O.K., I'm sick of mechanics ripping me off & making my car worse off than it was before I took it to them. I've been looking for the answers for about a week online, & I just can't find them anywhere. I am no mechanic, so ?'s have good possibility of sounding dumb, sorry in advance.
1. I found a 63 chassis shop manual @ my library, but I have a 64(damn it)... What doesn't apply to my 64 other than the engine & the tranny?
2. can the valves be adjusted on a 401 nailhead?
3. Is there a way to test the heater core without taking the fender off? Blows but no heat.
4. had tires rotated, now she vibrates when in reverse and alignment is seriously pulling to left, what did they break? (I also had my tranny's leaks fixed about a week prior to that)
5. I think I have a vacuum cylinder (@ bottom of engine near water crossover) and on the same hose is something that resembles a fuel filter, but I know that's not it, just changed it yesterday... What is the mystery piece, purge valve?
6. Which book is better to buy, interchangeable parts or master parts book?
7. lost parking lamp pigtail & can't find one to fit (only entire housing, I just want the wire, geez) part #, recommendations?
8. Is this way too many ?'s for 1 thread, sorry it's my first post & I'm a woman, we have the tendency to talk too much:sad:

Clarisse,

Here are some places to seek more help:

Buick Club of America technical advisor (a volunteer position)
1963-1965 Rivieras, Dick Sweeney rivsrus1@cox.net

Riviera Owners Association www.rivowners.org (http://www.rivowners.org)

The heater problem may be the dole valve, the valve in the water line to the heater. I had that problem on my 72 Electra. That is more likely a problem than the heater core being pluged.

I suggest you join the Buick Club of America. Membership is $40.00 a year. You get a nice magazine each month in which you can place a free want or for sale ad to help find that pigtail for the parking light and you can find a local chapter where you can meet people who know where to go for repairs like the front end problem, and parts.

If you are interested, send me your e-mail address and I will send you an application. fred.rawling@live.com

Hi Clarisse,

I have both original book form manuals and Detroit Iron CD manuals for my cars. The CDs are scanned copies of the books, easy to navigate, and are available from several sources. Check out www.detroitironis.com (http://www.detroitironis.com). For your Riv the CD contains
1964 Buick chassis service manual, 1964 Buick Special manual, 1964 Buick body service manual, 1940-70 Buick parts book.

For you heating issue I might be able to help. When I bought my 66 Riv (nailhead - same engine as yours), it was in need of a new water pump. Replaced the pump, flushed the cooling system including the heater core, put in new anti freeze, fired it up, and there was no heat. Turned out to be a defect in the water pump casting, as the water outlet to the heater core was blocked some 2 inches down the outlet (thin pipe on the pump). I'm not familiar with the earlier years Riv, and I guess they might have other ways of controlling the heat than mine does, but anyway here's a check list for ya:

Is the vacuum cylinder you mention attached to the water pump to fire wall hose? If so it may be the device who controls whether you get heat or not in your car. It might be defective or might not get the proper vacuum from you heater controls.

Are there one thin hose going from the water pump to the water cross over, and none to the fire wall? If so, you most likely have a leaking heater core, as this is the EASY fix for the ones who don't care about heat in their car.

Do you have two hoses going to the fire wall, one from the pump and one from the cross over? If so, pull them from the engine, and try flushing with water (low pressure!!). If you put water into one hose and it comes out the other, the heater core is most likely ok. If not the heater core is clogged up and must be replaced...

When you have the hoses detached, check the water pump outlet to make sure it's not blocked.

There also may be some vacuum clocks at the fire wall controlling the operation of heater system parts. One may be defective, or a vacuum hose controlling it may be cracked. Also, if the cold to hot regulator is wire operated, check that the wire moves when moving the knob.

Good luck and have a GR8 day!

Roar,
Norway :waving:

This website rules... volunteer technical advisor, I think I just wet my pants:) I'm gonna have to look at the hoses, it's funny you mention water pump because I was just thinking that might be causing a problem last night. as for the front end, I know that is going to be a pain in my ass... It also is clicking when I accelerate & brake:( Will be back , I'm gonna snap a pic of this vacuum canister & post it. Thanks a million.... Clarisse

