2seater

It is curious but I must admit I have lost track of what year Reatta we are dealing with🙄 All my limited experience has indicated the 8253 ECM is correct for the Reatta with LN3 engine. I have had a half dozen ECM’s, none had a red plug socket.

A good question for Ethics 101

Times two on that. The rubber face of the damper is likely crumbled and the metal interlocked fingers of the damper is what is causing the hard stop either way.

Thumbs up to getting another back on the road. Regarding the rear camber, a pic or two would help, but what does the ride height look like? The rear is generally slightly higher than the front relative to the clearance above the tire.

I think you had posted about that discovery once before and it is a great find for sure. Greatly appreciate the reminder. I rarely think about that harness as the '90, which is my regular victim, doesn't have the harness in that location.

Is this a shudder that occurs right around 50mph under steady throttle or light acceleration? The most common reason is a spark misfire under low rpm and high load right about where fourth gear and the TCC engages. The other reason in that speed range is the clutch in the converter is not locking up cleanly.

What in the world is #5 wire? A quick Google for 5gauge wire doesn't compute so must be something else? Oh, wait, this is from the manual which is different terminology. I think I saw a conversion chart for that somewhere, like .8 is approx. 16ga or something like that.

I am not sure when that changeover occurred? Every engine I have torn down, '88 thru '90, all LN3 engines, has had the small tensioner block like that original. I have not opened up the front of a Series I L27 Tuned Port engine, which first appeared in the '90 Buick Regal, so not sure if it is a model year or perhaps engine model change??

Thanks for the nice photos. That is an original and it lasted how many miles? Looks like 150k miles or so. Almost impossible to find an original style replacement, and I am sure you will find the new style with a long shoe type design which gives the illusion that there is more contact area which there isn't. I can't find a photo of the new style at the moment except one totally worn away.

The cover doesn't get a specific sealant, it should get a new gasket, most of which have sealing beading as part of their assembly. If you have a photo of the worn tensioner I would be very interested.

I noticed a couple oddities as well and the somewhat grungy appearance seemed odd for a feature subject, but overall I was impressed with the operational quality. When he mentioned the owner told him the taillight contained eleven bulbs, I did immediately question the accuracy of what followed, but that’s picking nits.

I admire your dedication to this problem child. I am assuming the check engine light isn't on and no error codes turn up? Daves89 recently had a strange issue with erratic operation due to a front brake dragging which placed an abnormal load on the engine which seemed to indicate an engine problem. Sometimes the seemingly unrelated can cause secondary symptoms. If you suspect a sensor acting up, try watching the readout in diagnostics while driving, especially when and where it is prone to having an issue. For instance, watch the MAF signal. I usually see 4-6grams/sec at warm idle and a relatively stable increase as engine speed and load increases. Similar for TPS, should be around .4v at warm idle and smooth increase as throttle is opened. This can be done with the key on and engine off just to make it easier. What does the ignition timing look like, stable at idle around 20deg at warm idle maybe increasing a couple degrees when dropped in gear? It is highly variable when underway so hard to make a suggestion on that. What do the fueling parameters look like, the Integrator and Block Learn? Target for both items is 128 and may go above or below that as it adjusts but shouldn't stay locked at a single reading, such as 150 or 128. How about O2 cross counts while driving and up to temperature. What is intake air temperature reading? Shouldn't be too far off of the outside air temperature displayed in the climate control, at least while underway, except one may be in *F and the other *C so convert. Do you get a knock signal or especially knock retard indication while driving? Essentially the ECM needs reasonable and logical data to calculate what to do. If the data is corrupt, maybe outside the expected range, but still within the system limits, it might not show a code, but will cause trouble. That's why we disconnect sensors to revert to open loop and base programming to see if it stabilizes or improves.

Is there a question in there somewhere🙂 From a purely economic standpoint using the phone makes the most sense. That said, I have two Garmins still in semi regular use. One is at least 15 years old and doesn't update any longer, but I keep it around for backup use. The other is newer, 4 years old I believe, and that one is in daily use because it also has a camera focused ahead and recording. It is usually on a secondary screen that shows latitude, longitude and altitude in addition to speed and direction. My phone could do all of those things too, maybe better, but not all integrated into a single screen or app.

Pretty sure the Century was the little brother of the 3800, the 3300 up until 1993 and then switched to the 3.1 Chevy V6.

While not a Chevy fan, I have wondered about that modified LS engine they used in things like the GTP and SS Impalas. I might have the correct models wrong but an LS is relatively compact and they did something with the front of the engine to shorten it for fwd use. It was over 300hp n/a Looked it up: LS4, 5.3l, 303hp, 323tq and all aluminum.

Funny where the suggestions are pointing 🤪 Ordinarily I would be promoting pepping it up a bit if doing extensive work but it sounds like a suspect transaxle too, so a package of both might be in order. If you can do much of your own work, pulling the engine alone is a long day for one person to do and your labor would be low cost. Parts for the 3800 are relatively easy to find but costs will be considerably higher than for a Chevy or even a Ford. You would likely have a grand in freshening up the original engine, with your own labor, so weighing that against a good moderate mileage drivetrain package is worth looking into. By the way, I don't pull the hood anymore when swapping engines. I disconnect the gas strut supports, connect a ratchet strap inside the trunk under the front of the opening, and with scuff protection, I connect the other end to the front of the hood and simply crank it up with the strap over the roof close to vertical. Actually it will go over center but much more difficult to handle like that. I usually tie it to the garage ceiling afterwards.

You mentioned doing top end stuff, gaskets and things like that, but was the front of the engine opened up for things like a timing chain set, cam magnet, water pump etc.,.? I know Padgett has mentioned having an engine spit a cam bearing out, and while I have not had that happen, I did have a front cam bearing worn excessively from a failure of the chain tensioner. It was a replacement tensioner that wore through on one side causing the chain to run with a twist causing wear and falling oil pressure. The first place the oil goes is to to front cam bearing where it splits into the two oil galleries for the lifters and bearing passages. I agree with all the previous observations regarding the pan and oil etc. the only thing I would add is the oil didn’t look too pristine for a recent oil change.

Where are you located HH?

Mityvac should work, as well as conventional foot pumping as Ronnie states. Are the bleeders plugged by chance?

One bulb blinks in the front on the very corner of the lightbar and is an 890 or 891 (?) high power halogen bulb

Three bulbs on each side at the rear do the blinking and they make a solid bar, no space in between segments. The outer two are directly cycled through the flasher under the dash but the inner rear bulb, the right end of the left rear signal, is operated through a relay bank inside the trunk on the right side wheelhousing. If you have a space between segments, you have a bulb out.

X2 on an ignition fault causing the symptoms you describe.

I have questioned the necessity for conversion as well. I installed a new compressor, condenser and accumulator last year and had it recharged with R12. Yes, it was $65 or $75 per pound, but before doing the replacement, I had the system evacuated by the same shop, and they gave me credit for the R12 remaining in my system. They will not refill with R12 unless it passes a vacuum check, but that's the way it should be in any system. I am sure there are good and valid reasons for converting, but it certainly isn't a requirement.

It is installed from the outside of the front cover so it should be possible to R&R in the car. Have not done so on a Reatta but have on implement engines

The original Prom for the car model and year must be transferred to the new ECM or at least one with the same part number or weird behavior will result.