farnelle

I am the Secretary for the Reatta Division and have recently received a plea for help from a member who does not have a computer (except in his 89 Reatta). He is having trouble with the car shutting off while driving. He says his Buick dealer essentially told him to bring it in for a look see, but he really needed to get ride of it. Appears they need to sell a Buick truck or something before the end of the year. Does anyone out near LA know of a good independent shop that I could refer this member to? He lives in Glendale. I'm sure he would appreciate any help he can get. He is also looking for an 89 final edition service manual if anyone has one for sale. If anyone can help you can post of send me a private email. Thanks, Ed

My eyes are a little teary after reading Jim's post. I would, however, also like to wish each and every one of you a very merry Christmas and a happy, healty and prosperous new year. I also hope to meet some of you at Batavia next summer. Some people that I owe a special debt of gratitude to this year are Barney for his hospitality and help in checking out a Texas car for me, Jerry for selling me a beautiful convertible, Mike for all his help in getting the car to Arizona so I did not have to fight Los Angeles traffic and for fixing some items without my asking and Jim for all his help keeping my cars running. Reatta owners are really a great bunch of folks. Merry Chistmas to all!!! Ed

Be sure there is no rust or corrosion on the old bolts. Replace if in doubt. There are available at your local NAPA store and are not expensive.

I can't understand why the drain from the headlight module, but would it not be easier to install a battery maintainer? I guess I am assuming that you park in a garage. That would keep you from having to reset items like the clock and radio stations each time you drive the car.

You got that right spongebob. Better yet thay should establish a help line.

My 89 keeps telling me that ECC has detected an electrical problem and a service check is required. The CRT flashes the message every minute or two accompanied by the lovely chime. It only stays on for a couple of seconds and does not set a code, so I have no idea what it is trying to tell me. For some reason this moring on my 20 minute drive to work with very little fuel in the tank, the message never flashed. Upon filling the tank the low fuel message still displayed for a couple of minutes. Now the ECC message is flashing up every few minutes. Does anyone believe that there may be some connection with the fuel sending unit? Also is there a chance that I could plug in a scanner at the ALDL and get a code there that may not set in the computer? This thing is driving me nuts. The car runs fine and if I could eliminate the chime, I would just forget about it until something quite working. Any thoughts would be appreciated. ED

I have had the same problem with my 89 and 90 both with CD changers. FM reception is fair, but AM is almost non existent. I tried redoing the connection and even running a new cable from the radio to the antenna. Go figure. At best the reception on my other two Reattas without CD changers is only fair. I just had the radio repaired on one of my 90 convertibles and the AM reception is still really rotten. Wish I had and answer. I guess just a lot of good CD's is the best I can offer.

Thanks guys. I'll try the fixes this weekend.

The electrical gremlins are back. On my 90 convertible the doors just started not locking and unlocking with the movement of the transmission selector lever. The remote works properly both to lock and unlock. The doors will lock using either the remote or the switch on either door. The will not unlock using the driver's door switch, but will using the passenger door switch. Does anyone have an idea about where I need to start? Thanks, Ed

Have you checked for the presence of pretty girls in the area when it happens? Maybe just winking.

89 Reatta. CRT keeps flashing "Electrical Problem Service Check Required". This message flashes up approximately every thirty seconds and then goes back off after five seconds. The "See diagnostic center" light on the IPC also goes on and then back off. Checked codes: I have E026,B448, B552 and C553. All are history codes. There are no current codes. If I switch to the staus/diagnostic screen when the message comes up I also get a blinking light on the engine line. Anyone got any ideas. The only thing that I know for sure is wrong with the car is that the air conditioner compressor is bad and the freon is low. I have not been driving the car in the summer and just use the econ mode, so I have not replaced the compressor or charged the system. If I turn on the auto mode I do get the screen message that says "very low refrigerant" but I don't think that should have anything to do with the electrical problem message. Any wisdom would be appreciated. Ed

You might check the rubber lines that go to the canister just behind the driver side headlight and kind of under the fuse relay center. It is part of the emissions control system. If one or both of those lines have come loose from the canister, you will smell gas. Easy fix, but a little difficult to get to unless your hands are small.

