Oldsmobile Aurora Maintenance & Repair

larryfl

Henry, Do you want to weigh in on that last post?

garnes

yeah, I think Henry has had everything go at one time or another.

kayaman420

It is my understanding that the trannys are more larger and a lot more stronger than is even necessary for this car. I dont remember ,but ive read that somewhere in the past. but im sure they can go bad just like any other part on any car.

I agree with Garnes that it isnt a common problem for the Aurora and I think it is one of the positive points of the car. The only problem is that when it does go... $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

mike98c

had problems, but I don't know why. The girl that used to live down from me had to have two replaced in her low mileage 95.

blk97aurora

800watt:

I paid about $45 for an ACDelco replacement at a Cadillac/Olds dealership that gives discounts for internet orders; list is about $65. Accel makes a replacement (yellow color though); I think Summit Racing's price is about $40 plus shipping.

Henry

Henry

It was an issue for some 1995's. I did not hear any other stories beyond that. My tranny problem related to the torque plate or something. Total costs was about $6,000.

The only thing I have now is that the transmissions lines are leaking and need to be replaced. Nothing big.

Gregg, I hope you are wrong about the curse.

Henri

pizza442

The history on my 95 shows that a reman tranny was put in early on at about 40,000 miles; probably for the imput speed sensor deal. As for noises, mine will 'clunk' once in a blue moon right when the engine fires on morning start up. Almost seems like the tranny tries to go into and immediately out of reverse for a millisecond, and is timed for the exact moment the engine fires after cranking. Might be something else, though. Does it so rarely I don't worry about it.
Henry: Torque plate issue? What was that all about?

mike98c

They reprogrammed the tranny in the new Aurora because of what you just described. It's not hamful, just annoying to some people.

sbeaupre

Don't freak out everyone...I'm not saying all Aurora's are slow, just mine.

I've wondered over the last year or so if I've been losing power in my Aurora (which I love) but figured I was just getting used to driving a V8 90 miles per day. I took out a mailbox and dropped my 99 w/105K in a ditch about a month ago. While waiting (still waiting) to have 2 body panels replaced along with the 2 mufflers whom tailpipes I bent 90 degrees I've had 3 rental cars:

1.) Toyota Camry 4cyl
2.) Pontiac Sunfire 4cyl
3.) currently a Buick Lesabre V6

Every one of these cars is noticably faster and way more responsive than my Aurora. My Aurora starts right up, doesn't misfire, idles well...it's just slow. It feels like I need to push 3/4 throttle off the line just to blend w/traffic. It seems OK when punched (basically floored) on the highway but very sluggish in any other situation...especially at low RPM's. Any thoughts? TPS? Plugs? Wires? Are there timing adjustments?

Thanks in advance

--Sean

mike98c

If you haven't replaced the plug wires they are one item that's due! They usually start to go any time after 70,000. You say you dropped the car into the ditch, If the warmer the car gets the more sluggish it seems, I'd have the converter tested. The ceramic honeycomb may be broken up and restricting the exhaust flow. A part throttle problem could also be the fuel pressure regulator located under the silver engine cover. See numerous previous posts on this little part. If you pull the vacuum hose of the FPR and theres gas present it's baaad.

garnes

Something is definitely wrong. I agree with Mike98c and start there.

Even stock, my 98 "felt" faster than anything I've ever had including my current 01 Impala with the 3.8 V6 and a 3.1 Malibu. Seat of the pants can be misleading, especially in a comfy Aurora that tends to cushion the experience of the acceleration, but something definitely sounds wrong.

On the other end of the spectrum we have BLK97 with a nearly stock car giving G35's a challenge.

kayaman420

I started my spring cleaning this weekend and I noticed that one of my fog lights has a little rust starting to form on the inside of the lens on the silver refelectors. Does anyone know how to remove the entire unit so that I could clean the rust. If I cant clean the rust off I will just sand it down a little and maybe paint the rust spots white or something. The rust isnt too bad , but it hurts the reflection and makes it look duller than the other side. I figure the white paint might help and save me from having to buy a new lens for a while.

I cant figure out how to take the entire thing out though and I dont want to damage anything.
All help will be greatly appreciated.

javidogg

Which remind me, one of my foglights is burned out, Any have any good brands for the fog lightbulb?

I know it uses size 893 bulb, or should I stick with the original Sylvanias. Thanks.

Peace.

