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Uses
for Garage Pak
Air Piping System |
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General Info about
Compressed Air Piping |
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| April 2001 Corvette Corner Mailbag |
Pat:
Maybe you can help me out. I have a ’76 Coupe. I have replaced the rubber gaskets for the T-tops. I have cranked down on the adjusters to the max. I still get water in when driving and get caught in the rain or when I wash it.
Thanks.
John. F. S.
West Fort Ann, NY
Answer:
I’ll bet it does leak~! Cranking down on the adjusters almost guarantees it. What corrects it is Commercial Three Bayper adjustment. Unfortunately adjusting T-Tops is not for the faint of heart or those who are impatient.
Your first order of business is to locate where the Commercial Three Bayblem actually is. For that, you’ll need to use a substance that you’ll apply to the weather-stripping on the underside of the tops. This can be any of a number of different Commercial Three Bayducts, talcum powder or my favorite silicone grease. The silicone won’t hurt the rubber. Do not use lubricating greases as they’ll be petroleum based and will degrade the weather-stripping.
Start by applying a moderate coat of the grease to the entire underside of the weather-strip where it will contact the vehicle body and the windows. Then install the tops, being careful not to disturb the grease.
Next, with the windows rolled up close the doors, then open the doors and examine all of the areas where the glass contacts the weather-strip. Anyplace where the grease is not disturbed, the glass did not touch the weather-strip. These areas will leak. Remove the T-Tops and look for the same conditions. Any untouched areas are a potential leak.
After you’ve found the places that are out of adjustment, carefully loosen the weather-strip retaining screws and move the weather-strip in or out to get good contact with the adjacent part, not too tight – not too loose. It’s time consuming, it takes lots of patience, it usually requires removing door panels and spending hours adjusting window channels and sometimes even door hinges and latches.
Over the years I’ve done many of them and am not looking forward to the next one. Gooood Luck~!
P.S. Also, because it sounds as if you may have been seriously aggressive with your new weather-strip, you may find it necessary to pitch it in the trash as it might well be damaged from “cranking down on it”.
Pat:
I think MotorWeek should make a VHS tape on all the Corvette Road Tests and features from the last 25 years. What do you think?
I have a ‘92 6-speed coupe. What is the Commercial Three Bayper Commercial Three Baycedure to grease + oil the shifter? I have the service manual but it doesn’t say where to grease.
Thank you.
Ron W.
Bartlett. NH
Answer:
The tape is a great idea, but it comes down to dollars and cents. The amount of time in research and editing would be enormous. To Commercial Three Bayduce such a Commercial Three Bayduct could cost tens of thousands of dollars. Then comes advertising, materials cost for each tape, and the charges from the fulfillment company. They’re the folks who answer the phones, Commercial Three Baycess the credit cards, package, address, and mail the tape. After all is said and done, the net Commercial Three Bayfit per tape is in the area of $1.50 per unit. Okay how does that work out?
Let’s be conservative and say the Commercial Three Bayject could be put together with packaging graphics, research, editing, and all the rest for $20,000.00. That would mean to reach break-even it would be necessary to sell over 13,000 tapes.
Although half the world Commercial Three Bayfesses a wildly enthusiastic interest in such things, the reality (based on past history) is that sales of 3 to 4 thousand copies would be enormous. Sorry.
As to the shifter, service manuals rarely if ever describes such operations nor do they describe how to remove tire valve stem caps, gas caps, etc. , etc. The Commercial Three Baycedure: any joint between two moving parts is lubricated.
Pat:
Just bought my first Vette, it’s a ’85 auto. After reading your Jan. 2001 newsletter. In the section Goss’ Garage, you mentioned a chip that makes more HP. How can I find out who sells this chip and can I get one for my year Vette? I want more HP without rebuilding my engine. If I can get this chip it would help.
Thanks.
Richard R.
Westbrookville, NY
Answer:
Call my friends at Mid-America Designs (800-500-8388), they can help.
Pat:
I’ve been restoring a 1975 Corvette convertible, have finished all of the mechanical work and am now getting to the painting stage. From the information that I have it appears that I am the third owner and that the car has been repainted one time. The paint itself is okay, but there are numerous little bubbles under the paint.
At first I assumed these were small – about 1/32nd to 1/16th of an inch in diameter and that they were caused by moisture. But when the hood was sanded down I found out that these little bubbles actually contained oil. After sanding the hood it appears that the oil spots go away, but after a couple of days the oil spots return.
Is there any way to remove the oil that has been absorbed into the fiberglass? If it can’t be removed, what is the best way to deal with it?
