http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin en Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:46:00 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=971136&goto=newpost Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:57:53 GMT Sparked up the Park Avenue to get her ready for the winter and noticed a couple things.
1) A slow cranking engine with a fully charged battery. (seemed like some hydraulic action happening in the engine. The car has been sitting for the last 6 months.
2) White smoke at inital start up then seemed to stop as engine warmed up.
3) Runs a littel rough at the initial start up.

My question is how can I tell if it is a head gasket or the stove pipe EGR valve I 've read about on the web. If it is the head gasket, how big of job is for an average mechanically inclined guy? If it is the plenum problem are the Plenom rebuild kits a good fix?
There doesn't appear to be any noticable amount of antifreeze getting into the engine as the oil looks fine.

thanks for the help. ]]> Park Avenue KRA http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=971136 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=971135&goto=newpost Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:25:18 GMT OK, guys. After new tires and an alignment, I decided to ditch the wire wheel covers on the 96 PA in favor of regular hubcaps. The wire wheel covers end up stressing the valve stems and the crappy plastic retaining nuts are tore up. Plus the wire covers are kind of rough looking.

I am debating going "old school" with some 60's or 70's hub caps, or maybe even some chrome dog dishes. The other option is to find some newer Regal or Century wheel covers. I've looked at the plastic aftermarket stuff and it's pure junk.

Anyone ever do something like this on a Park Avenue or LeSabre? What should I go for? Anyone got pictures of some old school caps on a newer Buick?

Thanks! :grinyes: ]]> Park Avenue http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=971135 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970864&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:48:45 GMT Hey there,

First time here, so want to say "Hi" and thanks for any help.

I'm not extremely car savvy, so please be gentle, lol.

Ok:

94 Buick PA 3.8 138k

Symptoms in order of which they occurred:


Engine died while going any speed when very low but not out of fuel. Would start right back up when put in neutral, take off just fine, then repeat. At first would generally straighten itself out on its own. After putting more gas in it would be fine. Sometimes just opening the gas cap would work.

Entirely the same thing as above but got worse and wouldn't go over 15-20 without feathering the pedal, and sometimes not at all and died when coming to a stop. Let it sit for a time and would run fine. Nearly always would be okay after a few miles when more fuel was put in... Boyfriend was notorious for putting $5 in gas at a time (insert *stupid* here).

I thought it might be sediment clogging the fuel filter or air/water getting in the line, if that is even possible but stupid wouldn't put out the money for a new fuel filter or change his habit of purchasing as little fuel as needed, and did run it dry a few times.

All of this eventually led to being parked on the side of the road with him killing the battery trying to get it started. Battery gave up and had to be replaced. Oddly, the above problem nearly went away. Perhaps he started to put in more gas and not run it so close to empty as well.

Next issue:

He started it one morning and heard what sounded like metal hitting cement, and then a loud rattle. The sound is not a constant rhythm like a clock ticking, which speeds up with acceleration or decreases with deceleration but is constant. The only change is that it gets a bit quieter when accelerating, but goes right back to the same volume once it kicks into second. Kinda sounds like a rock just knocking around. Tension pulley was wobbling badly; replaced it but no change.

Yesterday it started doing the dying while driving thing again, tank half full, and this hadn't happened in quite awhile. Started smelling a light burning smell of rubber. Things then went from bad to OMG

Had a loud bang/pop and it felt like something hit under the back passenger side of the car. No loud noise like a back fire out the tail pipe. It was definitely internal. Happened a few more times while he was driving to work. AC went out.

Tranny seemed to start to slip (though I highly doubt the tranny has anything to do with it) and couldn't get it over 50 mph, then 10 mph. After it sat for awhile it got up to 50 but still no overdrive etc. When looking under the hood, the Exhaust manifold, drivers side was glowing red.

No problem starting and engine runs smooth. All fluids fine and have been changed. No codes come up, but I'm sure they would if they could. Key worn? All gauges work, temp showed a wee bit higher then normal, but nothing at all alarming.

Please understand this is not ME driving it, but the boyfriend while commuting to work... I work and or have to be available for work 24/7 on my computer at home.

Oh, LOL, ditching him :loser: but keeping my car. It's 60 miles away in the middle of no where, and so is he...he doesn't know how lucky he is :runaround: He wont have it towed, but there is a small shop in the area. I'm afraid they will ream me and still not properly diagnose or fix the problem since it could be more then one thing. This is my only car.

Any ideas I could have the mechanic check before he starts in?

Sorry for the venting and the novel...I think I've just had enough of someone who is so cheap and inconsiderate.


Thanks sooooo much! :smooch: ]]> Park Avenue LilStash http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970864 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970771&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:45:06 GMT I'm pretty sure that my 97 PA's CD player is shot. It barely reads CD's anymore, they constantly skip and make a horrible scratching noise. I'm looking into getting a simple aftermarket CD player. I was going to ask you guys what the deal is with the CD/radio unit. It looks to be one piece but does the CD portion come out of the unit so I can just replace that? Or does the radio/cassette portion have to all come out with it? If the entire piece has to come out I have no idea what will fit in that big space. ]]> Park Avenue cvp71 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970771 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970755&goto=newpost Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:24:26 GMT How hard and how long (on the average) does it take to replace water pump? On a 93 Park Ave How hard and how long (on the average) does it take to replace water pump?
On a 93 Park Ave ]]> Park Avenue onewayblues http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970755 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970465&goto=newpost Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:40:51 GMT Hi,

which size I should choose if I buy an new Serpentine Belt?

