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Oldsmobile Aurora: Care & Maintenance
rjs200240
Member Posts: 1,277
So I figured I'd add something. I definitely wash my car at least once a month, but try to do it more like once a week. I wax it about once every month-two months. This includes the winters. Fortunately the Washington D.C. area has weird enough weather that you get the occasional freaky 65 degree January day.
I changed the oil after the first 800 miles because there are significantly more metal bits deposited in the oil in the first few hundred miles on an engine. I use two quarts of Mobil 1 and the rest regular Mobil. I am trying to find the ACDelco Ultraguard filters (Pep Boys says they don't carry them anymore) but will use regular ACDelco Duraguards until I find them.
I plan on changing the tranny fluid after 50,000 miles despite the "lifetime" claim. Once the fluid gets burnt, it is too late... Besides, 50,000 miles is better than 30,000, so I'm still happy with the extended life. I'm not sure if I will wait 5 years on the coolant... Maybe...
I changed the oil after the first 800 miles because there are significantly more metal bits deposited in the oil in the first few hundred miles on an engine. I use two quarts of Mobil 1 and the rest regular Mobil. I am trying to find the ACDelco Ultraguard filters (Pep Boys says they don't carry them anymore) but will use regular ACDelco Duraguards until I find them.
I plan on changing the tranny fluid after 50,000 miles despite the "lifetime" claim. Once the fluid gets burnt, it is too late... Besides, 50,000 miles is better than 30,000, so I'm still happy with the extended life. I'm not sure if I will wait 5 years on the coolant... Maybe...
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Re: leather interior care- This discussion is archived, but perhaps it may have some helpful info.
Leather Seat Maintenance
So because of these two things I decided to email ACDelco to see what was up. They responded that they are discontinuing the Ultraguard filter. So that sucks... I sent a reply because I would like to know if they were discontinued because of performance problems or because of sales problems. I'll let you all know what they say...
Thanks for the heads up. I have two UPF-58s in my stock. I'll try to buy some more before they disappear (although I may already be too late).
My problem/question: Which plug? My owner's manual says AC 41-929; service manual says AC 41-900; emissions label on radiator cover doesn't specify.
What gap? Owner's manual = 0.050; service manual = 0.050; emissions label = 0.060.
What is correct?
As far as the spark plug gap, I would lean towards the emissions label because those are usually the final word. However, you might try removing some plugs and see what the gap is. If they are worn and the gap is still only .056 or something, then go with the owners/service manual.
It almost goes without saying that I also use 100% Mobil 1 motor oil (10w30). Additionally, I use STP Oil Treatment as well as STP fuel system cleaner. I change the oil every 7,500 miles. I have no oil leaks.
I have also added Slick 50 because I had good experiences with it. The engine idles smoother and revs very easily.
The ignition switch had to be replaced at 70,439 miles, new plugs and wires at 84,515 miles.
Help!
The service manual states that 3 sealant pellets (tabs) (GM p/n 3634621) should be added to the lower radiator hose. The parts counter man thought this was ridiculous when I bought the seal tabs; he said the tabs should be pulverized with a hammer and added to the radiator. Anybody have any relevant experience?
Campo57
Also, why would only half of the coolant be in the radiator? Where is the rest, in the engine and overflow tank? That's a lot to be in the engine. You could pull off the lower radiator hose if the petcock valve isn't cutting it.
I will check out the discussion board you mention. Thank you.
rjs200240:
No problem releasing the tensioner. The length of the belt is not a problem either -- it's the width. The belt is about 1/2" thick. The gap between the side of the tensioner, where it pivots, and the valve cover is only about 1/16".
My 4-4-2 455 motor held more than half the volume of the coolant system; removing the radiator hose didn't help. I could drain more by taking out the freeze plugs, but that's crazy. The solution was the Prestone back-flush kit which allowed antifreeze to be added at a high point in the system, displacing water from the top radiator opening. Our aluminum 4.0s are obviously much different than the old iron big blocks. There may not be a problem with getting a 50/50 mixture into the cooling system. I just like to know what I'm up against before starting a project.
Of course we loaded up the trunk with all of the goodies from the mall.
With 4 people aboard and a trunk load of stuff, the rear end of my my 95' classic was hanging pretty low. I have never looked at the struts or pump to see if they are working properly ( 120k miles)
What I am wanting to know is where is the pump and fuse located on this vehicle.
