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Oldsmobile Aurora Maintenance & Repair
Karen_S
Member Posts: 5,092
Please share any problems and possible solutions you've discovered with your Aurora.
KarenS
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KarenS
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Also picked up a slight vibration last week after hitting a piece of debris on the expressway - no way to dodge it (I was PISSED). Hoping it's just a tire balance problem. Any other ideas?
It seems that if the car runs cool on the highway you should expect it to run as cool or close to it in city driving. I haven't had mine go into slow down mode yet but I surely expected it too.
Any suggestion or solutions??????
Those who are concerned about putting in a new battery, I put an Interstate dry cell in my '95 two years ago. It works great so far. It doesn't have water so it doesn't need to be vented. Cost was about $140 with labor. It wasn't designed for the Aurora but we found one about the same size and height.
I have changed the temp sensor located in the dash just below the steering wheel - NO LUCK!
Recently my Aurora started to exhibit similar slight hesitation. I found the Gunk, removed the air intake hose, and stopped. There was the mass aif flow sensor between me, the Gunk, and the throttle body. Since the instructions on the can read, "Do not spray across mass airflow sensor," I did not proceed. I haven't had the time to further disassemble. I assume that the engine will not run with the MAF removed and therefore the Gunk cannot be used in the same way as with my Fiero.
In the meantime, I poured 12 oz. of Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner into the fuel tank. The hesitation is not completely gone, but it is less than before.
The shop that finally fixed it did by reprogramming the engine management computer! Apparently some setting was wrong, causing some adjustment to be set way out, somehow causing the accelerator to stick. As I watched him, he punched in a number of codes - the engine idled up and down - and DONE. No more sticking.
I would suggest taking your car to a shop that's not afraid to mess with the computers. They can probably take care of it.
It has 177000 highway miles.
Just recently, the transmision is now stuck in second gear while in drive, and will not shift up into any other gear rendering the car undriveable.
My local dealer estimates the repair of anywheres
from $400to$4000 dollars to repair.
They are uncertain of the real problem, all they seam to want to do is sell me a different car; giving me a trade in of $1000 (not!!!) They won't give me a straight answer; I feel they know that it might be a simpler problem than what it really is and want this car, the tech seams quite interested in it, I don't want to sell it!! I want to drive it and keep this unique vehical!!!
The transmision was recently flushed by another AURORA dealer within the last 3 months if this helps at all.
Any help or direction to save this incredible automobile from service diaster would be greatly appreciated.(do you know any tricks I could do)
I am capable of doing most of the work myself, also, if anyone has info on where I could locate good repair manuals (dealer manuals) that would also help.
My parents have a 1995 Aurora that had trans troubles around 90k. Having a whole new transmission (and torque converter) put in by the dealer was around $2,000. Those guys want that car because they think they can fix it cheap and sell it at a big profit.
See if there's a Cadillac dealer around that you can have look at it or take it to a private mechanic and get a second opinion on it.
I know of a website that you can look up used car parts on, edmunds won't let me post it, so e-mail me at ryan@shucknet.com and I'll send it to you - could probably get a rebuilt tranny there.
I suggest looking on ebay for a replacement. Much cheaper than the dealer or a salvage yard. Plus some of them are brand spanking new. Make sure you get the non-Bose unless you have the Bose system.
I've found that the cd player in my Aurora seems to prefer "real" music CDs as opposed to home-made ones burned from the computer.
I think it's just overly finicky since usually they play fine on my home system....
Dealer used a cleaner as they said E23 meant an error with the optical reader. Thought that was it but it happened again. Stays like that for weeks on end, right until I take it to the local radio shop. Not working when I park it, as soon as the tech starts the car the CD ejects then works like a dream. They are afraid to rebuild it at the $300.00 cost and warranty it unless they know for sure what is wrong.
Got the E23 a week ago so I'm going to hurry to the shop tomorrow in hopes they can diagnose it. Also was told that a unit from the 2001 is a direct replacement at $510.00 brand new.
On burned CDs...
I used burned CDs in my car all the time with no problems. A few hints to help them work better-
1) Use Disc-at-once recording
2) Use a good brand of CD Writer (I realize it's hard to change this now). If you have a cheapo CD writer, burn it at a slower speed.
3) El cheapo blank CDs sometimes (not so much anymore) don't work as well. Try getting the Sonys next time and see if that helps.
FREON LOW - Thanks
cheap quick fix was to buy a new reservoir from the dealer, $23.00, and about 5 minutes to replace it. Certainly better than trying to make the old one clean.
A car will run hotter in city driving than cruising because there is much less airflow through the radiator.
Does the fan come on when it is this hot? Do you have a good mixture of water/coolant? Does your thermostat open? I'm not sure if the water pump is electric or not, but if not then make sure the belt is tight and not slipping over the water pump pulley.