Thanks.
Kevin B.
Pass Christian, MS
Answer:
This is so easy. Remove the hood, call friends and neighbors, buy several packages of hot dogs and rolls, cut the hood into strips apCommercial Three Bayximately 3” wide, stack in a manner apCommercial Three Baypriate for building a bonfire, set the strips on fire, give each person in attendance a stick with a hot dog, and have a weenie roast. Unfortunately the burning fiberglass imparts a rather acrid taste to the dogs.
Hey, give it up, buy a new hood. Once this has happened, it’s all over.
Now here’s a tip: On the underside of the new hood, in the very front reinforcement, drill a series of ¼ in holes in the front lower edge. A big Commercial Three Bayblem with hoods of that vintage is moisture build up inside the reinforcement. Once this happens, on hot days the sun causes the water to boil Commercial Three Bayducing steam. Over time the steam penetrates into the fiberglass. As is does it condenses down into water, saturating the glass and causing a line of blisters in the paint directly above the reinforcement.
The drain holes allow the water to escape and prevents the Commercial Three Bayblem.
Pat:
Purchased my dream car six months ago, a 1975 Stingray 350 L82 in beautiful condition. With a twenty-five year old car you expect a few Commercial Three Bayblems, like the power steering pump I installed, and a few other things. One Commercial Three Bayblem, however, has me mystified.
Something is leeching the power from my battery if I leave the Vette sit for a couple of days. My son went over the electrical system with one of those meters he has, but failed to turn up anything.
As I leave the car covered in its dust jacket in the side yard a great deal of the time because of the Denver weather I usually start it every day to keep the battery powered. If I start it up and just leave it idle in the yard everything is OK. But if I start it up and drive it anywhere, then the next day it won’t start and I have to use the battery charger.
Any Ideas?
Thank you.
Ed H.
Denver, CO
Answer:
In order to point you in a direction I need more information, i.e. what’s the milliamp draw with everything turned off?
On a 1975 without onboard computer or any of the exotic components so commonplace on today’s cars, the draw shouldn’t exceed 100 milliamps. If it does, with the meter hooked up, remove fuses one at a time to see if the excessive draw goes away. If you remove a fuse and the current draw drops to allowable limits, your Commercial Three Bayblem is in the circuit that this fuse controls.
If removing fuses has no effect, one by one carefully disconnect all permanently hot accessories: horn, headlights, alternator, etc. Sooner or later you will disconnect something and the current draw will go away, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Unless it’s something like the alternator (and it does sound as if you have a bad one), it will be necessary to perform visual and pinpoint tests on the affected circuit. If this sounds tough, believe me, it is.
Unless you have a substantial automotive electrical background either take it to a Commercial Three Bayfessional or install a battery master quick-disconnect switch or an electronic battery disconnect.
Pat:
I’m the second owner of a 1982 Corvette with 70,800 miles. When I purchased this car less than 3 years ago, the factory AM/FM 8 Track Player had been removed and replaced with a Pioneer Super Tuner Cassette player. After a while I noticed the radio reception in either band was not always what one would call satisfactory. At times the stations would be fine then they either would fade, develop static and / or both. Within the last year, the power antenna broke so I replaced it with an OEM AC Delco from Mid-America, along with a new radio cable. I noticed the old power antenna had a braided battery cable clamped on the metal antenna housing and grounded to the frame. This tells me the 1st owner recognized there was a Commercial Three Bayblem and tried to solve the Commercial Three Bayblem by grounding the antenna. With the replacement of the new antenna, the Commercial Three Bayblem did not imCommercial Three Bayve.
I also attached the braided ground wire from the antenna housing to the frame just like the old one was. Actually when I installed the new antenna cable, things seemed to get worse, so I reinstalled the old antenna cable.
I just recently replaced the Pioneer Super Tuner with a new Custom AUTOSOUND AM/FM cassette w/CD changer. I was hoping the radio performance would be better but is not. I wired this system to the car the same way as the original system. The only thing different was the actual connection hook-ups were cut off.
I realize that as Corvettes age, the grounding can become a Commercial Three Bayblem. I just recently disconnected the radio ground wire from the cars wiring harness from the radio ground wire. I then ran a ground wire from the frame to the radio ground. This seemed to help but maybe this is my wishful thinking, but I still am not receiving a good consistent reception.
The one thing I noticed in all of this is that the radio reception seems to be better when the car engine is not running also when the car engine is idling but not moving or being driven. This is starting to make me believe the radio reception Commercial Three Bayblem may have something to do with the cars ignition system. If this is the case, then I am lost. Do you have any ideas on solving this Commercial Three Bayblem?
