Oldsmobile Aurora Maintenance & Repair

brinwood

directly opposite the fuel access door, inside the trunk, is the cord to pull to open the access door. If not visible it may be under the upholstery in the trunk at that location. Fuse? I don't know.

donnapaca

If you have not found it, let me know and when my wife gets back with our 95, I will take a digital and send.

Also once you get it open, if you put one or two drops of 30 (10/30 should work) weight oil on small plastic plunger that releases the door (visable once refil door open) the door make work fine. I believe the ignition has to be on when you press the gas release button.
Don

pscheid

1998 Aurora Autobahn....73000 mi. Original Michelins MXVs no problem. I'm older than most of you guys so bear with me.

I had problems with tires out of round dating back to 1970. Steel wheels, alloys were a dream. Spin balancing? No. Static balancing. Hunter was the leading technology company with wheel/tire balancing. It was the tires. There was a guy in Popular Mechanics magazine named Tom McCahill who demanded in one article...."Just male 'em round, boys, just make 'em round.

Back to the Aurora....Dunlop A2 Sports, a nightmare with the alignment. 3 trips back to NTB. NTB rebalance, rotated, and then finally they swapped out 2 of the 4 new tires and the problem was reduced by about 70%. I was told the problem was the wheels were not round, which I could see with the wheels on the balancer. Then why did the original Michelins produce no vibration?

Went back to NTB for a new set of Yokohama Avids a year ago. No problema.

I keep reading about the force balancer and matching any out of round variation between wheel and tire. I believe that Olds had some TSB's about the vibration problem. And I also read the posts about wheel bearing problems. Both could be a factor.

I always start with a suspension inspection and an alignment and go from there. After that, I blame the tire relative to the Aurora's sensitivity to an out of round situation, whether tire, wheel, or both. I rotate every 5000 miles.

Why did the car exhibit no vibration with the OE Michelins? Guess you get what you pay for. If the wheels were the problem, why did the Michelins and the Yokos work just fine. Luck of the tire? Luck of the tire mounting? I don't think so.

I still have my first car, a 69 Corvette. 145 mph. No vibrations ever, steel wheels.. And I have an 04 Infinity G35 Coupe. No problems with wheel vibration. And the Aurora came with the V rated MXV's, no problem.

Is it the tire? That would be my guess at first observation.

imidazol97

Show me the naked wheels mounted on the car being out-of-round or having lateral runout... In past I've suspected the balancer centering method and boltup method... Best rotational balance for a time was with an onthecar balancer where they had a motor that spun the tire and a strobe light to gauge where th wheel was heavy. Then they would add weights appropriately. I had Michelins on a Ford which was an awful front suspension-very flimsy.

I buy Michelin tires for my H-body 03 leSabre which is related to the Aurora chassis. Michelins are the closest to rolling round and actually being round.

pscheid

I agree. Runout was the problem, rolling roundness. The wheel can be out of round as can be the tire. Or both. I suspect the tire when there was no previous issue.

I also agree with the posters that this is a 64-75 mph issue.

dregan1000

Hi all. It's been a while since I posted here, but I find myself in a quandry. My 97 Autobahn edition is losing coolant. The mechanic thinks it's coming from what appears to be a side cover on the drivers' side of the engine, but this cover doesn't clearly appear on any diagram - mostly because the diagrams aren't that clear.

The mechanic hasn't completely torn the engine out yet, but it seems that's the only way to get to what's leaking. If they do, and it's the block leaking from a crak, I lose all the labor fees for doing that or I replace the engine, which I won't do on this car.

My question, for anyone who has torn that far down into the engine, is what is the possibilty that this is a cracked block, or is it most likely something that can be sealed up?

Thanks!

99dodge

Dont tare it up if it is in the right front of the engine block your water pump is leaking I had just replaced mine for 60.00 plus 20 for the special tool to pull it out. the water pump is located on the block just left of the air cleaner.When it leaks it leaves a mess all over the frame.It is leaking because it is going bad. hope this helps ts

dregan1000

Nope, not the water pump - I've already replaced that (got the tool on eBay), I know exactly where it is. The leak is from the side of the engine, kind of near where the tranverse case is.

pscheid

I am not a mechanic but read about a similar problem an owner had on one of the Aurora sites, though I don't recall which one.

The owner got the water pump replaced without a resolution of the coolant loss problem. Upon further examination, he or his mechanic discovered a small crack in the underside of the overflow tank which was leaking coolant. Replacing the tank worked for him.

