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Got hit in my 94 Concours


PAUL T

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I am not directing this post at anyone, just making a general observation.

On a two or three year old car I dont see why you should get new parts when the used ones are the same as what you lost. If your damage was to a new fender than you should get a new fender. If your damage is to a used fenderr than you should get a used fender. If you want a new one you should pay the difference.

And yes, I sell insurance.

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Bill,

No problem with you expressing your opinion.

Let's look at it this way,

If all used/recycled parts were the same quality there would be no problem. My 96 Suburban has over 300,000 miles on it. But I guarantee that the fenders on it are in better shape that most "recycled" fenders that you get. Parts from the "rust belt" are almost certain to have some form of rust damage forming. and if the part is an assembly, like a rear clip or corner clip, the salt can stay hidden and cause damage later.

I think that if the insurance companies want to take your attitude on parts replacement, then they should explain that policy exactly in bold print and make sure that the customer knows just what kind of protection he is buying. And I won't even get into crash parts from Taiwan. <_<

On a rear quarter that must be properly cut off the donor car, that adds to the price of the recycled part. The time to properly prepare the recycled part for installation and repair any "dings" or waves many times drives the total cost of the recycled part to nearly equal to or above that of new parts.

Another thing that you don't take into account is that the vehicle now has a "repair history." That alone can detract from the vehicle's value a lot more than the cost difference between a new fender and a recycled one.

Anyway in Paul T's case it is a moot point because there are no new fenders available.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Britt

Britt
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Another thing that you don't take into account is that the vehicle now has a "repair history."

Britt,

Now that is an EXCELLENT point!

Regards,

Warren

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There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises

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The Allstate adjuster and my bodyman found a recycled fender with no dents or rust in Ohio, so work is back on schedule. I hope to have my car back next week.

The Envoy had to go back to the rental place due to a full size car that came back in. I found out that we only got the Envoy because the full size car was not there when we had to have a rental. We did not do too bad, we ended up with a new 4 door Lacross with 625 miles. It is pretty but not as big as the Deville. I will get to drive it tomorrow so I will see what it will do. My 7 year old daughter is having fun telling all the kids that we got a new car, then showing them when I drop her off at school. I will get some pictures of my car when I get it back and post them, it should be detailed up then.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am still waiting for my car to be fixed. I called the bodyshop and they are still waiting on the quarter panel. He expects it to be in by this weekend or monday and expects to have the car done next week.

I was concerned that Allstate would balk on paying for the rental but they are aware of the bodyshops problem so I guess I will have the Buick Lacross another week. As far as the Lacross being a full-sized car, I have seen midsized cars with more room. It looks good on the outside but, the thickness of the A,B, & C pillars make it a nightmare to see out of. The A pillars must be 5" across and it creates a big blind spot. I find it uncomfortable to drive due to my right knee hitting right on the corner of the console. I also can not get the steering wheel and seat adjusted right for a comfortable driving experience. I think GM could have done better. Maybe I am spoiled though by my Caddy's.

I will post pictures when I get it back.

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Going to get my car back tommorrow (Friday) from the bodyshop and I can hardly wait! I did not think I would miss her this much. My wife has not put insurance on her 92 Deville so, I have been stuck driving my truck or the Bluack LaCross rental. I will post pictures when I get her home.

I have to get an A/C compressor for her next and she will be good as new. I am torn on buying one off Ebay or a local AC parts place.

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Going to get my car back tommorrow (Friday) from the bodyshop and I can hardly wait! I did not think I would miss her this much. My wife has not put insurance on her 92 Deville so, I have been stuck driving my truck or the Bluack LaCross rental. I will post pictures when I get her home.

I have to get an A/C compressor for her next and she will be good as new. I am torn on buying one off Ebay or a local AC parts place.

As a point of reference, I got an AC Delco compressor for $260 from www.gmotors.com Mike

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I picked my Concours up from the bodyshop late Friday, everyone was rushed, so I did not have time to give it a good go over. Saturday morning when I got a good look at it I noticed the bumper and trunk lid fit up was not as good as I would like, So I am going to take it back Monday. Allstate was rushing the bodyshop to get it done due to the rental I had. But the reason it was taking so long was that the replacement fender took a week to get. The paint and fit of the quarter panel was excellent but the assembly of the bumper was rushed. When I get things lined up good I will post pictures.

Scotty, I found a rebuilt compressor on Ebay with a 1 year warranty for $145 including shipping, the feedback was good, only 1 negative in 1000 sales.

I took the right front wheel off today to check the old compressor and the shaft was really loose like the bearings were all but gone. I hope I don't check the orfice tube and find what you did. While I was in there checked on my oil leak and I noticed the oil pan bolts were loose, so I tighten each one almost a full turn. I also was checking the oil adapter and from what I could tell I could not find the oil cooler lines. Scotty do you have a good picture of an oil adapter for a northstar. I am going to have to look closer in my shop manual for a good picture then get back under the car again. Hopefully tightening the pan bolts will help the leaking until I can get back to it. Sorry to ramble on.

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Hmm I am going to have to tighten my pan bolts I can see, thanks.... I read someplace that you can't get to all of the bolts, were you able to?

