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I went thru some of this non-compatible B.S some 11 years ago when I updated my A/C system to 134. I had already purchased a newer 134a compressor to replace the original R12 compressor that was leaking, at THAT time I didn't realize that the manifold hose assembly ends (fittings) had been redesigned for the 134a systems. Seeing as I HAD to purchase the 134a manifold assembly for the redesigned compressor... I did NOT want to replace all of the other hardware, the new manifold would NOT fasten to the older receiver/dryer because the threads were altered........ all of this fell into play as I had also updated the brake vacuum booster, the larger booster required a *newer* 134a liquid side A/C delivery pipe. The newer pipe was redesigned to go under & around the larger dia booster & would NOT fasten to the older design receiver/dryer, the fitting threads were not the same. I had to cut off the ends of the newer pipes & cut off the ends of the original & swap the old fittings to the new pipes & tig them into place. Hopefully you can avoid all of the B.S if you keep everything compatible. The 96 V5 compressor is near identical to the older V5 with respect to its *clocking*, what IS different (besides the rear housing casting) is the mounting points openings...where the older item has threads cut into the flanges the newer design sees thru openings with no threads cut.

When it comes to evaporators, the real test would be checking the part number for a 92 Regal with the 3800 against one for a 92 cutlass. If the part numbers match, you should be OK there. 88-95 Regals with the 2.8/3.1/3100 would have had the same AC setup as the other Ws of the same year. The 3800 series 1 cars, of which the 90-95 Regals were the only Ws to use it, used a completely different AC compressor and AC setup(Cycling clutch vs variable displacement compressor) Some parts might match and interchange with other Ws, while others won’t. Just something to keep in mind when cross shopping parts. AC parts for a 92 Regal with the 3.1 should all match a 92 cutlass, where as parts for a 92 Regal with the 3800 may not all be the same.

Reviewing some components other than lines... I just checked the part numbers (3093285) for the evaporator core, and they're the same part from '88-'01 in just about every W-body, including 92 Regal, 92 Cutlass, 98 Monte. So at least the fittings there should bolt up no problem from any donor. The condensors are the same part number (52452050) from 89-93 and 94 Lumina (did it still get R12 that year?), and a second part number (52481282) for the rest of 94-01. Aftermarket lists them both as having 3/4" - 16 thread inlet and outlets, good for R12 and R134, but different core thickness (18mm and 25mm), and slightly different core dimensions and styles. Other than that they seem to be the same, possibly interchangable. I already do have a brand new 89-93 condensor I bought several years ago and never installed.

One issue you may run into there is that 3800 series 1 powered cars all used the HR6 style AC compressor vs the V5 compressor that the 60 degree V6s and the 3800 series 2 cars used. A 1996 Buick Regal 3800 would have had a 3800 series 2 from the factory, so you might need to look for the AC components for one of those.

The coolant was a little low, but didn't take much to top off the radiator. The overflow was almost completely empty, though. I did not run it again to see if that helped, so I'll do that later today, but I doubt it will help.

I'm going to differ with you on this Kyle....... what OP needs is the necessary A/C piping from a 1st Gen Regal with the 3.8 engine. If you intend on keeping as much as your car is currently fitted with you'll need the a/c compressor manifold hose assembly that was fitted to the 3.8 Regal & a new rebuilt pre 94 compressor. Everything prior to 94 is R12 based, everything post 93 is R134 based. When GM introduced 134 in 94 they changed ALL of the A/C line fittings thread pitch so NOTHING from prior & post can be used together. My suggestion to you is to keep your 92 car all 92, get that old 92 3.8 manifold hose assembly & purchase a new *rebuilt* pre 94 A/C compressor, even the manifold hose assembly changed in 94 because GM redesigned the back end of the compressor housing for 94 so the old manifold hose will not attach to the newer design compressor housing. Purchase yourself a new receiver/dryer as well as a new orifice tube. Go into Rockauto, search 92 Regal, they still house most of what you'll need.

The best bet is 98/99 Lumina LTZ/Monte Carlo Z34 with the 3.8. Grab all the lines in the engine bay off one of those cars, 6-7 yrs ago I bought the hardlines that connect to the firewall directly from GM. Wonder if you could do the same? I also believe that lumina Z34's have same lines that can work, but I cannot confirm this.

That would make sense. Those speakers arrive later today, I will get them in and hopefully I'll get some good results. Just looking for something that works well, nothing more than that.

I have an L67 swap in my 92 Cutlass, which I never bothered to hook up any of the A/C for. I want to do that now and am in the process of collecting parts, but I've found conflicting information on what lines are needed from what cars. I have all the original lines from the 3.1 LH0. I should have most of the lines from the 04 Impala SS donor. I think I have some other random lines I may have grabbed from junkyards while working on the swap years ago. Does anybody know for sure what A/C lines will fit?

I checked it out and everything was working correctly as far as the blend doors goes. However, the inlet side of the heater core is cold, but the outlet side is hot? I'll check the coolant level. It's not overheating, but it gets warm. I wasn't getting any heat this time, but I do sometimes.

