‘94 Roadmaster Estate - Upkeep and light modifications

Making a thread to somewhat document my work I do to my wagon. That way I can organize it so it may help others and help me if I need it.

Work to be done soon

- replace corner markers (both broken)
- find door courtesy lights or covers
- replace missing windshield washer reservoir and fix broken lines
- troubleshoot AC system. Doesn’t blow cold, verifies AC clutch is good.

- get windows tinted


There’s much more like rust repair and what not but that might get its own thread when I get to it.

Will take photos of the car to get a nice baseline

for A/C you might not have enough refrigerant in the system, that would probably be the first thing to check, also if it is low have, a leak test done on it rather then just getting it up to the proper pressure to only find out later on that there a leak. Have that on my 89 R2500, leaks at the compressor, but only while the clutch is engaged. If pressure is fine then make sure the vent doors are moving to redirect the airflow properly from the heater core to the A/C.

I’ve got a buddy bringing me his vacuum pump and gauges form me to check the system.

Where is the high side port on these cars by the way? I think I found the low side.

Or is low side on the drier and high side on the pipe below it?



And guess who got a replacement windshield washer reservoir from eBay and just now realized the wagons have their own style.....


This guy

Low side is on the dryer

No need for the high side, but it's on the small line coming from the condenser by the battery

Ok cool.


I also need to fix the horn. I saw something on replacing them membrane in the steering wheel but I have zero interest in playing with an airbag explosive charge.

If I can use a non airbag steering wheel that will probably work since I’m sure the airbag is way past it’s service life. Need to fix the turn signal self cancel thing too.

Other options?

If you're changing the steering wheel, you'll be "playing" with the airbag. They don't go off unless they have power and ground. There are shorting pins in the connectors to prevent any stray static discharge from setting them off as well. Not saying you have to keep the stock one, but don't be scared of it either. You can unplug it at the base of the steering column to be extra careful.

To fix the turn signal self cancel, you'll need the lock plate depresser and tools to get that off and then dig into the column guts. They're not particularly hard, but they're tedious - lots of parts, have a proper order they need to go in, a little finickey, need some special tools, etc, particularly with a tilt column.

These or their equivalent are almost a must have.

https://shop.snapon.com/product/Steering-Wheel-Pullers/Steering-Wheel-Puller-and-Lock-Plate-Depressor-Set/CJ131P

https://shop.snapon.com/product/Steering-Wheel-Pullers/Tilt-Steering-Pivot-Pin-Puller/CJ134

on my 94 the horn was always going off if the circuit was energized, so what I did was pulled the airbag off the steering wheel, cut one of the wires for the horn switch and wired in a new horn switch which I mounted to the outside of the steering wheel using the supplied bracket, so it almost looks like I might have a suicide knob.

But I don't think it would be hard to make a bracket that could go under the airbag to one of the mounting screws that you could put a new horn button on to have one right above or below the airbag instead of like me on the outer ring of the steering wheel where your holding it.

I'll try to get some pics of my set up if you want later.

I have aftermarket wheels in both of my cars. They are really easy to install. You can use the Grant base with a deep dished wheel, or a 1 inch spacer with a shallow dish, and a 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inch spacer with a flat wheel. You can also use the NRG adapter with appropriate spacers. The idea is to keep the distance between the rim, and turn signal stalk as close to original as possible. Too close or too far is uncomfortable.

The quirks are removing the clockspring, and centering tabs on the inside of the bezel. The clockspring electrical connector is behind the dash, and you must remove the plastic tunnel from the bottom of the column to get it out, if you do not want to cut the wires. You may have to modify the hole on the Grant adapter for the horn connector. You need a single wire horn connector. Attach the horn connector to the center lug on the horn button. 

Some steering wheels have different size center openings, and some horn buttons will not fit. I had to make a ring to put under the Grant horn button to keep it from falling into the Nardi wheel I used, and a circular aluminum shim to make the spring contact the wheel for grounding. If you stay with the wheel/horn manufacturer, you usually do not have issues. I have a Moto Lita wheel on one car, and it requires a stack of spacers/adapters to get the right height, and also the correct bolt pattern for the wheel. The cheapie horn button that is supposed to fit is just a little small, and I need a ring to keep it from falling into the hole. A better (more expensive) horn button may fit better.

