JohnD1956
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Posts posted by JohnD1956
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Sintid58, I took a look at the list and noticed the 56 Roadmaster. On the outside chance, would you see if the lower wraparounds are there and if they are solid? Do you know if this auction would go down to just a bumper, or is it for the entire car?
John D
BCA 3757
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Hey Randy, what does your daughter think of it? It does look neat. But so many kids today are into beat to death Honda's and Jetta's and Neons, I'd be interested to see what your daughter and her friends think of the ole 56.
John D
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The thing about these photos is the cars are astounding in their simplicity. The door panels are so ...plain...and I hardly remember the body looking so thick ( from the rocker panels to the bottom of the windows ) in relation to the windows themselves. And I can't ever recall seeing so much ground clearance on any 60 Buick.
But that's what makes these photos so great and valuable.
Thanks for posting these babies. I love em!
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BQuick, where was that light module located under the dash? Was it tough to get to?
John D
3757
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Is this the straight six motor? Is the pump in the oil pan or external?
What year car is this too?
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If you have not drained the old gas, then you need to do something about that first. I use STP gas treatment. The red bottle. I'd put in two of the 14 gal treatment size or one of the 21 gallon treatment size. Most autoparts stores have this on the shelf but you can buy it cheapest at K-Mart.
The reason I use this ( instead of dry gas) is because it it made from petroleum products, instead of alcohol. Put this in and you may see a difference in just a few minutes of running. If so, you'll either need to run that tank of gas through, or drain it out to get fresh gas in there.
THEN consider a carb rebuild.
John d
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I agree with Brian. I don't know what you planned to do with the Chevy motor, but if you were just going to store it, I'd just store the spare 401 instead.
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Wow!!! I never thought of doing that. I may take a new look at my spare switch.
Thanks
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I'll give this a shot. After that, who knows, it may be for sale.
Thanks for the advice.
John d
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Great information from Bruce, but a few more things. 10 years outside (in what climate?) may result in need for further inspection before trying to even turn it over.
I would check the oil dipstick to see if there is evidence of water in the oil. This would be readily evident. No so obvious would be checking the radiator for evidence of oil in the water. You could have black engine oil or red transmission fluid, but hopefully you just have antifreeze. Bring a clean wooden paint stirrer and dip that into the radiator top. When you pull it out, any of the three situations will also be readilly evident.
Also buy a can of power steering fluid. after ten years, the steering seals may have dried out and leaked. No point in cranking anything over with a dry powersteering pump. If it did leak, don't panic. It may reseal itself with some regular weekly use. Avoid any tranny sealer or power steering fluid sealer till it is absolutely necessary to use the same. These usually work by breaking down the seals causing them to swell up and eventually fail again. Mostly some regular use will cause these to reseat and you'll be okay.
Get a battery known to be good. I would try a junkyard and note you need a top post battery, no side mounts. No point buying a new battery till you know things are okay. Also buy a terminal post cleaner. Just get a cheap one, but the battery terminals ( and the battery cables) should be cleaned before trying to crank it over.
Bring a wire brush and a feeler guage for the plugs. When you pull them to put the oil in the cylinders, brush the gap area and regap before re-installation. Clean plugs will fire hotter and better. By the way, you'll need a "slim walled 13/16th deep socket to get those plugs out. The Buicks were kinda tight in this area. Standard spark plug sockets sometimes do not fit in deep enough to get to the base of the plug. I personally would just buy a set of new plugs especially if you intend to keep the engine.
Bring starting fluid. But don't use it unless absolutely necessary. After this amount of time, the choke may not work and the fuel pump could be weak or deteriorated inside. If you are serious about this car, then I would disconnect the fuel pump lines from the pump. I'm talking about the supply side. The gas in the car has to be questionable, and there is no point in pumping that into the carb.
After you follow Bruces advise, then I would prime the carb with fresh fuel before trying to start it. If it doesn't start then you try a shot of the starting fluid. But take the time to try these steps first. I think you're really better off without the starting fluid, unless absolutely necessary.
I don't know how far you plan to drive the car once it's running. So here a few more things to check ( while the oil is in the cylinders and before you try to start it). Check to see if you have sufficient brake fluid. Bring a small can of Dot 3 type with you. Make sure you have some water jugs incase of external leakage. If you're not going far, try not to move or disturb any heater hoses. Dryrot and calcification may cause them to be brittle and break.
If you're serious about restoring this car, [color:\\"red\\"] tow it home. It will be much cheaper to rent a U haul truck and trailer than to pay off all the legal fees and damages if this thing craps out on you in the middle of your trip.
Then you also won't have to buy so much stuff and remember to bring it all with you, plus you won't be pressed for time and tempted to take a shortcut.
John D
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My son's 89 Lesabre t type has this rattle as well. The local Buick dealer diagnosed this as a bad bearing in the rear of the counterbalance shaft. We never did get it fixed and the car is still going with 180K on it.