240 degrees is incredibly hot for the coolant to be running at. If this is in fact the actual temperature, you should probably stop driving it until you get it fixed.
(I realize the original question was posted 2 months ago, so if you already got it figured out then I apologize)
A 180 degree thermostat will most likely not help. As it is, your thermostat opens a 195, but the temp soars to 220+. When cruising a 180 thermostat will keep the temps down to 180+ as opposed to the usual 195+. However, once the temp gets over 195, the 195 degree thermostat is just as open as a 180 degree thermostat would be.
If you really wanted to try an aftermarket "fix", something like "water wetter" would work better than a thermostat. It works by transferring heat more effectively to the air. However, I've heard negatives about water wetter accelerating wear of cooling systems (nothing concrete, though). Summit Racing sells it (as do other places).
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=8342
I have no experience with "hot-wiring" a fan on an Aurora, but on Corvettes this was possible on early models up until the fans became computer controlled. These later models could not be easily rigged to manually control the fan. Earlier models used a temp sensor that basically grounded the fan when a certain temp was reached. In that case, the sensor could just be replaced with a switch "fooling" the fan into thinking the temp had been reached.
My '87 had two fans, one controlled by the computer and an aux cooling fan controlled by a temp sensor. I could easily get the aux fan to come on at lower temps, or at my control. However, the only way to alter the main fan's behavior was by replacing the PROM (computer) with a custom chip.
Just thought I would ask this: Have you checked to ensure no leaves and such are covering the radiator? Also, is the plastic "front spoiler" lip under the radiator still there? If that has been damaged/torn off, then very little air will get directed into the radiator. This wouldn't have much negative effect when your car is stationary, though.
However, I will ask again. Are you sure it is running at 240? Just because it is two lines above 200 doesn't mean the gauge is linear (or accurate). Also, maybe you should confirm the temp some other way (via a diagnostic computer getting the temp from the Aurora's computer or maybe with a temp sensor or even a thermometer)
I remember seeing (somewhere) some small cooling fans that mount in the wheel well and pull air out from the engine compartment, thus improving flow through the radiator. I have been trying to find them, but so far have had no luck. It must have been in Summit, or JC Whitney or a Corvette parts catalog. They were neat because they were about 5" fans, and you could put one or two or three in each wheel well depending on how much you needed and were willing to spend. I will continue to search for where I've seen them.
Also, I get it! Everyone wants a warranty. I will make no more disparaging comments about them.
As far as when to worry; if the fan doesn't come on until 220, then obviously this isn't a dangerous temperature. This means the engine is getting to the upper end of its comfort range. The fan will kick on, cool things down, turn off, and then kick back on if the temp climbs again.
As an additional note, most engines have a temperature sensor that the fan/computer uses, and a second one that goes to the dash gauge. Therefore, the temp you see on the dash isn't necessarily the temp the computer sees. Also, the temperature of the coolant is different depending on where in the cooling system you measure it.
Model: AURORA
Year: 2001
Service Bulletin Number: 000310007
Bulletin Sequence Number: 180
VEHICLES MAY EXPERIENCE SHAKE / VIBRATION IN STEERING WHEEL, FLOOR, SEAT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ON SMOOTH ROADS.
We really need a FAQ on repairs. Wish I had time, but, with layoffs at my work, I'm busier than ever.
--Robert
Today I finally had the dealer take a look at it. I specifically asked them to check the stud runout, but they didn't. Instead they balanced all four wheels and proclaimed the vibration gone. Well, it seems much better, but I'm still not convinced the problem is gone entirely. I still sense a shudder as if driving on a washboard surface, but it is very slight and phases in and out. I'm going to drive it for awhile before deciding whether or not this merits more attention. I hate bringing the car in because they usually do a less than spectacular job. Today they lost one of the wheel nut caps, so I need to go back (again) in the morning to either find it or order a new one.
BTW, those of us over in the Bonneville forum all love our cars and can appreciate how you guys all feel about your Auroras. Just today I saw three new Auroras, a pretty rare thing (just as rare as the Bonnevilles, if not more so).
Just thought I would share some thoughts about the vibration. Enjoy your rides!
Finally the owner of the dealership said that he had received a memo from GM reminding all dealers NOT to recommend high octane gas for their cars. As luck would have it, I always put the best gas I could find in the car. Since I stopped using high octane gas, the problems have esentally disappeared.
Of course I recently tried to trade in the car for a new one. All though the book value is over $14,000, I'm being told that it's only worth $5,000 or $6,000.
Anyone want to buy a nice '97?
Jay 95 Aurora
I guess when you think about it, certain high octane gasolines have so many additives that it's detrimental to these sophisticated systems. For whatever the reason, since switching to low octane, all of my cars are running better.