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Pat
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Sedans Message Board
Might want to get that checked out. It could also be a bad temperature sensor.
Campo57
Campo57 - Thanks for the info. I reall dont need another problem with my car right now. (
right now i have 4 vented and cross-drilled high performance rotors sitting here ready to bolt on once the weather warms up. i am also going to put Grizzly brake pads on all 4 corners of the car to have the ultimate in stopping power.
they are very simple to change by the way.
Hope to hear from you before Feb 22 via the Talk to the Press discussion or at jfallon@edmunds.com with your thoughts and contact information.
Thanks as always,
Jeannine Fallon
PR Director, Edmunds.com
NO AURORA!!!!!
To make a long story short. Turns out they towed the car because they said I left the mall after parking the car. After having the IHOP host talk to the towing company, they brought the car to back to me. The tow truck driver had the nerve to be mad at me cause he was not going to get paid for the tow. I guess it was my fault that I legally parking my car.
I carefully maintain the car (remember me - -the SHOP KING). There has not been any reason for the car to be on THE HOOK but yet it has been there twice thanks to over eager towing companies.
My one regret is that I can not think of a way to sue the towing company since I did not see body damage and the tranny seems fine for now. Any suggestions on causes of action? I really want my pound of flesh.
I am calling on the Aurora Collective.
Think like a LAWYER???
After reading your post again, it sounds like the person to blame works at the mall, not the towing company.
what kind of mall has such a policy? i have met up with friends at a mall and parked my car(of course not my Aurora however)and totally left the county for 5 or 6 hours without any trouble.
just my two cents worth.
They don't wash off. So, I got out the Meguires mirror glaze No. 7 and used an orbital buffer on them. I've used the glaze before to literally smooth out some bad scratches and remove the generally scratchyness (I love that stuff), and it did quite a bit of good on the water spots and they are barely noticeable now. In fact, in the daylight, you really can't see them at all. You have to know where and how to look under the right lighting conditions, but it still drives my crazy.
The detail shop said that you could wet-sand them out. I'm not going to do that. That cure sounds worse than the problem.
So what happened??? It seems like the paint was literally burned by the water drops like you see described on some of those car wax commercials. I always thought that was a little extreme, but it seems to have happened to me.
If anybody knows of a cure (I doubt it) let me know. The car is black so that just makes this imperfection noticeable. I guess if I had a silver metallic car, I'd never notice a thing.
I've used the Meguires gold class - good, but doesn't seem to last long, and started using the Zymol. It's just as nice as the Meguires and seems to last longer. I kind of doubt any wax would have prevented this. Perhaps the wax was fading when this happened.
A good wax on the car does seem to make those water drops bead very strongly. Maybe the strong beading action actually contributed to making a perfect prism to make the sunlight burn the paint.
Any thoughts? I've never seen this before.
My Corvette always had water spots that I couldn't even begin to remove. However, I got the feeling that they were there from when the car was repainted (before I owned it). It really seemed like the water spots were under the clearcoat. So I don't know if water spots can etch in permanently, or if it was just the result of a lazy painter. The car had a great shine, but those water spots were always there.
I think you are right to steer clear of wet-sanding them out. I'm sure the beading of water isn't the best, but that is just how it goes. Any protection that is preventing anything from bonding with it will probably make water bead up.
P.S. You might consider Meguiars Medallion Paint Protection. It is their longest lasting protectant product. Gold Class has some polishes in with it, so it is more of a compromise protectant in order to shine more. If you use #7 anyways, you might see better/longer lasting results with Medallion because it is just a protectant. What kind of Zymol? It seems too expensive to me. Let us know what works when you get the spots out.
ps I noticed while waxing my car that above the muffler tips I have what looks like my clear coat coming off from the heat out of those tips. Anyone else have this?
QUESTION - CALL ME GULLIBLE BUT -- I polished my car with this stuff I brought at an auto show. At the show, the guy sprayed paint on the car and took it off with this polish. When I tried to take off bug splats and other "barnicles" no luck. I guess I am a little disappointed because I was the guy that took the spray paint off the car at the auto show and the stuff he used came out of a Regular bottle he was selling. ---
-- Which way did he go George? --- Which way did he go??
