Hello folks. I have an 87 Regal with the 5.0 V8, I have not done any research on it because I was not planning to really do anything to the car aside of maintenance but it seems the car has other ideas. I have 3 things to correct before I can hand the car over to my son as his first. He is very excited and proud-the car has about 80k on it, has a nice blue velour interior in nice shape with a very comfortable back seat:laugh: , White exterior with a landau top and limo lights, and factory rally wheels. It has a few dings but is still a very sharp car! so I am throwing this out to my Buick Brothers for assistance. 1) SES light is on- I left the motor running while gassing up-ou: -How do I reset this? 2) Car is hard starting cold- runs rough and misses for 30 seconds or so-must keep a high idle on it, after it stops missing it is smooth and quiet as a babys bottom- will fire instantly the rest of the day, but if you bungle the start and need to try again-forget it. It acts like it is flooded and you need to wait and treat it for a flood to get her to light again. 3) Car is ABSOLUTELY GUTLESS!! A Prius will whip this thing with its battery tied behind its back- nothing off the line and rev it in 2nd for any kind of hill.( Tranny is fine- no burnt fluid and doesn't seem to slip. ) WHAT I THINK I NEED TO DO: In addition to a full tuneup, send the half electronic Quadrajet out to be rebuilt- $400! $500 for a street perf job-$600 for hi perf rebuild-Damn- Maybe I'll look into an Edelbrock replacement(smog legal ) any input?? SO- how do I get this thing ( legally - Ca. is a Bi@#$ on emissions ) to act right and get out of its own way? I know the engine is basically good- it runs just too danged well not to be in good shape- and no, I don't want to re-cam it- I'm toying with the idea of doing the timing set 'cause of the weak plastic sprocket and if I do, then yes, I'd be open to throwing in a cam, but otherwise, how can I make this thing run whilest leaving all the intake/exhaust stock and legal. Thanks for your input.:beer Robert
If you get the carb rebuilt, it will most likely cure 1, 2, and 3. #1 is usually from the well plugs underneath the carburetor main body leaking the fuel from the float bowl into the engine. It seems like the engine is flooded, because it is, and you also need to crank it long enough to refill the float bowl. Leaving it running during a fill up did not cause the SES light to come on, there is no evap monitoring system on that car. Jumper terminals a and b at the ALDL under the dash to retrieve codes with the key on, engine off, count the flashes of the SES light. One flash, followed by two flashes shortly thereafter is code "12", it repeats each code 3 times. Code 12 will be the first code you get, it is normal with the key on engine off. Post the codes you retrieve. I'm guessing 13 or 44 will come up. The purge valves were also notorious to fail on those, disconnect the large vacuum line going to the float bowl near the top of the carb and see if symptoms improve. If they do, you need a new purge valve. Post up what you find.
The 86/87 Regal with 5.0 liter (307 Olds) were DOGS from the factory; geared so numerically low (as low as 2.14 with TH350C) to try to get the highway miles and they don't have the torque to get them moving. Those mid 80's electronic (E4ME) Q jets are a PITA with all those vacuum connections and sensors; Any of the hoses cracked or loose can set trouble codes due to affecting air intake or sensor function. August 09 Car Craft magazine covered basics for overhaul; not a bad article. Odds are the throttle shaft bushings are needing replacing even with that few miles; the carb shaft area got a real workout with those cars going wide open to get moving, compared to better geared cars from the sixties and seventies. (Are you sure odometer hasn't turned over?) Several posts on here deal with the bushing replacement on older Qjets; do a search and find much cheaper way to do it. Careful with those tiny screws on the throttle blades and be SURE to use Loctite high strength on them!!! Resetting the codes on those cars is simple: there is an orange wire with connector leading off the battery positive lead. With car 'off' , simply disconnect this connector, turn ignition 'on' for about 30 seconds, turn off; reconnect connector. Codes cleared from memory. Problem is NOT solved; just codes cleared.
Thanks! SAw the CC article and was (am) seriously considering sending them the carb to work on. The car is original- got a ton of paperwork w.it to support that. - Bought the car as my boys 1st car- low power full frame- if he mixes it up w/something he has a good chance coming out in 1 piece thanks for theinfo to reset the computer- that is what I was looking for. I have an 87 ttype too- night and day between the 2 cars- why would anyone NOT have bought the turbo package back then???o No: He absolutely LOVES the car and cannot wait to "own it" Robert PS- these corporate motors still have the crappy plastic timing set?ray: Robert
You need to start by retrieving the code(s). I had one of these old dogs in the shop a few weeks ago. It had a blown fuse for the ECM (mixture control solenoid defaults to full rich) and a plugged cat. A fuse and a cat made it like new again! Your hard start cold sounds like a choke pull-off problem. Do you know how to check that? There is no way I would recommend rebuilding the carb or having it rebuilt before you are absolutely sure it is faulty. The CC article was HORRIBLE!! They missed so many important items that they would have been better off not giving DIYers any hope of trying to successfully figure out how to repair one of these carbs. You also need a dwell meter and good DVOM to set the adjustments, and a lot of experience. The one I worked on a couple of weeks ago was an 86 Regal 5.0L Y (Olds engine) like yours. 60K on the odometer, and I was very happy to see the carb hadn't been buggered-up. You can tell if the idle mixture tamper caps are gone and the main air bleed cap is missing that you are in for a ride..
