Buick Reatta
Cassette Deck Repair Manual
Download Version Now Available!
I’ve created this manual for a few reasons, but most of all to help other Reatta Owners. Like most Reatta owners, I have a love for the car that is indescribable. As a Reatta owner, I feel like part of a family that most people will never understand unless they’ve owned one. It really is a love / hate relationship! After living with a few minor problems with my Reatta, I finally decided, “what the hell, I can’t break it any worse than it already is”, and decided to try and fix it myself. After successfully repairing my headlamp motors, I decided to try the tape deck.
After a little research on the net, I concluded that replacing the drive belt would likely fix my problem. This was shortly after buying a replacement deck from a salvage yard that didn’t work either. So I tore into my tape deck, replaced the belt and it worked like a charm. In the meantime, I saw several other people on the Reatta Discussion Board experiencing the same problem. Most were told to send their deck to an electronics repair company, which costs about sixty bucks. That’s when I decided to make this manual, because I had repaired mine for a total of four dollars. So I took the non-working deck that I bought from the salvage yard and did it again, except this time I used a digital camera and a pocket recorder to make notes.
One thing that I have learned is that patience is definitely a virtue. As I tore into this deck, I really thought I was getting in over my head. It is very intimidating to look at all of these pieces as you go deeper into disassembling the unit. But I promise you, it is not as difficult as it seems. As long as you take your time, be patient, walk away when you get frustrated and come back later, you will be fine. And when you’re done, you will have a great feeling of accomplishment and a repaired tape deck that only cost you about four bucks. If you decide to try it, I wish you the best of luck and if you have any questions or need any help, don’t hesitate to contact me. All of my contact information is on the Summary Page.
I created this manual in Web format because the pictures were so large and because of the feedback I was getting from the Discussion Board, I wanted to get it out there as soon as possible. As soon as I can, I will resize the photos and put together a print version in MS Word and make it available here for download.
This manual begins, assuming that you have already removed the unit from the car.
