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Got screwed over on E Bay so HELP !!!

14K views 70 replies 9 participants last post by  KrisK 
#1 ·
Thought I found a great deal but when the car was shipped to me I felt ill. Cracked windshield and most things dont work. Dont know where to start. Runs and drives and shifts great. Has new tires but thats the end of the good. Nice rag top but how do I clamp down the back of the top. It looks like a hook of some time but not sure. No manual so dont know if there are fuses for what. I see fuse but do not know what they control. As you see my first experiance with the Allante is a disaster. I need help. Headlites work but lens are cracked. I guess I need a high bridge. HELP would be very much appreciated. :crying::crying2:
 
#2 ·
I'm sure you will need the help of Dick at Allante Source in Florida. Sounds like a rear pulldown motor...not crazy expensive. The headlights on the other hand will set you back a prety penny. As well as the windshield. I also bought a "pig in the poke" but got kinda lucky. Make sure the brake light isnt lit up on the dash. If it is thats where i would start. Read through these threads and they will give you alot of info you may or may not want to hear.(depending on the year of the car) When it's right you will really enjoy it...so stay the course.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Try reaching behind the driver seat in that space near the hidden rear speaker back and up for a button. If the motor is working when you press the button it will make the motor rise so that it will clamp the hook you see. If it doesn't then most likely it is the motor or the fuse. Also here you can search and get get good answers here but there are not many of us left here....that post at least. You have to go to Allante.net to talk to active posters. Still we will provide any help we can just ask.....and I will check on that fuse for you and post by tomorrow.

Oh don't forget get give us some info on the car( year/mileage) and post pictures.
 
#4 ·
Hate to say it but it sounds like you didnt research your purchase or inspect it before purchasing. That would have saved you the headache.

windshield - http://allante.us/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1307553260 IIRC the same guy has a headlight assembly.

The convertible soft top is a MANUAL unit so you will have to raise it and lower it by hand. Depending on the year the latches will either automatically latch once theyre in place or you will latch them yourself. Please tell us what year your vehicle is so we can better assist you

Also, theres a long list of things that like to fail on an allante and an even longer list of what will fail if its not well maintained.

Please tell us what exactly doesnt work on your car, we may be able to help, it may be an easy fix. If possible try to describe in detail the symptoms
 
#5 ·
Well its an 89 and ur right about not checking. I was in TN and the car was in NY.My big problem was taking someone at their word. I will give more detail tomarrow. First I must get a manual on this car. I do not even have an Owners Manual.
Thanks a lot guys. I hope I can hang in there for a while.

dajudge55
 
#6 ·
Ok your past the big part it runs and drives great and your brakes work. I think most would agree you need to flush the braking system first unless you have something documenting it has been done. As you said search ebay and get a service manual which will help in working out the rest. Honestly the most expensive part of fixing up or maintaining these cars seem to be the braking system and body parts. I would try and work with her a little bit longer to see it you can get her where she needs to be.
 
#9 ·
0ne window not working, both headlites cracked, cracked windshield, rear window broken on hardtop,brake lite on,radio only static,pass. seat inop, right side looks as if painted with 99 cent spraycans,cant get back part of top to lock down,seats wore out, other than that, pretty nice car.
 
#10 ·
Ok at first my seat did not work either. First thing is to check the fuses and if they are good make sure it is connected underneath the seat by unplugging it and using a electrical cleaner and grease then plug it up and see if that helps. With the drivers window it could simply be the switch is bad or corroded inside which is a common issue. You will have to take off the door panel and hit the motor with power to see if it moves. If it does then you have a switch that you can have refurbished for $40. Under your brake peddle there is a switch that illuminates the brake lights and it is most likely stuck to the pressed on position. It will have to be cleaned and oiled like the plug under the seat and that could solve that issue. As for the top well I told you how you can approach that issue in another post. It is a lot of little things but really nothing big to be honest.
 
#11 · (Edited)
for the brake light try this:

- start the car and leave it in park.
- pump the parking brake 3 times or until it engages completely (stops ratcheting and stays down)
- feel around above the parking brake pedal for a metal lever. it wasnt painted or coated so it might be surface rusted. when you find it DONT PRESS IT YET
- once you find it position your arm/hands away from the travel path of the parking brake, but still in a position to press the lever. The reason is this will manually release the parking brake which may slap your hand and hurt like hell.
- press the lever. check to see if the light went away.
- if so GREAT your parking brake was triggering the light. if not report back please


Which window isnt working? do the switches have good travel feel and arent "sticky"?


as for the back part locking down? are you talking about the hardtop or softtop? is the motor itself working?

If so, ill give you a trick for the softtop which will make everything ALOT easier.

