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There are lots of actuators. On my Riviera’s driver’s side there were three. I did not look at the passenger side. And the “heat blend door actuator” for the drivers side is not the same as for the passenger side. At least that is what I found from my interweb research. Hope this helps.
There are lots of actuators. On my Riviera’s driver’s side there were three. I did not look at the passenger side. And the “heat blend door actuator” for the drivers side is not the same as for the passenger side. At least that is what I found from my interweb research. Hope this helps.
Excellent point. Could you provide a link or hint as to where to find the gear on line? The actuator complete was about 80 US dollars. Just the gear would save some more moola.
Excellent point. Could you provide a link or hint as to where to find the gear on line? The actuator complete was about 80 US dollars. Just the gear would save some more moola.
I second the Streamlight suggestion. I have a Streamlight Protac HL. However, it uses nonrechargable lithium cells. On the bright setting, it is crazy bright. But only about one hour of battery on the high setting. I found a big package of appropriate cells on Amazon for low money, and they store n the drawer for about ten years. I also use a cheapo Cree Ultrafire that uses a (popular) rechargable lithium 18650 cell. The rechargable lithium cells require a special charger.
I guess I take a three tier approach. Best performing flashlight is the Streamlight Protac. Really nice piece of gear. Don’t loan it out. You’ll never see it again. For every day knock around duty, and at twenty bucks or so, the Cree that takes the aforementioned rechargable 18650 or three AAA alkaline cells. And for lower but still OK brightness “keep it in the glove box and if it gets destroyed, stolen or lost I don’t care” duty, a super cheapo single LED flashlight that uses three AAA pencels and was a whopping two flashlights for three bucks (US) at the local Menards box store.
As I am sure you are aware, avoid the multiple LED cheapo flashlights.
I second the Streamlight suggestion. I have a Streamlight Protac HL. However, it uses nonrechargable lithium cells. On the bright setting, it is crazy bright. But only about one hour of battery on the high setting. I found a big package of appropriate cells on Amazon for low money, and they store n the drawer for about ten years. I also use a cheapo Cree Ultrafire that uses a (popular) rechargable lithium 18650 cell. The rechargable lithium cells require a special charger.
I guess I take a three tier approach. Best performing flashlight is the Streamlight Protac. Really nice piece of gear. Don’t loan it out. You’ll never see it again. For every day knock around duty, and at twenty bucks or so, the Cree that takes the aforementioned rechargable 18650 or three AAA alkaline cells. And for lower but still OK brightness “keep it in the glove box and if it gets destroyed, stolen or lost I don’t care” duty, a super cheapo single LED flashlight that uses three AAA pencels and was a whopping two flashlights for three bucks (US) at the local Menards box store.
As I am sure you are aware, avoid the multiple LED cheapo flashlights.
Congrats on the new to you vigor. Design wise, shades of a couple of Audis I drove: five cylinders and a blower motor replacement procedure that starts, “First, dismantle the entire vehicle.” My audi adventures turned me away from German cars forever.
On the possible welding of the exhaust manifold, depending upon the material in question, if it is cast iron I believe the preferred repair is bronze brazing with an O/A torch. Check with Keith Fenner on youtube, as I am no expert.
Thanks again for all the great vids, instructional and commentary.
David B. in Champaign
Congrats on the new to you vigor. Design wise, shades of a couple of Audis I drove: five cylinders and a blower motor replacement procedure that starts, “First, dismantle the entire vehicle.” My audi adventures turned me away from German cars forever.
On the possible welding of the exhaust manifold, depending upon the material in question, if it is cast iron I believe the preferred repair is bronze brazing with an O/A torch. Check with Keith Fenner on youtube, as I am no expert.
Thanks again for all the great vids, instructional and commentary.