I was losing coolant last summer. Intermittantly, you could smell it burning off after a long drive and after parking the car, you could smell it even with the hood closed. Local mechanic could find no problem with the the water pump, with obvious leaks, with hoses, or with the overflow tank. Then he changed the oil and investigated for coolant contamination, nothing found. And just as mysteriously, the coolant loss stopped.

Sorry for your problem.

laureng

Well, sorry it took me so long to reply but I think I may need the picture. I pulled back the trunk upholstery and still couldn't find any kind of latch anywhere near opposite the fuel tank. Brought my neighbor over and still no luck. I appreciate your help.

blk97aurora

Has anyone else encountered difficulty reseating rear brake caliper piston? Today I replaced right rear rotor and pads on my '97. I have one of those special tools for rotating the piston to make room for the new pads. I remember having trouble doing this four years ago, but I was able to do it. Today, no such luck. The tool keeps slipping off the indentations in the piston. Suggestions?

Les

blk97aurora

brinwood stated, "directly opposite the fuel access door" not fuel tank.

On my '97 the manual release is on the driver side, hanging from the top of the trunk about 5 inches outboard from the trunk deck hinge.

Les

pastorbud

I have a BIG leak that appeared suddenly in my daughter's Aurora. Appears to be coming from just above the flywheel. (Can't see up there.) Any advice or experience on this?

esegura

I have a 1998 aurora and i thought my freon was low so i went to go get it charged. my car wouldn't take it, it was still blowing hot air. any idea what could be wrong with it?

pscheid

We have a 98 Black/black Autobahn with 74K miles. The a/c clutch assembly went bad (screeching) and while the car was apart at a local repair shop the owner/mechanic displayed all of the parts, failed and not failed, and explained the differences in faled tolerances versus the new parts, which were apparent to a non mechanic.

We had gone through the dealer expertise and cost issues in the past and had settled on this guy as more trustworthy than the rest, even though he does not have the investment in diagnostics or "Aurora" specialists at his disposal.

He had the motor jacked (disconnected motor mounts) to get at the issue. He then advised that with the labor to get at the problem we might be well advised to replace the A/C compressor (it still worked well) and the alternator (still worked well) while the car was in this state of disassemblage to avoid duplicating labor bills down the road. For some reason not known to me, he did not suggest replacing the water pump at the same time. He did swap out the serpintine belt while the car was in, een though there was only 10,000 miles on the belt.

Think about how difficult the car is to work on if you go ahead with an a/c job.

This car is a b$tch to work on for some of the simplest of issues because the engine layout makes those simple repair things impossible to get at. If you plan to keep the car, take care of a number of things as preventative maintenance may save you down the road, big time.

We probably need other people more knowledgeable than me to pipe in here.

I just feel that I don't want to jump into the same mud puddle twice if I can avoid it. And I want to get another 3 years out of the car.

stevejobdig

I had the same thing and had the oil changed again to 10-30 instead of the 5-30 that everyone seems to want to use and the problem went away. I think the owner's manual says to use 10-30.

sfcmlm

I have a 96 and and am getting oil in the water but no water in oil. I believe it to be the head gasket and talked to a mechanic who said that the engine was made of aluminum and a head bolt was striped out. Anyone else had this problem?
He said that when pulling the heads off he would have to put inserts in every head bolt and the price would be around 2,500.00 to 3,000.00.
Is there any other fix for this?

Mr_Shiftright

And how did he figure out a head bolt was stripped? And how did it get stripped unless the head was off once before?

If he torqued down the head bolts and the head had never been off, then the stripped head bolt is on HIS watch.

If this is an automatic transmission car, you might also check for a bad radiator, as I believe the radiator on that car also cools the transmission fluid in a lower portion of the tank....so the two tanks can leak into each other.

rball69

Did any one give you possible solutions? I have a 95 with the same problem. My e-mail is rball69@yahoo.com. Thanks.

rball69

I am new to this so take it easy. I just bought a 95 with a few things to do. First the fan for the heat/AC does not come on at all. The LEDs on the control light up to indicate fan speed but no fan. I don't have an owners manual or shop manual yet. Is there a control module for the fan and if so where. Any ideas are welcome. Thanks

mbmoore

Hello everyone, two issues:

(1) Slight oil leak, cannot see it from under the hood. It appears to be coming from around the front of the oil pan. Any suggestions on what this might be. Probably leaks 1/2 - 1 quart of oil every 3-5K miles.

