My 3rd Car, a FREE 1990 Olds Cutlass Supreme

[bucket]

Definitely check the IAC motor, but don't be surprised if you still have to turn up the base idle screw when it's all said and done. It's a common thing that needs done on a higher mileage car. Even slight wear in the TB and linkage can cause the idle to be low.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Definitely check the IAC motor, but don't be surprised if you still have to turn up the base idle screw when it's all said and done. It's a common thing that needs done on a higher mileage car. Even slight wear in the TB and linkage can cause the idle to be low.

I see the idle screw there. The IAC had rust and plenty of stinky carbon on it. It doesn’t give me a lot of confidence that way. The bad news is that both of the IAC screws that go into the housing snapped in half like soft candy. That was with PB Blaster and careful, centered rotation of my screwdriver. Any improvisational way to remedy aside from getting a new (or new to me) idle air housing for it? I thought about drilling them out and using a bolt/nut combo, and I tried grabbing on the exposed backside with vice grips, but there wasn’t enough there to get a good bite.

It seems like a disproportionate number of screws and bolts are just snapping here, and I’ve exercised extra care. I very rarely snap screws and bolts in my other stuff, and I also rarely use penetrating oil to soften things up before removal. I could accept blame if I was working haphazardously, but it’s getting frustrating that it happens despite extra care being taken.

 

[bucket]

I've never had luck removing the broken screws. I've also never had both of them break. That's just unlucky, lol.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I've never had luck removing the broken screws. I've also never had both of them break. That's just unlucky, lol.

That’s my life in a nutshell.

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[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Got a new idle air housing off an ‘89 Pontiac 6000 in PAP for the price of an IAC valve ($11). I had to crawl in that thing and pop the hood, it made my skin itchy, and there were like two dozen doobie roaches in the ashtray. Oh well. I’m scared to take the old IAC off this one now.

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[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Runs better with the different valve. The previous owners of the Pontiac must have put a new one in and never ran it because it didn’t have a spec of carbon on it. I see the little slop in the linkage there. The throttle arm goes a little further back than the idle screw wants it to.

Put the cluster in again, take 2. It works, and it’s under 200K, but I know it’s not going to work when it hits there because it says “Error” when you switch the odometer to KM mode. I’ll deal with that then. I sent it to Southern Electronicals in Virginia. My experience was pretty mediocre, and I don’t think I’d recommend them.

Drove it again tonight to put gas in it. It didn’t die at the stops like before, although it acted like it wanted to, but like I said I can see where the linkage is misbehaving on me. I’m also loosing coolant pretty good, and I can smell it when I’m driving slow with the window open. It doesn’t smoke so I don’t think it’s going into the combustion chamber. I can’t see anything with a simple visual so I’ll put some dye in it. Whatever it is, it’s a pretty moderate leak. With the radiator full, the low coolant light illuminates after around ten minutes of driving. I don’t think it’s done it parked running it for 45 minutes those early times.

I’ve also been racking my brain trying to figure out what this nipple that I broke went to, and it dawned on me that it’s the tube for the washer fluid. It runs through some kind of switch, but it just seems to run through to the side. If I could get the switch all the way out, it looks like small diameter chainsaw fuel hose would fix it, but the harness hasn’t enough slack to let it out. It looks like the cowl is gonna have to come off. Yuck.

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[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Since the last update, I did a full brake job on this thing with some nice ceramic pads, brand new rotors, and a flush. I’m never doing organic pads again because there seems to be too much brake fade to save a little money and hang onto the old rotors for longer. After 1.5-2 weeks of elbow grease and some sandpaper/rattle can magic, the car doesn’t look so disappointing anymore. I’ll show some before pictures of the stains, yellowed wheels, and you can see the roof condition, as well. I fixed the roof, the mirrors, the door handles, the hubcaps, the rear bumper cover, driver side B pillar area, chips on the leading edge of the hood and the trailing edge of the trunk lid. The finish kinda sucks on the roof, but at least the big rust splotches are gone.

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The worst of the side stains gone here, but you can see the roof and the wheels still crying for help.

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I did Argent Silver (Krylon 1403 Dull Aluminum) on the wheels since that was GM’s go to color for everything for a long time. I don’t know if that’s how they came, but oh well. If I get tired of it, I know how to fix it. I moved it away from things to avoid overspray, and I wasn’t worried with the plate being covered up in that one pic. If a Russian wants to hack this car, they’ll have to break out their 300 baud modem.

 

[DoubleDingo]

Cleaned up really well!