Send your information to barney@texas.net

I pulled a coupe from Dallas, Tx to Columbia, SC and a convertible from Phoenix, AZ to Columbia, SC in the last year, both with a car dolly behind my Chevy 1500 pickup. I had no problems either time, still got 17 mpg and you could hardly tell the car was back there. Mike does not like dollies and I do not really like trailers, but that is just purely opinion and I have pulled both ways. Then again I don't pull with a dulley ten cylinder either. For a couple hour trip a dolly should be no problem. I do stick a bra on the car when I pull. That protects the front end from the stray rock, but the car is up in the front so that most anything thrown up from the towing vehicle should go under the Reatta.

After using the baking soda try a set of vice grips. I cannot imaging that they would not work if you have them really tight on the bolt and use a little force.

Does anyone happen to have the correct part number for the fuel pump relay for a 90 model? I looked in the book and it gave me 25553347 which appears to be the same part number for the brake system relays? The fuel pump relay that is in the car is a Hella #25520198. Looks like the parts book may be wrong or I am reading it wrong.

I have read the many of the old posts about Reatta brake caliper rattle, but I am not sure that I have read anything about a definite fix. I have three 90's and an 89. Two of them have signficant rear caliper rattle and two have no rattle what-so-ever. Will replacing the calipers and pads fix the problem? My 90 coupe with 48K has a cold start problem. After sitting overnight it can be difficult to start. Sometimes as many as three or four attempts with the starter engaged for several seconds. Once started and for the rest of the day it starts almost instantly like most good 3800 engines. I have tried leaving the key for up to 30 seconds on before attempting to start it thinking that it may have something to do with the pump letting the fuel backdrain into the tank, but nothing I do seems to make any difference. It most definitely seems like a fuel problem, however. Anyone wanting to weigh in on either or both of these issues, please have at it. It seems as if there is always someone with an answer. Thanks in advance. If anyone has a solution, I will report back after the fix. Ed

Nicer than really nice!!!

I do not believe that hubcap removal tools were ever supplied with a Reatta.

You are going to have to learn to sit up. Does not recline very far. Use the tilt mode on your present coupe and it will give you some idea.

Mike, It is probably that darn "dry" heat out there. Got Maui Blue back to SC where it is only 95 with a heat index of 110, plugged in a fuse and my tail lights work fine. If you have a problem with the electrical systems in one of your cars, put it on a trailer and bring it to steamy SC, I can guarentee it will cure itself and I can buy you a well deserved dinner to boot. Ed

ABS Accumulators should be around for a while. I understand it is identical to those used on new Jags. My AC Delco supplier says he sells quite a few to the local Jag dealer.

You might simply try dying the carpet. I had a clean up shop work on my grey carpets. They dyed the areas that were really discolored and they look great. Car stinks for a couple of days after the process.

Drive belt could have come off because of bad bearings in the water pump. I can think of no reason a belt should come off unless one of the pulleys is frozen, partially frozen or the belt tensioner is bad.

You probably have four options. One, you could have the main bearings replaced, but once you open up the motor, you may find other problems, so you may not be able to get a firm cost quotation. Remember the difference between an estimate and a quote. Two, you could replace the engine with a 3800 from a salvage yard. Those engines are plentiful and should run you about $300 to $600 plus labor to install. The problem is knowing what you are buying, many salvage yards no longer will gaurentee the milage is correct and you could be buying another problem. Even if the salvage yard will give you a limited warranty, it would not do the person who buys you car any good and it would always be additional labor to reinstall another engine. Three, you could go with a new crate engine from GM with a full factory warranty. You can get an idea on price by getting a quote from GMpartsdirect.com or other reliable source. Four, you could sell the car as is and let someone else deal with the problem the way they best see fit. You would have to discount the car for the approximate cost of repairs, but you would be rid of the problem and would not be throwing good money after bad. Sadly, unless you have a very low mileage, immaculate Reatta, or possibly a really nice convertible, you will probably not realize much from your efforts to have it repaired. Right now it seems to be a buyers' market for most any automobile, even new ones. I guess there may be a 5th option if you have the space to store your car. That would be to park the car until you can afford to fix it. When you are ready, fix it and enjoy it. If your car is pretty nice, you certainly could not replace it for the cost of the repairs. I hope this helps. Good luck! Ed