rlpeck

Yes. I speak from experience with a walnut dent in the middle of the hood. Local paintless dent guy pulled it out in about 15 minutes and, even years later, I couldn't tell it had happened.

This morning I saw a Mustang yellow (?) Reatta coupe headed south on I-55 just south of Springfield, IL. I was northbound, so didn't get a good look. It had the nose painted white with with a design a bit like flames. Not curved, but straight, long points tapering back to about the leading edge of the door. First reaction was that I was appalled and revolted that anyone would do that to a Reatta. But, having said that, it looked pristine and, beyond the fact that I don't like yellow--or flames--on a Reatta, it was not unattractive. Has anyone else seen this unique beast?

I had an RKE problem with symptoms similar to yours. Turns out that the end of the antenna cable that plugs into the RKE module was loose on the terminal end. I crimped the terminal to the cable again, plugged it back into the RKE module and all was well. Not difficult, but disassembly of the panels to get to the module is a bit fiddly.

Several E body cars used the same rear suspension. I replaced a bent rear control arm (don't ask) with one from a junked Olds Toronado and put in new bushings from AutoZone. Not a big job--a pain, but not challenging. The shop wanted that price because the replacement part is the whole assembly--much more than you need.

From empirical data I have personally gathered, Reattas do, indeed, show up well on police radar.

Three or four years ago, I found an electrically conductive epoxy at AutoZone that was specifically made for this repair.

Replacing weatherstripping might well help, but you should be aware that this has been problem with Reattas from the beginning. My '89,which I bought new, leaked for the 14 years I owned it, despite the best efforts of a team of factory technicians. The design decisions involving the frameless windows and the lack of rain channel above the windows are the main issues. Great styling, but with some practical drawbacks. I understand that some people have had some success with adjusting the front quarter windows. Tweak it until you can live with it and then chalk it up to one of the small frustrations of owning a magnificent, albeit quirky, machine.

Preserving the rubber is an admirable goal considering the increasing difficulty of replacing it, but don't expect that to solve your water problem. They leaked from new. I had a factory team work on mine several times with no appreciable improvement. A couple of design decisions (frameless windows and no rain channels), made for asthetic and wind resistance considerations, contribute to this problem. I finally gave up and avoided car washes and normally didn't drive it in the rain.

The rear suspension assembly is effectively common to the Reatta, Olds Toronado, Riviera, and Eldorado. Check your local junk yards.

About 10 years ago I picked up a bottle of "Fine Cut Plastic Polish" by the Wax Shop at AutoZone. I use it on the Reatta taillight lens about twice a year, five minutes work, and it stays showroom shiny. I also use it on plastic headlight covers, rearview mirror housings and other stuff. If it ever runs out, I'll probably blow another four bucks to replace it.

Slavye Privyet! Try this website: http://www.buicks.net/cgi-bin/forum/ultimatebb.cgi Dobro pozhalivat'!

My window went down two or three inches, then stopped and began chattering. It was the motor. Replaced that and all is well. Once you have the motor/regulator assembly out of the door, you can easily see if the gears are stripped or not.

Having just done one a week ago, I can understand your confusion. It isn't altogether clear, even with the FSM, until you go through the process. It isn't necessary to bolt the regulator together until you remove the regulator and motor assembly from the car. You will need to immobilize the mechanism before you remove the motor from the regulator, but you can do that on the bench. Drill and bolt (or wire, clamp)the part of the regulator that the motor is attached to to the sector gear immediately below it so the two parts that are under spring pressure cannot move. Then replace the motor. Once that is done, you can free up the regulator and replace the assembly in the door.

My '89 did that from when it was new. Did it a lot early on, but I haven't seen it in several years now. Could well have been a bad ground somewhere that got fixed in the process of fixing something else. In my limited experience, cars rarely "heal" if there is an actual malfunction. Try cleaning the main electrical ground cluster behind the battery under the red plastic cover.

E034 is Mass Air Flow Sensor Frequency Low. E043 is Electronic Spark Control System Failure. You seem to have dealt with that one. The C553 and B552 are module "keep alive" messages. Don't worry about that until you get the other fixed, then clear the codes and they probably won't return. Better to get a factory service manual as throwing parts at it can get expensive and frustrating.

Not at all difficult. Fifteen minutes if you are doing it for the first time. Keep all the wires on the back and the plug wires in the proper order.

GM-- You said: "I know what the solution is already, from side to side through the lower control arms you have 4 pairs of isolator bushings. Weight and age is relentlessly splaying them outwards. Not practical to shift the top of the strut to compensate so; replace 10 bushings (2 more in the trailing arms)$$$$The price will scare you, or ...... maybe machine brass replacements and make it all solid? or 1/2 of them? the outer ones." You might have bigger problems than age and weight. I just finished replacing a rear lower control arm with a salvage part and replaced the bushings in the process. (I bent one a long time ago since it was still drivable I hadn't got around to this until now.) Those bushings are about $10 each from Auto Zone, but the labor is a major PITA. Air impact wrench and pneumatic hammer make all the difference. The bushings on the original part were still good at 115K. And no bearing problems, either. Sounds as if you might have other issues.

I had the windows tinted on my grey '89--side windows legally light and back glass darker. Looks great and makes a significant difference in cooling on hot days.

Have you considered renting a minivan for your stuff and towing the Reatta with it?

I have discovered recently that the rear suspension components, with the exception of self-leveling air struts on some models, are interchangable among Reattas, Rivieras, Toronados and Eldorados.

Barney--My (late year) '89 with grey interior has silver on black logos on the mats.

Replacing both the retainers and the escutcheons is probably the best approach, but don't expect that to correct the problem. It is a bad design. The pull strap tends to lever off the escutcheons and they get lost. I bought my '89 new and it happened periodically from the beginning. I finally gave up trying to keep them on. I have a couple of new sets that I will keep until I decide to show or sell the car. Good luck.

Nic--A picture would be a bit irrelevant. The attachment area on the back of the relay looks a bit different, but it attaches exactly the same way and looks the same when it is attached.

Thanks to all who helped with my yellow ABS light problem. The main relay sticking was, in fact, the problem. The FSM diagnostic procedure was about to lead me astray, indicating that it was likely a ECBM module probem. I replaced the relay with the recommended MR125 from Advance Auto. It was a physical and electrical fit and fixed the light problem, but it had a different mounting system. While I was considering fabricating a mounting bracket and changing all the relays to MR125s a creative and helpful Buick parts guy (yes, they do exist) found what I needed. A relay used mainly for fans for early '90s LeSabres and other GM cars (GM Part # 25553347) is physically and electrically the same except for the mounting. The attachment arrangement is just a little different from the original Bosch, but it attaches to the tabs on the firewall bracket and installed it looks identical to the original.

I don't know what your definition of "high mileage" is, but I've had mine on three trips of 1,000 to 4,000 miles after it passed 100K No problems at all unless you count the three young women driving red pickups/SUVs who tried to change lanes on the interstate while I was passing them. Not meant as a sexist remark, just a bit of a coincidence, I guess. Maybe they couldn't see me unless they looked down... Anyway, it was a good test for brakes and handling.