Before I take it in to have the struts checked, I should take a look at the pump/electrics to make sure that they are functioning. Of course , I dont have a manual yet..but I am looking.
Thanks........Peter
I've also noticed that when I use my key fob after the car was set to my wife's settings, the seats will move back to my position but the mirrors won't. There is a TSB for this too (#02-08-64-003), and the dealer says it's a quick fix. Apparently the OnStar fix might not be quick because they need to drive the car around (ugh) while OnStar tracks the location.
I also tried a new paint-care product. I got some Meguiars #26 Hi-Tech Yellow Wax (the paste, not liquid). I stripped the car down and put on some #7, two coats of the Medallion Premium Paint Protectant that I usually use, and then one coat of #26. The results were really amazing. The #26 added a real noticable depth to the car. I am really pleased with how it looks now. It's an eye-catcher now whereas before it was just clean & shiney. I took some picts, but it will probably be months before I develop or scan them. If you have a dark car, I would recommend trying a paste carnauba wax on top of whatever you currently use. Needless to say, I hope like heck the dealer doesn't wash my car or get grime all over it. I spent almost 8 hrs. cleaning and detailing it.
The mirror problem turned out to be the module that controls the mirrors? The guy wasn't real specific. The part is on order, so I'll find out more when it comes in.
A lady who was bringing her car in for service too asked me if my car was an Impala....
I put the KYB's in the front of the 95.
Also, I put the Toyo Z rated tires on the car. They are good tires if you drive the car agressively in cornering and other performance inspiried driving. However, they do NOT last very long. You can expect to get two years 24K out of the tires and then it is on to another set. I was told this when I brought them 2 years ago. I am now in the market for tires.
This time I say no to Toyo.
A friend wants me to put Hancock tires on the car.
OPINIONS?????
I bought one, the thread looked suspicious and had metal shavings in it. I cleaned it and tried to put it on, never was able to. Returned it, got a replacement unit and again, very suspicious looking thread. I was able to put that one on, but I'll probably change it early. Now the mobil 1 5w30 synthetic oil is great, how can they make two products with such a varying degree of quality?
Considering the mobil 1 oil filter is $11, I guess I'll go back to AC Delco. $3.25 and better mechanical construction. I dont know if the m1 filters better, but not impressed. The K&N filter is $15.00 and that is just not warranted. What else is there?
Bosch? Haven't tried them yet. Fram? I must say I dont like them too much. I did try the Fram Tough Guard (not the one with the teflon additive, that's snake oil to me) but the coating bubbled and became brittle. I removed it promptly. I will disect it at some point to see what the filter looks like.
Any other brand?
Francois
Have you had to replace more than just the strut cartridge itself? The mechanic told me I may need a "mounting kit" for the struts that replaces the top and bottom connections of the strut to the car(I think).
I do not understand exactly what he is talking about. Could someone just tell me if they have had to do this and at what mialge point. My 95 has about 77k on it. Does this sound right at all to you guys?
Remember me, the one with the pivoting wheels story.
I recommend the KYB struts. Their Quality spes are higher than GM's.
800wattaurora
http://www.cardomain/id/800wattaurora
Thanks
Not all synthetics are equal though. Mobile 1 and AMSOIL (not in stores) seem to be the best.
Here is a good article on oil.
http://www.f-body.org/oldfaq/html/tech/sect2.html#chooseoil
They also have bumper, hood, and mirror protectors. I'm not sure that I'd want to do that though. I wonder how you get it off, and what it would look like with it on there. The headlight pieces fit fairly well, but they aren't a perfect cut for the lamp. If they are lined up perfectly on two sides, then there is about a 1/4" gap on the other two. No biggie on the lamps, but it might be wierd on paint.
What I noticed while prepping to put them on was that in just under a year my headlights have accumulated more than a few little dings. I guess I should have gotten these things sooner. I keep the lamps clean, and use rubber/vinyl protectants on them to protect them from UV/yellowing. However, it didn't protect them from stones...
Hmm... Now that I'm looking at their website (I ordered them through another company that buys from them) they have much much better directions than came with the protectors. That sort of pisses me off. It would have gone much easier if I'd known that. The seconds headlight went much better than the first (the fogs were a cinch) so if one looks bad I'm going to be a bit annoyed that the directions were so terse.
