All Activity

Got the knuckles swapped over and the GXP brakes installed. Going to tackle the e-brake next. Going with a rip-it style handle from an 04-ish J-body and a center console from an 00+ Monte. I have new rear e-brake cables from a 2G, so I'm going to need to figure out how to mate them with the Cavalier one. I know there's a thread somewhere on going to this style e-brake, but I can't find it. Anyone know where it is?

be careful with the springs. they are huge and under more tension then i've seen on most others. Nearly killed myself when one went orbital on me. That said if you're going that far its perhaps worth your while to get some 96' knuckles so you can run the larger rotor

Ok so I wanted to let everyone know in here I had no luck still replacing the front strut cartridges with the tool kit I got off eBay to replace these strut cartridges. My friend came over to help me work on my Regal to replace the strut cartridges. We found out the strut cartridges have been played around with the first time they were replaced before. Someone who worked on it years ago tried cutting the top strut tower because we found small cut marks along where the studs are for the strut tower mount. We also found out they replaced the top mount with an aftermarket mount. So that’s why the strut tower will not fit the spanner nut extension down into the tower to loosen the cartridge nut. We have to remove the whole strut and compress it to remove the cartridge. What a pain in the ass.

Been a long time since I've played with rear brakes on a '92 or '93 W-body, but I don't remember there being an access problem.

anyone on here who has a passenger side door for the two door cutlass-preferably black. hit me up i am interested in buying if you are interested in money

The registration fee on mine is $46, but the bill also includes city and county property, which added another $57 for a total bill of $103. I'm thinking of applying for an Antique Auto plate. It qualifies, and although it costs a few extra dollars, one of the perks is it pegs the tax value at $500, which is a fraction of it's present tax value. The flip side of that coin is that it imposes a cap on the number of miles the car can be driven each year. I'm just not sure whether it's worth it.

Congrats. I think here in Iowa, a 25 year old vehicle is considered to be vintage or a classic. With both my W's, I'm well beyond that. Plate renewal is $50 per vehicle for me now.

So, Wednesday marked seven years to the day that I took delivery of my '95 Cutlass Supreme convertible, which also means the registration is due for renewal. When I took it in for that today, I was informed that since the car is now 30 years old, the state of North Carolina considers it to be "vintage vehicle," and such it no longer requires an annual state safety inspection. Fine by me, that's a few dollars I didn't have to spend today. I also believe the Antique Automobile Club of America would consider it an antique.

So….I think that relay might be a little passed its prime. On the plus side, that should be the cause of your issues.

Opened up the compressor relay.

Gotta be careful with testing that one. I don’t believe you can do a simple continuity test like that and get a definitive result. Depending on how the switching is handled in the PCM, it’s likely you won’t get a definitive continuity reading between it and ground. It’s such a low current circuit that the 11 ohms you saw may very well be a good control ground. I’ve heard that you need to use a very low current test light for definitive results when testing those types of circuits.

You are correct, the correct pin to test clutch engagement is #5, not #3. KOEO with AC on I have battery voltage at pins 1 and 3 (test A). Clutch engages with battery voltage to pin 5 (test B). Pin 2 is a mystery. I do not have ground continuity and the meter reads 11 ohms. I don't think it is receiving the control ground from the ECM.

Looking at the AC relay, pins 85 and 86 are the control side. One should have power with the key on, and the other will receive a ground from the PCM when the AC compressor is being commanded on. Pin 30 is the load side power in and pin 87 is the load side power out from the relay. If you have both powers to the relay and the control ground when the AC is being commanded on, but no power out on Pin 87....you have a bad relay. If you have power on Pin 87 when the AC is being commanded on, then you have a broken wire going to the compressor or a bad compressor clutch. I also just noticed that Test B above is wrong. You can't expect to have voltage on Pin 3 in test A, and be expected to supply voltage to Pin 3 in test B to engage the compressor.

3.4s do have the same pressure switch in the power steering rack. What I have tested is that when it won't run the compressor, the #5 wire in the 87 relay socket has 0 volts, test B. If I run battery voltage directly to the compressor connector I'm confident it would engage the clutch.

Well, from where I stand I would probably look for a 3400 LA1 shortblock, plunk the T-code heads & intake down onto it, & install a custom 3400 T-code engine into the car. I personally wouldn't waste my money on just a T code 3.1

Totally for sentimental value because financially it doesn’t make any sense to drop $4k on it! Probably wouldn’t be worth more than that afterwards. It has 172k miles, but I have the money to spend, so want to have a quality replacement engine.

Hard decision......putting all personal emotion aside...what's the car worth to you?

Should have mentioned that! The 3.1L.

Which engine are you referring to........the pushrod 3.1 or the 3.4 DOHC?

Hey everyone, my 1992 Cutlass Supreme Convertible I’ve had since 2000 is dead. It hydrolocked. I did manage to get it to start a couple times for a few seconds, but there’s a horrible knock and coolant out of the dual exhaust. I’ve ripped it down to the block once, about 14 years ago and don’t feel like doing it again. I should junk the car…but you know how that goes. So, I’m looking for a remanufactured engine with a warranty that I’ll have a local shop install. Any recommendations on the best company to go with? Looking at S&K Engines….Accurate Engines…ATK via Jegs…let me know if you have any experience with a remanufactured engine, or a shop in the Southeast I could send it to.

I believe there is only 1 refrigerant pressure switch used with the variable compressor systems like your car would have. That will shut down the compressor below or above a certain refrigerant pressure level. Looking at my Regal FSM, 3.1 cars also have a pressure switch in the power steering pump. I'm not 100% certain, but I believe 3.4 cars have the same thing. Under high power steering pressure, it will command the PCM to kill the compressor. Same thing happens at full throttle, and at higher than normal coolant temperatures. The PCM receives the signal from the HVAC unit to turn the compressor on. It will ensure that refrigerant pressure checks out, that the power steering pressure checks out, that the coolant temperature checks out, and that the car isn't at full throttle. If all of that checks out, then it will activate the compressor relay, increasing the idle and activating the cooling fans. That's why I was asking about the revs coming up when you turn the AC on. If the PCM is actively trying to command the compressor on, the revs will come up and the cooling fan(s) should kick in or ramp up as required. That would mean that all of the various pressure switches have checked out, and if it's not engaging at that point, your issue is going to be with the clutch itself, the relay, or a broken wire somewhere in that chain.

I thought there was only one pressure switch that sits in the low-pressure line next to the accumulator. There are more?

I don't recall the space being restricted, but might have to get a breaker bar on there and a BFH (Big F-ing Hammer).

DIY coilovers. There's no other readily available way.

This is for a 92 Regal so the wiring colours may vary, but the idea will be the same. You first perform test A to determine where to go from there. From what I can see, all of the pressure switches, the AC request from the HVAC and such all go through the ECM, and the ECM is what controls the relay, and ultimately the Compressor. The revs coming up when you turn the AC on makes me believe the ECM is receiving all of the necessary inputs and is actively trying to command the AC compressor on through the relay….and that your issue is going to lie in that area of the system.