I recall there was an optional "Audio Bass Control" slider available on the 1st gen cutlass, but I don't know if 94s got it. I'm only speculating as i've never seen it one in person... but i'd venture a guess it involved some sort of bi-amp setup that allowed you to fade the sound towards the front, while maintaining some form of bass output from the woofer portion of the rear 6x9s. That would definitely require separate wiring pairs from the amp to separate out the woofer from the mid/tweeter. The normal coaxial 6x9 would only have a single wiring pair from the HU, with the tweeter portion being tied into the tinsel leads from the woofer portion. Makes me wonder if some cars were pre-wired for it, but ended up feeding both sets of wires with the same signal on cars that didn't come equipped with it?

I've got a correct AM/FM Stereo CD player in this car; not original as it left the factory with the AM/FM Stereo Cassette unit. There is a separate Bass control on the CD player radio but even with 2 of the 4 wires wires pulled it seemed to make no difference in the sound coming out of the speakers. The speakers arrive Wednesday so I'll be finding out in short order if I made the right move in eliminating the unwanted Vibrations. Regarding the Retrosound R-69N, Crutchfield lists this in their description: "The single R-69N 6"x9" speaker is designed for a classic car with only one speaker opening on its dash or rear deck. The woofer features dual voice coils, each one connected to its own tweeter. Your stereo receiver connects to both voice coils, so you get a stereo mix from a single speaker. In effect, you get two 2-way speakers in one frame, for modern sound in your vintage application." This is an interesting concept if there is one speaker in the back, but since I have 2, I'm interested to see how the Infinity speakers sound with 2 of the 4 wires on either side being hooked up. Stay tuned..........

Yeah, that makes it sound even more like the brake lights are the turn signal switch in the column... 1994-2001 Gen 1 and Gen 1.5 Turn Signal Switch Replacement | W-BodyTech Forums But that shifting thing...are you able to turn the key and move the steering wheel? Can you shift out of park with the steering wheel unlocked but with engine off?

Any chance your Cutlass has that separate bass control slider? This might sound like (or be) a stupid question on my part....but were the factory speakers truly a dual voice coil setup, or were they coaxial drivers wired to be run off of an active crossover setup? I ask because all of my Ws have only ever had a single pair of wires driving each rear speaker, including my 92 Cutlass. What my cutlass didn't have was that separate bass control slider. Makes me wonder if those systems used some sort of active crossover and a separate amp to drive the woofer portion of the rear 6x9s separately from the rest of the speakers.

I went through the same issues you did a while ago, except I actually did go with dual coil speakers. I went with Retrosound R-69Ns. They're pretty thin as they're intended to be dashboard speakers, but they sound fine and were better than the speakers I replaced which didn't make any noise at all by that point.

*Dual* coils are common with passive subs, in an arrangement where the amp is driving a pair of them in a stereo setup, they can be wired in a parallel arrangement, series paralleled, both will deliver a different wattage power output depending on what the user is looking for.

Spoke to someone at Crutchfield yesterday, they are dual wired since the factory speakers came with 2 coils. With the speakers these days having only one coil, I will only need to hook up 2 of the 4 leads. The lead I do not use can just be disconnected at the plug (good thing I had the sense to re-wire the leads with plugs instead of not using them). I went for a set of Infinity speakers this time around and I sure do hope they last longer than the prior ones.

dual wired?......as in bi-wired, as in ...separates?

Time for replacement speakers again already! Only 5 years and the ones I bought blew out. Junk. WHat's a problem is the fact these are dual wired, I'm now having a tough time finding anyone who makes that.

I haven't replaced anything yet. TBH, I don't have much motivation right now with it getting dark early and being cold. I'm hoping to look at it Sunday since I'll actually have a whole day to myself (I think)

That gear drive actuator you replaced controls hot to cold blend. There is a vacuum switch behind the glove box that sends vacuum to separate vacuum doors to control what vent the air comes from. That black plastic vacuum line that powers the vacuum doors goes through the fire wall between the master cylinder and the strut tower. This is what the vacuum door controller looks like. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=14268801&cc=1021374&pt=7036&jsn=531

I redid all the vacuum lines a little while ago because the turbo PCV wasn't set up properly. Maybe I messed something up. I think the vacuum ball is long gone due to packaging issues, but it was working at one time.

Have you checked the vacuum line that supplys vacuum to the HVAC vacuum switch behind the glove box? On my 96 Regal acid from the battery ate the plastic vacuum line that runs under the battery tray to the vacuum ball. The vacuum ball is under the battery tray up inside the fender. The plastic line that connects the vacuum ball to the vacuum "T" breaks and this causes all HVAC air to blow out of the defrost vents. When this happened to me I replaced the brittle plastic vacuum line under the battery tray with rubber vacuum hose.

You should be able to get at both sides of the heater core...return is at the front of the engine, that long steel piping that follows along the right side frame rail that sweeps upwards to the coolant pump manifold, the inlet side is right beside the brake vacuum booster, a short hose that passes overtop of the master cyl reservoir slipping over the steel supply pipe from the bottom of the thermostat housing.

Sweet, thanks. I'll pull the cover off and check and see if I can feel or laser temp the piping.