heygibb

Hello everyone. I bought a new Standard oil pressure unit trying to solve a starting issue I am having on my '90 coupe. I installed it and still could not get car to start. W/out proper signalling from that sensor, I believe the fuel pump will not do its job, as I get no fuel pressure at rail. So, I bench tested the oil sender, using a method I saw online. Here is the link: It failed the test. I guess what I am wondering is 1-have any of you bench tested the oil sensor using this method? and 2- is it unusual to have a new unit fail out of the box? I bench tested the original unit and it failed, also. I hope this posts ok. I don't think I have ever embedded a YT vid before. Thanks for your input. Tim

I screwed up. I suffered a bout of CRS..."can't remember stuff"...during this rebuild. I usually take pics and notes of what I am taking apart, but overlooked this component. I rebuilt the rear cylinder but ended up w/ a metal washer left over. I hate it when that happens! I looked over the other wheel's brakes, and could not locate it as an exterior component. I figured it had to be internal to the cylinder. I tried putting it behind the square edged O-ring on the threaded shaft, that extends out of the finished rebuild. It kept the thread from extending out far enough, from my assessment, and I removed it. After I put it all together, minus the washer, I remounted and bled the system. At first, brakes worked fine, and no warning lights. After about 10 minutes into my test drive, idiot ABS and Brake lights came on. I got home and checked under the wheel...massive fluid leak from the threaded stem area. I will have to redo things. So, before I figure this out, I am fishing for anyone who knows where this washer goes, please chime in. It would certainly comfort me. I need comforting. lol Here are some pics of the components... I forgot I had the digital manual. Here is the re-assembly diagram. The washer is the thrust washer and goes where I had it to begin with...live and learn. Thanks everyone.

Thanks Ronnie. I got my rotors from you.

Don't the seals come w/ the kits? The kits I see on Rock Auto look like they do. I guess not many folks have rebuilt these things. I'm not afraid of trying something new,but still like to get first hand knowledge of the process. I think I'll try it and have the option of getting the remans as a backup choice.

Hey folks. A few months ago, I did a complete overhaul in the front...new rotors, lines, rebuilt cylinders, pads. I decided to let the rears be for awhile, since there was no issue there yet. Now, I have an issue. The right rear cylinder appears to be leaking. I haven't taken if off yet, but it is dripping fluid. I am thinking about using one of the kits available to overhaul it vs. buying a new/reman complete cylinder. Can I get any feedback, one vs. the other? I didn't have any trouble on the front cylinders but there appear to be more parts to this rebuild. Thanks

My new hoses just got delivered. wow...2 days. I decided I am going to replace all components on the left side, too. I will be done with it for the foreseeable future, and will feel safer. As stated, I already have the parts in hand. I haven't even thought of looking at the rears...not a bad idea. Thanks everybody. Tim

I just wanted to close the loop on this thread. I resolved the problem I was having. My right front brake cylinder was sticking and not contracting like it should. Unfortunately, I waited too long to investigate and grooved out that rotor pretty bad. I ended up buying new through Ronnie's link. I bought a pair and got free shipping, so thanks Ronnie. To challenge myself, and potentially, save a few bucks, I rebuilt that caliper piston with the $7 rebuild kits available. After watching a couple of you tube videos, I felt comfortable in the attempt. It wasn't too hard to do. Like anything, the first time is a trial and error process sometimes. Breaking the cylinder down and cleaning it up was the easiest part. Resetting the cylinder in the caliper was tedious , having to compress it into the cylinder. The inner seal has to be "lasso-ed", and with it being enclosed, you have to do it by feel. Once seated, I remounted all the hardware. Lubed up the pins w/ caliper lubricant, bled the brakes and took a short test drive. Everything seems to be working ok. I was wrong in an earlier comment, about having replaced those brake lines before, and have ordered replacements for both front wheels from Rockauto. Should I go ahead and change those out or wait until my current ones fail? I'm leaning toward changing them out now, but wondered what the board's consensus is on that. Thanks again for the encouragement and tips. Great board. Tim

Thanks Marck Common sense wins the day. I didn't think of that. I ended up using the higher quality replacement unit and just left it hanging. It didn't seem worth it to re-attach the holder to the frame in such tight quarters. It's tucked in there pretty good so I don't expect any rattling. Thanks for all the feedback. It's always good doing something myself vs. paying someone else, if at all possible.

There are two "canisters" attached to the bracing of the dash near the steering column with spring clips. Do I replace both? If not, which one is the flasher unit, if you recall. It is a bear to reach. I'm thinking I'll slide the clip off the frame to remove it and then slide it back on the car frame. Is that how you do it? I'll take that advice on the replacement unit.

Thanks Kingsley. lol It sounds like I need one of those double offset triple jointed pair of pliers and I can't ever seem to find anywhere. I'll do my best. I do have small fingers so that will have to do. Thanks for the followup.

Good advice. I replaced those a couple of years ago. re a comment above about possible shimmy due to misalignment. It has no sign of that...just a hard, uneven braking once the pads/rotors heat up. I'll get to it this weekend, hopefully.

