I've made the leap from wagon lurker to wagon owner

Do you have anything like a U Haul there?

 

Yeah, we do have that. Checked their website and once I entered in that I would tow with their truck and would be hauling a '94 Roadie Wagon, I got "We were unable to find any towing combination to fit your vehicle."

 

Try putting it in as a LeSabre.

 

Must be too long...

 

I'm reading on a lot of places that Seafoam won't necessarily clean carbon buildup from the EGR Valve. Makes sense really if the Seafoam liquid would have broken down by the time it reaches the exhaust stage. I would think that if it's harsh enough to clean the valve, maybe it's still harsh enough to damage the diaphragm. I think I might have a go at pulling the EGR off and having a look. Just hunting around for a good tutorial for removing the LT1 EGR and cleaning everything out. (Found several really but I like pictures so I'm still looking )

 

I think you're right, the Roadie might be too long. I got a price with the LeSabre but for that money, I may as well just put in a new EGR. They want $75 for the truck and trailer and $0.69/km. Getting the truck to and from UHaul without the car would be the largest part of the trip.

 

No it won't clean a EGR but it does remove carbon build up in the engine and breaks it down to burn through the exhaust. If you do this make sure you do a tune up afterward. I also use a can in the gas tank every few months.

 

Given that the car passed in 2007 and 2009 after a new EGR, I think that's probably a good place to start. It's still warm enough here to work under the hood without cursing about cold fingers so I'll see if I can locate and work on that tomorrow. If I can get that cleaned and the passenger window switch fixed I just need to resolve the rear window rail problem in order to take it in for safety inspection and get the shocks done.

 

Do you know any good mechanics that would be willing to give you some free advice?

 

Nope. I know a number of mechanical dabblers, but none that could be called a good mechanic. Certainly no one who's good with anything newer than the '70's.

 

Hi CW. my hubby is in the autoglass business...maybe he can help with the rear window parts that you need??? I'll ask him when he gets back(gone to Tims). So it's a '94 Buick Roadmaster, and it's the rear window roller that you need?

 

Hi Fannie;

Yeah, the roller is a different part than the little plastic slider that is in the window track now. I guess it's some sort of upgrade to prevent the typical cracking of the plastic piece and the window falling out of the track. My Dad didn't look outside of Ontario as he figured that I would want the part ASAP. Now that I have 15 days to get everything working, I guess I do. He's going to look into NAPA's other suppliers and warehouses tomorrow so I should have an answer tomorrow night on whether or not he can locate it for me.

I'd appreciate and assistance/advice you can offer Fannie, I'm starting to sweat about having to pay that $360 fine.

The GM Part number is [FONT=Courier New, Courier, mono]966-6748. [/FONT]
Here's a link to the part as shown on NAPA's U.S. site (Their Canadian site doesn't work)
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Detail.aspx?A=BK_6651723_0241708827&An=599001+101994+50008+2008027

I'm thinking that I'll call the local GM dealership too. They say that the parts are more money there but if they can get it faster I'll pay a dollar or two more. I always go to Dad first for parts as he feels a little hurt if I don't.

 

Repair adventures

Well, I rolled the Roadie out of the garage today to have a look at the EGR valve. I've never seen an EGR valve that was carboned up before but it looked clean enough to me. I also bought a can of Seafoam and perhaps tomorrow night, I'll drive to a back road under cover of darkness and put it to use. Interestingly enough, I had been puzzled about the large hole in the hood liner material when I got the car. Once I pulled the home base off and discovered all the mouse droppings and large nest made of hood liner it all became clear. The car has been sitting in a driveway since May so the local critters had plenty of opportunities to move in.

Also on my list of things to tackle for my safety inspection is the windows. All of the windows have to roll down in order to pass. As it stands now, all four windows function (not counting the one that is off the track) from the drivers seat, but not from their respective switches. I may not be much of a mechanic, but this problem seems to be electrical and that's very much right up my alley. I took apart the drivers door control panel and tested the window lock switch and it's working fine. I shorted the window lock wiring, but it had no effect. From the wiring diagrams there are two brown wires that should come from the window fuse, one goes to the drivers switch assembly, and the other goes to the window lock switch. Both brown wires should have a +12VDC potential but only the window control wire does and not the window lock wire. I fed a jumper over to the other +12VDC wire but no luck. It seems that the brown +12VDC wire and the Blue return wire must both be damaged. I'm assuming that something has been disconnected (or gnawed on by critters). Does anyone know where all of the window control wiring terminates physically? The Haynes diagrams make mention of a window system controller but not where it's located.

While working on the window switches I had the key in the on position to do some testing with my meter. As I moved in my seat, I could repeatedly hear a relay clicking under the dash. It sounds much like a turn signal relay. I noticed it a great deal as I drove the car back home but it doesn't seem to be hindering my quest for roadworthiness so I figured I'd save it for later. Truth be told, the clicking is a little annoying. If I sit still in the passenger seat, I don't notice it but if I reach across and the car wiggles a bit, this relay will click once or twice. It shouldn't be too hard to isolate which relay, what it does and what controls it, but I thought I would post here and see if anyone has encountered something like this. I think I may need to remove the fuse blocks as well to see if my furry friends have done more than just tear apart my hood liner. I haven't seen any other signs of mouse damage but that doesn't mean it's not there.

 

Get the roller window fixes from GM. 5 for around 8 bucks.

 

I just priced the 966-6748 roller part on GMPartsdirect a few minutes ago. They list their price as $4.11/ea for a pack of 5. They won't ship to Canada but after shipping that would put it at $33 for 5.

I'll see what NAPA comes back with tomorrow. My Dad's discount generally makes it worthwhile to buy from them. If they can't come up with anything I'll give the local GM dealer a go.