David B. in Champaign
Well, I finally got around to completing my Riviera suspension project. For those interested, here are the experiences and factoids:
But first, to respond to the very kindly offered suggestions:
Yes, the on-board ride height compressor was running. But no change in the ride height would happen. As the old shocks were completely kaput, I assumed that the compressor had run for long periods, perhaps timing out or ?, and had worn out. I dismounted the fuse for the on-board compressor and, sadly, I have not followed up with any diagnosis of the compressor system, other than to note that the air lines and fittings appeared well and good.
So, I was successful in installing the “manual” air kit (number AK29) and it was surprisingly simple.
I found a rubber grommet on the right side of the trunk interior with an unused hole. This is in the area very near the motor for the power antenna. With the rear end up on jack stands, (the car rear end, not mine) and the rear wheels dismounted, I uninstalled the small plastic inner fender shield at the rear of the right side fender well. Then, I ran an electrician’s fish tape through that unused grommet bit, and, after mounting the air lines to the shocks, I fished the new air lines up into the trunk.
I mounted the T fitting for the two air lines on an inner structural member in the trunk, just below the right side trunk lid support, after drilling an appropriately sized hole. No need for paint, as this mounting spot is completely interior to the trunk. Yea! I also relieved a portion of the trunk liner stuff, so that the air fitting would be accessible.
For “on-board” compressor, I’m using a hand held little cheapie that plugs into the cig lighter. Has a built in gauge and is very capable. Goes to 120 psi, and easily can fill a tire or whatever. For the shocks, it takes about one second of compressor run to bring them to 20 psi.
Someday I may get around to finding or running a 12v power source in the trunk for my little hand held compressor.
The instructions with the AK29 kit state that the shocks should be run at a minimum of 20 psi, so that is where I started. That yielded about one inch increase in ride height. And that seems fine for the driving that I do. And by the way, the instructions in the AK29 kit were very good.
My only addition was to add a tiny bit of O ring grease to the O rings in the air line kit.
All in all, I am pleased with the outcome. I left the old lines and compressor on the car, and taped the ends to prevent contamination. Perhaps, someday, I will get the stock system running, but this fix was cheap and, so far, seems to work a treat. Cost wise, the replacement Monroe air-assist rear shocks were $92 (US) for the pair, and the AK29 air line kit was $12. Time wise, the rear shock dismount/install took this amateur about an hour, and the air line install/ modification took about two hours, because I performed this project separate from the shock install, and I augmented the project with grain based carbonated beverage breaks.
The additional suspension travel has enhanced the ability of the car to deal with the bumpy roads of the midwest USA.
I’ll be installing the same air line kit on my 1996 Aurora. as it has the same problem of new(ish) Monroe replacement shocks and a nonfunctional air compressor. It will be interesting to see how often I will need to top up the air in the shocks. So far my experience is that , unless I get three Pinkwater’s worth of humans and luggage in the back seat/trunk, it seems that not much psi adjustment will be needed for daily driving.
Again, sincere thanks for the helpful suggestions. I hope this thread will be of some assistance to other souls dealing with aging g-body GM cars with the auto ride-height system.
Grace and Peace
David B
Well, I finally got around to completing my Riviera suspension project. For those interested, here are the experiences and factoids:
But first, to respond to the very kindly offered suggestions:
Yes, the on-board ride height compressor was running. But no change in the ride height would happen. As the old shocks were completely kaput, I assumed that the compressor had run for long periods, perhaps timing out or ?, and had worn out. I dismounted the fuse for the on-board compressor and, sadly, I have not followed up with any diagnosis of the compressor system, other than to note that the air lines and fittings appeared well and good.
So, I was successful in installing the “manual” air kit (number AK29) and it was surprisingly simple.
I found a rubber grommet on the right side of the trunk interior with an unused hole. This is in the area very near the motor for the power antenna. With the rear end up on jack stands, (the car rear end, not mine) and the rear wheels dismounted, I uninstalled the small plastic inner fender shield at the rear of the right side fender well. Then, I ran an electrician’s fish tape through that unused grommet bit, and, after mounting the air lines to the shocks, I fished the new air lines up into the trunk.