Http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidogg

800wattaurora

My aurora is acting up guys and need some help. Well the goodnews is that my stuttering problem went away with the 4 new ignition coils I put in on Sunday.
The badnews is that my clunking noise I hear occasionaly is backfire!!! I thought it was tranny going. I figured this out when I went for a test ride with my service guy, It happened once for him. He thought that maybe the coils would help, no spark, miss,=stuttering. made sense to me, but didn't fix the problem. Called service guy, he thought maybe a clogged fuel-injector. Recommend trying some f-i cleaner, not the stuff you add to gas, the kind you spray down the TB is best. I'll give it a shot, if dosen't work, bring it in again.

Background on the backfire. Has no pattern, might do cold or hot. At first I couldn't find a way to duplicate or make it backfire. It might not backfire for a couple of days, than some days it'll backfire 1-10 times, with no pattern. One day last week coming home from work at 2am, I catch a light by myself, pulls up a black 99-03 accord 2dr V6 with all the body extra's/rims, shift light on dash, and small racing stickers on the glass. Tastefully done, I liked it. Wasn't cheap looking and no big spoiler. So, the honda guy gives me the nod, I nod back, put shifter in 2nd hold the brake, wait for the light. When I rev'ed holding brake, it backfired once. Pissed me off but I found out how to re-create a backfire for the service guy. Light turns green and we go. Were even off the line and just when I thought I would pull away in the higher rpms, he's right next to me but I pulled ahead by 4-5feet. His bumper stayed even with my front tires almost the whole race. It was going to be a close race, this isn't an all show and no go honda. This race is taking place at that one of light you always thought would be the perfect place to race that turns into highway for a nice flat stretch of road for 2-3 miles with no exits, alowing for any speed diserable. BAck to the race, so now were at 80 and he is still right at my front tire, That's one quick accord, finnally I start to pull out infront, that V-tech just couldn't keep it's pace at the high speeds. We stopped when the AURORA was one car length AHEAD!!! just under 100. Very good race. We slowed down to 60 and cruised along next to eachother for the rest of the ride home. Fun side story with this long post.

So next day I try to recreat a backfire, hold the brake, punch the gas and sure enough back fire. Sometimes I'm noticing it will do it when I go from crusing along to passing gear on the highway on the down shift, or when pulling up to a toll-booth doing the throw and go.
Backfire! Help! Cars got 93K and I did 100K service @80K w/new plugs&wires. Also had fuel rail crack at 70K which I added a new FPR since there known to go in these bad boys, recently had EGR valve replaced and couple other things. Doubt it's clogged fuel injectors, I only use amoco/BP 93. What else could it be. Guess I'll take it in to get scanned. I'm counting on you guys, sombody has to know.

Henry

maytag87

Good afternoon folks,

When I first joined the wonderful and sometimes scary world of the Aurora, I reviewed all the posts on this board to get an idea of the fun I was in for. I complied the info into a document for future reference (found here). I got some short term gain from the knowledge posted here when I needed to replace my FPR.

Over the last few weeks, my 96 Aurora started running crappy, stuttering, idling bad, no power, very poor gas milage. At 118K and original plugs and wires, I knew from the info here that it was time to replace them. Got some AC Delco wires and AutoLite plugs (Autozone doesnt stock AC Declo) and I figured I would be good to go. Now to figure out how the heck to get at those back 4 plugs.

A few minutes of review of the info I had collected and I was ready. From start to finish it was a 2.5 hour job and not all that bad. And the good news is my Aurora runs like gangbusters, FOT response is outstanding, idles great and smooth. I am sure my MPG will be back on track as well now.

I could not have been as successful without the help from this group and I wanted to say thanks! I appreciate the sharing of your knowledge.

Thanks!
Rob
My 96 Aurora

nne3jxc

Rob,

Wow! That is a great document. I know it will come in handy. I immediately downloaded it -- just in case....

Thanks!

Jim

javidogg

What do you guys recommend for cleaning the leather, I was thinking of just using warm water and a terry cloth towel. Then I would recondition it, using McGuiers leather conditioner. Anybody have any ideas out there.

Http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidgg

hammen2

I use Zaino's leather cleaner, followed by their leather conditioner. I like it so well, I use it on my leather furniture (love seat + two chairs) inside the house as well.

http://www.zainobros.com

garnes

A damp cloth is cool for rubbing out lightly soiled leather. Can't really hurt anything there. Just don't get the leather wet.

At Pep Boys, they have Lexol conditioner (and a cleaner too). The Lexol is great. It gets the leather soft and it "grips" you jeans and is not greasy. It was recommended to me by an upholstery shop.

javidogg

The reason I ask, is because I like the Mcguires leather conditioner, but I feel like it's not really digging in there to take out the dirt.

McGuires does provide a good protective shield, but I think I should use something else to deep clean the leather though.

I'll probably look into LEXOL, since there is Pep Boys near by.