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Thanks. It was tough to get it that way, especially with the stains, but I used a one dollar bottle of product from Dollar General called Awesome.

@CorvairGeek

I’ve vacuumed down the system to see what the damages are, keeping in mind that this clutch seal stuff might be broken down, but it’s held 28” for about an hour so maybe it just slowly seeped it out over the past 15-20 years. Unless it doesn’t continue to hold, I’m gonna get all the mineral oil out of it (I’m probably gonna just pay a local shop to flush it and drain the compressor), and then I’ll revacuum it down and charge it on up. If the compressor pukes the charge later, at least I didn’t replace anything.

 

[CorvairGeek]

@CorvairGeek

I’ve vacuumed down the system to see what the damages are, keeping in mind that this clutch seal stuff might be broken down, but it’s held 28” for about an hour so maybe it just slowly seeped it out over the past 15-20 years. Unless it doesn’t continue to hold, I’m gonna get all the mineral oil out of it (I’m probably gonna just pay a local shop to flush it and drain the compressor), and then I’ll revacuum it down and charge it on up. If the compressor pukes the charge later, at least I didn’t replace anything.

Sounds like a plan. You can put the entire amount of oil required right in the crankcase of the V5 compressor with a clean system. I would use PAG in this case.
The only concern is the original accumulator. This has the old XH5 desiccant, which is not forward compatible with newer refrigerants. You want a new accumulator with a clean system anyway, and they aren't expensive.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Sounds like a plan. You can put the entire amount of oil required right in the crankcase of the V5 compressor with a clean system. I would use PAG in this case.
The only concern is the original accumulator. This has the old XH5 desiccant, which is not forward compatible with newer refrigerants. You want a new accumulator with a clean system anyway, and they aren't expensive.

I haven’t looked all that closely, but it’s hidden under where the brake light perches, and that steel piece looks pretty solid. My only other issues are the rear shocks are creaking, and they move stiffly instead of fluidly. Around bumpy curves, it feels like the rear wheels aren’t making proper contact, and it would like to lose traction. I also engaged the parking brake for the first time, and the light stayed on. I haven’t looked that closely there either, but I don’t know what turns that little light onsince there’s no dedicated switch that I can reference in a parts catalog. Oh, and I am having the damndest time trying to reconnect the shift indicator cable. If you have any tips, I’d greatly appreciate it because all this and the air will be a wrap on this car. It’s already going pretty strong. I’ve also got to pull the cowl, clean it, and replace the main washer line, but that’s just a matter of going and doing it.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

So it turns out that the front shaft seal isn’t leaking, but the body seal, which it looks like there’re two of them but not sure, is leaking profusely. I really don’t want get a new one because this one has 187,000 miles and makes no noise. You take a Harrison R4 with the same mileage, factor in some sitting time, and not only does it grumble and groan, but you can expect it to puke it’s charge any day. I feel like this one could take a reseal and work fine, but I really don’t want to do the job twice. I also don’t want to get a noisy ass new one when this one is nice and quiet, but I have a feeling that the inferior radial compressors may have the noise market cornered anyway. I might compromise by shelving it and maybe rebuilding it in a couple of years. Or send it to someone. I don’t know... As always, any thoughts are appreciated.

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[Rusty Nail]

Eww. It looks gross!
Clean compressors are happy compressors...try a rag.

 

[CorvairGeek]

They are called 'belly leakers' on V5s. This wasn't as much of an issue when they were painted, but became a big issue when left bare and the aluminum corrodes. The can be resealed, but I'm not sure that I would, and it would need a new double lip shaft seal while you are there.
Unlike the miserable R4 with its Scotch Yoke, noise making design, the V5 is a fine compressor. You can still get replacements that work.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Eww. It looks gross!
Clean compressors are happy compressors...try a rag.

Don’t worry, she’ll be coming off shortly either way.

They are called 'belly leakers' on V5s. This wasn't as much of an issue when they were painted, but became a big issue when left bare and the aluminum corrodes. The can be resealed, but I'm not sure that I would, and it would need a new double lip shaft seal while you are there.
Unlike the miserable R4 with its Scotch Yoke, noise making design, the V5 is a fine compressor. You can still get replacements that work.

I notice the new ones aren’t painted either. I wonder if I’d need to coat it with something. I think there’s more that can go wrong with rebuilding it, but I think I’ll still save it. I’m assuming there’s some shaft wear/rust from living in a hot swamp and always running the air its first fifteen years and sitting for the next fifteen. Probably corrosion in the two body seal lips if the seals dried up and it sat in those poor conditions.