Here I am, in deeper than I planned Oh well, may as well learn, plus use all the seals in the Edelman kit.
Track day with the Skyhawk went better than expected. Entered "Open Comp" 100$ tech card 2 K to win. First 2 qualifying passes went well with a 5.54 @ 124mph with a 1.18 60'. second run was nearly as good. After Q2 I noticed the water temp was over 220 on the return road. Back to the pit and after 30 mine it was still 160 despite having the fans and WP on. Checked the pump and although it had power and ground did not seem to be moving any water. Decided not to run elimination rounds. Went up to the stands to watch for a few hours. Came back , car was cool and I could hear the pump motor running but still not moving any water despite the Rad being topped off. Will look into it further this week.. Also noticed the rims have moved several inches inside the tire so rim screws are being ordered along with a back up water pump motor. Hope to get back out next weekend
Briz- check the impeller to see if it is tight on the shaft from the motor. I had a brand new water pump go bad. It turned with the belts but the impeller wasn't turning inside. Hope you get everything straighten out before BG.
Hope y'all had a Happy Easter! My better half and I took the GS400 to the parents house for Easter Dinner today. Put about 110 miles on it. This is the first time I've taken it anywhere since the run to Waterboy's a couple weeks ago. Ran great today, but the creeking and groaning in the left front is getting worse. Eventually I'm going to have to break down and pull the spring, and either reposition or replace the spring insulator in the top.
I got a 75K 2004 Buick LeSabre running that had been sitting outside in Ohio weather untouched since mid 2020. The car has been in the family since new. A very long story short, it had to sit outside and could not even be started until last year. Anyways, I was the last person to get gas in it and change the oil in November of 2019. It was driven only a couple hundred miles and then parked. What did I have to go through to get it to start and run? I put a battery in it and it started after cranking for about 5 seconds. Ran a little rough for a minute. Ran smooth after that for at least 30 minutes. I thought I would move it a couple of feet, so I pressed the brake to shift it into gear. The left front brake line promptly blew. Oh well. I can have it for free, but not sure I want to mess around with another car right now. But those 3800's are so smooth, and it's like driving a couch compared to new cars. Ugh. Also...100 pages!!!! Woo hoo!
Are you sure there is a spring insulator on top ? Most of our A body front springs are spring to metal. My Skylark convertible made noise as well on certain bumps and believe the spring was not seated in the notch in the lower a frame. Good Luck!
We took our Buick out to Easter brunch. We finally got some good weather in New England. We kept the roof up. It was still a little cold for the wife.
Took the pump motor off. Mistake! the brushes popped out of their retainers and it took some thinking to get it reassembled. Once back together pump was running but not moving water. Added over 1/2 gal and it started flowing like crazy. Moved onto the next issue which was checking why there was no - vac pressure reading on the gage. Reached in and fired the car . L header shot water all over my foot, now I know where the water went. Pulled the plugs and # 5 is shooting water out when cranking. Not good. engine is gonna have to come apart. Soooo thats "what I'll be doing to my Buick" the next few days. Short vid on my youtube channel (itsjustbriz)
Yes, I'm sure... I put it there! LOL My guess is that it shifted off of the top of the spring, since I did the front end rebuild a couple years ago. I may not have had the spring and insulator seated all the way. Thank you for the tip!
Oil change, ready for the year. And it's snowing today. Track first test n tune is April 13th. https://youtube.com/shorts/5O61Z5fxN_Q?si=9sGwcYlVrAYyRPRv
A squeak is normally from the lower control arm bushings, spray some WD40 in there and see if it goes away.
Finally managed to get the AC Compressor rear bracket mounted to my new TA Aluminum intake manifold. I had to modify the manifold and the bracket, but I finally got 'er done. I'll tighten all of the bolts and nuts tomorrow. In Florida (or at least Collier County), if you own at least one acre, you can set up a gun range. I have a new neighbor who must have done just that. I was in the front yard working on the Buchev when someone started shooting, and the sound seemed to be coming from that direction. Whatever he was shooting must have been big. I decided that I would take a little break from the truck until he was done. If I were practicing I would use something small, I checked, and 30.06 rounds are about a buck apiece. A pricey way to spend an afternoon. Just so nobody gets their panties in a wad, I do not have anything against gun ownership or firing ranges; there are probably a half-dozen personal gun ranges within a half-mile of my house, and I don't object to any of them, but this time it really was the big bang, and having a couple of concrete walls between myself and an unknown shooter with an Elephant gun on an unknown range, seemed prudent. He seems to have stopped now, so I'm going back outside.
I just pulled the 4 speed out of the convertible a few minutes ago. TKX 5 speed going in. Really wish I had a lift about now. I hope to get the new transmission in later today so I can get measurements for the drive shaft. Ken