Peace.

http://www.cardomain.com/id/javidgg

garnes

Javi - I've tried the Meguires conditioner. It's OK, but Lexol blows it away. The Lexol cleaner is pretty good too.

The two products are very different. With the Lexol, there is a bit more rubbing required to get the conditioner off, but it really seems to make a long lasting difference in the leather feel.

rjs200240

It is great. If you like Meguiar's, though, maybe just try the Lexol cleaner. It is a real soap that will really clean it. If you have bad staining, you might try a vinyl cleaner like Meg's #39. But I wouldn't use that unless the Lexol didn't work. Lexol will be easier on the leather.

garnes

For some reason, I can't open that document.

maytag87

Hey nne3jxc, glad you liked the document, hope it helps you out! Garnes, I am sorry to hear you had trouble. Try this:

Click here for the document

Hope that helped! Good luck! If not, let me know and I can email it to you or something if you like.

Rob aka Maytag87

mariposarosada

There's this stuff called 1 Lifter for leather. It's hard to find around here (Central PA), but I've used it to clean the leather in my Aurora. It does a magnificent job. Really got the grunge out with little effort. It smells good, and softens the leather as well to prevent cracking.

I recommend you try it. I used to get it at K-Mart until the store closed. Someone says it's at Auto Zone. I haven't looked yet.

garnes

Still won't open. Please send it to greg.garnes@earthtech.com - Thanks.

blkboyinaz

Not sure if that is even the name of the piece.
it's the gasket that you can see when you are putting oil in the car.
     Mine has broken, and want to get it repaired before it falls down into the engine.
     I'm just wondering where I can go to find online how long the repair time is for that. It's covered under my warranty i' mpretty sure, but I only get a rental car if the repair time is 8 hours or more.
Any ideas on sites I can check to see repair times for that?

kayaman420

My SES light is coming on every once in a while for no apperent reason and no no certain times. I have noticed that on longer trips it tends to come on more often then short trips. And it doesnt stay on for a long period of time. It will turn off and come back on after a few seconds. And then turn off completely and never come on again. It turns on at stop lights sometimes and when I give gas it will go away...

The car is running fine I just changed the plugs and wires (AC Delco) a few weeks ago (the car started doing this before that)and got the throttle body cleaned at the dealer not too long ago.

The only thing I can think of is that I get a strong smell from the catalytic converter after long trips. Could this make the SES light come on?
Any help I can get from you Aurorians who might have encountered this before would be greatly appreciated. I hope I dont need a new cat because the dealer told me they are $765 >>UNBELIEVABLE>>. and thats just for the part itself..

sinatra2

Kayaman........This could indicate an oxygen sensor is intermitent or the converter is gone and the sensors are picking up a dirty exhaust. the clue is the catalytic converter. This should indicate a code to help with the diagnosis. If i remember there are 3 oxygen sensors on the Aurora...one in the exhaust manifold.....and one each either side of the converter.

mike98c

If it's the valve cover gasket: times
........warr.....std.
right 1.4......2.0
left 1.6......2.2
both 2.9......4.2

gaskets each $12.96

garnes

I've heard that these OBDII computers can tell when an injector is starting to foul a little and can give a SES light even though you don't notice any problem. But from what you describe it could be an O2 sensor - maybe converter. Bad O2's result in some smelly exhaust. Sinatra is probably right. It's a common problem and is not big $$. A converter should be no more than $100. You can get an aftermarket unit for very little. That $765 is criminal.

blkboyinaz

kayaman420 :
    I had aproblem with my SES light coming on when i would accelertae suddenly. It turned out to be my Mass Airflow Sensor was going out. WAs covered under my warranty thank god...costs about 350 at the dealership to replace.
Take the car to your nearest AutoZone and have them check the code the car will spit out. It'll tell you waht the problem is.
    And I cannot stress enough, if you don't have a warranty, get one! I was stupid and messed around before I got my warranty. Had to spend about $1300 in repairs before I got my warranty. Got my warranty finally, $1000 for 3yr/36,xxx miles, and have already had about 700 in repair work done, not counting what I'm having monday, which includes strut replacement!!

cwiley1

What year is your Aurora and what company do you have warranty with? Does it cover your struts. The company I have for warranty, Warrantybynet.com, doesn't cover struts. I'm with you, if you own an Aurora you need a good warranty company.

kayaman420

What brand of converter would you recomend? I am a little weary of putting parts on this Aurora that arent factory, But if you know for sure what aftermarket brand would work I would take your word for it.
Regarding the O2 sensors. Is this something I can do my self or are they very difficult to get at?

garnes

I'd go with one of the advertised "high flow" converters. A garage that specializes in custom exhaust may carry them. I think Magnaflow makes high flow converters. I'm not sure they really add much power though. Anyway, any muffler shop has replacement catalytic converters. I'd think they are all pretty similar - I would not worry about it. A shop will only replace it if it's definitely bad though.

