kilkm

My '95 Le Sabre has developed an electrical problem and I'm looking for advice. The car sat for about 3 months this summer with a mechanical problem. I fixed the car the other day and started it up, everything runs great but now I have no headlights. No lights at all when I turn them on including tail lights and marker lights. If I turn the parking lights on they work including the tail lights but if I push the headlight switch all lights go off including the dash lights. I replaced the headlight switch, didn't help, same problem. I'm wondering if a mouse chewed some wires while it sat this summer and I have a bare wire somewhere that could be causing the problem. All other power features work and the turn signals work ok also. Never had any electrical problems with this car before it sat. Any ideas where to look, don't see any bare or frayed wires in the engine compartment but man there are a lot of wires on this car! Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated.

Car was bought in Illinois. It's dissapointing to hear of all the problems with this model. I had a '95 Lesabre limited that I put 216,000 almost trouble free miles on before it blew a head gasket. I liked the Lesabre so much I bought another one, wondering now if I should have bought a Toyota!

I bought an '01 Lesabre a couple of weeks ago for a replacement work car. Very clean low mile car, I like to drive. The other day my drivers side power window would not work. The next day when I tried it it worked and has since. I did some research on line on the model and have found page after page of complaints about the Lesabre power windows. Seems the regulators break quite often, it's a big problem with this model from what I've read. Also some of my dash lights are burnt out which I thought unusual for a car with only 59,000 miles but again I find this to be a common complaint on the '01 Lesabre. I'm considering getting rid of this thing even though I really like the car, before I need some expensive repairs. I haven't found the same complaints with the Park Avenue on line, I may try and find one of those. Anyone have a Lesabre that has had problems with the windows or dash lights? Does the Park Avenue have the same problems?

I bought a '01 Lesabre last week as a replacement work car. Super clean low mile car from an elderly gentelman, very nice car. When I run the A/C on these hot humid days I'm getting fog on the OUTSIDE of the windshield and have to clear it with the wipers occasionally. Never had this problem with any car before. I see the A/C lines on this car run across the back of the engine compartment and there is a lot of insulation above them. Anyone else have this problem with this? Could I try putting some pipe insulation on the lines. Appreciate anyone's thoughts.

I have a '62 Electra convertible with a 401 that has a road draft tube. Sometimes cruising with the top down I notice fumes in the car that I suspect are from the draft tube. I've considered going to the PCV system used on the '63 and later models, but I really like the clean look of this nailhead without any of the PCV hoses. I found a diagram in an assembly manual for this '62 that shows an adapter that replaces the draft tube. A PCV valve is connected to the adapter and it is routed to the back of the carb, discretely hidden from view for the most part. I've ask a few people about this and even shown them the diagram, none recall this set up and have told me that some of these sketches never made it to production. Does any one ever recall seeing this set up on a '62 model nailhead? I could probably make the adapter to replace the draft tube, not sure if the PCV valve for a '63 would be the right one to use. This is a well vented engine with breather caps on both valve covers and the big draft tube venting out the back of the valley pan. I just wonder if I tried making an adapter with a PCV valve if it would provide adequate vetilation for this model engine or would I start blowing oil out the breather caps? I'm interested in anyones opinion or if anyone ever saw this set up on a '62.

Does anyone know if the arm on the tail shaft that the shifter linkage attaches to is different on a column shift car vs a floor shift car? I'm converting a column shift to a floor shift and we cant seem to get the full range of gears. The arm on my transmission tail shaft is 5 1/4 inches. If anyone has a floor shift 62/63 Wildcat and could measure the length of that arm or even take a photo I sure would appreciate it.

This is much different than a '63 special. I have a '62 Electra and know what your talking about but this is completely different. There must be a special tool they use to make the adjustment at the service centers, I'm going to go to the Buick garage and ask, no one seems to know that I've talked to.

I just replaced the drivers side headlight assembly on my '95 Lesabre and need to adjust the headlights. I see the adjustment screws but they aren't accessable with a screwdriver. Is there a special tool I need or what should I use? Never had a car I couldn't adjust the lights.

I have a Buick 7000 RPM tachomoter that is dated March 1962 inside the case. I've been told that the only vehicles that these tach's were put in was the '62 Wildcat. Does anyone know for sure if that is true? I know the '62 & '63 Wildcat consoles are the same, but was told that only the '62 has the 7000 RPM tach's and that 1963 thru 1966 nailheads were equiped with a 6000 RPM tach. I believe they only made around 1700 '62 Wildcats and was just curious if this information is correct.

Thanks for the photo. I see the Electra seats are quite different. The pleats on the Electra are verticle and they are stitched, not heat seamed. I have a few photo's of a bucket seat in an Electra, it is the same pattern as my bench, stitched, not heat seamed. The Electra seats also have buttons. I tried to attach a photo with no luck. I could attach the picture to an email if you wanted to see them. I was just wondering if anyone had an old Electra bucket seat cover by chance that the upholestry shop could use as a pattern. They are going to be very expensive to reproduce without them.