Finally, you must put a 2 ohm 10 watt resistor across the airbag connector leads to simulate the airbag, so the light is not on. You can use 2 4 ohm in parallel, or 2 1 ohm in series. I have a bunch of 1 ohm resistors if you can not find them.

I’ll have to look for an aftermarket wheel that will look decent in the car and stick with same manufacture so it’s a bolt on affair.

Even the same manufacturer will not guarantee a bolt on situation. You need to pick the correct parts to get the wheel to turn signal lever distance correct. Sometimes using different brands will allow you to use an alternate brand wheel, and be equally successful. You can also get the adapters in black, aluminum, and other colors. The polished aluminum, and black are the most common. If cost is an issue, some are much cheaper than others.

well here's the pics of my set up and the screw that could be used to anchor a custom made bracket too if you want to keep the airbag and original steering wheel.

Cool thanks



Pulled a vacuum on the AC system for 45 minutes and then let it sit. The gauge moved so there is a leak somewhere. Last owner claimed to have replaced the compressor, drier, and orifice tube... buuuut clearly can’t deal up an AC system worth a darn. Compressor looks new, it’s not as dirty as other parts.

I need to get a charge kit with UV dye so I can track down any leaks and get them. Should probably also replace the drier since from my experience they need to not be exposed to air for very long.


Where is the orifice tube? By the way

if I remember right off the top of my head from when I pulled mine it's in the lower line coming off the condenser up by the radiator, but I had to separate the upper line to get a wrench on the lower with enough room to actually break it loose.

(Sadly my orifice tube had metal fragments in it)

Here are pictures of aftermarket wheels installed. They are clean, and look like factory wheels prior to airbags. No afterthought applications or make-do additions.

I think the AC system may be overcharged after I put in a few ounces of dyed 134a. Parked in my garage and started hunting with a UV light and can’t really find anything. I’ll have to see if anyone I know has a Freon sniffer so I can do this better equipped. The compressor will cycle on and off and repeat every 30 seconds. Air blowing out of the vents is maybe cooler but with the oddly cool weather lately I can’t tell how cold it is. Need a thermometer

There’s a mechanic by my work. I’ll see about having them evacuate and properly recharge the car and see if they can sniff it out of the price isn’t too bad.


Did find in the junkyard a very picked over caprice classic but I did find the hood the cowl gasket which my car was missing, pulled a caravan rear wiper arm, as well as a set of wiper arms from a le sabre.

Did try and remove the window trim to replace mine that was removed incorrectly and got it off but I had an incident with the wheel barrow and crap on the ground and it tilted over bending the darn trim.

Oh well got some stuff for $10 that is useful and some nuts and bolts i needed.


Previous owner was what I’d probably call a hack now looking at the work he had done. Shouldn’t have bought this wagon.


Tried to clean the gauge cluster lens. It looks like it has overspray on it so it’s probably not possible to be saved. Will need to replace it or should I bother doing a Z28 gauge swap?

Found my AC leak. Just had to wait until sundown to really get it dark so I could hunt with the UV light. Only bright green dye I could find was where the AC hose connects to the evaporator core on the firewall and it was only one of the two. The mating surfaces had bright green all around it, evidence of a leak.

Ordering a new dryer and some seals to redo it and hopefully have a leak free system soon so I can have AC.


I inspected the evap core under the dash. Somewhat easy to get to/ someone before me has been there because a few screws are missing. Glad I don’t have to pull a dash to do a heater core if necessary.


Waiting to hear back from KDS performance if they are doing hitches soon and might pickup a set of LS engine mounts just to have in hand since his seem to be perfect for our cars.

Added more Freon until the compressor didn’t cycle so much and the low side pressure was consistent. I’ll run it until it leaks out and then get it evac’d to be sure it’s clear before replacing parts.

