AJP087

Here are a couple of my discoveries. And some rough pictures of the car before and after brakes with the newer wheels. I'm not completely sold on the wheels, I'll have to see about hunting some OEM ones from a lucerne or cadilliac or something. 71xxx on the clock. I've only put 50 miles on it around town road testing it so far. I'm working on the courage to take it out of town. Definitely will need to find a spare.

Camaro stuff as I found researching these forums. Also did the STS rears. I didn't see if anything else better has been suggested, or I would have went with that instead. So far I have not had the pleasure of driving a factory function brake system car to compare against. I did however keep the stock stuff in case I decide to refurbish all of it and put it back on.

I have more photos of the car to share but I guess I'm out of space here, sorry guys. Have a great night!

Another update. I did the brakes. I had a few hiccups. I had mistakenly ordered a left and right caliper instead of two rights for the rear. So a trip to the local parts store corrected that. Also one of the front brakes that were re-manufactured did not have an internal seal installed for the piston in the caliper, so I had to hunt down a repair kit. Then I could not put on the new cross over line because it was frozen on there. So the old hose will have to suffice for the moment. Upon the second attempt to bleed the brakes(first attempt I discovered I needed a seal in the front caliper) I found the plastic fuel line was broken at the tank. It had been rigged with a larger hose around it, but only one clamp, were it proceeded to pump gas all over the ground...surprise! ...I was told it had a new fuel pump installed, I guess correcting the fuel line wasn't part of the repair at the repair facility.... So, I went ahead and dropped the fuel tank to correct both the fuel line issue and fuel gauge... I disconnected the new fuel filter(pain!) and added 12volts to the mysterious green connector and pumped the fuel into a can. Luckily it did not leak near the tank this go around, I suppose it was because it wasn't under pressure... It did indeed have a new pump, so I cleaned the corrosion off the connector under the hat and cleaned/tightened the connectors on the assembly. Reconnected the fuel sender and tested it per the write-up, it tested good. Re installed the assembly with a new lock ring and seal. New rubber high pressure fuel hose and the gm quick release connector went back on. The fuel gauge now works, as well as the brakes! After the weather shift the coil pack started oozing green onto the lower radiator hose and the engine began to hiccup. I also found a loose plug wire, maybe it was the culprit. Either way I went to the local salvage yard and found a few early 90's 3.8's to pick from. Updated to the newer acdelco coil setup. Found newer 8 mm spark plug wires. Those along side the assembly only set me back $37. Fun car so far, hope all is well!

Friendly update. The rain let up and the parts came in so I put them on. I tore down the pressure pump, thank you again for the brief write-up and images!, one thing that is noteworthy is there is a rubber seal between the pump and the housing to be careful with! I also drained all the black fluid from the reservoir and filled it with fresh while I was at it. I went ahead and replaced the accumulator before testing the brakes with the old one. I'm not sure if that was a mistake or not, but now I have peace of mind. While I was at it, the pressure switch was also replaced, which was the reason why the pump wouldn't activate. Now the power brakes operate! The pump purge and rear brakes were easy to bleed thanks to the awesome reatta journal website!! The front, not so much, as the bleeders were stuck. I added some 18 wheels and new tires, that I got a deal on, from a local tire shop. They weren't my first choice but I needed tires. On the way home from the inspection shop the front left caliper started dragging a little bit, now both the front left and right does , but the front left especially. I had planned on replacing the calipers and lines anyways, so I guess that's next! The odds and ends: I repaired the fuel door latch for now until I find a reasonable replacement along with the dimmer switch knob. The higher priority is the fuel gauge needs to be repaired. The key fob programmed and the door actuators replaced. Its a fun car so far! Hope all is well.

Thank you for the write-up, it will help! Unfortunately it has been raining a lot here lately. I do plan on pulling and cleaning the pump now! I do have an accumulator on order, should be here Thursday. I've been hunting for a deal on wheels with real good tires. No luck with anything near by, but so many deals come and go that I'll just have to keep an eye on the marketplace! I'll admit I didn't want to hurt anything so I only let the brake pump run at most about ~25 seconds. The high pressure and hard to find parts have me worried about tearing something up. It has sat unused for a number of years so a master cylinders and calipers may be in order but I wanted to get the system functioning so I know what I have to work with first and foremost. I will test it again for longer when I get a break in the rain. Thanks, Drew.

Thanks for the help! I've fell asleep reading! I'll buy the WABCO ball and clean the pressure switch and try that. The car appears to be in great shape and its lower miles(70K if I'm reading the odo correctly.. 07xxxx). I know it will also need a harmonic balancer a belt and valve cover gaskets from age. The fuel door mechanism works, the plastic latch on the fuel door, the tab, its broke. I think someone pried on it because of a dead battery or they just couldn't find the button. The dimmer switch works, but the slide button for that is missing so I don't exactly know what it looks like internally. The radio powers on, but doesn't respond to any of the buttons besides the am fm select..?!? I would like to retain its originality for the value's sake, since its a lower mileage car. I'd hate to be that guy that hacks up a gem. I'm unclear, if I were to install aftermarket door actuators, radio, brake parts, wheels etc. If that would reflect negatively on its value or not. I mean I would save the factory parts and it would be reversible, but do I spend the money on factory parts now or find sufficient replacements. Thanks, Drew.

Hello forum! Hope this finds you well! I just bought a 1990 Buick Reatta. I have owned in the recent past a 2003 Buick LeSabre Limited and also a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix GT. I'm a fan of the 3800 thus far. This particular Reatta is in need of brakes in a serious manner, and quickly so I may get it tagged. I am unfamiliar with the Tevis system. Completely ignorant to it exactly as I have never had the pleasure of working with one! The car has been sitting idle for several years. It has hard brakes, both the anti-lock and the brake lights are illuminated on the cluster. There is no power getting to the pump. I found one fuse on the fire wall and it was good. I did not find any other fuses. I did however (with the use of the search) Ground out the grey/red wire on the relay and the pump moans when you turn on the ignition. But with the pump on the brakes are still hard. So I assume I need a pressure switch to begin with and possibly an accumulator! I have no idea where to source the parts from. Is there a preferred vendor or some other resource for the pressure switch and accumulator? Will I be able to find anything locally? (dfw) Oddly enough it also needs the dimmer switch knob, and the fuel door latch. I do not know if these are common issues or not. But a part number or source for those too would be great! Thanks, Drew