Does anyone have an old set of bucket seats out of a '62 Electra, Invicta or Wildcat? I'm putting a set of bucket seats in a '62 Electra and need an old seat cover for the upholestry shop to use as a pattern. Very expensive to have these hand sewn without a pattern, it would save me a lot of money if they had an old seat cover to copy the pattern from. I'll pay good money for one if anyone has one they could part with, even return it if you want it back.

Does anyone know of a company that makes pre-sewn seat covers for the early Electa's? I'm installing a set of bucket seats in my '62 convertible and want to match the existing interior. I've found companies that make them for the GS and Skylarks but not for the early Electra's. Local upholstry shop wants $600/seat to hand stitch them and we haven't been able to find a company that reproduces them for this car. Anyone know of a supplier that makes these?

I found several small broken o-rings laying in the top of the cylinder head recently when I removed the rocker covers on my '62 401. I assume they are the valve stem seals and probably explains why this engine smokes at start up and why I see smoke comming out the draft tube. Any tips on replacing these seals would be appreciated. I've read a little bit on line, people talking about doing the job with the head still on the motor using the "rope trick" to hold the valves up when the springs are removed or pressurizing the cylinder with an air compressor and adapter screwed into the spark plug hole. Don't think I want to cram rope into the cylinder but I guess it works. What kind of spring compressor is used on these engines since the don't have studs and nuts on the individual tappets? I also noted last year when I had the intake manifold off this engine has adjustable push rods installed. It may have had a performance cam installed before I bought the car, it's a very strong running motor and has other high performance parts. The engine has a little clatter at start up, some have told me it is common in the engines, but I wonder if the pushrods could or should be adjusted. Are these valve stem seals still readily available? I'd like to hear from anybody whose replaced thes seals, I've never done this before.

I've been looking to buy a "kneeknocker" tach for my '62 Buick. I've found some that are 6000 and some are 7000 RPM's Which would be correct for the '62?

Thanks for the info guys. I don't think I've ever let the oil get over 1500 miles on it before changing it in this engine and during that time I've added a couple of quarts due to consumption. I've put the car away for the winter now, but next spring I think I'll try the diesel oil and E.O.S. I'm a little uncomfortable with the snythetic in this old engine. Would a straight weight oil be perfered over a multi grade? I don't drive this car in cold weather.

I'd like to know what type oil people are using in the old Nailhead engines. The last oil change in my '62 401 I tried switching to Royal Purple 10W30 synthetic. The engine seems to have some clatter for about 5 seconds after start up then quiets right down and runs smooth. Also noticed increased oil consumption and blow by out the draft tube. I've read modern oils don't contain the additives these old engines need and thought synthetics superior lubricating properties would be the answer but now I wonder if it's OK for these older engines. I've read some people using oils for desiel engines such as Shell Rotella or adding E.O.S. assembly lubricant with a high Zinc content to conventional oil. How about adding E.O.S. to the Snythetic oil? I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I would like put a posi-traction rear end in my '62 Electra. Does anyone know if the rearend assembly from a early 60's Wildcat would fit under a '62 Electra 225 or is a gear swap possible? Did all Wildcats leave the factory with limited slip rearends? Thanks

I'm looking for suggestions to solve the cooling problem with my '62 Electra. The 401 run cool as can be running down the road, but when left to idle for extended periods of time it gets hot. This winter I took the radiator out and had it rebuilt with 4 cores, I installed a 160 degree thermostat, and added a 7 blade clutch fan and ensured I had a good tight fit with the shroud. I also sent the exhaust manifolds to Arizona and had the "Jet Hot" high temp coating applied to reduce external temperature and also proved for smooth flowing exhaust gases. I also completely removed the air conditioning. (Car is an Electra Convertible and the add-on A/C unit was never used anyway.) I Thought this would take care of the problem but it didn't. Going down the road the motor only runs slightly over 160, but when left to idle in the driveway for 10 minutes or so it climbed to over 215 and was still going up when I shut it down. I did note that when I raised the idle the temp started to drop. Apparently the water pump is not pushing enough water at idle to keep this motor cool when idleing is necessary for extended periods. The water pump on this engine appears to be fairly new, is tight and doesn't leak. Is this a common problem with these engines? This restored 62' beauty is in several parades and events during the summer hot weather and this is a problem. I inquired to Edelbrock about their high volume water pumps as a replacement, but they do not make one for a buick 401. A friend of mine suggested putting a smaller pulley on the water pump so it turns faster at idle. Sounds like it could work to me and was wondering if anyone has tried this. Anyone else have this problem with the old Nailheads or have any suggestion to cure this problem?