1991 Buick Park Avenue L27 Series 1 3800L V6?

On Rockauto I found 2 Size:

13/16" x 86 3/8"

or

13/16" x 103" ]]> Park Avenue McLin http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970465 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970425&goto=newpost Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:03:41 GMT Hi

I searched and searched but didn't find any info on the torque that I should use when reinstalling the caliper bolts. Any advice?

Thanks in advance.:) ]]> Park Avenue Tested http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970425 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970404&goto=newpost Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:21:35 GMT Well, I need some more advice from you experts. :iceslolan

My 96 PA is going to need tires real soon. I found a 1/2" long separation in the side wall of one of the tires. Currently the car is sporting Kendra Kenetica P215 70 R15's. I drive 75 miles on the interstate to work 5 days a week. Looking for a reasonably priced tire with good ride and wear characteristics. What do you guys recommend (or NOT recommend)?

Thanks! ]]> Park Avenue http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970404 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970270&goto=newpost Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:43:04 GMT Anyone had their Park Ave down the drag strip. NA or supercharged. Anyone had their Park Ave down the drag strip.
NA or supercharged. ]]> Park Avenue RT Jam http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970270 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970247&goto=newpost Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:49:55 GMT What would make my 95 Buick Park ave shake at high speeds. 4 new tires new alignment, all tires balanced, and re-balanced & rotated. ]]> Park Avenue eharri00 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970247 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970166&goto=newpost Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:32:08 GMT Today I went to check the power steering fluid level since I'm starting to hear power steering pump type noises. To my surprise, I found that the location of the power steering pump cap is in such a location that I absolutely cannot reach it.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? If so, how did you manage to reach the pump cap without removing all kinds of hoses?

Thank you. ]]> Park Avenue buickultra2000 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970166 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970089&goto=newpost Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:09:44 GMT The other day, there was this m*r*n in front of me so I was compelled to use my horn. Much to my surprise, nothing happened when I hit the center of the steering wheel.
So I checked the horn fuse in the relay center, and it was blown. I got a new one and when I inserted it, the horns sounded for a fraction of a second and the fuse blew again.

So obviously, there are two things wrong here:
First, the horns should not sound without touching the horn switch.
Second, the fuse should not blow when the horns sound.

I went ahead and removed the horn relay and checked it. It seems to be fine. Also, without the relay in place, the fuse did not blow.
Then I unplugged all four horns and inserted the relay again. The fuse did not blow.
I plugged in one horn and it sounded immediately, but the fuse did not blow.
I haven't checked each horn individually yet, but I guess one of them must be bad and cause a short circuit.
So far so good. That was the easy part.

Now, why do the horns sound without touching the horn button? My guess is that the switch in the steering wheel is bad somehow. I'd like to disassemble the wheel and take a look, but with the airbag and all, I'm a little hesitant.
And I did not find the horn switches as individual replacement part. Does that mean the entire airbag assembly needs to be replaced? Is it even possible to repair a horn switch?

Thanks for any information. ]]> Park Avenue padriver http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=970089 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=969946&goto=newpost Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:11:23 GMT Will appreciate any help on how to program the remote to have the horn/lights _on_ briefly during during activation. Thanks..... Will appreciate any help on how to program the remote to have the horn/lights on briefly during during activation.

Thanks..... ]]> Park Avenue rali5255 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=969946 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=969835&goto=newpost Sat, 07 Nov 2009 17:12:25 GMT I have a 98 PA with approx. 123K miles which sat for about 3 weekd without being used. When I started her up I noticed it was mssing upon idle and could feel it when I was driving also the service engine soon light stayed on and then started blinking and ringing. I took it to AZ for engine light check and was given a code of PO305 and was told to change the wires and plugs which I did with no changes in performance or SES light and ringing. I took it back to AZ and same code but was now changing the coil for the 2/5 plugs and still no change. Any ideas since it is the same code. Thanks in advance I have a 98 PA with approx. 123K miles which sat for about 3 weekd without being used. When I started her up I noticed it was mssing upon idle and could feel it when I was driving also the service engine soon light stayed on and then started blinking and ringing. I took it to AZ for engine light check and was given a code of PO305 and was told to change the wires and plugs which I did with no changes in performance or SES light and ringing. I took it back to AZ and same code but was now changing the coil for the 2/5 plugs and still no change. Any ideas since it is the same code.

Thanks in advance ]]> Park Avenue gaguirre http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=969835 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=969808&goto=newpost Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:00:07 GMT I have a 95 PA base with 145,000 on it. Recently it started to stutter while while trying to shift. I would have to floor it just to get going. I started this on the highway around 65, if i was trying to pass someone. A week ago it started to do whenever i would push on the accelerator going over 30. There were a few day I would start the car and it would idle extremely rough and then after a few minutes of driving would even out and only act up as stated above. I replaced the wires and found the first plug corroded, clean it up ,replaced the rest and it ran fine until tonight. After about 120 miles of driving it started acting up while on the highway around 60and going up hill. Any suggestions as to what else i should check besides changing the plugs? Thanks for your time Andrew I have a 95 PA base with 145,000 on it. Recently it started to stutter while while trying to shift. I would have to floor it just to get going. I started this on the highway around 65, if i was trying to pass someone. A week ago it started to do whenever i would push on the accelerator going over 30. There were a few day I would start the car and it would idle extremely rough and then after a few minutes of driving would even out and only act up as stated above. I replaced the wires and found the first plug corroded, clean it up ,replaced the rest and it ran fine until tonight. After about 120 miles of driving it started acting up while on the highway around 60and going up hill. Any suggestions as to what else i should check besides changing the plugs? Thanks for your time
Andrew ]]> Park Avenue Andrewb610 http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=969808