(2) Check Engine Light (SES) has been on for probably 6-12 months, I know what you are thinking. I already took it to a dealer; gas tank cap, etc. Was off for a couple of day, took it back, something else, off for a couple of days, etc. Gas mileage seems o.k. at around 25-28 mpg at highway speed, doesn't run or start hard, the car is white and you can see soot or something above the exhaust pipes on the rear bumper cover, not sure if that is o.k. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

brinwood

get it scanned at auto parts store, usually free. Dealers mess over folks.

bdblkab96

"Service Engine Soon" light on ?
After replacing the o2 sensor to no avail, replace the EGR.
worked for me.
Now for my issue.... My left rear passenger window won't come back up. It's stuck open. Anybody have any tips ?
1996 fully equiped I've more questions and answers after paying major bucks in dealer repairs. But I still love this car. Anybody know where to find a mechanics book for this car so I can fix it myself ?

blk97aurora

I have the same left rear window problem with my '97. I have the factory service manuals from Helm. Expensive, but sometimes available on eBay for $50-100.

I verified front and rear switches are OK. Open circuit somewhere between front door and rear door. I was able to close the window by using a jumper from battery to motor.

Les

brinwood

wires that exit drivers door often break at this point. Check for continuity.

hennessy

Hello to everyone that is apart of the forum. I bought me a 97 Aurora and was just looking for a community that liked this car as much I do. I am looking forward to exchanging information with everyone here.

bdblkab96

Thanks for the tips. Will check wires. The jumper sounds risky. But I will try it. Might that burn up the window motor if done wrong ?
And how did you get the door panel off ? Is it the one screw behind the handle and snap the rest off ?
thanks

blk97aurora

As I recall (it's been several months), there are 2 or 3 screws at the bottom edge of the panel that need to be removed. Then lift the panel vertically.

Les

bdblkab96

http://aurorah.proboards47.com/index.cgi
The above is a great site for the Aurora / Oldsmobile community. Your right about the 2 screws at the bottom.
That site even has illustrations in performing the task.
An internet search for Oldsmobile Aurora got me there.
I will let you know how I do. Thanks again.

bdblkab96

Thanks Les for helping to make my weekend a happy ending.
The jumper from the battery did the trick my left rear window is now... closed.

I used a lamp cord size stranded wire, connected the copper to the positive terminal and the silver to the negative ground.
then at the other end, I inserted copper to the blue wire switch connector and silver to the brown wire switch connector. Heard the window motor hum, quickly pulled the jumper out and then reversed polarity and zoom... the window went up. Thank you.

The bottom 2 screws on my 96 door panel are hex head by the way. The handle screw is phillips. All one needs to do after popping off the door handle Bezel and lifting up on the door pannel is to disconnect the window switch harness and connect the jumper to that.
Now that my window is up I can plan a day to find the open circuit or... broken wire.

Bill

blk97aurora

Bill,

That is good news. When you find the open circuit, please let me know where it is. I have not put in the time to find mine.

debbiebrum

Any advice, replaced heat sensor, thermostat, but still overheating? ? could there be air in the radiator?

johnnieboy

I have had the same issue with my 1998 Aurora which I've had since 2000. I had the button mechanism on the gear shifter replaced but I still cannot distinguish any difference when the button is engaged. Do let me know if you are able to tell the difference now.

I love my Aurora and whenever I look around to replace it, I conclude that it is the best of the best.

JohnnieBoy

johnnieboy

I have had the same issue with my 1998 Aurora which I've had since 2000. I had the button mechanism on the gear shifter repalced but I still cannot distingusih any difference when the button is engaged. Do let me know if you are able to tell the difference now.

I love my Aurora and whenever I look around to replace it, I conclude that it is the best of the best.

JohnnieBoy

flybrian

The POWER mode just holds the current gear for a few hundred more RPM before upshifting. Honestly, I've never noticed a difference in regular driving.

knowledge8069

Hello everyone. This is for a 2001 Olds Aurora, 3.5L V6 (newer style). I was wondering if anyone knows how to remove the buttons on the steering wheel. Apparently the buttons for volume and temp no longer light up, but the ones for fan and seek do. There is one on each side that lights, and one that doesn't, so I doubt that it's any wiring problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Adam

e_net_rider

Can someone take a look at their decal for the tire pressure on a 96? My decal is no longer readable. Thanks
Norman

brinwood

I always run 32 PSI minimum for best handling with my '97 Aurora. The lower pressures listed by GM are for a softer ride.....imho

capriracer

According to Tire Guides, a 1996 Oldsmobile Aurora came with P235/60R16's inflated to 30 psi. So if you are using that tire size, then that pressure would be appropriate. If not, then the pressure needs to be recalculated.

e_net_rider

Thanks for the responses. I am currently running 32 and it seems a little harsh at times. At times they had gotten a little low and that also will result in a bad ride. Too low you end up with a tire bounce transferring too much movement to the body. All related to the valving in the shock absorbers. I don't know how many levels of valving exist but I will guess 3. 1st level for normal rolling. If the tire is too soft it will not transfer enough impact to open the proper higher level of valve attempting to maintain the same level of body. But it will come back at a lower valve rate where the spring tries to maintain the same height causing a pitching of the vehicle.