I will look into both areas tomorrow. Do you know the shape of the flaher? Is it a round canister looking deal? Thanks Tim

Barney, I cleaned out all the dust and debris. Since this problem appeared out of nowhere, I think your idea re the pads is a good place to start. If one of the calipers isn't working smoothly, it won't brake evenly and creates a lot of heat. The heat creates swelling, I imagine, and contact is made w/ the rotor even when brakes aren't engaged. That is how it feels after I drive a little while. There is friction even when I'm not braking. I'll dismount the calipers and see what I find out. I did check their thickness when I remounted the wheels and they were all pushing 3/8" thick. Thanks. Ronnie and Vincent, New rotors it will be if that is the problem. Turning isn't cost worthy anymore, from the looks of it. I'll inspect the calipers, as noted above, more closely. Hopefully, I can find the issue w/ the mechanics of the pad movement. Thanks

John, I did clean the rotors well and blew out the dust. I don't have a tool to measure warpage. I could remove the calipers and check it on a flat bench. Thanks.

I've read some of the other threads re turn signal issues but not my exact problem. Last week, my signals stopped flashing. After inspecting the front and rear turn lights, while on, the right front cornering bulb was out. I replaced it, thinking that was it, but I still have no working turn signals. The green indicator arrows on the cluster for left and right illuminate when the lever is put in the left or right turn position. I can mechanically make the signals work, so I am not w./out that capability. I exchanged the relays under the hood in the relay center, but no change. I guess there is a flasher somewhere in the harness. Am I right? I haven't seen it in the console fuse areas. When I engage the emergency flashers, all four corners do flash. I did find on page 14 of the digital user manual, pdf 8A, the layout of a LH and RH turn signal relay position. I can't find that relay center in the car. Any suggestions on where it is? Am I looking in the right area? Thanks Tim

I recently noticed a warped effect from my wheels when brakes are applied. I haven't removed the wheels lately so I am a little confused about the source of the problem. I know the lug nuts need to be torqued @100 ft/lbs, I believe, and use a torque wrench when I rotate tires or do brake work. I had my yearly inspection done several weeks ago, so maybe the inspection folks took my wheels off and air ratcheted them back on...not sure. Anyway, I re-torqued all my wheels, thinking the problem would go away, but it has not. The effect is really pronounced after driving awhile and then applying the brakes. Is the best way to handle this the obvious route of replacing the rotors? I feel it is mainly the front brakes, so, should I replace all rotors? Can I salvage the pads or are they damaged, too? Thanks for your input. Tim 90 coupe

Cheapest I have found. No shipping charges either. http://forums.aaca.org/f116/sylvania-890-turn-signal-bulb-355870.html

...just a follow-up to my fan issue. I grabbed the fan from the '93 Riviera at the u-pull-it, along with it's relays. I did not electronically check my relays, but found two that had a white material oozing out from around the spade plug and smelled "burnt". I replaced all of my relays w/ those from the Riv. They were at least 3 years newer and looked it. Prior to changing them out, my fan did not operate upon start up of the engine. After the change out, it ran from the get go after the engine cranked. The Reatta fan, as stated earlier, has a housing surrounding the fan itself and is mounted through the housing. Through age and fatigue, my fan settled into an "off center" position and started rubbing the shroud. The Riv's fan had no housing at all. It was a free standing fan that had a four position mounting system. The lower legs were plastic tabs/feet that are inserted into rubber bushing/mounts. The upper two legs mount w/ bolts into the radiator shroud. I liked it better since it removed any possibility of rubbing. I forgot to take a pic of the Riv prior to mounting but it's viewable in the following pics, already in place. There, also, is a pic of the relay platform and the original fan.

I'll check into that. Thanks.

The drag on mine was from actual rubbing between the fan edge (actually a ring around the fan itself) and the housing. I noticed the identifying info re the relays on the enclosure. I might grab the ones on the Riv tomorrow as backups. I've never replaced them and have no idea of their lifespan. I did not straight wire the fan to see if it worked. I'll check it out after I run the car a while tomorrow. Thanks for your comments.

Since I am not knowledgeable at all about the BCM, can that be taken from the Riviera I keep going back to for parts? Is it hard to get to? I think it's inside the dash, to the left of the glove box, but not sure.

Just following up... I removed the inner fan shroud and fan. It's very simple to do. Once I could take a good look at it, I found the shroud was 1/8" out of center. That left me w/ a 1/4"+ clearance between the fan and shroud on one side and a 1/16" or so clearance on the opposite side. W/out the tension from the mounting bolts, the fan cleared the shroud on the bench. I saw no cracks in the frame, so maybe fatigue allowed for the fan motor to settle a little off center. There was no play in the fan shaft and it turned freely. I ended up remounting it, for the time being. I traced the electrical burn smell to the box of relays on the right side of the engine compartment. I pulled each one out, smelled for the burnt odor. The only odor I found was coming from the platform the relays were plugged into. I don't know how to check a relay, so I put it all back together. I'll ride around w/ a fire extinguisher at the ready in case I experience a fire. According to the label under the relay cover, those relays control both inner and outer fans, among other things. Perhaps the friction between the fan and housing was causing a relay to overheat. Is that possible? Thanks Tim

I will. Going into it, I am expecting distortion due to age and heat. The fire potential from shorted wiring is of equal import, too. I'll post what I find out.

The thing is, I don't think it's the motor but the fan and housing. Since it's all plastic, it's almost like one of the two warped out of shape and interferes w/ the other. Tomorrow I'll try to determine if it's the fan or the shroud that is warped and go from there. That little bit of resistance on each revolution could put stress on the motor and cause it to overheat, thus the electrical smell. I'm just not sure yet. I might try to grab the whole shebang from the Riviera I've been snatching parts from.