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I am having a similar problem with my 95 Riviera. I was wondering if maybe it has to do with the tranny fluid age causing a problem for the lock up torque converter. It's just a guess, but if the fluid is in the 100K range, it may have lost some of it's properties and maybe the lock up mechanism in the torque converter is slipping in and out of action?
I note you said it is occuring on slow throttle starts, while mine is happening right at 40 MPH and just holding speed at 1,600 rpm. Above that no problem, and downshifting out of overdrive at this range did not remove the symptoms.
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I did this on my Super. The dashboard lights only worked in one position on the rheostat, and after several years it became touchy on this spot. I had a spare switch, so upon disassembly and inspection, I did exactly as you suggested. I put a jumper wire between the two contacts where the rehostat would have made contact, and I bent the rheostat contacts so I could keep it in the switch for structural integrity.
Dash lights are still protected by the original fuse, and work great, as long as you don't mind having the lights as bright as they can go.
John D
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I'm not sure what the rest of the people in the world do for fun, but this type of activity looks like the ultimate good time to me. Thanks for sharing these pictures. It looks like a perfect day and a truly teriffic time.
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While determining the best way to follow up with the radiator, I would suggest an "in the top hose" filter.
I bought one from http://www.mako.com.au/auto for my 56 Super and it is great. I did have to cut the hose, but this is a hard plastic filter, with a screw cap that allows you to remove the stainless steel filter for cleaning. It's obviously not original, but so what! I had my radiator re-cored, increasing the thing to a three core radiator, and on the trip to Flint in 03 for the Centenial it started to overheat again. When I got home I found that same stuff clogging my new radiator and it had to be taken apart to rod it again. What a waste of $$$.
Anyway I put in the relatively inexpensive filter from Tony, and I can't believe the crap I filtered out of the car. Right now the guage runs just a bit higher than it used to 20 years ago but I haven't pulled my freeze plugs yet either to clean the bottom of the water jacket.
I heartilly recommend this filter product.
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One of my boys is trying to determine if he should replace the timing chain and gears on his spare motor for his 89 Lesabre t type. This motor came from a 147K Lesabre T Type of the same year, and it ran very nice. But it is on the engine stand at the moment and so he is considering the efficiency of changing the gears and chain now, rather than later when it's in the car.
We pulled the cover expecting to find the old style nylon covered Cam gear. But instead we found a solid metal cam gear. so we don't know if the set has already been replaced.
We are hoping someone has a factory service manual for this model year and can provide a picture of what the original gear looks like.
Just trying to save a buck on a 140K motor going into a 180K car.
Thanks for your help
John d
3757
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Jim-bo, What a SET!!! Great picture.
John d
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Just don't take out that freeze plug that Dani referred to in the other discussion on this board.
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I would suggest blasting the inside of the throttle body with a carburator cleaner. I had occasion to have the throttle body off my 95 Riviera this summer, 109K, and discovered the inside of the body and the supercharger coated with a sticky substance which I presume was exhaust gas from the EGR valve. I was able to clean mine off the car, but I think if you do this on the car you have to run the engine while doing this.
You said you replaced the idle air sensor. Did this include a needle valve? If not, be sure to spray the area inside the throttle body right in the vicinity of the idle air sensor. Had an 89 Beretta once and had to spray this several times. It alwasy moothed out after doing so but it was a situation where it gummed up several times within a year.
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I don't think air in the tank causes overheating. There are several things that could cause overheating. But the best idea to cure this is in that article in this months Bugle. If you haven't read this, it dealt with re-opening the coolant passages from the block to the head. If you have a new radiator and it is still overheating, I believe this should be high on the list of things to do.
John d
3757
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I had a similar situation with my 95 Riviera. It turned out to be the main computer. It took a month to figure this out because the computer did not store any codes. It became a bigger problem as the weather turned colder, but that may not really have anything to do with it. It just occurred prior to winter.
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I'll check it out. This is a man who used to run a garage in the residential neighborhood where I used to live. He has a lot of stuff around, but I've been gone 7 years now and when we passed by last weekend the place did look very overgrown. As soon as I find out he is still okay, I'll contact him with this size and see if he has any.
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99% probability that the ground wires need to be removed and cleaned. Then check it again.
Also, the socket may be okay, but I'd look up front at the signal light wires going into the socket. These do come out if you bend the locking tab inside the connector, and then they can be cleaned as well. Just bend the locking tabs back out when ready to re-install and save yourself a lot of hassle. by doing just one wire at a time.
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Can you get a micrometer in there to make sure of the size. I might have a source but will definitely need an accurate measurement.
selling a 1988 T Type Lesabre
in Buick - Buy/Sell
Posted
Is this car still for sale? Please e mail Doug at jld1972@empireone.net
Thanks