Too hard a tire and it can beyond the higher level rate of valving. And since each level of valving is likely maintained through the return stroke, that means spring pushes back harder because more energy compressed it more than necessary and that momentum is then slamming against a harder than recommended surface, the hard tire.

Tire pressure may need to be adjusted slighty for optimal with your tire model. I run original size in Khumo brand which from one of the tire sales sites many Aurora owners seem to think it is better than OE in areas of ride, quiet, and traction. But loosing the correct pressure information put me at doubt. I found myself a half pound low on front driver side compared to others at 32. I could feel that in handling. But adding that 1/2 and then driving to the air show yesterday I realized I may be rolling a little hard. Now I know why with 2 pound cold too much.
These tires seem to have an almost magic point where air doesn't want to compress more. My guess it is related to tread flex or more likely sidewall flex. Maybe if the sidewall stands up too much it inversely limits the ability of the tire to take the shock of a rough spot.

e_net_rider

The button will give a little faster acceleration without having to put foot into accelerator as far. Had to pull center console and found wire breaks in two places near the shifter because that is where the wires are flexing everytime I guess. Broken wire defaults to non power mode.

e_net_rider

O2 sensor has been an adventure for me. Replaced front one about a year ago with 132K. Only added about 5K and one at rear manifold went. Two weeks later one at converter front.
Hoping maybe the last one will hold for awhile.

With this last one, also had codes popping for #1 misfire that were not there before. Driving it yesterday after replacing that third one shows I have something related to misfire yet. I have a spare coil and will swap and then visit autozone for an erase of codes.

e_net_rider

The cross over from front to rear manifold can leak in some mysterious places. I was able to tighten mine slightly.

e_net_rider

Assume your tool is up to the job. May have to do a little had machining on the piston. Or secondary to what I ran into. Some idiot used big pliers on mine leaving gouges that cut the boot. A light filing followed by emory cloth took care of it. Had it been deeper I would have filled gouges with JB Weld and then smoothed.
Hope that helps Les.

e_net_rider

My 96 has tranny cooler and oil cooler in radiator.

e_net_rider

Often hard to locate just the clutch assembly and unless the coil goes bad it usually indicates deeper trouble. Sometimes you might loose the clutch pack if the bearing fails but otherwise burning up the clutch pack would be from a locked compressor and vent valve should take care of over pressure. If the pop off didn't work, this would still indicate a blockage in the system such as a malfunction condenser or plugged oriface screen or tube. Either way that debris could have damaged the compressor and you are right about gambling on it and probably not much more for a complete compressor versus labor of changing the clutch. But in any case the system should be opened and flushed. In the event that a chunk of epoxy broke loose internally on the condensor and intermittantly plugged it, he should be good on the repair if it happens in short order again.
The screeching is usually the belt slipping versus the clutch smoking so replacing it was likely necessary.

e_net_rider

Feel the lines close to firewall, at least one should feel cold. If not is the clutch cycling? If not is the end of the compressor turning, that is the plate of the clutch next to the pulley?
Lines near firewall should both be cold and about same temperature. This would indicate that a blend door is possibly bad or the control head and it thinks you want heat.
If the compressor is not running, you could have a malfunction of the pressure switch on compressor, or bad high or low temp sensor in the freon line. If the high detects a high temp it will shut the system down and is located near vehicle front, behind headlights on mine. Unplugging it sends cold or normal signal to computer and may take a few start and stop cycles to reset computer.
Cold sensor is in line under wiper motor I think. Not sure how this one works from top of head.
Did you have high and low guages hooked up when attempting to fill?
And if you haven't picked up on it, possibly the main computer.

e_net_rider

I like Michelins except for the price, but they were rated below some others at a tire sales forum for this car.
Look at sidwall, inner and outer for a spot marking, white, red, blue, any color maybe. Unless you tell them specifically it seems they intentionally do not line it up with valve stem. This system of mating tire to wheel started in 80's with Cadillac Cimaron. Likelihood of it happening properly is like getting the wheel nuts hand torqued.
Then I'd say the next step is road force balance.

uncleb0b

how much is it if it is still available

uncleb0b

# 3658 olds 1995 aurora service manual.How much is it if it is still available.