JACK M Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 1995 Park Avenue, V6 Front wheel drive. Doing a favor, The history I have is that it somehow the forward most serpentine pully bracket broke. It looks to be a plastic pulley on a cast aluminum bracket. I suspect that its just an idler. The families kid got a new bracket and pully assy and installed it and put the belt back on. Then it drove for a couple of blocks and made a squealing noise (blond driving so lets just say it was a noise) and the belt came off. It made it back to their house and was parked ever since. Six or so months later. Yea,, maybe a year and six months, who knows. Since I own tools and a trailer I was asked if I could maybe take a look at it. I went and hauled it home. Seems that battery is dead. No problem, I hook up a charger. There is what I would guess is a pump of some kind firing off when I hook up the charger. I check that everything is turned off and even take the keys out. This pump is still running. So I take off the battery cables so I can charge it overnight. This pump thing is on the drivers side behind the headlight just in front of the washer reservoir. But it looks like said reservoir has its own pump (maybe not, but there are some wires going to it). The offending unit has a very small tube coming from it so I am now guessing that it may be an air pump. Would this car have some accessory that would need air and run with the ignition and everything else turned off? It does have some script on the brake pedal that claims to be antilock brakes. Could that pump go to an accumulator? I am hoping that I will have enough battery tomorrow that I may start the thing up and see what may be going on with that serpentine belt. In contemplating variables it dawned on me that I have the car sucked down to the trailer pretty tight. Could that maybe send some kind of a message to an air ride system that would trigger that pump? I know, I know, Check with the Buick guys. I just happened to land here first. Sorry about the long wind, There are reasons that I am not a GM guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 25 minutes ago, JACK M said: In contemplating variables it dawned on me that I have the car sucked down to the trailer pretty tight. Could that maybe send some kind of a message to an air ride system that would trigger that pump? I don't know semi modern/ or modern cars at all, but my son has a 98? Lincoln that does have an air ride/ or leveler air pump that most certainly does run with car shut off. I was there last week when it came on just sitting there and he said it's the air pump cycling because he has a slight minor air leak. No idea if the Buick has the same system, or about the car being winched down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted October 27, 2022 Share Posted October 27, 2022 First thing to come to mind was the air shocks. Try unstrapping it from the trailer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted October 28, 2022 Author Share Posted October 28, 2022 I will loosen it up on the trailer and let it run to see if it shuts off. I am hoping to have some battery today. Thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NailheadBob Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Please post some photos of the "the pump" is still running", and the bracket and pulley assembly that was replaced. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RansomEli Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 I had a Chevrolet about the same year. The car had an air pump for leveling the rear shocks at the location you mentioned. If there was battery power the air pump would try to level out the car. Sounds like your rear shock leveler is just trying to do its job. There should be an electrical connection to the device. Unpower the device and then you shouldn't have that funny noise. One thing about serpentine belts -- if all the pulleys aren't exactly aligned the belt will slip off. Double-check that the pulley was installed correctly. The next thing to go wrong on the car will be the plastic intake manifold. Replace it with an aftermarket Dorman's. Designed better than the OEM version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted October 28, 2022 Author Share Posted October 28, 2022 4 hours ago, NailheadBob said: Please post some photos of the "the pump" is still running", and the bracket and pulley assembly that was replaced. Bob Pouring rain today, But will try and get out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted October 28, 2022 Author Share Posted October 28, 2022 Here you go. I got the belt back in place yesterday but its way to wet for me to try and do anything with it outside still on the trailer today. Maybe another 24 hrs on the trickle charger won't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NailheadBob Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 The one photo looks like air compressor, the other photo looks like belt is frayed on underside, but photo in not clear, I would remove belt and check all idler pulleys for smoothness and no runout, as weather gets better get a close up of belt underside Bob 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted November 4, 2022 Share Posted November 4, 2022 (edited) The pump you show is an air ride air pump for the rear shocks. You can just unplug it to get it to stop running, but the rear of the car may sag some especially if you put some back seat riders and also stuff in the trunk. If it runs with the car just sitting there, first look at the car from the side. If it is of equal height front to back, then it is a faulty level control module that connects I remember from the car body to the rear axle. If my memory is correct, it is a square black box about 6"x 6" and about 1.5" thick with a lever attached to the side. That could be bad. Also, if the pump is running listen for a damaged/broken air line to the air shocks or a bad shock with a leak. System is fairly simple, but you just need to take some time to diagnose the system. Edited November 4, 2022 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 (edited) Our '95 Fleetwood Brougham has the same type of air ride compressor the pump would run intermittently, but way too often until we repaired defects in the hose leading to the rear shocks Edited November 5, 2022 by Marty Roth (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 On 10/27/2022 at 6:38 PM, JACK M said: T is is ;ikehere is what I would guess is a pump of some kind firing off when I hook up the charger. I check that everything is turned off and even take the keys out. This pump is still running. So I take off the battery cables so I can charge it overnight. This pump thing is on the drivers side behind the headlight just in front of the washer reservoir. But it looks like said reservoir has its own pump (maybe not, but there are some wires going to it). The offending unit has a very small tube coming from it so I am now guessing that it may be an air pump. Would this car have some accessory that would need air and run with