- Put the boot cover up, there may be a thin shield around the pulldown motor assembly, it can be removed by taking out 4 screws, put the thin shield to the side.
- you should now see the pull down motor assembly
- theres a black wire going to a metal part on the assembly, it looks like a big gauge wire but its really a thick wrap over a regular wire. This is a ground wire to the pulldownmotor, The J-Hook on the top completes the ground circuit and activates the motor causeing it to lower. unfortunately the motor is usually too quick for you.
- you have 2 options here: 1 cut the wire, insulate the end. 2 unbolt the wire, insulate the end.
- The motor will still operate normally, just not automatically. this is the way i use it and i dont think id change it back
- put the thin shield back in and fasten it of course (i left mine out and it didnt affect operation one bit BUT, theres a frayed cable that over the course of a few months ended up fraying the material on my top)
- close the boot cover
- im not sure if you know about the rocker switch, if you dont, feel around the underside of the top stowage area almost directly behind the driver seat, youll feel a small switch this is the pulldown rocker switch, it controls the position of the top pull down motor. once its sending the motor up, it can not reverse the direction until it reaches the top, once its on the way down, it cant change directions until its all the way down.
- ok so use this rocker switch to raise the assembly to the highest point it will go
- raise the top and make sure the front latches are secure. pull the red lever on the driver side to release the bow and lower it. of course still make sure the boot cover is closed. The original procedure says to slam the bow down or lower it sharply, DONT DO THAT THIS TIME
- once you have the bow down as low as it can go, carefully look to see what the hook is doing, it should NOT be hitting the boot cover. It SHOULD be going into the hole in the boot cover, it SHOULD be engaging in the latch.
- if it is hitting the rearmost part of the boot cover, an adjustment needs to be made, report back and ill show you how.
- if it is not hitting the boot cover but is also missing the latch (too far forward), reach in with your finger (not in the hole, just in between the top and boot cover) and manually pull the hook back torward the latch. The hook is spring loaded and will pivot forward with relative ease.
- once it is making contact with the latch, use both hand to press down firmly on the middle of the rear bow.
- you should feel the hook actually go into the latch with a click
- reach in and use the rocker switch to manually lower the pulldown assembly. you want to hold this switch until you hear a CLICK, this click should definitely be loud enough to hear.

Thats IT!
 
#15 ·
All electronic controls, including the driver information center, work as they should. The car actually gets closet 20 miles per gallon on the open road! The power windows motors, power door locks and trunk pull down and convertible pull downs all work.


thats a gross misrepresentation. i believe if you really wanted to, you could take action against the seller.

On the other hand, he made it clear the paint on the passenger side wasnt in great shape, he also mentioned the top was a free "bonus" so the glass being broken isnt really something you can hold against him even though he DID say it was in absolute pristine condition
 
#17 ·
Been trying to put ragtop down but when I unhook it up front and raise boot it goes about half way and stops. Is there a button or lever or some devise I must move to let it go the remainder. By the way I tried to set parking brake and check button to see if that is the cause of the lite and surprise, the brake is not even connected.
 
#18 ·
heres a video about top operation. Johnny Monzo is comparable to Dick Hussey in the Allanté "scene". They both know tons about allantes and sell allante parts.



the big difference between this video and your car it the front latches. Mid year 1990 (known as 90.5) the latches on the front changed to motorized latches.

you may also notice a slight difference in boot cover appearance and switch locations
 
#20 ·
Gotta tell you that the short film about the top cleared up so much for me. I want to thank u again for ur help. Now if there were clips on seats and doors and a few other things it would be great.
I got a price of $280.00 for a new windshield. Does that sound about right ???
 
#21 ·
i put a link when you first started the thread to a brand new windshield for 150.

http://allante.us/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1307553260

y
ou may have to register but thats not a bad thing. its a dedicated allante forum with guys much more knowledgeable than i am. also, you can get more opinions than just me and reuben44

give me more specific questions about operatin of things and ill try to make some videos.
 
#27 ·
I do have a couple more questions.

1. The drivers window works slow but at least it works. The pass. window makes a clicking sound and does not move.

2. The seats work in one or two positions but not all. Are there several motors on each seat.

Getting a key made for the trunk today. I guess $40.00 is worth because I need help trying to get out when I try to get in from the front.

3. There is a button below the (2) rocker switches behind drivers seat. Looks like a place for a key on this button. Dont know what its for but I guess its not important because when I opened the side panel, its not connected to anything.
 
#29 ·
The button I am speaking of is near the rear interior light that is behind the driver seat and placed into the top of the underpass area. You may or may not have this depending on your year. When it comes to the passenger window clicking it seems that the window may be sticking or something is off track and that is why it is making that sound. You will have to open the panel and check it out.

When it comes to the driver seat I would take it out and clean the buttons and spray them because this car seems to have a lot of issues with connectors corroding much like a BMW of the same year. On the driver window I would do the same thing open the panel and clean anything that moves with electrical spray and oil it.
 
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