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Getting my Reatta out of storage


roadmaster29

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llo its been a long time since I have been on here very much. I am now officially semi retired so I will at least have time to work on a few projects and use the rest. The fleet of cars is down to just and only 2 are old enough to warrant Historical plates in South Dakota. The first project I have pulled into the shop to get road worthy again is my Maui Blue 1990 Reatta. it had sat neglected for several years in a garage and had some dead mice smell in it but after being told to pour a lot of Pine Sol onto the carpets for the past year if is actually starting to smell much better and thank fully there doesnt seem to be a lot of damage to the interior or wirelng, The main things I need to focus on right now are the rear struts are so bad that it is nearly impossible to drive over 50 MPH on anyrhing but a perfect highway. Does anyone here have  good source for these and in the end will probably need front struts also. Next is the radio and the clock displays and when you power it up the station it is permanently stuck on 98.1  lights up but the none of the functions work including the antenna. There was on old forum someone mentioned they thought there was 2 fuses but I can find no place for a second fuse. 

Any ideas about this would be appreciated

 

Sid Rollings

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There are 2 fuses for the radio......... one keep the clock correct and the other is for power  On the left side of the console, fuse 11 is controlled by the ignition sw,  13 is hot all the time.

Rear struts are a problem only because the Reatta was the only car we know of that used that strut and did not have self leveling.

Riviera,  Toranodo, Seville and Eldorado use the same basic strut but theirs have the air fitting for self leveling.   originally they were probably calibrated a little different but in the 

aftermarket they are all the same.    Bottom line, you will probably need to buy the struts for one of the cars above and then you have the option of just putting a slight pre-charge on each one OR

buy the hose kit and be able to easily adjust the pressure that works for you. 

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58 minutes ago, padgett said:

Can't just leave the self leveling plugged ?

I have Riviera struts on my car since the turn of the century without air in them and have never found that to be an issue. The strut is essentially the same but it has an external air bag added to the upper end, sort of like a coilover. Initially I added air lines and a central schroeder (tire valve) inside the console. It will jack the car up if desired but it seems most people want to go the other way. I am pretty certain there is no air in the strut after a couple decades and perhaps the rubber bladder is now inoperative, I do not know. When I get the car out in a little while I will try adding air to find out.

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Since I have never used the struts with the air bags,   what method is used to keep the air in or out if no air line is attached?   I would guess there is a threaded fitting like a tire valve.   Is there a schrader valve inside the fitting?

If you plug it will an ordinary plastic cap stay in place....... I would think with little or no air in the bag, there would still be pressure changes inside as the shock/strut moves.   Is the pressure enough to blow off a plastic cap. 

Just my questions about a issue I have no experience with. 

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If I remember correctly, my '92 Riviera with self-leveling rear shocks had a fitting on their side that looked like a tire valve (minus the threads I believe).  The rubber/vinyl lines from the leveling system were clipped to the valve.  If you didn't attach the lines, then the shock acted just like a normal hydraulic rear shock.

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If memory serves, it is a clip on fitting with a sort of hairpin retainer, I don’t remember exactly. The air lines are 1/8” plastic and I believe those kits are available. The two struts are tee’d together with a single line to a place of your choice for a Schroeder valve.

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