General lower front-to-back inspection

[edwinn]

This topic expands on the 15 year, 1997 Riviera inspection and servicing

For the past three straight days, I've gone deep inside the wheel wells starting with the Left Rear (driver side) on the first day. Then on day 2, the Left Front wheel well. Finally on day 3 with experience gained from from the Light side, both Right Rear and Front wheel wells were worked.

This post is about day 3, RIGHT side of the vehicle. Here are some photos inside the garage which is pretty tight.


From inside garage - Right side





Inside the garage

Right front wheel with inner shroud/wheelhouse panel removed, and looking in garage door from driveway. Right side has broken washer tank bracket.





Rear of washer tank basically fell out when removing shroud (wheelhouse panel)




Washer tank bracket broken - WTF?




Will have to remove the tank and get it plastic-welded? Not safe to drive.. tank cannot be secured and may hit spinning tire.





Broken rocker panel brackets

Two clips/brackets broken (RF & LF views) probably jacking damage. Area cleaned up NICE with wheelhouse panel removed. Rear of washer tank hanging.

- -



Right rear fenderwell

See: 97 Riv - Rear Wheel Well, with airshock pump exposed.



The air pump hoses (large diameter rubber) are very dry rotted and need to be replaced.



Loose front fender Parking Lamp clips now plainly in view.





Wheelhouse panels after a scrub with molding / trim strips indoors. These are flimsy panels.





So many projects, so little time.


-Ed

[edwinn]

Replacement tank arrives

Was able to find a new Washer Tank (lower reservoir) in the 40 dollar range which wasn't bad at all. It's older looking than the original in the Riv, and a different part number! At least the rubber bumper is already in place (saves a step.)




Washer fluid being drained from the broken unit. How outrageous!!




Tank removed

The hose and cable shield were cleaned-up, fed back into the engine compartment and tie-wrapped to hold them in place temporarily.





Problem with mounting arrangement

I believe the tank mounting scheme is a bad design. Looking at the capture-nut, it's not flush with the inner fender surface. It's "raised" and presents a very small area on which the plastic 'tab' of the tank sits. This could be the failure mode.




A close-up view of the mounting nut. I'll be looking for some RUBBER or a rubber washer to 'beef-up' or provide extra support/contact area.





It's a fun project.. and a challenge all right.


-Ed

[edwinn]

This is almost turning into a blog but there are questions below.


Washer tank installed

The new washer tank was installed last weekend, but I'd like to finish-up the front wheel wells today and get the wheels back on. Below are some photos of the new Washer Tank. Good thing the tank came with a foam pad attached. Hooking up the hoses and cables was a snap.




Composite of front and back fasteners pasted below. Tie-wraps used instead of vinyl tape. Arrow points to foam bumper pad. Rubber seals for pump and vent hose at top were easily rejuvenated and are like-new. They went together no-problem with a shot of silicon spray.





Upper reservoir

Just for the hell of it I removed the upper tank, flushed and scrubbed it and the hoses. Also used a parts brush on fender under the tank and around the general area. It was good to `work´ the threads to keep them from oxidizing. All-in-all a very good windshield washer service job with flush and refill!!





Chassis opening

Directly above the front struts are ports in the chassis. There was foam material sprayed around and inside, and a rubberized patch stuck over the opening.. see previous photos in discussion thread. IOW.. what is this sh*t?




I've cut some of the foam stuff away with a razor. What's the need for all this foam and rubber patch? Should those openings be covered again? Inject more liquid foam?

Or leave as-in?


BTW.. the system is designed to hold 1 gallon of washer fluid when completely drained.


-Ed

[edwinn]

Finally in the shop

After much delay and futzing around, the Riv is finally in the body shop where professionals can finish the work. From the front of the rocker panels, into the rear wheel bays and around the back, it'll be good to go for at least another 5 years. Good thing these guys are cool and communicate well, and it's really good to get inside the aft end where a few more hidden issues will be addressed.



I'd really like to get some paint and a cheepie-brush to hit the mufflers and outlet pipes with another coat while the bumper is off. The exhaust is a classic feature of this model. Yep.. they're going to treat the wheel wells as enslow suggested. Great tip Man!!