Clarisse it's OK to post as many questions as you want. I'll attempt to offer some advice on some of your questions.
The '63 chassis manual will still be a good guide for most things on your '64.
No, the valves cannot be adjusted on your car. Several things can make noise in the valve train, most require parts replacement to fix if they become a problem.
On the heat issue, if the core is not bypassed as earlier suggested I'd check to see if the "blend door" is working properly. The blend door allows you to mix hot and cold air to achieve the desired temp out the vents. There is a cable that hooks the lever in the dash to the blend door. The cable housings like to break loose from their mountings. When that happens the whole cable will kinda flex and not move the door back and forth. This has happened on 2 Rivs that I have owned. Look at the firewall and see where the cables hook to the little arm that moves the blend door. Have someone inside the car move the temp selector lever back and forth while looking at the arm to see if moves completely from one side to the other. If it does then that is not your problem. If it doesn't move the arm then warm the car up to operating temp and manually move the arm to the other position and with the fan on high and see if heat comes out. If it does than you have found your problem. I used to just wire mine in the heat position for the winter and move it back for the spring. Not the best solution, but as new cables were not available at that time, and probably still aren't, that was my fix. I see that you are in Texas where you don't get the temp extremes that we get further north, so wiring it for heat all the time may not be the best set up. But at least you'll have a direction to go for a fix.
We need a little more info on the vibration your getting in reverse. How fast are you backing up? My first thought is that it is a tire issue. You could rotate the tires back to their original position and see if the vibration or pull goes away. Are the tires well used or fairly new? How long have you had the car? When backing up is it a high frequency vibration or like a wiggle every time the wheels make a complete revolution? If it's not a tire problem you might have to have this diagnosed at a shop ( I know you don't want to.) to see if it's a worn suspension part. Ball joint, tie rod end etc. If the vibration did not start immediately after the transmission service I'd say that they are probably not related.
Don't have an opinion on your mystery part. Pic's would help if you can.
The clicking on acceleration and braking might also have to be diagnosed in person. Good luck and welcome to the forum. Try not to get discouraged.

Sweet response:) I am thinking the heater might be clogged as was my radiator & engine were way back when I bought it... I will try the flap thing & get back with you all, I'm sure I'll need more help on that mystery.

As for the vibration, just regular reverse, slow, fast, whatever, more so turning. I rotated tires back already and still no dice. Also my alignment has been off to left terribly since that unfortunate day. My tires are not bad, but I'm pretty sure my car had a accident on the driver side before (lots of welding in wheel well) and I'm thinking something went haywire when they rotated. I think I might take it back to them but I'm terrified they might break it more (it was perfect before then). I got under her today and took pictures, I will post in a new thread tomorrow ?'s about those babies. Also, I just added power steering as a possible culprit, I discovered it is leaking very badly:(

I think the clicking sound may be my centerlink? (the moving rod for accel/decel)... It feels like that's what it is a least.

I've been focusing on my horn today, it clicks at the relay but no dice. Now I'm trying to figure out if the 65 relay will fit my 64.

Also, some A*#h****! painted the guts of my car black over all of my wiring so I can't tell what the colors are. Sometimes I wish I didn't love old cars so much, it's never ending:(:clonk:

Another good site with alot of good Buick folks is V8buick.com. they have helped me greatly on my 64 Wildcat.
The heater control valve sounds like its not working. If car is not overheating try as moving the lever as stated in prior post. If its original a good possibility. I have had that happen before to me. Or by pass the valve with a longer hose from the pump to the heater core inlet. But you cant control the heat then.
Vibration sounds like center drive line bearing. or rubber bracket holding it. 63 and 64 are very similar cars and alot will interchange
Good Luck Gary

hi clarisse,
I had the same problem in my electra 1964 225 , with the 401 , the heat control valve on the right side fender well ,the cable came loose and would not open the valve all the way ,try to turn the valve bye hand and see if you get heat then.

I believe what you are referring to is not the center link. I'm thinking that you are referring to the "brake reaction rods". The lower control arms on Buick's of these years is a rather narrow affair. Not the "A" shaped lower control arms that you find on later Buick's. To keep the lower control arm in line a steel rod bolts to the lower control arm and runs forward at an angle to a spot on the frame where it is connected with a pair bushings. I believe that the end of the rod is threaded for a big nut that holds it all together. These bushings can go bad and should be inspected. If they are bad you could get some unwanted fore and aft movement of the lower control arm which could cause noise or vibration. I would also inspect the rods to make sure that they are not bent or loose. I don't know how they lifted your car to rotate your tires. Younger auto "techs" may not be familiar with X-frame cars and how to lift them. In theory they could have could have caught one of the brake reaction rods with a corner of the jack pad or even lifted on the rod itself with a floor jack. This could have bent the rod and pulled the lower control arm out of alignment which could easily make the car pull one way or the other. If they lifted your car with a two post hydraulic lift they probably wouldn't have caused this damage as they would have lifted behind the front wheels.

I swear this car is going to be the death of me:) I'm going to check my heater valve, the funny thing is that it is going to be summer here in about a week in austin:) as for the mystery part, it is a fuel filter, I have 2? one from my pump to tank & 1 from pump to engine (I think I said that right). I am going to change my front left tire & see if it helps, I got under & tightened loose ends and it seemed to be help a little bit... I'm starting a new thread about my horn & engine oli right now, your all welcome to join if you like:)))

Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate all of your advice:)

Clarisse
:shifter:

I just wanted to say hi and welcome to TeamBuick. We're all here to share what we know about our Buicks. I've asked lots of questions myself. Hang in there, as keeping the car well-tuned is like patching a leaky rubber raft--you fix one thing and another leak pops up!

well, I fixed my at least:) The mystery part is a SECOND fuel filter... My car is crazy:) I'm going to be checking my heater valve soon, I'll let you all know:)

Thanks Guys!!
C:car:

fixed my horn I meant to say...

Honk!