88 buick regal 2.8l

[heyttown]

Had the car in the shop to change plugs and wires...mileage was logged when I brought car into mechanic...Odometer quit working 2 miles after they changed the computer,plugs and wires.. Its the old mechanical flip odometer, with digital speedo on the dash.. Mechanic admits to having to pull front motor mounts to access plugs and wires... Im thinking them pulling motor mounts put stress on odometer cable and something broke but have no proof...The mechanic has it now, and without looking at it doesnt understand how the speedo would still work and odometer quit all the sudden?
Im waiting to hear from them after they check it out.

Its easy for me to think something they did caused this,but I wonder exactly what kind of leg I have to stand on if they wont admit it was from something they did?

Mileage was logged at 73313 when I dropped it off according to their own paperwork..Its stopped at 73315.1 so a little more then 1 mile...Plus they test drove it to make sure it was running smooth.
They did the work on wednesday and I didnt notice the problem until today...
Any ideas or what I should do?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

Did I read this right.... they changed the computer? I bet that is the culprit. If you ever intend on trading the car it will be classified as TMU which is Total Miles Unknown and it greatly impacts the value ......

They have to fix that...... but then again a 1988 is not much in value so if the speedometer works you can be okay too....

 

[heyttown]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

Yeah the computer crashed on it. left me stranded a couple times. But I dont understand how the computer would have anything to do with a flip odometer...Its the old style. The speed however is digital dash...

Similar to this in the picture,while it is on the dash it is nowhere near the digital speed display.

http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/8939/cluster0115rb.jpg

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

Oh my bad....... I bet something got disconnected.... where is the computer on that car? Under the dash?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

Hey Bob, I think it might just be conincidence. The odometers on those cars were notoriously flakey. Both my friend and I had very early 90's regals and both of ours were busted and I saw many of them on the lots noted as "mileage unknown". Mine was pretty cool. Sometimes it didn't work at all, sometimes it would spin over super fast, and sometimes it actually went backwards.

 

[JCF350]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

If the speedo is working the fault is in your instrument panel. Just coincidence. You have to remember what you are driving.

 

[dolluper]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

Me hopes the computer change fixed your problem ifin it didn't look at your crank sensor,usually when the computer goes the digitl spedo will do some real wakey displays similar to when your altenator goes out....odemeter is mechincal check cable ....may have tugged loose when lifting motor in back of dash behind spedo

 

[newbie4life]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

I hate to say this, but I think you have two strikes against you....

I owned an 89 S-10 with a digital dash. I remember one day the speedometer said I was doing 5 mph -- while I was putting gas in. That was the fastest I've ever gone while sitting still. That digital dash looked really neat, however, it was completely useless. Strike one.

I also owned an 88 S-10 blazer with a 2.8L. 10 days after purchasing it (used), the engine went out. It took awhile, but I saved up, and got another one. That one lasted almost 6 months. Strike two.

 

[heyttown]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

Just got a call from mechanic late yesterday, basically said it was coincidental and that to have it fixed the entire instrument cluster needs to be sent to be repaired......Not worth it on that old of a car.

Me and my family have been taking our cars to this guy for 15+ yrs so Im not worried about being taken to the cleaners,it was just weird that it quit right about the same time all the work was done.

Guess I need to plan a trip and fill her up and then top it off after I get back to figure out my MPG..
Thanks

 

[JCF350]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

I owned an 89 S-10 with a digital dash..

Those are cards in the place of the needles displaying through cutouts in panel to give it a "digital" look.

 

[newbie4life]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

Those are cards in the place of the needles displaying through cutouts in panel to give it a "digital" look.

Thanks for the correction -- but it wasn't that type. Mine had a DIGITAL DASH, which had the calculator shaped numbers. Unless there was a little feller in there that held up the different cards, until I got into double digit speeds, in which case his parter held up the next digits.

I know the type of speedometer that you speak of. It had a white card, with an orange stripe on the leading edge of it.

 

[JCF350]

Re: 88 buick regal 2.8l

Memory failure on my part. :redface: Thought that 89 was to far back for the digital.