I mounted the T fitting for the two air lines on an inner structural member in the trunk, just below the right side trunk lid support, after drilling an appropriately sized hole. No need for paint, as this mounting spot is completely interior to the trunk. Yea! I also relieved a portion of the trunk liner stuff, so that the air fitting would be accessible.
For “on-board” compressor, I’m using a hand held little cheapie that plugs into the cig lighter. Has a built in gauge and is very capable. Goes to 120 psi, and easily can fill a tire or whatever. For the shocks, it takes about one second of compressor run to bring them to 20 psi.
Someday I may get around to finding or running a 12v power source in the trunk for my little hand held compressor.
The instructions with the AK29 kit state that the shocks should be run at a minimum of 20 psi, so that is where I started. That yielded about one inch increase in ride height. And that seems fine for the driving that I do. And by the way, the instructions in the AK29 kit were very good.
My only addition was to add a tiny bit of O ring grease to the O rings in the air line kit.
All in all, I am pleased with the outcome. I left the old lines and compressor on the car, and taped the ends to prevent contamination. Perhaps, someday, I will get the stock system running, but this fix was cheap and, so far, seems to work a treat. Cost wise, the replacement Monroe air-assist rear shocks were $92 (US) for the pair, and the AK29 air line kit was $12. Time wise, the rear shock dismount/install took this amateur about an hour, and the air line install/ modification took about two hours, because I performed this project separate from the shock install, and I augmented the project with grain based carbonated beverage breaks.
The additional suspension travel has enhanced the ability of the car to deal with the bumpy roads of the midwest USA.
I’ll be installing the same air line kit on my 1996 Aurora. as it has the same problem of new(ish) Monroe replacement shocks and a nonfunctional air compressor. It will be interesting to see how often I will need to top up the air in the shocks. So far my experience is that , unless I get three Pinkwater’s worth of humans and luggage in the back seat/trunk, it seems that not much psi adjustment will be needed for daily driving.
Again, sincere thanks for the helpful suggestions. I hope this thread will be of some assistance to other souls dealing with aging g-body GM cars with the auto ride-height system.
Grace and Peace
David B
No, I did not replace springs, on front or rear. Very good point on ride height and its influence on camber.
Also, I think I figured out that the camber adjustment bolts are to replace one of the bolts that fix the strut to the steering knuckle. At least that is the arrangement on the front. For the rear, I will dismount one of the wheels and take a look and report back.
No, I did not replace springs, on front or rear. Very good point on ride height and its influence on camber.
Also, I think I figured out that the camber adjustment bolts are to replace one of the bolts that fix the strut to the steering knuckle. At least that is the arrangement on the front. For the rear, I will dismount one of the wheels and take a look and report back.
Thanks very much for all the information. I have learned a great deal.
I believe the tire shop that performed the alignment explained that the camber is not adjustable on the Riviera. Thus the need for modification. And I believe the policy of this shop is not to do mods.
In terms of actual specs, if I read the graphic printout correctly it would seem that the ideal camber is zero degrees for all four wheels. The actual is RF neg .4 degrees, LF is neg 1 degree, LR is neg .8 degree, and RR is neg 1.3 degrees. Again from the print out, the green zone, or acceptable tolerance is plus or minus .7 degrees. camber
Shocks and struts are new, but tie rod ends and ball joint are all OEM. With the weight of this car in the front end, I would assume there has been some wear, but happily the appearance of the underside of this car is pristine. I believe it was driven very little in winter.
I am intrigued by the replacement bolts that make the camber adjustable for this car. Thanks college man! Do these bolts replace the OEM bolts that go through the control arm bushings? If so, I think I need eight of them?
Another interesting factoid: I drive another GM G-body car, a 1996 Olds Aurora. I also replaced struts on this car, and found that the camber on the Aurora IS adjustable as the lower strut bolt hole that fixes the strut to the steering knuckle is oblong to allow for camber adjust. The Riv struts don’t have this eliptical hole for the lower strut bolt. As mentioned by wysetech, I could grind the lower strut holes and take it back in. At least on the front. For the rear, the control arms are more of a trailing arm kind of deal, so the camber fiddling is not so obvious, at least to me.