What a project!! Almost ready for another trip across the U.S.

-Ed

[enslow]

Looking good! I just POR-15-ed my spots, but mine is only a Lesabre custom, nothing fancy. No special exhaust tips here.

[Tech II]

Edwin, I have a New England '87 Fiero.....can I send it over to you to be worked on?

[edwinn]

Originally Posted by enslow

Looking good! I just POR-15-ed my spots, but mine is only a Lesabre custom, nothing fancy. No special exhaust tips here.

Thanks man!

The foreman and I did talk about using POR-15, but IIRC the topic was about calipers. So many questions for the guy, and you hate to be a pest or come across as micromanaging, especially when there's more work to do. Look closely at the photo above with the bumper cover removed and you'll see where I sloshed in some Semi-gloss BLACK Rustoleum with a 3/8" brush along the muffler seams and the end caps. Really would like to get under there with a 1" brush and lay more black paint on everything aft of the 'split.'


Here's a quick shot from this morning. Slightly awesome?




I want to drive it though.. not take photos.


-Ed

[HotZ28]

I previously mentioned doing the complete undercarriage on my '85 Caprice with POR-15 which I restored last year. Feel free to use it anywhere under the car, including the exhaust & gas tank.

[edwinn]

Quick Fix for Park Lamps

Since the body shop wanted to remove the front bumper to secure the Park Lamps, I decided to DIY and came up with an easy (temporary) fix. Inspecting the retainer tabs, you can see the upper retainer tab and clip LEFT ARROW, and a mirror viewing SLOT where the lower tab comes through, but there IS NO TAB to clip onto.




Foam Block

The fix was to insert a weatherproof piece of FOAM between the LAMP and the side panel of the type that's used for packing material by a major, well known computer company. This foam block tightens-up the lamp 80% and should stop it from rattling until the front bumper can be removed for proper repair.





Wheel House Panels

It was easy and fun to rejuvenate the Wheel House panels out back on the deck. They cleaned up nice with BleachWhite, and then got a coat of preservative.




Left Front










Wheel House Panels Installed

Was able to re-install the LEFT FRONT panel yesterday. It's not too difficult if you don't panic or scrape the hell out of the fender well edge. The trick is to start at the back end, aligning each clip and pressing them in place one at a time. The RIGHT panel will go in today.







The project is ALMOST FINISHED, and there's only minor paint coating and touch-up work, including a few more brake lines and areas around the hood.

Should be good-to-go for another five years!!


-Ed

[edwinn]

General Lower Inspection COMPLETE

Finally.. after exactly a month, the front to back inspection is done with the installation of the RF wheel panel.
But first let's look at the RIGHT park lamp fixture. A better photo of the missing lower tab is seen below.

Hmmm.. did some organic debris get left in there?




The upper tab with RETAINER CLIP looks like the following.. same as the other side. This isn't very tight either.




Can't believe it, but there is NO PHOTO of the BLUE waterproof FOAM BLOCK that I shoved in there (see previous post.)

Yes it's a kluge but takes out much of the play. Good enough for now.




RF Wheel Well Panel Installed

Similar to the other side, the RIGHT wheel panel went in even easier that the left.. that is once you get the hang of it!!




Looking aft, edge of rocker panel in view lower left corner.




Looking Up




Underneath Forward Tip




Oil and Trans Pans

Looking good with no leaks. Is it OK to spray Engine GUNK on these areas and hose off the grease and grime?
Or does oil and grease actually protect the metal? Rust on starter motor?

Oil Pan and oil level sensor / switch nice and dry. I wipe this area down regularly.




Trans Pan.. looking VERY good. Maybe next time I'll smear some motor oil on it.




See any issues? Lets GO FOR A RIDE!!


Ya' sure you don't want no more photos??


-Ed

[enslow]

Ed, take an in-lb torque wrench and check the torque of the tranny bottom and side pan bolts. They should be 120 in-lbs.

Looking very good so far. Even my 99 Lesabre with 120000 KM doesn't look a nice.

The nice thing about POR-15 that HOTZ28 and I use is that it actually adheres better to rust.