I need to schedule a time to get the windows tinted. Not sure if I want to get the expensive ceramic stuff since I might eventually want to switch to another wagon. But I need tint

Found a set of dual electric fans, need to get the wiring harness from the dude that makes them. Also have a lumina steering wheel coming in so I can have a working horn.

I’m trying to get a class 3 hitch for it but the person that makes them hasn’t emailed me back yet.

Discovered the alternator sensor plug is missing it’s clip today. Must have been driving on battery for a few days now since I last popped the hood the other day go do AC stuff.

Need to find a new plug pigtail for the alternator and not have this issue again. Car is doing well. Other than the ridiculously small door mirrors no issues

well if it's anything like when I had to get the pigtail for mine you can't find a two wire, only a four wire or three wire pigtail, I would recommend going with the four wire if you can't find a two wire, as all the three wire ones I looked at had the rubber gasket on the backside left open for a fourth wire.

so get the four wire pigtail cap the extra wires and use liquid tape to make sure where the wires go into the plug is sealed, as on the one I got there was some gapping, also the wire gauge is different aswell, but so far no problems on mine due to the different gauge wires.

https://www.bmotorsports.com/shop/product_info.php/products_id/1375

I found this.


And this for double the price but it’s already made

https://www.eficonnection.com/home/product/alternator-generator-connector-pigtail-for-lt1-b-body-engines

If the connector is the same as yours, you can just swap the pins.

I've been parts collecting and doing some more upkeep on the car.

found a blue steering wheel from a pre airbag lumina that I hope will help my horn not working situation and it will look better than the original wheel I think.

dual electric fan setup sourced and wiring from Gary on its way

started to remove the air pump stuff today





still need to remove the home plate bracket but I need a few vacuum hose plugs since theres some sort of vacuum device attached to it that no one mentiones removing when they delete the home plate.


Discovered a slight coolant leak from someone cutting in an engine flush connector. Found the hose assembly on ebay for cheap so I have that coming too.

also did this



still need to paint it.

When I get in the new coolant hose I'll do the throttle body coolant bypass as well.

No one mentions removing the valve because we do not remove it.

So leave the home plate bracket?

Remove the bracket but do not remove the vacuum solenoid from the engine.

You mentioned needing plugs so I assume you want to plug off the lines. That solenoid is part of the Evap system.

Got a check engine light today so I fired up the ACC diagnostic mode and got

32 - EGR
47 - knock sensor - circuit or control module missing
50- system voltage low
75 - transmission system voltage low


# 50 and 75 I want to address immediately of course. I checked and the plug on the alternator is still connected and the other day I verified the alternator is putting out 13.5v at idle. What else can I check?

It may be a stored code. Did you clear the codes after repairs?

That I just read about. Did not clear the codes. When I ran out of battery the other day all of the dash lights came on before the car died. So I will read up on how to clear them and see what happens.

I’m not used to pre OBDII cars, smart me would have cleared codes in a OBDII car.

just disconnect the battery for a bit and that usually resets them as long as the pcm has no where else to pull power from, that's what I've always done.

Apparently when I’m diagnostic mode you hit “OFF” and it clears the codes.


Managed to pull out the air pump today. Turns out it’s been unplugged before I got to it. Just need to cut out the hard pipes and that will shed about 6 lbs of dead weight.

Looking forward to doing the mechanical fan delete and electric fan install. Need to figure out the bolt lengths needed so I can find replacements

Swapped in a lumina wheel because the horn pad on the airbag was not working. After I swapped it I tried the horn and only heard a relay click.

Found the horns disconnected and A GM warranty tag wrapped around them. Horns connected they seem to be pretty weak, probably worn out. Going to try and find a set of Cadillac 4 note horns to keep it within the GM family. Or install a set of Hella Sharptones.

Suggestions?

The Roadmaster sedan also has a 4 note horn setup.

JMcFly wrote:

Swapped in a lumina wheel

Nice wheel!

We put the same one in the wife's 454SS to replace a old aftermarket wheel. She added a leather wrap to to help hold it together and pretty it up.

Not sure if the mounts are the same but the 88-98 C/K trucks have dual horns as well and they sound pretty good.