armybyrd

So today I finally got a chance to take my '88 to get her inspected. First thing was to put a mic up to my exhaust-I barely passed-got a 94.8 and 95 decibals is the limit. Anyways I failed since my parking brake wouldnt hold when they put it on the brake tester machine. Now my parking brake does hold but only up until about 1k rpm. 2nd thing was since I didnt have my wiper motor in-Ive got the motor but dont have the bolts to hold it in place-Im hoping to find some sort of hardware store this weekend. Does anyone have any pic of how the motor sits in place? Other thing was when they looked under the car I have an oil leak over the tranny. Car is the factory L98 with 4+3 tranny btw.
I did a search on the parking brake adjustment and do have the FSM but dont understand how they worded the adjustment procedure. Can anyone translate how to adjust it in simpler words? By self adjusting does that mean I just pull it up a few times and it should tighten up? Tomorrow after work I plan on getting under the car and wiping her clean so I can better see where the leak is coming from.

Muffin

Are you telling me you have to pass a German inspection?

armybyrd

Yes, upon arrival of your pov you get temp tags with 30 days. This is my 2nd set since I spent the whole month in the field and mine expired before I had a chance to get her inspected.
I dont think its the same exact test as for regular German civilians but its done by 2 German guys. First they put a mic up to your exhaust. Check for a current first aid kit and warning triangles. Then they pull it into a bay that has a brake machine test and a pit underneath. For an older American car I dont believe they pay attention to emissions-at least they didnt write me up for it yesterday and I dont have any cats.

TheFinn

I'd say yours need to comply with their 80's emission regulations but they were easy back then. For example my -86 does not need cats in Finland.

Sound regulations in Germany for cars and bikes are strict and controlled.

armybyrd

Just gotta get this wiper motor in (easier said than done) fix an oil leak above the tranny and get my ebrake to hold more and Ill be good.

armybyrd

I take it youre in Finland? What do you do if you need any parts?

TheFinn

Yep, up here in the north.

Several specialized shops here available. At least one of them gets weekly flight containers from USA ie. if I order today I have just about anything home from overseas in 10 days. Most of the std parts are in stock here. Then there's of course Ecklers, Zip, Jegs and Summit an e-mail away.

armybyrd

I get screwed since most places wont ship to an APO address.

TheFinn

That's strange. I would think that after goods are paid with for example dredit card it doesn't matter what the shipping address is.

Ray Quayle

I've been living in England with my '86 since 1990 and have managed to get most of what I need sent to my APO box. All the big outfits will ship APO/FPO. They usually ship Priority so you can get items in about a week most times. For many items, I go through Summit and they will also ship USPS Priority to APO/FPO. I don't think we can post links to non supporting vendors, but if you do a search for "Corvette Wiper Bolts" on a major auction web site, there's a set for $1.99 "Buy It Now" that ship USPS Priority. Shipping is $6.50, but hey, what ya gonna do? Try finding GM Part Number 10132913 anywhere. You may get lucky. I'll have a look and if I have a spare set, I can MPS them to you. I'll PM you if I find them. My car is like this at the moment:

so finding little things is a bit hectic.

Cathul

Why don't you just look for a specialized US-cars garage in germany? There are a some of them all over germany.
And take a look at http://www.corvetteforum.de, germans biggest corvette community. You'll get a lot of tips where to get help with your problems there. Just ask your question in english there and you will get hints and tips where to bring your Vette for servicing and TÜV (german inspection) near the area where you're currently living.

armybyrd

Appreciate all the input guys. Theres a small junkyard here on post that Im going to try first tomorrow to see if I can get some bolts for the wiper motor.

Kerrmudgeon

If the stock p-brake won't hold at their levels, I don't think adjusting it will make it work without screwing up your brakes operations. You might try a line lock like we used to use on drag cars. That'll work!!

Bluewasp

You can get bolts at the bauhause (sp).... Very very similar to a home Depot.

There is a guy in the German American Corvette club that really good when it comes to C4 repairs. he owned a 89 C4 and now owns a C5 Z06. Not many Z06s owned by Germans...

I can send you his contact info if you are interested.

Bluewasp

If you need help getting stuff to my address and I don't mind going to USPS to ship. You cover the shipping charges of course!

Bluewasp

Sorry, don't agree... I don't see why a properly adjusted parking brake wouldn't hold.

Bluewasp

CAUTION!!! Some of those American garages are more a pain in the Wallet and the ***! Having been in your shoes my suggestion is to get to know OTHER corvette owners and figure out where to go for parts, and service. The German American Corvette club is a great resource.

Cathul

Well, there are a few really good garages in germany, f.e. www.corvetteproject.de (only does C5 and C6 corvettes), www.acp-euskirchen.de and www.asap-cars.de, all in the area of Dusseldorf, Aachen and Cologne.
Was at ACP with my C4 after an ignition failure. Took them half a day to solve the problem. In other areas of germany are some very good garages as well, most of them were discussed in the german corvette forum. That's why i gave gave the advice to ask for a garage in the german corvetteforum. A lot of people there know where you can really bring your corvette to and where you better don't.

armybyrd

Any way to translate the forum to english? lol

armybyrd

By self-adjusting brake-does that mean I should be able to pull it up a few times and it should automatically tighten up? Or is there still a way to pull the pin out and tighten it somehow?