I think the Aurora has 2 02's. I've never replaced one, but the one after the converter may not be too bad. The one before the converter would be the one that sends info back to the computer for engine operation - my guess at least. Maybe it only has one 02 (the one after the converter) and that does it all. I don't think it's a high $$ job anyway.

One of the do-it-yourself experts here will certainly know more than me on this stuff though.

Good luck, and don't worry. Hopefully this is not an expensive problem.

mike98c

If it's a later obd II, not a 95, the car will have a sensor just before the cat, but not one after. The one after the cat. is there for the computer to check and compare to the sensor signal that the sensor before the cat. sends out as it adjusts the mixture. If there is an insufficent difference the computer determines that the cat. is faulty and turns on the ses light. The computer is fairly lazy about turning on the light after checking the signal to avoid setting the light for false alarms so if the light sets for that code it should be accurate.

kayaman420

Garnes-Thanks for the info. I was just worried that for the outrageous price of the factory Cat there must have been some thing that made it special. But I guess not.

Mike-I do have a 95. Does this make life easier for me? I hope.

mike98c

Yep, 95's are obd I. If you ever have to get the codes scanned the connector is obd II apparently.

blk97aurora

My '97 has 4 oxygen sensors; I believe all are the heated type -- one in each exhaust manifold and one at each end of the catalytic converter.

Henry

My passenger side rear window does not always work. Yesterday it would not go down either with the driver door or the rear passenger door switch. this was the first time it happened. I called the delar and made an appointment. And then, "whala" the window starts working again.

I HATE INTERMITENT ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS!!

hammen2

Henry, it's probably just your window motor (regulator) which is going. Happens after 4-5 years on all GM's, IMHO (had this happen on my driver's window on my '91 Grand Prix - was a real b**** because I was living in the Chicago area at the time - darned tolls!). I imagine the dealer will charge $250 to repair it, though the motor is a $50 part. Hopefully it's covered by your warranty company...

--Robert

kayaman420

The oil pressure problem you have is the oil pressure sensor. The part is actually called the oil sending unit. I had this exact same problem, had the dealer replace the sensor for about $100 and all is fine now. This is a problem Ive seen before on these cars and the sensor always is the culprit.

mike98c

The cover comes off to expose all the wires. You do however have to remove the coil pack from the back by the fire wall. If you have the right size extensions you can get to the back plugs from there. I'd go with the ac delco wires. I'm running Bosch but they're latest sets seem to be made by Vlad the cost impaler (and you can guess who gets the shaft) and the connectors show it. The Northstars seem to run better with regular platinum plugs, forget the plus four, splitfire, thinwire electrode etc. People on the board have tried all of them at one time or another. None seem to have been better, many definetly worse.

kayaman420

I agree with Mike. I had Bosch Plus 4's and they sucked. After speaking with the dealer mechanic he said it is very important to keep AC Delco Platunum plugs and AC Delco wires in these engines. He said northstars ( baby Northstar is what he called mine) are very touchy with the firing of the plugs. Only the factory parts will give you the correct spark. He also went on to say that they get a ton of business thanks to Bosch.

Mike- How important are the coils? I change my plugs and wires , but I still get a little hesitation. I have had the TB and fuel injectors cleaned at the dealer so I dont think it is fuel related. Could changing the coils fix this? Also when I did my wires I couldnt get them to sit as nice behind the coils . Is it very important to make sure the wires absolutley dont touch each other at all? Mine arent all sloppy or anything, but I could probably get them to sit better if I really tried.

Thank for the help

mike98c

If it occurs under heavy load it could be electrical, if it is an autozone free scan should pick that up as well as any egr problem. If it's fuel related I'd look first at the fuel pressure regulator, second at the filter and the fuel pump. There is a schraeder valve on the fuel rail that you can use to bleed off pressure or measure it. If anyone types in fpr or fuel pressure regulator they can get the explanation of what to look for on that subject, let us know what you find when you investigate the problem.

mike98c

If it also idles rough it could be an oxy. sensor but that should throw a code also. The ses light doesn't have to be set to throw codes.

auroratex

Follow up to message number #637. I did remove the plastic gray cover over the engine. That's how I was able to detect the sound was coming from that specific area. The sound is definetly not coming from the door's air vent.

garnes

Will you e-mail me that document? I cannot open it. greg.garnes@earthtech.com