Haha just kidding.
I've also ordered the "Dura-Shine" that is supposed to make the water sheet off. It has not come in yet. Yeah - for about $10, I'll try a lot of stuff.
One thing for sure, I swear by the Meguires mirror glaze No.7 for getting rid of swirls and light scratches. You can get rid of bigger scratches too if you rub your arm off (get an orbital buffer - very cool). It is indeed very gentle and I think it is almost impossible to hurt the finish with the stuff, but it will do almost anything with a little muscle applied.
I do have a tougher cleaner/glazing product that has a little more bite. It's Car-Brites "Power Pak". It really moves that clear coat around (doesn't remove any) to get rid of tough scratches. Maybe I'll try that a little. I would not use the Power Pak on the whole car though. It will leave the paint looking a little strange. I consider it strictly a spot fix for really bad stuff.
What's left of the spots is just the outline that has burned in. It's not really that bad I guess when the rest of the water spot mess is removed from the glaze.
Anyway, the guy at the dealer said the Seville replacement might be out spring/summer 2003 as an early 2004. I can't wait to see it, but I'll be waiting to get a nice used one for many many years. If it doesn't look at least half as cool an an Aurora, then I might be driving this one for a very long time.
I wonder if the car did not rust, and for some reason the engine had to go, if one of the new VVT Northstars could be dropped in the Aurora.
Apparently, the 4.6 will drop right in if you ever wanted to do so.
I recently traded my 2000 Jeep Wrangler in on a 98 Aurora with 33,000 miles and factory warranty left on it. I just have to say, I love this car. It is White Diamond, with all the options, chrome wheels, power moonroof, autobahn, Bose stereo with 12/disc changer, heated seats, all the goodies. This is very dramatic change from my Wrangler, and very welcomed. I was just wondering, do they make touch up White Diamond paint? My inlaws had a 97 and 99 Aurora, and just traded in the 99 for a spankin new 2002 Aurora, I hope to drive it soon. They had very good luck with their cars, so I took the chance and bought a used one. I like the looks of the old Aurora better than the new, I mean no offense to anyone that owns the new ones, it is just a personal preferrence. Anyway, I look forward to chatting with you folks and learning more about my new car. Have a Good Day.
you were asking about the cross-drilled and vented rotors that i just bought. I found them at Hutchins Automotive here in Lockport,NY. they were VERY reasonable in price. the rear rotors were 26.95 each, and the fronts were 40.95 each. Not bad considering plain rotors are 19.95 for the fronts and 21.99 each for the rears.
Before i buy anything for my Aurora, i do my homework and research my options to make sure i get the best part at a good price. All 4 rotors are directional, and they are also blanchard ground on both friction surfaces, which means they are absolutely the same thickness all the way around. this is great especially in getting rid of small vibrations while driving, along with totally eliminating any pulsation in the brake pedal during braking. they claim that brake rotor temperatures can be reduced by up to 200 degrees when vented and cross-drilled, which will greatly reduce brake-fade under repeated stops. another benefit is that there is virtually no loss in stopping power under wet and rainy driving conditions, where with normal rotors the water could act as a lubricant between the rotors and brake pads.
if you post your email address, i have a digital camera and i could send you pictures of the rotors within a few days. if you have any other questions about the rotors, don't hesitate to ask. right now i am trying to match up a good set of brake pads for my Aurora so i can install the entire package once the weather warms up and i start driving the car again.
I guess this would be an option if your engine was blown or ready to go for some reason and the body and interior were still good and you loved the car. I doubt it's anything I'll remotely consider - ever, but its fun to talk about.
If you really wanted to do it, I'll bet these guys would know more about it, or know others that could give you more details. I linked to their site through caddyinfo.com. Here is the link.
http://www.chrfab.com
That reminds me... Do the classics shift shy of the redline when you floor them? Mine shifts right at 5800 every time. Car & Driver noticed that it happened to them until 3rd gear. I haven't driven that fast to see, nor have I held the shifter in 1st or 2nd to see what happens (from what I understand, the tranny is intelligent and won't actually downshift, or it will upshift despite where you put the gear selector).