the ignition and everything else turned off? It does have some script on the brake pedal that claims to be antilock brakes. Could that pump go to an accumulator? I am hoping that I will have enough battery tomorrow that I may start the thing up and see what may be going on with that serpentine belt. In contemplating variables it dawned on me that I have the car sucked down to the trailer pretty tight. Could that maybe send some kind of a message to an air ride system that would trigger that pump? I know, I know, Check with the Buick guys. I just happened to land here first. Sorry about the long wind, There are reasons that I am not a GM guy. Air pump for suspension. There is a fuse for it. More than one fuse box too! Got the owner's manual? It shows where they are located. And yes, you are causing it to want to raise the car. Pump is usually trouble free, why would this make you not like GM? Ford used them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 (edited) On 10/28/2022 at 3:51 PM, RansomEli said: The next thing to go wrong on the car will be the plastic intake manifold. Replace it with an aftermarket Dorman's. Designed better than the OEM version. That's why I like the Ultras, no intake manifold issue at all. Just a big pump!😁 I sure would like to know what snapped that bracket! Squirrel trapped or a bearing seizing in another location? Belt frayed/wore out came off and wrapped itself around that pulley breaking the bracket? Owner dropping a screwdriver in there so they could get a newer car? Edited November 5, 2022 by Frank DuVal (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 The air pump mystery is solved. The serpentine belt, assure the pulleys are aligned. The idle tensioner pulley has enough guts to keep tension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted November 5, 2022 Author Share Posted November 5, 2022 (edited) OK, update. Got the battery charged up. I let the car loose from the trailer. Then it started right up, and the pump did not run. I got to looking at the bracket and pulley that the guy had put on there. He had taken a couple of 7/16 bolts and cut half of the heads off and aligned them so that the heads would clear the pulley. Then he drilled out the mounting holes to take the 7/16 bolts and put washers and nuts on the back side. I looked up that pulley assembly for a good picture and it looks like the holes are threaded and bolts go in from the back. Then the bolt heads will not have a problem clearing that pulley and belt. Only two of the three mounts are used. Part should be here today. The one pictured is the one that I took off. That assembly is not terribly expensive, so I decided to just get a new one. But we are in the middle of a record-breaking rainstorm so will be trying to work on this between squalls. (it is not raining at the moment, but it rained hard for at least 24 hours yesterday). My shop is tied up and the car is still on the trailer and outdoors. Its not like I hate GM, but one would have to admit that most on this forum lean towards some brands and away from others. There are millions of GM guys out there, probably more loyalty than any other brand in the enthusiast category. This might just be the reason I am not a GM guy. Edited November 5, 2022 by JACK M (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NailheadBob Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 Glad to see your making progress, once you had engine running and the air compressor did not run, how was the car sitting? level or down in the rear, from air system leaking? What did the back side of the belt look like? Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted November 5, 2022 Author Share Posted November 5, 2022 Car was sitting naturally on its suspension. So, the "shock leveler" was indeed just trying to do its job. The belt is probably original. If I can get the car to run without throwing the belt, I will consider replacing it. It looks like I will have to take an engine mount off to swap that out. This is just a favor job, and I am not really having much fun with it. I always gripe about jobs I don't really want to do. But it is always rewarding to fix something that someone else screwed up. This particular car has little to no value. The owner tried to give me the title when I picked it up, but I wouldn't take it. If I do get it dependable and she doesn't want it, it will end up being a mud packer at the dirt track. To bad as it was probably a top end rig in its day. The leather seats are not bad, pretty clean inside. but has been hit on the RF, not a huge wreck but still not much value here. Several years ago I rode along with the then owner up to Idaho and back in this car and we ran along at 90 per for a few hours at a time. He gave it to the lady that owns it now a couple of years ago. I do not recall how many miles on it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank DuVal Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 Great cars. I have been driving them daily for over 15 years. I like the room inside. I did not like the Lucerne replacement. So I'm driving a 2005. Being the last of the 1991 - 1996 series, if it is in the 150,000 mile range, it is a $1500 car, if the accident damage is small. The next series (1997 - 2005) brings more money. A local 40 K mile 2001 (non-Ultra) sold for $9000! in August. Cars in the upper midwest and other sat areas suffer subframe rust that ends the life. Get the "improper repairs" reversed and it should run fine.👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted November 6, 2022 Author Share Posted November 6, 2022 Another update. Car is fixed and running now. Makes a minor belt noise, but you can barely hear it inside of the car. Tried a bit of belt dressing but was only a temporary fix. Car has 251 thousand on the odo. As I said earlier, not much value. Thanks for all the info from you guys that are more familiar with this model than I. I went away from working on cars to working on boats for a living in the mid 70s and am not up on anything newer than that. I do not recall ever learning anything about fuel injection or computers back then. I don't even recall any serpentine belts. Manufacturers had just recently started using electronic ignition. Anyway, I am sure happy that I got involved with this forum, I speak highly about you guys all the time in my relatively small circle of friends. Cheers all.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NailheadBob Posted November 7, 2022 Share Posted November 7, 2022 For the slight noise, how does visual alignment of belt look with engine running, and any noticeable run out of belt with it running? Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted November 7, 2022 Author Share Posted November 7, 2022 I don't see any alignment problems now. Belt looks perfectly true when its running. I am chalking it up to old age. LOL The owner is not making any noises about wanting it back. But its way to new for yard art. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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