I will pull the codes in the next day or two- as for the choke, i have not watched it pull off but the poor running only lasts for ~45 seconds or so, then its smooth, Also, I dont hear any whistling from the cat- the exhaust has a nice burble but maybe Ill drop the pipe and drive it and see what it acts like. THANK YOU ALL FOR THE INFO!!! Robert
I pulled the vac line from the bowl- ( and plugged it ) no appreciable change. with one of the smaller vac lines open and sucking, the motor idled noticably rougher, plugged it and it smoothed right up. I gave it a tiny shot of fuel down the throat and the engine bogged a bit- seems to me its running ok mixture wise at least at idle. I triedto get the codes by jumpering the 2 terminals- I could not see but I'm assuming left to right A-B-C and no change on the SES LIGHT- did not reset the computer- i want to see where this leads. Any ideas?? oh, the car only gets about 12 mpg in mixed driving- is this normal? I figured an old,smogged out v8 thats has to be floorboarded won't do much better. Advice please??o No: Robert
The ALDL has 2 rows of contacts. Turn the ignition on but do not start the engine. Jumper the last two contacts on the top row like in the picture. The check engine light will flash code 12 three times, then whatever codes are stored in the computer, in numerical order. Then it will flash code 12 again, and repeat. I had a 307 in an 86 Regal I had. It was the most gutless engine I have ever driven. It did do well on gas though. It would do 16/24 city/highway. Check to see if the catalytic converter is clogged. Put a vacuum gauge on the engine. It should read about 20" at idle fully warm. Raise the idle to about 2000 RPM in Park. The vacuum level should hold steady at 20" or more. If it drops off, the cat or the exhaust is clogged. I remember putting in a chip into the computer that gave a little more ignition timing as well as delaying torque converter lock up. It made a small difference, but the engine would still be embarrassed by 4 and 6 cylinder cars. The Gutless Cutlass engine is what I called it.
You may also want to check the initial timing. Read and follow the directions on the emissions sticker EXPLICITLY. I believe you need to disconnect the electrical connection to the distributor for the electronic spark timing (EST) so that the engine goes to base timing. If the directions are not followed, the timing will be incorrect. Check it.
Hi, see as follows, In my 82 Regal I put my 86 GN powersteering gear box, it runs off the pump of the 71 455.. works great to an extent. I have recently been experincing that in a stright line while driving, i feel a loose spot in the steering while at center, seems to "catch" or engage 1" to 1.5" from center.. wich gives me 3" of a loose feel in the wheel. So I thought replace the rag joint maybe thats bad, so I go all out, and just switch to the Jeep steering Shaft conversion. (BTW) I really like.. Nope... still there... so I find or discover one can adjust the load on the steering box to over come wear, 5/8" jamb nut and 3/16" allen on top of the box. So I follow close what most of the internet info thats out there and adjust it.. yep now it "seems" tighter.. but still that "loose" spot at the top and bcause of the firmer feel its twicher.. so it seems when i wanna switch lanes, or manuver thru traffic, it very upredictable , you have to "saw" at the wheel. Tried to adjust it back.. but no avail ..... Thanks,Good luck.
This is always good info. To put this one into base timing, you will have to ground the ALDL connector like you are checking for codes and run the engine. If you can't retrieve any codes (ie the SES light won't flash), then you need to check your ECM fuses in the fuse box next to the parking brake. You should also be able to hear the mixture control solenoid pulsing (clicking) with the air cleaner off and the engine running. No clicking = problem with power to the ECM or an ECM problem. To check the choke pull-off, disconnect the vacuum line to it, push the plunger arm in, put your finger over the vacuum port that you just disconnected the line from and release the plunger arm. It should stay put or it is defective. You can't condemn or a acquit the cat by listening for a whistle. Disconnect the cat from the down pipe and go wake the neighbors... Keep us updated - the one I worked on a couple of weeks ago is still very fresh in my mind.
OK- sorry for the delay- family life! Only code i get is a 12- the light will not reset- goes out for a couple of secs then comes back on- recurring error? Vaccuum is at 18" and fairly steady- need to buy a new timing light- mine is SOMEWHERE packed in the garageo No: . No apparent vaccuum leaks. Choke appears to be operating normally- off to see if it'll pass smog-wish me luck! Comments? Robert
Took it to be smogged- they called me back right away- "we cant do anyth. till the SES light is out" - I had to auth. 2 hours shop time for this- it'd better be a good explaination for coin!!:blast: Robert knew i shoulda pulled the dammed bulb out!
If the SES light is on and the computer isn't storing any codes, the ECM may itself be bad. 18" is low for that engine. Maybe a vacuum leak, or the timing is out.
The shop ended up rebuilding the carb for $300/parts which I consider a bargain for messing with an electronic Q-Jet. Car starts and runs like new- it aint gonna win any races, but the owner said the secondaries were only adjusted to open up 1/3 - he removed the plugs for the mixture screws, replaced the TPS and adjusted the secondaries. At least now it starts hot and will climb a hill! Many thanks to "the Wizard" ( aka Larry ) for his help!:TU: Robert
