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Buick Park Avenue

519 messages,  Last post on Sep 03, 2012 at 7:01 PM

You are in the Buick Park Avenue Forum.

What is this discussion about? Buick Park Avenue, Sedan

Messages Page 45 of 53

#438 of 519 Re: 1999 Buick Park Avenue Ultra [97ultra] by imidazol97

Jul 16, 2008 (9:00 am)

Replying to: 97ultra (Jul 16, 2008 6:12 am)
The compressors range from $194 off-off brand to $328 Delphi and $280 Delco compressor. Of course if compressor broke and spun out parts the expansion valve and dryer need to be replaced and a filter put in before the system is restarted.
 
At 56000 miles I'd be surprised if the compressor were bad. Most likely freon leak.
 
Thanks for posting about the magnet use. I recall someone saying the magnet had to be s certain strength...

#439 of 519 Re: 1999 Buick Park Avenue Ultra [97ultra] by dafraq

Jul 16, 2008 (7:09 pm)

Replying to: 97ultra (Jul 16, 2008 6:12 am)
Thank you! I fixed the fuel gauge this morning. I am going to check out the a/c tomorrow. I appreciate your quick response. I am totally digging the PA. I spent all morning cleaning it up and it looks amazing--it had sat for 6 months and collected a ton of dirt and dust both inside and out. Now it looks spotless.
 
Thanks again!
 
David

#440 of 519 A/C issue by dafraq

Jul 17, 2008 (7:54 pm)

Hey all,
 
I recharged the A/C today and I got cold air for a few minutes from the passenger side only and only hot air from the driver side. The cold air adjusted in coldness with the passenger slider but again the driver side and the rear vents only blew hot. I then drove it around for a while and no cold air came out any longer. I really would like to purchase this car but not without A/C. Any thoughts on the dual climate control issue and is this a most likely a leak since I managed to get cold air for a few minutes?
 
Thank you again,
 
David

#441 of 519 Re: A/C issue [dafraq] by imidazol97

Jul 18, 2008 (5:24 am)

Replying to: dafraq (Jul 17, 2008 7:54 pm)
The unit is electronic from what I find on that car. There is an actuator motor that controls the door movements and the blend or temperature on the driver and another on the passenger. That has gone out of some Pontiacs that probably have a similar unit to that one used in the last design of the Park AVenue. Finding if the door is being moved requires some upside down time under the dash and button pressing.
 
The AC giving cold for a time suggests that it has a leak. One common symptom of the 2000+ H Bodies is that low freon leaves the driver side warm and the passengers get air from the cold part of the evaporator.
 
The unit needs to be put on gauges and a check done.

#442 of 519 Re: A/C issue [imidazol97] by wwstibich

Jul 18, 2008 (9:33 am)

Replying to: imidazol97 (Jul 18, 2008 5:24 am)
I had a similar problem with my 99 PA, but it was with the heater. The vent door became stuck on the passanger side. So the driver felt the heat but the passanger only felt the cold air from the vent.
 
I took it to the dealer who said it was a stuck vent door. The would replace the solinoid (or whatever controled the door) for $250. They already charged me $75 for the diagnostic (and used it to close the vent door).
 
I chose to leave it alone. It does come and go very intermittently. And because I usually drive alone it's not a problem for me.
 
Good luck

#443 of 519 Re: A/C issue [dafraq] by 97ultra

Jul 18, 2008 (12:39 pm)

Replying to: dafraq (Jul 17, 2008 7:54 pm)
Sounds like the system has a bad leak. If you got cold air for a few minutes, the system was working properly, until the refrigerant leaked back out. You could take it to an A/C shop to see where the refrigerant is leaking (some parts are cheap to replace, some aren't) but it doesn't look like you'll be able to throw a can of R-134 in it and be good for the summer.
 
BTW, if a '97-'05 Park Ave system is low on refrigerant (but not completely out), the system will often cool only on the passenger side. It has something to do with where the inlet and outlet tubes of the A/C core are located relative to the airstream. I spent quite a while trying to diagnose a faulty air blend door last year, only to find out that my air blend door actuator was perfectly fine and the system was just a little low on refrigerant. Adding more refrigerant restored the system to bilateral functioning. (Note--do NOT do this until you've ruled out a blend door fault, or else you could end up overcharging the system and wrecking the compressor.)
 
What you may want to do, if you really like the car, is get an estimate from a *quality* A/C shop on how much the system would cost to fix, and then ask the buyer to knock that much off the price. Don't take it to an el cheapo shop, though, as the Park Ave system is more complex than your typical A/C setup.

#444 of 519 Re: Window and Ashtray, Park Avenue, 1998 [gcraig] by buickman3

Jul 19, 2008 (7:20 am)

Replying to: gcraig (Jul 09, 2008 6:09 am)
I don't know about questions 1 & 2 but number 3 I know about. I have a 1997 Park and had the same problem with the driver's door. The inside of the door has to be taken apart to reach the problem. As repairs go these days, the entire latch showing outside has to be replaced and has to be painted to match your vehicle. Parts & labor $140. My Buick dealer did the work.

#445 of 519 Thank You by dafraq

Jul 21, 2008 (3:45 pm)

Hey all,
 
Thank you for the great advice about my a/c and other questions. The PA is in the shop today. It turns out the condenser was leaking and they are fixing everything for 560.00. The owner is knocking that off the price so tomorrow I will be the proud owner of a 99 PA Ultra.
 
Thanks again,
 
David

#446 of 519 Re: Thank You [dafraq] by imidazol97

Jul 21, 2008 (4:03 pm)

Replying to: dafraq (Jul 21, 2008 3:45 pm)
>condenser was leaking
 
Thanks for coming back to tell us what you found! Good luck with your new PA.

#447 of 519 Re: Buick PA front brakes [gcraig] by scoobyfndoo

Jul 24, 2008 (10:22 am)

Replying to: gcraig (Jul 08, 2008 10:54 am)
This was common on my last PA as well as the one I own now. I read in the service manual that when the rotors are put on, the have to be checked for lateral runout. They have an extensive installation technique that includes cleaning both mating surfaces and then checking the lateral runout with a dial indicator. The tolerance is .002".....two thousandths of an inch. Smaller than a human hair (or at least mine) which seems to be extremely tight. For such an easy thing to get on and off, I will bet you a million $$$ that NO mechanic at the shop has ever done that. But, if that is what it requires, you could in your own driveway, spend some time and do this. I replaced so many rotors on my last PA that I will probably look into this. I have the tools at home, so it wouldn't be a big deal other than the time.

Messages Page 45 of 53

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