JOHN07

Hello I have an 87 Riviera that has a broken drivers side door handle switch. I know that this forum has very good resources for this kind of stuff. Anyone know where I can get a replacement? Thank you John T.

One other thing to check is the mass air meter. You can tap on it with a screwdriver while the car is running and see if the car stumbles or dies. I have had this problem twice.

A variable orfice tube can change or vari the size of the hole or orfice at different times. It will open at times when it needs more refrigerent and can close when it needs less. I have not tried one before, but the people I have talked to said it did not work very well. I believe it is just another part that can fail either in the wide open or closed position. Hope this is helpful JohnT

If you are wanting to fix this yourself, then it is going to require some special tools. I used a side tap can adaptor and a hose and spray gun. I bought a flushing tool that you can put flush in it and then you pressurize the cylinder with an air compressor. I took the hose and gun and screwed it onto the side tap a/c can adaptor. I chose not to use flush because it is hard to get it all out when you are done. I did a lot of research and found that you can use brake cleaner in the pressurized cans. Remove the orfice tube and the accumulator. Put the can adaptor around the bottom of the can and spray it into the open lines. I would recomend that you use at least 3 cans and also replace your compressor, orfice tube and accumulator. I would also replace your hose set coming off the compressor, because it has a muffler in it that is hard to clean. Brake cleaner will evaporate fast. This has worked for me very well. I would not recomend buying the remanufactured compressors for the part stores. They will not last long and seem to have a lot of problems. There are new kits on e-bay for $300 that has everything needed(New Compressor,accumulator,orfice tube,o-rings 8oz oil). If retrofiting to 134a, you will need 85%-90% of your original charge. You will also have to change to either pag or ester oil. I go with ester because it is compatible with 12 or 134a. You will also need a vacuum pump for at least 1 hour. This has worked great for me. It's going on 5 years for my first and it works great still. Hope this helps JohnT

Most part stores will have your part. Oreillys or Advance Will cost about $100.00 for a rear hub assembly. Hope this helps! JohnT

I have an 87' Riviera that had the same problem. I tracked it down to the crt. You can remove the crt fuse and see if this fixes your problem. The problem seems to be the relay for the heater filiment for the crt starts sticking. It is internal to the crt. This will usually cause a 2.0 amp draw on the battery. Reattas were modified at the start of production, but if it was replaced then this could be your problem. I have more info on this if needed. Hope this helps someone.

I am having trouble with my controller keeping radio stations locked in. I am constantly resetting my radio stations everytime I restart my car. I have an 87' Riviera. I thought that since the Reatta and the Riviera use a lot of the same parts, someone here could help me. There is a controller on e-bay from a 89' Riviera with the part#1228828. I have some old paperwork that says my car needs part#1228475. Can anyone tell me if this part# will work and if the 89's part# is just the newer part#? Thanks for any help JohnT

I have done many of these types of cars and have found that you need to replace the accumulator and orifice tube. R12 cars came with mineral oil and the 134a uses pag or easter oil. The desiccant in the old accumulator is not compatible with the new refrigerant. The new accumulators are rated for either r12 or 134a. Pull out the old accumulator and check the oil for color. It should be clear in color and not black. If black then you will have to flush out the system and change out the compressor. Pulling a vacuum before charging is very important. Hope this helps,JohnT

If I still had r12 in my car and had this problem and if the car cooled ok then I would add a 1/4lb-1/2lb to fix this problem. I would guess that if you drove your car and watched the pressures they would fall below the pressure to set the low refrig code. You can see you temps while driving by looking at your a/c control panel in service mode. I have only added resistors to cars after they have been converted to 134a to fix this problem. Also the resistors are in parallel and not in series with the low side thermistor. Hope this helps, JohnT

I have an 87' Riviera that I believe should have the same rear suspension as the Reatta. The problem I am having is a negative camber problem on the rear. The alignment shop says I have too much negative camber and it is not adjustable. Looking at the rear of the car, the tires seem to be leaning in. They suggested getting the whole rear assembly from a salvage yard to fix the problem. Has anyone had this problem and how to fix it. Thanks JohnT

It could be all the stuff listed above, but my bet would be the ignition module.I had the same problem, but mine would not start in the morning when it was cool outside. You could use a hair dryer to heat it up before you try to start it. It worked for me. JohnT

This problem is most likely to happen on cars that have been converted to 134a. This happens because when you convert over from r12 to 134a, you acually only put in 80% of the charge. R134a runs at a higher pressure than r12. If you where to put in the amount on your sticker, your high side would be through the roof. You have to basicly under charge your system with 134a. The way I have solved the low charge codes is to put a 55k ohm resistor in parallel with the low side thermistor. This will also cause your vent temps to drop lower. This will fool your computer into not setting the low charge codes. You may have to fiddle with the 55k value by lowering or raising the value a little. If you go to low, the system will eventually freeze up. Make sure you have the proper charge to start with. Thanks JohnT

Can anyone tell me if (FRB9.0) and (SCX2.4) are the proper belt numbers for the tape deck? Where can I purchase them on the internet? Where can I find the procedure for dismantling the tape player? I have found some, but they would not open Thanks,JohnT

Can anyone tell me what their Block Learn numbers are? Normal is said to be 128. I get 119-121. Is this normal for an 87'Riviera? What would cause the numbers to be low? I have rebuilt the motor and have bored this motor .030 over and would have thought the numbers would be higher. Also does this make sense: 1) No vacuum leaks because block learn would be above 128. 2) Fuel pressure is more than adequate with a low block learn value. 3) Clogged air filter or low compression equals low block learn numbers. Any other thoughts? Thanks alot Guys JohnT

I have an 87' Riviera that is close to the Reatta. My problem is that I have an intermittent miss that I cannot find. I have recently rebuilt the motor and the miss is still there. I have checked or changed the crank sensor, cam sensor, ignition module and coil pack, new wires and plugs. I have also checked the egr valve by pushing up on it with the engine running and it will make the car stumble. I have had 2 mechanics look at it and they could not find it, but one thought it might be a balance problem. I do not believe this because it will sometimes run and idle without the miss. Has anyone else run into this kind of problem? Car has no codes in computer and no vacuum leaks. Thanks JohnT