in the track that may need adjustment. I'll try the above tips. It took longer to find a 1/4 inch Rivet gun then it did to remove the old and replace the new one form Jim.

I've sent payment. Thanks again for the offer. Bryan

Thanks so much. I have a little experience working on cars. I've already removed the door panel, and most of the window fittings. I'm really concerned about securing the regulator arm as mentioned above. I'll post pictures but that video is super helpful.

Hiya new to the forums. I have a 1988 model and Sunday the Power window stopped working. The motor works, but it gets to a certain point about 35% up and a loud grinding sound starts, then when I lower it, it gets to about 2% closed and makes the same grinding sound. I took the panel off and can look down and see a very shiny dear with another smaller gear. It looks like it may have tooth issues or something like that. Any tips on replacing those gears? Bryan

I'll check on them and see Huevos Ranchero