Garnes: I ordered my Medallion products directly from Meguiars. I've bought car-care products from local stores that didn't perform well. I got the impression that they were stored improperly (probably too hot). If I order from the factory, especially in winter months, I have much more confidence the product I receive will work as intended. I think that you would definitely have more luck with a cleaning product than with #7. #7 is just a polish and isn't really supposed to remove contamination. The cleaners are made to do that, so they might be just the thing to remove the water spots. A clay bar might work too, although I've never used one before.
rjs, fjk - in addition to the bore, the caddy hot rod guy said that the heads, valves, and cam are different. No surprise there I guess. But yeah, they are virtually identical engines.
rjs - yes, I think the 275 would be the one to get. Looking at the power curves of both engines on caddyinfo.com, the 275 has more HP all the way up to 5,000 rpm +/- and way more torque all over as well as producing the peak torque down lower. I think the 275 HP engine with the 3.71 that the STS has would be a faster car to 60 and in the 1/4 mile. But 300 HP sounds so much better.
My 98 goes to 6,200 rpm +/- in all 3 gears when hammering it. Never been there in OD, don't plan too, maybe not possible if the drag limited you. Actually, 3rd was experienced on the dyno and I took it to about 6000 or so before I took the foot off.
rjs - I'll look into getting the cleaner. Perhaps I should try the clay too. Thanks. Somehow I think the damage is done though.
That clay stuff is cool. When I got my car, it had a lot of light "overspray" on it. I had a detail shop clay the whole car and it removed all of it. I was impressed.
Why GM made a 4.0? - It has to be more effort just to make two versions of the same engine. I really think the reason for the 4.0 is to leave something exclusive to Cadillac. Same reasoning for no V8 in the Buick luxury cars. I doubt there is anything significantly cheaper in the production of the 4.0.
I think it's kind of nice that with the my modified air box, filter, and mass air flow sensor, everything looks normal under the hood. The MAF is a modified unit from the factory, so it's a totally stock fit. Under full throttle though, the car behaves a little differently.
Now I need to get through the 500 mile break in period, and test the PCS...
The GPS is pretty darn cool, and the car is overall very nice and comfy.
I'm surprised how well it really handles for its size.
1) the audio quality of the navigation radio is below the standard I expect. GM has excellent audio systems on tap from the Monsoon systems, which are excellent. If this is Bose, then my already low opinion of bose is reinforced.
2) man this car handles well. I can make it corner harder and at faster speeds than my Trans Am, and I'm not kidding. I think it's because on the TA I was mostly worried about the rear end kicking out, and the Aurora doesn't have that kind of steering problem.
3) the GPS system is overall good, but it's really annoying that it is so bright when driving at night. I have to turn the brightness all the way down, and it doesn't appear to save the brightness settings between "daytime" and "nighttime" modes (at least when you have "auto" selected).
4) I can't believe the DIC doesn't have a clock.
Had the same problem with my '97 -- broken wires. I think I posted a solution several months ago.
Pat, when will that search feature be available?
The wiring that powers the shift indicator light is small gauge, solid, with no strain relief. I replaced the wire with very flexible test lead (Radio Shack) and used several tie wraps to provide strain relief at the connection points.
You will need to remove the console tray; six screws -- four at the top and two at the bottom. At the front of the wood trim remove two screws from the horizontal surface behind the ash tray door. Pull off the black trim panel surrounding the radio -- pull straight back toward shifter. I believe there are two more screws behind this trim panel. The shifter handle comes off by pulling straight up after removing the u-shaped clip that faces the radio. I hope I haven't forgotten anything.
Good luck.
Good to hear from you.
How has the 97 been? By the way, when I had the car in for a door handle fix, I did confirm that my 98 has no grease fittings in the front. They said early 98's had them and later 98's did not. I guess 97 would have them like you have mentioned way back some time ago.
Am I the only one having this problem?? Basically, the paint is coming off of the plastic.
I've been seeing 2001s lately. In fact the dealer where I bought my Bonneville last year has a 2K1 same color as yours for $17.5K. I sat in it and loved the car. Maybe in a couple years I'll go for a 2K2 4.0 myself.
Take care
Ken
P.S. I may meet Chuck on Sunday Mar 3 on my way home from Pa. Going to be around?