And for full disclosure, before alignment, the toe angles were all out of spec. Again, if I read the sheet correctly, spec is 0 to 0.2 degrees toe in (?), and all the wheels were out of spec somewhat, except the RR which was .67 degrees toe in. I think the combo of old hard tires and the way out LR was the cause of the weird sideways shuffle of the rear of the car over certain pavement bumps.
I believe given the slight amount of driving that I do and the fact that the camber is out but not very much, I’ll try living with the car as it is. It now handles fine, for what it is, and probably the tires will need replacement some years hence due to age rather than from tread wear, which is the story for the previous tires.
Thanks again everyone! Super helpful. Grace and Peace to all.
Thanks very much for all the information. I have learned a great deal.
I believe the tire shop that performed the alignment explained that the camber is not adjustable on the Riviera. Thus the need for modification. And I believe the policy of this shop is not to do mods.
In terms of actual specs, if I read the graphic printout correctly it would seem that the ideal camber is zero degrees for all four wheels. The actual is RF neg .4 degrees, LF is neg 1 degree, LR is neg .8 degree, and RR is neg 1.3 degrees. Again from the print out, the green zone, or acceptable tolerance is plus or minus .7 degrees. camber
Shocks and struts are new, but tie rod ends and ball joint are all OEM. With the weight of this car in the front end, I would assume there has been some wear, but happily the appearance of the underside of this car is pristine. I believe it was driven very little in winter.
I am intrigued by the replacement bolts that make the camber adjustable for this car. Thanks college man! Do these bolts replace the OEM bolts that go through the control arm bushings? If so, I think I need eight of them?
Another interesting factoid: I drive another GM G-body car, a 1996 Olds Aurora. I also replaced struts on this car, and found that the camber on the Aurora IS adjustable as the lower strut bolt hole that fixes the strut to the steering knuckle is oblong to allow for camber adjust. The Riv struts don’t have this eliptical hole for the lower strut bolt. As mentioned by wysetech, I could grind the lower strut holes and take it back in. At least on the front. For the rear, the control arms are more of a trailing arm kind of deal, so the camber fiddling is not so obvious, at least to me.
And for full disclosure, before alignment, the toe angles were all out of spec. Again, if I read the sheet correctly, spec is 0 to 0.2 degrees toe in (?), and all the wheels were out of spec somewhat, except the RR which was .67 degrees toe in. I think the combo of old hard tires and the way out LR was the cause of the weird sideways shuffle of the rear of the car over certain pavement bumps.
I believe given the slight amount of driving that I do and the fact that the camber is out but not very much, I’ll try living with the car as it is. It now handles fine, for what it is, and probably the tires will need replacement some years hence due to age rather than from tread wear, which is the story for the previous tires.
Thanks again everyone! Super helpful. Grace and Peace to all.
I respectfully disagree with the “unless you bag grass skip the rear self propel.” If you have any inclines in the yard, the rear wheel self-propel is a real help, whether you are bagging or not. In fact, any kind of self propell is helpful, incline or not. I very much agree with the high cost of Honda repairs. Parts are “honda only” even the cutting blade. Parts costs are high, but that is pretty much true for any mower any more. Pretty much any mower at Sears is going to be a consumer grade MTD mower or its ilk. Not my cup of tea and I like a mower that is good for twenty years or so.
To be honest, I have found all my mowers, in the last ten years, at garage sales. Usually for under twenty dollars US. And applied repair skills to make them perform. I really like Snappers (the real ones) as they are made to be long-term mowers and repairable. I just finished mowing my lawn with a 25 year old Snapper, and it worked a treat. I know….some of you are asking, why buy so many old lawn mowers? Well, when I was a young lad, I had to make due with a crappy lawn mower, and now there are very nice mowers for sale for next to nothing. Just needing a bit of TLC. I just can’t seem them sent to the scrap yard.