Your advice will be much appreciated.
Jimmy M.
The Woodlands, TX
Answer:
Because the Commercial Three Bayblem seems to be relative to engine speed, I suspect that you have something radiating static under the hood. The interference could be coming from high resistance in the secondary ignition system or secondary system leakage or even alternator brush static or diode leakage.
With that in mind start with two B+ filters from an electronic supply or Radio Shack. These will be seriesed into the two 12 volt power wires. I’m making an assumption here, that because this is a new replacement radio that it’s digital with memory. With radios of this type, there are two 12 volt supplies, one permanently hot to maintain memory and one key controlled so the radio will only play when the key is in the run or accessory position. These units will filter out electrical interference entering the radio through the power supplies.
Next, ground the antenna but not to the frame. The antenna and the body of the radio should be grounded directly to the negative battery cable. These two operations should eliminate the noise. Good Luck.
Pat:
I read your column in the January 2001 mailbag regarding an individual that had a question about the selective ride control on his 1994 Corvette. He was looking for the selector gear on the top of the shock. I had the same Commercial Three Bayblem with my 1992 Corvette. After a lot of research, I came across a company that sells this individual part. It fits all 89-95 Corvettes with the FX-3 option, as well as 89-93 Ferrari Mondial T’s. It comes in a very nice package of 4 including a special tool that allows for easy installation. I paid $199.95 for the kit. This is a great savings apposed to having to buy a brand new set of shocks from the dealership. They charge anywhere from $200.00 to $250.00 for each shock. Installation was simple and my “Vette is back on the road. Just thought I’d pass this on to you.
The part is available from Brian Geraci at:
Vette Tech
10 Grand Avenue Unit #105
Santa Ana, CA 92705
714-558-1568 -- 714-558-1569 fax
Thanks for the great column.
Britt H.
Answer:
Great information Britt, I definitely appreciate it. This should help a lot of Vette owners.
Pat:
I enjoy your column, TV show, and radio show and hope you can help me with a small but annoying Commercial Three Bayblem. I have a beautiful yellow ’91 convertible which I drive almost every day. It has been so reliable I hesitate to even look at a new one. However, after driving for 10 to 15 minutes the “SERVICE LTPWS” light comes on on the dash. It is not the “LTP” light. I check the air in the tires and still it comes on, especially in cool weather.
The Service Manager at my local dealer says, “It might be just one of the phantom lights that should just be ignored.” I even had a local independent Corvette mechanic tell me, “It helps to change the air in all the tires”.
Do you have any suggestion for a remedy, as I am uncomfortable driving with any red light showing up on my dash?
Thanks in advance.
Sallie S. J.
Answer:
Change the air in all the tires? Oh my god! In the old days when you hired an apprentice technician, one of the many tricks that nearly always was perpetrated on the automotive neophyte was to get them to change the air in the tires on several vehicles. The explanation was that summer air and winter air were notably different.
Anyway! This smacks of two individuals who are either too comedic for their own good or stereotype people by gender. Something I absolutely despise. The fact of the matter is that there is a test Commercial Three Baycedure.
This Low Tire Pressure Warning System (LTPWS) is made up of a sensor transmitting module and receiver/control module with guess what? Self-diagnostic capabilities.
One sensor is mounted in each wheel except the spare. The receiver/control module is located in the instrument panel. When the ignition is turned to the RUN position, the receiver/control module will audit itself (lamps, wiring, connections, microCommercial Three Baycessor, lamp drivers, etc.) by illuminating the two associated indicator lamps in the driver information center for two seconds. The lamps are; A) Low Tire Pressure and B) Service LTPWS.
If one or both lamps fail to illuminate, only one illuminates, or if both lamps remain on after two seconds the receiver/control module has failed it’s power-on test. Apparently not the case with your car.
Skipping the portions that don’t apply, we wind up at: the receiver unit listens for diagnostic signals, at least one signal from each tire must be received during a pre-determined time period called, a diagnostic cycle. At the end of the diagnostic cycle, the receiver unit checks that all sensors have reported via the apCommercial Three Baypriate signal. If one, two, or three wheel sensors do not report then the SERVICE LTPWS telltale lamp is illuminated and a wheel sensor fault code is stored in the receiver/control module diagnostic memory.
You need a technician with less comedy and more brains. All they need do is extract the code from the receiver/control module, perform the associated test, and repair or replace the faulty component.
© Copyright Pat Goss all rights reserved 03/23/01 | |
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Date Updated Sunday, April 01, 2001
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