Starter and Ac...

Alright i just bought a 93 bonneville SE with the 3.8 in it and i love the car....i mean who wouldnt love it after having a 87 Reliant K before but anyways....Ive had a few problems with the car more recently and i was able to fix only a couple... first of all my tranny was shifting through all the gears before i could hit like 20 mph and i couldnt downshift even if i stomped the gas. i fixed various vaccuum leaks under the hood and now miraculously i can downshift and actually stay in first and second gear for a bit so i can actually feel some power... also a problem i havent fixed yet is one i see alot of bonneville owners share with me. my AC is the old R12 and my compressor is ancient, yet i still have reasonably cold AC. However, my AC works on I, II and III fan settings, shutting off entirely when put onto the IIII setting (highest fan setting) i see that this is probably my blower motor or relay switch and i will have that fixed soon but now a new problem just came up. i started my car 2 days ago and i noticed it took an extra fraction of a second to start up. again after going to start the car again about 4 or so hours later, the car took even more time to start up ( still talking seconds here, but noticable) now this morning went to start the car, and it took like 3 fold longer to start than it had previously taken. since i noticed it was getting progressively worse i feared turning the car off and even gassed up with the engine on (never healthy) i finally turned it off when i got home and that was the last time i heard my baby running. initially i went to start the car, and it sounded like my battery had just too little juice to start, turning over a few times but not starting. then, completly dead. no clicking, no turning over, nadda. so i made sure all my connections were good, replaced a stripped bolt going into my battery terminal and cleaned battery connections. nothing. my father decided to hit my starter and solonoid with a hammer a few times, and i guess one of the only times in life where beating it will make it work better, my car went from nothing to trying to turn over again, still sounding like as if my battery was barely too low on juice to start it. i have power to everything imaginable, i even have a subwoofer in the trunk that is recieving plenty of power, headlights and radio work, power locks/windows/seats all work fine. i got the battery tested and even charged up, didnt make a difference. I got a jump, didnt make a difference. frustration kicked in, i beat the starter and solonoid again pretty good with a wrench, and went to try again. turned over a few times, then nothing but a nasty mechanical fire smell. looked under the hood and guuess what had white smoke creeping out of it? my starter. so now i know that if it wasnt my problem initially, its a problem now. Do you guys think that was my original problem and a new starter/solonoid would fix this issue? or was it something else and i just added another problem to the list? also i can relate to another post here about brakes about 1 out of every 50 times i go to hit the brake, and this seems to happen more often when i hit the brake quickly (wanted to make a light but decided not to, people not knowing how to drive and trying to kill me, etc.) i get this feeling of air in my brakes maybe and my brakes are HARD to push for a good second or 2, then lighten up and presses down as usual. i just replaced my front pads, and was careful about making sure no air got in my lines, wut could it be? also, i think my tranny might be on its last legs because it goes in and out of overdrive when i drive between like 40-50 mph which couldnt be more annoying, and also if im going 70-80 and give it some gas to pass or what not, it slips in and outta gear really quick, forcing me to accelerate reasonably, but slower than i want to. Also, reception on my radio if iffy, and my antennea is fine and cd player works like a dream. also any1 know about the sound systems in a 93 bonneville because i have rich friends with brand new cars (GTO, G6 V6, Grand Prix GTP) and their sound systems are TRASH compared to what is in my bonne. dont think its aftermarket, everything look old and original just sounds absolutely unreasonably amazing. thats about it, i just need an opinion on the ac problem, and starter problem, and if my tranny has any hope or if its all down hill from here oh btw 190k miles on the car, odometer stopped working a few miles ago as well

Whew, that was one long post!

The starter was/is your starting problem. Your symptoms are exactly those of a classic starter failure.

As far as the A/C, I would suggest you take it to a shop if you're concidering changing it from R12 (no longer available) to R134 refrigerant. Those Walmart/Box store conversion kits normally cause issues. If the shop quotes you a stupidly expensive amount, you can try a kit yourself, but don't expect miracles. R134 runs at a higher pressure than R12, and can cause leaks, blown compressors, etc... in an old R12 system.

The occasional hard brake pedal still sounds like you have a vacuum leak. The brake booster runs off vacuum. There is a check valve where the large vacuum hose connects to the booster behind the master cylinder that may be the source of your leak.

On the shifting in and out of OD and shuddering on acceleration, this could also be caused by low vacuum as the trans shifts are controlled by a vacuum modulator. Other causes could be old plugs/wires causing a misfire, dirty fuel filter, etc...

Don't mess with the A/C in your car until it quits. R12 is more effective than R134a so your system won't work as well when retrofitted. Not to mention the expense of conversion, so don't screw with it. As for your fan not working on high, it definitely sounds like a bad blower resistor module. Sounds like the car is in good shape, keep it that way!:)

Chem u had it on the money, and i went and got my blower resistor module replaced at an auto electric shop nearby owned by a family friend, costing me 20 bucks for parts and labor, and now my ac not only works on setting IIII but blows a bit harder now on all settings (before even on speed III it was miserable the amount of air being pushed out of my vents). Razz, i have heard that converting my ac was a bad idea and to just track down some old r12 gas and charge it back up (im in florida, and i already checked and its purchasable at a few locations, very expensive tho) now im cool with that, but true story i had an 82 ford granada station wagon, and when i bought it 3 years ago, it was in its 2nd year of conversion, blowing hard and cold, and when i sold it a few months back it was then on its 5th year of conversion, and the ac was still blowing harder and colder than that in my 96 mazda protege . Makes me want to convert, but to ignore so much good advice going the other way im going to just recharge it and see where it goes from there. Also, on the money again i have a huge vaccuum leak where my power brake booster meets my firewall, which im in the process of making a new gasket for.Slipping in and out of overdrive is probably a sensor os some sort? For the slippage, it dosent feel like lack of fuel from a faulty fuel filter or pump, it feels like my tranny is engaging and disengaging rapidly, slipping in and out of gear. This only happens when im going atleast 70 tho, and no other time or speeds does my tranny slip or stick or anything of the sort, and if i reach high speeds by gradually accelerating moderatly and not gunning it, it doesent have a problem either. Just around 60-70 or higher speeds, if i go to accelerate to pass or what not (hard acceleration) my car will just not gain or lose speed, but slip in n out of gear until i am barely touching the pedal. Im pretty blazed right now, and i hope this post made some sort of earthly sense to u 2 kind fellas helpin me out, and any1 else for that matter. thank you!

Don't just charge R12 into the system. To properly troubleshoot A/C you need a gauge manifold. Check all your A/C line fittings under the hood for oiliness. Oil on the fitting is a sign of leakage. Unfortunately you won't be able to find a shop that will even touch the system unless you want it converted. There are other refrigerants that say they are compatible with R12, and might be easier (and cheaper) to get a hold of than R12. Check out "Automotive Heating and Air Conditioning Manual" printed by Haynes, book #10425, if you are considering doing the job yourself.