88 Cutlass Supreme questions

[88Intl]

Got an '88 Cutlass Supreme a couple weeks ago in "needs work" condition:

 

How are the spark plug wires routed at the coil packs? They are all held together in a bunch with zip ties. Bought 2 generic retainers like this:

-UUU- -UUU-

to hold them together side-by-side without contacting each other. Would like to put back to original routing, but don't have a GM Shop Manual.

 

There is a moaning sound when parking manuevering. Thought maybe power-steering related but sometimes when not turning the wheel so can't say for sure.

 

Power door lock solenoid doesn't seem to have enough strength to fully actuate the passenger lock up or down. Bad solenoid, or lock mechanism in need of lube?

 

If backing up, and suddenly lift foot off gas, stalls. Engine has "SPEED DENSITY UPDATE" sticker, I cleaned the throttle body and IAC and did idle re-learn. Didn't lube the IAC valve other than the O-ring, maybe I shouldve? IAC has a green spring, some web sites said thats the old design and GM revised valve with different color spring, worth buying a new IAC?

 

Rear struts a DIY job? Have done rear shocks on other GM cars & trucks but not familiar with the W-car suspension. How about inner tie rods?

 

What's the best low-budget strategy to get the AC working again? $30 R134 conversion kit from *mart? Or a non-flammable "Drop-in" R12 substitute like Freeze 12 http://www.freeze12.com/ ? The right way is to have the O-rings replaced, system evacuated, and charged at an AC shop but that's not cheap. Just want to see if the system is intact, and run from time to time so compressor seals dont go bad. Doesn't need to be 100% effective in PA in the fall.

 

Any undocumented features in the digital dash? Like something activated with ignition key on while holding buttons?

[Guest TurboSedan]

aq

[GnatGoSplat]

It's hard to explain in words how the spark plugs are routed, but they are held together down by the coils by a bracket that has a plastic retainer that has 6 holes in it that the wires go through. The rear 3 plug wires go through a plastic housing that's attached to the intake plenum.

 

I've had problems with the power locks like you describe. Unfortunately, it requires removing the door panel which is more fragile than the plastic barbed clips used to hold it on. Be sure to use a trim panel removal tool for this, or you're sure to break the trim panel in places. To fix the locks, lubing the linkages and ESPECIALLY the "U"-shaped pivoting part (it has a back vinyl coating on it) seemed to do the trick. I also seem to recall pulling back the boot on the solenoid and lubing the shaft. I haven't had any problems since, and that was several years ago.

 

I think you need to do more for a successful R-134a conversion than just changing the freon. I did a simple fill of R-134a in my '89 w/auto climate control, and it gets plenty cold. However, a simple fill of R-134a on my wife's '88 resulted in a weak A/C that blows cool, but not cold. On a hot day, it takes over a half hour of driving before the A/C cools down the interior. I have no idea what the secret is to get good cooling out of a retrofit, but a friend of mine tells me a "variable orifice valve" will do the trick. I don't know anything about that, and haven't been too motivated to disassemble the A/C system to look for the "orifice valve".

[JPaganel]

I just fixed sticky locks on a Dodge. What you need to do it proper is to get rid of old dried up dirty grease at pivot points and possibly the latching mechanism and then re-lube. The best thing to lube this is the silvery anti-seize lubricant. That stuff works between something like -50 and +1600 degrees. You can buy it in jars at the high-end parts stores. It is not very cheap, but it's worth the money. Iit stays put and stops rust, which means you won't have to reapply it for a long time, possibly for as long as you have the car.

 

Degreasing the latch may be more than you want to do, but at least lubing the pivots will make a huge difference.

 

GGS, I don't know about an orifice valve, but I know AC systems have an orifice tube. It's a tube about the size of a BIC pen with holes in it and it is inserted in one of the metal lines next to the fill fitting. Early retrofit kits I've seen included those, but I haven't seen a kit like that in years. Don't know why. I'm not an AC guy, I just remember a lot of crap I read somewhere.

[GnatGoSplat]

Here's a little bit of info on the variable orifice valve (VOV)

http://www.supercool.ac/vov.htm

[JPaganel]

Whaddaya know? They are the same thing! :oops:

 

Well, not really, but the variable valve thing is cool. IIRC, stock systems come with fixed size orifice tubes.

 

Thanks.

[MaD]

Here's a cautionary note on the back struts. They're easily replaced... -in theory-...but in the real world, for me, due to seized bolts, they were a bitch and a half.

 

Perhaps it's because they were the same struts that came with the car back in 91, but whatever the case, it wasn't fun, or cheap. Again, this is only for me. You may breeze right through this one. I had to pay $180 to get em done (that's only labor, I actually bought the Struts and mounts separately).

 

Anyways...

 

Basically, loosen the lugs, raise the car, take the tire off, and put a jack under the knuckle-to-body assembly, to keep it from going anywhere when the strut comes out.

