Tommy Hooks 1990 Reatta

Thank you Ronnie . I think this is the area, that somehow malfunctioned. I didn't know the Reatta had a governor, but what I experienced was like the governor being thrown into full acceleration. When I pushed down on the brake is when I heard the ping sound, followed by the transmission unengaged in high and overdrive. I I am going to remove the governor assembly first and see if anything is broken on it. I also plan to check the transmission shiftier cable, I read 1990 had a recall on this cable . If the problem is inside the transmission, I may look at replacing the unit. So weird, that my transmission has always been so smooth, with zero indications of a problem.

the trans fluids are good, and no odor.... the battery is strong.... Dave...what would cause the odometer to stop working at the exact same time, as the trans problem ?

Ronnie, thanks for your response... the mechanic is great at working with me. I am the only reason, he does not just jump into the repairs. I prefer, checking with other Reatta owners to see if anyone has had similar problems before turning him loose. I want to keep my car original as much as possible, ( meaning, I order my repair parts, rather than use napa, auto zone, etc. ) This is my second mechanic since I owned my Reatta of almost 10 years.... he is great at jumping on a vehicle and getting it out the door.... if I had not read the page where others had similar problems we would not be stuck.... but now I can't find it ... I think it mentioned a sensor mounted on top of the transmission .

I was returning home, after a 2 hour drive. I pulled onto interstate with minimum acceleration, when my car jumped into some kind of hyper-acceleration like I had crammed the gas pedal to the floor. I immediately hit the break, to gain control, but I heard some kind of pop, that resulted in me not having forward movement in the drive position. Also noted the speedometer stopped working. The engine just revved up, indicating the transmission was not working. I pulled over and moved the gear shifter into a lower position, which allowed me to drive home. The speedometer still not working. The next day, I rented a car hauler, to take my car to the shop. I was surprised to find, when I put the car into drive, it worked. I also checked reverse, and it worked too. I drove it onto the hauler, and took it to the shop. The mechanic drove the car down the road, but it did not shift . I told him to change the filter and fluids, but he said he did not think that would solve the issue. I looked on the forum, and found others had the same problem. I did save the page, but i can not get it to open now. I don't know why. (just another observation) when I cranked my car, at the shop, the security horn went off. I hadn't had it come on in years, and I don't know why it did at the shop. Another problem that has not gone away, is the dash cluster, still will occasionally go off.

Ronnie, do you know what the correct part number is for the oil pressure sending unit ?

When the car is operating properly the oil pressure is dead middle or normal.

The engine sounds and runs perfect driving down the highway.... I drove it to the store 0% problems.... got out ... guy fixed my leaky tire....the car was moved and perhaps he drove it down the road... I don't know.... when I got back in ... the fuel low had come on (1/4 tank left ) and when I cranked the car, it began to run rough again ( just like when I put it in the shop back in April ) I looked at my gauges to see if anything else was off, and that is when I noticed the oil pressure was showing way low.. but when I pressed the accelerator down, the oil pressure when back to normal, and the motor ran smooth.... the problem here is I have to keep the accelerator pressured down, so when I put the car in gear, it lunges because the rpms are up. There are never any motor noises or any problems with the transmission either.... only the rough running which I associated with the low oil pressure shown on the instrument gauge. Is it possible for the gauge to be bad, or the pressure line to be stopped up ?

Ronnie, thanks for responding.... can you tell me what would cause the oil pressure to drop when the car is idling ? The problem is not all the time, but once it starts to occur, it does seem to get worse. I have not gotten to enjoy my car for a couple years... My dash cluster was also going off, when I took it to the shop... for now it is working again, and that allowed me to see the drop in oil pressure when I took my foot of the gas pedal .

Dave, my Reatta, was in the shop for the most part of April through August 6th.... Somehow my rear tire got a leak in the rear tire..... the mechanic returned my car and the following morning , I aired up the tire and drove it the closest tire shop. My car ran perfect during the drive to the shop ! At the shop I parked my car outside and the man repaired my tire as I set in the lounge. He came in from a side door and told me my car was ready. I paid the bill and went out the door he came in... he had obviously driven my car... and when I went to crank it..... it cranked and cut off.. I had to hold the gas pedal down to keep it cranked... looking at the dash displays... it appeared the oil pressure was too low to maintain idle... This is the same problem I have had twice prior.... I have replaced most items... so I am thinking it most be centered around the oil pressure . The start of this problem was a couple years back after and oil change. I found the shop had put in too much oil ( 1 qt over fill )