Dirt
Mobil 1 filter - 4 ppm (2955 miles on oil)
Delco filter - 1 ppm (3115 miles on oil)
Wear Metal (iron)
Mobil 1 filter - 14 ppm
Delco filter - 4 ppm
Wear Metal (aluminum)
Mobil 1 filter - 1 ppm
Delco filter - 1 ppm
Wear Metal (copper)
Mobil 1 filter - 1 ppm
Delco filter - 1 ppm
Other metals were all zero for both.
So, I would not say that a Delco is better, but perhaps there is really no difference. The M1 filters are really expensive, so maybe a simple Delco is indeed just as good. The only thing different is that the Delco filter was tested with a slightly dirtier (thus more efficient) filter, but I doubt this makes much difference as a K&N starts out around 97% and finishes in the 99's - when it's really dirty. It's not that dirty even now. I'm also assuming the driving over 3000 miles averaged out to similar conditions for both. This is certainly not scientific, but still interesting.
What's cool is that I got these labs done for free through a local dealer that works a lot with POST labs.
It's also important to note that the results for both are really low in the "dirt" and "wear metal" categories. They said they like to see dirt < 19 ppm and the iron can be anywhere from 50 to 100 ppm and still be normal. Even factoring for the fact the the Aurora's 8 quarts dilute the concentrations, the numbers are really low.
Anyway, I'm still sold on M1 oil for the reasons mentioned in other posts. I guess I could do the same comparison with regular oil, but the regular stuff does burn a little bit more in my car. The M1 hardly burns at all.
I did call 3M for assistance, but since I was not the original purchaser, about all they could help with was removal suggestions.
Chris
However, the wear metals (basically the iron) was really low (even lower for the Delco) and the lab acknowledged that it is probably a pretty good indicator of how much dirt there is of any size. Since the wear was so low with the Delco filter, I guess it still seems that it will do as good of a job as the M1 filter for your car.
I know this was only 1 test for each filter, but it is still some sort of look as to what is going on.
See an archived copy of the results here.
I guess I wont be buying any more Frams!
Note: I don't know when this article was written, and don't know the author -- it just struck me as being well-written and fairly unbiased.
Any idea where we can locate a shop or repair
manual for our 1996 Aurora? We've checked e-bay.
Oldsmobile wants $120 for one. We just bought
this vehicle and now we're too poor to pay that!
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Chris
Taylor
thank you for all the good info on this site.
We sat here for 4 hours and read everything
before we purchased the vehicle! You were a
BIG help.
Sharon
Thanks,
Steve
The biggest thing to me is that synthetics (if you got a good one) are certainly superior to the regular stuff especially for cold starts, not giving up protection under high stress, not burning off as much and leaving little/no deposits behind when they do burn.
It seems that M1 and AMSOIL make superior synthetics, and some other synthetics don't seem to deliver. Just because it is synthetic doesn't mean it's much better than regular oil.
I screwed up and dumped $25 of "regular" 87 octane gas into my '95 a few days ago. I really expected to notice some serious problems with acceleration and maybe even hear some pinging.
Strangely enough, the car runs *smoother* if anything and I haven't noticed any difference in performance.
It seems to me that if there's no harm, then saving $0.20 a gallon would be nice.
So --- has anyone else run lower octane gas, long term in their Aurora? Have any comments?
Also, Royal Purple is the high end of motor oils - a few of them run it in their high h.p cars - truly, for ours - if you stick with good change intervals, you can run almost any major brand oil. The secret is regular changes - and if you are afraid of trouble - get an analysis of your ooil done to see how it performed. Wanna read more - www.bobtheoilguy.com or maybe www.bobistheoilguy.com - one of them will work . .
perpare to be bored.
And lastly = speaking of oil - since mine leaks so much, i dont change it as often, since im always adding new quarts -
How do I reset that part of the system?
Dennis
Royal Purple always seemed a little weird to me. I just stick with Mobil 1. I would also probably still go with the oil change interval even if you add oil. The filter will still need to be changed, and the oil change intervals are fairly long (mine's at 38% oil life and I changed it over 5,000 miles ago).
I always just use the Amoco or Shell 93. I guess I kind of buy into the "cleaner gas" less deposits thing. I could be wasting my money though.
Yep - on the classic you just hold the "reset" button. That's it.
Interesting note - That article I mentioned (way back) about the magazine test of the new 350Z - they put 100 octane in it and dyno tested it. They previously had "crummy" 91 in it for earlier dyno tests. It didn't add much power at all. Just 3 or 4 HP and it was just at the very top of the rpm band.
Personal observations,
Henri