FRAME MASS DAMPER REMOVAL

[FASTRUNNINCRICK]

NEW OWNER,VIN #1G4EC33C5LB906380 WHITE, GRAY INTERIOR, WHITE TRIM, 16 WAY SEATS AND CD PLAYER, CONVERTABLE. THANKS TO ALL FOR HELPFUL POSTS. ESPECIALLY APPRECIATE POSTS RE: HISTORY OF VEHICLE, TECHNICAL SUPPORT AND PARTS INFORMATION FROM THE MANY EXPERTS WHO REGULARLY CONTRIBUTE TO THIS SITE. ASIDE FROM BEING THRILLED WITH THIS AVERAGE CONDITION VEHICLE I HAVE COMPLETELY ENJOYED THIS FORUM. I HAVE MY WORK CUT OUT FOR ME IN RESTORING THIS VEHICLE TO THE CONDITION I WANT BUT WILL MAKE IT A LABOR OF LOVE. I HAVE ABOUT ONE HUNDRED QUESTIONS BUT WILL LIMIT MYSELF TO ONE TONIGHT: 1. WHEN I RESEARCHED THE RECALL HISTORY OF MY VEHICLE I DISCOVERED 91C62 "REMOVAL OF FRAME MASS DAMPERS". THIS RECALL WAS PERTINENT TO ALL 1991 CONVERTABLES AND TO 28 1990 CONVERTABLES. MINE, OF COURSE WAS ONE OF THE 28. I LOOKED IN THE SEARCH FEATURE BUT DID NOT FIND ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS SERVICE AND WAS HOPING SOMEONE HAD SOME INSIGHT INTO THIS. ALSO, WONDERED WHY 28 OF OVER 2,000 1990 VEHICLES WHERE EQUIPED WITH THESE DAMPERS. (PERHAPS LATE PRODUCTION RUN?)

[Guest]

The mass dampers were part of a package of modifications GM released as a retrofit and a running change in late 1990 model year to attempt to alleviate the cowl shudder some C05 Reattas exhibited at highway speeds.

Bob Rich

[Guest]

<span style="font-style: italic">Quoting your post:</span>

WHEN I RESEARCHED THE RECALL HISTORY OF MY VEHICLE I DISCOVERED 91C62 "REMOVAL OF FRAME MASS DAMPERS". [color:\\"blue\\"]THIS RECALL WAS PERTINENT TO ALL 1991 CONVERTABLES AND TO 28 1990 CONVERTABLES

Would appreciate knowing where you found this information, as one of the brood sounds like it's coming apart over railroad tracks.

[color:\\"red\\"]<span style="font-weight: bold">ALF1</span> <span style="font-style: italic">(Still here...)</span>

[Roadster90]

Would also appreciate source or a VIN range.....

[Barney Eaton]

I don't claim to know everything, but this is the first I have heard of such a device or recall.

There was a service bulliten about raising the rear on '91 convertibles with a spring spacer.

I have seen some front drive cars with a weighted mass hanging off the rear of the engine cradle. Don't remember which ones or if they were GM or not. I have a '91 and a copy of all the warranty work and there is nothing that matches the description.

Do you have the recall notice number?

[padgett]

First time I ran into "cocktail shakers" was on a 1965 Corvair Corsa convertable. One at each corner. May have been used earlier. Were also used on the first generation F-body converts (1967-69) so GM has a long history. Soon removed from most since added over 100 lbs of dead weight.

[Guest]

This sounds like a TSB technical service bulletin for those who may complain of a vibration problem.. I don't think this is a recall.

[Guest]

The TSB for "Shake and/or Jitter" is 91-10-26, issued in July of 91. As Barney said, part of the procedure was raising the ride height of the rear of the convertible. The procedure also described the installation of energy absorber mount reinforcements, and the addition of two mass dampers PN 22112268 and 22112267. These are not the heavy round masses used on the Corvairs, but are a type of "connector" whose purpose appears to be to tie the large mass of the rear bumper assembly to the rear of the unit body. GMs thinking was that the rear bumper assembly, tied to the car only through the energy absorber cylinders, was able to oscillate independantly of the car body itself under certain conditions. There was never a recall in connection with this.

Bob Rich

[FASTRUNNINCRICK]

I found this recall at http:www.reatta.net/tsb/recalls_general. I asked buick service technicians to provide me more information on this recall and they were not able to stating age of the recall was an issue for them. Buick was apparently interested in correcting frame integrity issues which the mass dampers were responsible for. The added weight of the dampers verse frame/bumber integrity is an important issue (not to mention cowl shake) Don't know what to do. Thanks all. Oh, by the way, the 28 1990 vin numbers are on that site.

[Rattaboy]

When I got my convert this summer, someone had replaced the battery and left off the strut that goes over the battery. I replaced it (Jim Finn) and could tell the difference in cowl shake. I notice some of the newer vehicles (Mustang for instance) tie the shock towers together with a brace, wonder if that would help the Reatta convert.? HAS ANYONE TRIED IT?

[Rawja]

As far as I know, both the coupes and convertables utilized a brace between the strut towers. This can be confirmed by looking at the engine compartment shots for the Reattas on Ebay. If you don't have one installed, I would suggest installing one straight away.

[Guest]

The installation of the "Shake/Jitter" fix was a TSB, not a recall. The "fix"

seems to have stressed the unit body to the point of causing cracks, although how much of this was caused by poor field weld techniques is not known. The removal of the "fix" was safety related and was a recall. How many Reattas were in the hands of the original owners, and thus received the recall notice, was small, although the removal would be done for secondary owners. No parts were needed for the removal.

Bob Rich

Bob Rich

[Guest]

My computer is in the shop.....so my identification is different

Of interest to those of you that want to know everything, the '91 convertibles did not use the black strut rods that run from the strut tower to the radiator support. They had a black triangle of stamped metal placed in the radiator support/fender corner. Each side of the triangle is about 12 inches. This is another strange GM attempt to solve the cowl shake problem.

I have heard stories that GM went to a wrecking yard and got the cans from a Corvair and installed them in a Reatta to see if that was the solution, thank God it didn't work. If you ever get a chance to look at a convertible on a lift, you will find there are at least 7 possibly more, additional stampings welded to the bottom of the car for additional rigidity.