Take the rotor dust shield off (two 8mm bolts), and if you have an auxillary spring, you'll have to compress it. I was unable to do it with the bolt that came with the struts, but I've been told you can use a "c"clamp. I cannot vouch for it, however. Alternatively, you can remove it and you'll just have a higher ride.

Next up, for some reason (Brian P) I was told to remove the two 18mm caliper bolts and swing the caliper/rotor assembly out of the way. Perhaps If I was He-Man and those bolts weren't seized, I could've done it. Although the guy who did them for me, said he didn't need to. I'm sure if you DO do it, it makes taking the actual struts out easier, but I wouldn't know, never got that far....

Ok, then, you'll have to un-bolt the two 24mm nuts, they hold the strut to the knuckle itself. Once the nuts (I said "nuts") are off, you'll have to hammer those bolts out. They cannot be removed any other way, as they are splined, and the head isn't a metric or SAE size.

 

Heyyy, once those bad-girls are out, you're almost there. But this was the son-of-a-bitch (for me). The two 15mm bolts that connect the strut mount to the friggin' body! Apparently I had rust that acted as Lock-Tite because I broke the heads off the bolt and they would NOT come out from in the trunk. And technically, if all goes well, you're not even supposed to go in the trunk to take the back struts out. But anyways, $180 later, the 15mm bolts were drilled out and I had to use lock-nuts for the mount-to-body bolts.

Anyways, if you have heat, USE IT. And once you get those bolts out, you can separate the strut from the mount by removing that 24mm bolt.

 

Then, everything else is the reversal. You may want to replace the mounts too, they're not that expensive, really, especially for the benefit (New Mounts=No Noise).

 

So yeah, sorry this was so long.

 

-MaD-

[GnatGoSplat]

Basically, loosen the lugs, raise the car, take the tire off, and put a jack under the knuckle-to-body assembly, to keep it from going anywhere when the strut comes out.

 

Actually, you do NOT want to do that.

Jack up the car any old place that's safe (I use the jack pad in the middle of the rear axle). Then set it down on jackstands with the jackstands supporting the body. Pull the wheel off. Using a BIG wrench (or preferably an impact), remove the 2 big 24mm(?) nuts from the bottom, and loosen the 15mm bolts at the top of the strut. THEN and this is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART: Use your jack to lift UP on the edge of the fiberglass spring as close to the knuckle as possible. I use a flat piece of wood to protect the spring from scratches. You've lifted the spring high enough when the bottom of the spring's rubber bushing is no longer touching the knuckle. NOW you can remove the 15mm bolts on top of the strut and hammer out the splined bolts on the bottom of the strut.

 

The KEY is to compress the spring with a jack!!! For me, with 100% hand tools, I was able to change each rear strut in 20-minutes. I'm not a strong guy either, a little girl could kick my ass, and it was still easy.

Once I took someone else's advice and jacked up the car under the knuckle and did NOT jack up on the spring to relieve spring pressure. BIG MISTAKE!!! I was fighting the spring the whole time, and it took 3-HOURS to do that one strut!

[MaD]

Shit, sorry, I may have misinterpreted the instructions I was given, and since I wasn't able to actually complete the job, I never got that far.

 

But thanks, Shawn, now if I ever need to do my back struts again, (which hopefully won't be soon) I'll keep that I mind. That would definitely save me a LOT of headaches, and since I'm such a friggin' mechanical disaster, I could stand to save as much trouble as possible

 

I'll update the database in my brains!

 

-MaD-

[88Intl]

My Astro van also was built with composite leaf springs, but left and right like a conventional RWD truck chassis. Service literature warns NOT to use them as a jacking point or to scratch the surface, as it can crack and fail at that point. I would be very careful applying a jack here. Maybe a rubber block under the spring is even safer than wood? Will have to apply penetrating oil to bolt threads ASAP, so myself or the mechanic will have an easier time getting them apart.

 

How far off would the alignment be after a DIY installation? Enough to start uneven wear on tires on the way to the alignment shop?

[GnatGoSplat]

A rubber block would work better, but after jacking up on the spring with a piece of wood, the wood was soft enough that it didn't scratch the spring at all. It's not like rubber blocks are all that easy to find.

 

I didn't worry about alignment at all, because the rear tires just hold up the rear of an FWD car and don't wear too much. I figured I'd worry about alignment only after I decide to buy some tires that actually cost more than the alignment does.

[rockfangd]

my rear struts were a pita og on my 94 cutty. the whol prob involved one of the 2 strut mount top bolts breaking half way in with the new mount in place, even with oil. but that and the fiberglass stabilizer was the hardest part

[5speedz34]

my rear struts were a pita og on my 94 cutty. the whol prob involved one of the 2 strut mount top bolts breaking half way in with the new mount in place, even with oil. but that and the fiberglass stabilizer was the hardest part

 

Wow! You realize this was a post in 2002!

[Brian P]

hol' shit!