You know I just looked everywhere and I don't see a photo in the manual of the oil filter adaptor, just a large lower engine blow up. I even went to google and did a search of NS engines. I have been told that you can do this job without removing the oil filter adaptor, but I have the cooling line o-rings and the square cut seals that go between the adaptor and block just in case. If I see ANY leaks I will pull it just to replace the seals and o-rings...

Here is a photo of the rear of the compressor, its a single bolt.. Mike

post-3-1116128624_thumb.jpg

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PaulT,

I found an outfit on Ebay that handles NEW A/C compressors. I bought one for my son inlaw's 1995 S10 for $197.00 shipping included. TECHCHOICE PARTS, 3051 FM 663, MIDLOTHIAN, TX 76065-5675. They have an Ebay store. Service was great and the compressor arrived by FedEx. They only deal in new compressors.

Britt

Britt
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Yes my hub bearings were shot and the hub just flops around. But in thinking back, the compressor was loud for quite sometime, in the beginning it sounded like an egg beater. I am looking forward to getting this job done and hope to do it next weekend, my condenser should be here during the week. I will update my AC Compressor posting as I move through the job.. I need to order flush for my flush gun, for some reason I assumed that the gun would come with flush. Order an o-ring kit from www.acsource.com if you already didnt do so...

The Orifice Tube came out very easy although the manual hints at the possibility of running into trouble removing is. I used a twisting pulling and pushing motion with a long needlenose pliers and it came out easily.

See this

http://www.acsource.com/index.asp?PageActi...TS&Category=652

Also use NYLOG on the o-rings

http://www.acsource.com/index.asp?PageActi...PROD&ProdID=185

Kevin has been a big help through this process for me.

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Going to get my car back tommorrow (Friday) from the bodyshop and I can hardly wait! I did not think I would miss her this much. My wife has not put insurance on her 92 Deville so, I have been stuck driving my truck or the Bluack LaCross rental. I will post pictures when I get her home.

I have to get an A/C compressor for her next and she will be good as new. I am torn on buying one off Ebay or a local AC parts place.

Paul,

I would recommend a new delco compressor over the chain store remans any day. Four Seasons remanufactures most of the compressors for the chain stores - many times, the clutch air gap is not set properly, etc..

$260 for a new Delco compressor from Brasington's is a good price - probably cheaper than a chain store reman.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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They will try to get away with anything they can until you firmly advise them that it is unacceptable. You do not have to accept recycled parts.

The car has to be restored to the condition it was in just prior to the accident, which means, it didn't have recycled parts so they shouldn't be pushing recycled parts on you. I agree with Ranger on this. Push to have genuine parts installed. You didn't cause the accident why should you have to suffer for it.

If you really want to make people safe drivers again then simply remove all the safety features from cars. No more seat belts, ABS brakes, traction control, air bags or stability control. No more anything. You'll see how quickly people will slow down and once again learn to drive like "normal" humans.

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Hmm I am going to have to tighten my pan bolts I can see, thanks.... I read someplace that you can't get to all of the bolts, were you able to?

You know I just looked everywhere and I don't see a photo in the manual of the oil filter adaptor, just a large lower engine blow up. I even went to google and did a search of NS engines. I have been told that you can do this job without removing the oil filter adaptor, but I have the cooling line o-rings and the square cut seals that go between the adaptor and block just in case. If I see ANY leaks I will pull it just to replace the seals and o-rings...

Scotty, I got to all the bolts but 2. the tranny and the bottom plate covering the exhaust prevented me from getting to those. My manual mentions only to remove the oil filter and oil cooler lines to access the back bolts on the compressor. The only thing I was wondering was do the oil cooler lines go into the block or the adapter? I could not find any connection for them on my adapter.

Marika, they quit making new fenders for my 94 Concours, so I had no choice but to go with recycled parts. I do have a lifetime warranty on the recycled fender thru Allstate in writing.

I hear you KHE, I am going to check out Navion's suggestion. I called and ask about who originally made the rebuilds and I was told "all kinds". They get all the cores from different places so you really do not know who originally made it until it arrives.

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Paul T,

If you have a N* I doubt that it is equipped with an engine oil cooler in a Concours. There will be a pipe that forms a loop that comes out of the filter adapter and turns 180 degrees and goes right back in. When I changed the engine in my 94 Seville, I left the A/C system charged, unhooked the compressor and left it laying on the frame. I really didn't think that I could pull the engine & reinstall another one without discharging the A/C, but it worked out fine. I can't remember if I removed the oil filter adapter or not. But removing the adapter is relatively easy. Just be sure to replace the "O" ring seals between it and the block when reinstalling it. If I recall correctly, I was able to reach a lot of the bolts for the compressor from the right wheel well. You may want to remove the radiator and fans to gain some room. At the very least, cut a piece of cardboard and cover the back side of the radiator. This will prevent bending the fins and or knocking a hole in the core. It will also eliminate the "Cheese Grater" effect when you hit it with your knuckles. :(

I would heed Kevin's advice and check the compressor's clutch air gap before installing the new unit.

If you have trouble finding Techchoice Parts on Ebay, let me know & I will send you the link. (I don't have it handy, or I would include it now.)

Good Luck with your repair.

Britt

Britt
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