My 1990 Buick Reatta, ran like a dream until the night, I ran over a large coon<<luckly I was driving very slowly, just didn't see anything until the coon ran out in front of me. Everything went off, but came right back on. Sine that awful night I have had the about problem over and over. I get it fixed, and some months later I go out, crank her up, she begins to run roughly and cuts off. Over the next few days it get worse and worse, until it will not crank, or cuts off during my drive, when I make a turn that slows me down. I just got her home yesterday, and had a slow leak in a tire, I was ok with the tire leak, so I drive it to the tire shop, Parked it in the parking lot. I was running perfect. The repairman drove the car inside his shop, repaired the tire, and came inside with my key. Said he had pulled my car around the building making it closer to the lounge I was waiting in. I went out side and cranked it up. It immediately started to run rough, and it cut off ! I noticed the fuel light was now on, it had between 1/4 tank and 1/2 tank when I arrived at the tire repair shop. I did not bother to go in and ask the guy if he had driven my car down the road, because there was no need since I had the problem myself several times. I drove to the gas station and put in 10 gallons of the medium grade gas, since my last fill up was high test, and it made no improvement. I went ahead and ran my errands and returned home with my Reatta running great with the cruise control on. As soon as I pulled under my carport at began to run rough again. Since I had just got it out of the shop ( gone since April ) and I have replaced fuel pump, mass air filter, oil pressure filter, cam sensor, my eyes were focused on my gauges digital displays, and I zeroed in on the oil pressure gauge that was fluctuating between normal ( dead middle of the gauge ) and all the way down to 2 bars ( very low ) pressure.... this is when it began to run roughly,,, I have noticed this same condition before I put it in the shop. I am now convinced, it is the oil sending switch . Also when my oil was last changed, the shop put in a quart too much oil . I love reatta, but with out you guys, I would have to sell it, because I would never connect all the dots in this cars' design ! Tommy Hooks

I checked the air intake blower and duct

thanks for your answers ...my Buick Reatta is a 1990--- it was running great ! Just wondering... how does grass have an effect on the crank sensor ? I am new to all this electronic system stuff... I drove this car for years before having a problem.... I guess I should have known better than to drive through the grass, but it didn't appear to thick or, even too high . My first problem occurred 3 years ago. It was at night, and I ran over a coon. The lights went off, and then back on... I drove home, with no problems. The following day, I put my Reatta on a lift, and inspected it for damages. Nothing was found, but shortly afterward, the dash light cluster began to go off, followed by cranking problems. I replaced a cracked cam shaft pulley and cam shaft sensor. This was followed by replacement of oil pressure sensor, mass air flow sensor, fuel pressure filter. Replaced ABS system completely. Replaced climate control unit. Replaced cruise control module , and climate control module. Next radiator, thermostat, and water temperature sensor. Replaced battery and alternator. I had the old changed and the person over filled the engine. He installed one quart too much, and he did not drain it out. It seems like every time I have every thing working ( except the dash cluster going off and on ) something else will break...

thanks Ronnie, by the way, I got hooked on the Reatta fever, when I lived in Knoxville ..... I was testing new cars... I drove a 1991 Reatta, and then drove to West Knoxville to test drive a new BMW.... After driving the BMW I rushed back to the Cadillac dearlership on Alcoa hwy--- the Reatta was pulling out when I got back to the lot... I told the salesman that I wanted to buy the Reatta when it got back from the "test drive" . The salesman smiled at me, and said, " it isn't coming back" , I just sold it ! When I moved back to South Carolina, I told my cousin about the Reatta... his son in law owns a car lot.... and he found me one about 10 years ago... I love it !

My car was performing perfectly, until I pulled through some tall grass. It was just loose farm grass, that I slowly drove through. I switched off my Reatta for a few minutes. When I started it, there was no start problems, but it immediately began to run roughly, like it wanted to cut off. I gave it a little extra fuel and it kind of lunged, like it had bad gas. I drove it home ( about a mile ) expecting the problem to clear, but it did not. The next day, I drove to the gas station and put in some high octane, still thinking it was something in the gas, but it did not help. The following day I started to the garage to have it checked out. I didn't make it. It cut off, and restarted a couple times, until it refused to crank. I rented a dolly and took it to the shop, thinking the mechanic would quickly identify my problem. That was weeks ago, and several parts later.. So far I replaced the fuel pressure sensor, mass air module, and some other little sensor ! The mechanic told me to ask for your help, because he did not want to guess any more ... Does anyone have any ideas ?

Thanks to everyone that responded to my problem.... I am excited now !