Ken
The DIC doesn't have a clock because there is a very prominent one on the non-navigation radios. The car was not designed with the nav in mind, so this is probably why it seems sort of "add-on" rather than well-integrated. I have to say, for me your comments reinforce my decision not to get the nav system. I don't like trunk cd-changers, I love the Bose system, and nav systems tend to be annoying when you have to use the touch screen for radio or (not in the Aurora) climate control buttons.
I'm glad you are satisfied with all the rest, though. I really love mine. That exhaust sound is great, and I love the interior. Especially the wood and the two-tone color. My only complaint is that the trunk feels so cheapy when you open and close it.
From what I've heard about the nav. systems, I don't think I would want it either. Just give me a good map.
Henry - I'm sure you could order any new interior piece you want. Just call the parts department. I've replaced the lens over the spedo and tach just to get rid of the old scratchy one. I haven't seen any Aurora's with the paint coming off the interior dials. Good luck with a 99. I'll bet there are some great deals to be had. Look for an Autobahn if you can too. I don't know about 12k for a 99 unless it had a lot of miles. I wouldn't use e-bay as a gauge either. Anybody that has gone used car or even house shopping knows you really have to "see it" to know what is going on. Even a scratched up, dinged up car that is getting ratty on the inside will look nice in a photo if it's been washed. I really wonder about some of those e-bay cars. Just for fun, I would run the VIN through carfax (when I got my car) and some of those e-bay cars were indeed restored cars that had a salvage title.
QUESTION for "new" Aurora owners. What does the owners manual say for the torque on the lug nuts on the 17 inch wheels? Sometime this spring/summer I will be putting my new chrome Aurora 17's on the 98 when I get new tires. It's probably 100 ft-pounds, but I just wanted to check. I believe this will look very cool on the classic.
Jephjeph, I'm pretty certain that the Navigation radio will replace the Bose radio. If you have the Bose, you should have "U1F" listed on the build sheet (under the spare tire cover). If you have the Navigation radio, it will be "UM8" and if you have both, then both should be there. I can *almost* guarantee that you can't have both.
I thought it was a little weird in a previous post when someone asked how to remove the labels on their new Aurora. However, the more I look at the back, the more I want to remove the "Oldsmobile" label. If it weren't there, the rear would be very symmetric (except for the keyhole). Plus, it looks sort of tacked on and doesn't really match the styling or size of the "Aurora 4.0" or the Aurora symbol. I don't want to pretend it isn't an Olds, but I am starting to think it would look cleaner without the badge.
I never thought about the look of the rotation thing, but I think you might have a point. That's a little weird.
I really think it will look tough on a black classic. They should have come out with those wheels years ago at least as an optional upgrade.
I've been thinking along the same lines -- '99 with low miles and remaining warranty. My '97 has been good to me so far (73 000 miles), but the price of repairs scares me.
For an Aurora, what does triple black mean? I understand black exterior and black interior, but what is the third black? I prefer the gray interior because it seems cooler in the summer.
Interesting about the deletion of front grease fittings during the '98 model year.
I finally found a used intake airbox ($23 plus shipping) and expect to receive it within a couple of days. Yesterday I looked at my parts microfiche and was surprised to see that the '95 airbox lists for $408, while the '96 to '99 lists for $134. That's one heck of a difference!
I studied your dyno results on the caddyinfo site. I'm puzzled that the improved hp with the K&N drops to zero at 5800 PM. Do you understand why? I would think the extra airflow would be even more important at higher RPMs. I wonder if there is something about the K&N that reduces airflow at higher speeds.
Anybody planning to bid on the IRL engine on eBay? :,) Auction starts at $45 000 -- only 375 miles.
For those of you who don't remember, I bought the car with 150K miles. I just called the dealership that serviced it for those 150K miles and asked for a copy of the service records. I'll post next week so you know what parts a 200K Aurora can go through.
My car also has lost the paint on the steering wheel controls. I'll be interested in replacing the buttons if it is easy and economical.
Regarding fixing the shift indicator light: be careful when pulling the shift lever off; I managed to break the normal/agressive trans button wiring.
Dan/Chicago 'burbs