Last year on the Hot Rod Power Tour I checked the mileage and was pleased with 16.5 MPG, not bad for a '62 Electra. I'm sure the New Edelbrock carb is a lot more efficient than the original equipment. I'll be interested to see what the linkage set up looks like. The 401 in this car runs REAL strong, sure would like to get better performance from the dynaflow, and am curious what difference the kick-down valve will make.

Thanks everyone for their input. I remembered that I did replace the A/C-Heater control head this summer. It shorted out and when I priced one at the Buick Garage they wanted around $700 for it. Couldn't see spending that much on my work car with over 100k on it so I got one at the salvage yard for $40 and put it in. I swear that whole unit only weighed a couple of ounces, can't believe what they charge for these electronic components. Anyway, could be that used unit causing the problem, but I suspect what someone else said, it's a door under the dash not opening, I'll look into it, thanks for your help guys.

Mike; Thanks for the info on the transmission kick down linkage. Was this set up also used on the later dynaflows, after 1963? Could you or anyone post a photo of how this linkage is configured? I've heard the performance of the dynaflow compaired to a herd of turtles swimming through a sea of peanut butter. I think my turtles are also wearing lead boots! If anyone could post a picture of this linkage set up I sure would appreciate it.

I've had 2 occasions this winter when the temps drop below zero the heater in my '95 Lesabre will not put out any heat. Engine temp gauge shows normal and no coolant leaks. Happened once in December, then the heater worked fine until 2 days ago when we had another cold snap with temps down to -4. The first time I drove the car for over a hundred miles and heater never did get warm. Next day when temps rose above zero, heater worked fine. Same thing happened yesterday, no heat at -4 but when the temp rose to 7 above later that afternoon heater worked fine. Any ideas what could be causing this and what I can do about it?

I've never owned a classic Buick before and wasn't even familiar with the term "nailhead" until I bought my '62 Electra a couple of years ago. I found it interesting that the "Wildcat 445" was actually 401 C.I. and the 445 designated torque. When I replaced the valve cover gaskets last year I was taken-back by the rocker arm design and the fact that there was no adjustments on the individual tappets. I've recently been stripping the motor down to paint the block for a winter spruce up project. When I removed the valley cover I noticed that the pushrods on this engine have adjustment nuts just above where they contact the hydraulic lifters. Are these standard or is this a modification? This engine has had some performance upgrades, Edelbrock performer carb, electric fuel pump and the distributer has a Petronix's unit (has worked flawlessly) and an Accell Super Coil, but I know nothing of the history of the car and what else may have been done to the engine. Engine runs smooth and real strong, so I assume whoever built it new what they were doing. One other thing, I also noticed a rod near the throttle linkage that crosses over behind the cylinder head and down to the dynaflow transmission just forward of the gear shift linkage. It's not connected to anything and appears to me that it should be hooked up the throttle linkage. A freind of mine thought that it was a valve that increased line pressure during wide open throttle situations to prevent slippage in the transmission. If this is correct I'll need to look at a similar model to see how they routed the linkage. I know some of you guys out there know all about this, like to hear from you. Thanks!

Thanks everyone for their input, I do believe the odor is from blow by from the draft tube (odometer shows 91,000 and I'm sure they are original.) I never drive this car with the top up, only once or twice when a rainstorm popped up when I was at a show, so I never noticed the odor with the top up on this rare occasion. The car is in storage from November to April here in the frozen North. An "add on" A/C system had been added to this car and someone mentioned could be getting fumes from a rust hole in the floor. Now I'm betting it's from the drain from the A/C unit located near the draft tube. I think the easiest solution would to be to replace the valley and valve covers from a later model engine, say a '65 or '66, that had a PCV system. Does anybody know if there is any reason this would not work?

So, do you believe then that removing the draft tube ventilation system and replacing it with the PCV system from a later model (replacing valley and valve covers) provide adequate ventilation for this model engine? What would you do to your car? As I bought this car a couple of years ago from the Volo auto museum North of Chicago, who had bought the car at an Auction in Dallas, TX. I don't know anything of it's history other than the car came from Oklahoma and I am the 3rd owner. It's in beautiful condition and was told that it was restored in 2000. The motor was highly detailed, block freshly painted and new freeze plugs inserted, but I have noticed some smoke (blow-by) coming out the draft tube at idle. This leads me to believe that maybe the motor wasn't overhauled (odometer showed 88,000). But this old nailhead runs sweet and strong. Some performance upgrades had been made to the motor, Edelbrock performer carb, Petronix module in the distributor with an Accel super coil and a Carter electric fuel pump. I'm happy with the performance of the engine, it's just that annoying odor in the car at times from the draft tube. For clarification, what would YOU do if this was your car?