Oldsmobile Aurora

garnes · June 2002

As long as you are not prone to muttering "I'm cold - what time is it? - where did I park my uh..uh..uh Aurora - I must hurry home to catch the "Wheel" and then Matlock" (to the voice of grandpa Simpson) then you are not old. Of course any one - or maybe even two of these and you may still not be old. If you hit 'em all then you are a fogie.

garnes · June 2002

I posted on the Mods discussion, so I won't repeat the whole thing. The Aurora system will be for the new Aurora only for now. Apparently the Seville system sounds great on the classic, but there is distortion on the new Aurora. Pretty interesting.

garnes · June 2002

I got the new Aurora chrome alloy 17x7.5's on the 98 today. Wow is that different. I love it. too bad it was not an option during those 5 years. I'll send the pictures (hopefully soon) to RJS and he can make them available.

I'm not really up on how to post pictures or have a web site. I guess that makes me a little "old" too.

I stuck with the Michelin MXV4's for the new tires. Man - I sure hope there are no vibration problems.

RJS - you posted something about the autobahn having a speed limiter -but just higher. I really don't think it has one. What the point of limiting to 130 or 135? To keep you from doing 139? - which I think has been done by some people crazier than me.

rjs200240 · June 2002

I think the speed limiter was 136mph on the classic. Garnes, do you think the Aurora is drag limited to 139? That's possible, but I'd think it could squeeze into the 140's. It's possible the tires can only handle up to 136mph. They were "V" rated, but there was a time in the 90's when that mean 130+ mph, not 149 mph. Also, the load on the tire can bring that speed rating down, and with 2 tons of vehicle and over 60% of that on the front wheels, the fronts might be limited to less than a usual "V" rating.

At first, I though that it was just a rev limiter and if you had slightly bigger tires, or they were slightly overinflated, then you might be able to squeeze a few extra MPH out of it. That would explain going 139. However, the speedometer doesn't know you have slightly oversized tires, so it wouldn't report that speed. So now I don't know what the deal is (unless the person who hit 139 was clocked at 139 as opposed to his speedo saying that). Since the computer gets it's speed from the tranny, if it were limited to 136, then when you hit the limiter it should think it's going 136, not 139. The speedo, even though it is analog, is just a stepper motor that displays whatever speed the computer tells it. It doesn't have some rotating cable going to it like in the old days. So now I don't know what to think. Anyone else who can shed some light on this, please shed!

Oh, I'm not real into the web page stuff either. It's more about having the right software and an artsy mindset than having any technical knowledge, and to me it's really boring. You can tell by the non-slick appearance of my site. As long as the pictures are there, I don't care much about how professional it looks. You can sign up for a free geocities site and just upload pictures and use their little tools to make a page to stick it on. But I don't mind sticking them on my site. I've got space to use.

shucknet · June 2002

The autobahn has a speed limiter set at 139mph - based on ECM reported speed. The V rated tires are supposed to be good to 149mph, so maybe Olds was putting in a buffer for liability or something. I think the Aurora could probably touch 150 (it's pretty aerodynamic) if the speed limiter were taken off (ECM reprogrammed). RPMs wouldn't be an issue until after that point considering the car cruises at 70 right around 2400

garnes · June 2002

I drove the new wheels and tires on the highway at lunch. It has a very very slight vibration at 65 to 70. Maybe I should have them balance them again. At least it's not at 75 or so. I rarely drive at 65 to 70. It's around town or 70+ on the highway.

Then there is this radial forced balance. The Goodyear in my town has one. Is it worth it? Any thoughts? It's probably about $140 for a set of 4.

Speed limiter - I just don't feel comfortable going much over 100 for very long at all. If you ever got caught going 120+ it would be jail.

shucknet · June 2002

I was just going to ask how to find a place to get a forced balance done. I just called and talked to a tire shop here and told them about my vibration (it's in my 99 diesel suburban, but still relevant here). I just took the tires in to have them weight balanced and the vibration is still there. I'm almost positive it's just a high spot on the tire matched up with a high spot on the wheel and a forced balance would fix it.

So I called the place I had them balanced and told them about it and they were like, "we'll put them on the balancer again for you" and I was like, no - they are weight balanced just fine, it's just that the tire/wheel combo has a high spot - can you fix that? He goes, "yeah, we'll put it on the balancer."

Aargh. Does anyone know of a good tire shop in the St. Louis area (St. Charles) who will do a forced balance?

garnes - yeah - the only thing keeping me under 100 is the potential to go to jail. I wish I owned a race track

jimpp77 · June 2002

I had to replace the ac compressor on my '95. i bought the car used and it has 64, 500 miles. It cost just a bit over $1,000. Fortunately it was covered under the extended warranty.

garnes · June 2002

Shucknet - I heard this radio show where a car guru was answering questions. The topic was balancing and pesky vibrations. He noted that the radial forced balancing (I've since seen one too) rotates the wheel with a cylinder and it simulates actual driving. Supposedly it can determine if there is something wrong with the tire, or (this part is weird) will perhaps determine a balancing with weights that a standard dynamic balance would not do. It should be able to take it out of the wheels/tires and tell you more what is going on. If it's still there, then it's somewhere else. Maybe a drive shaft or something. I'm having this done on my old 77 Monte. It's been plagued with a bad vibration at 65 no matter what I do. So it's RFB now.

This guy mentioned that the Goodyears are starting to get them, so I'd call and if they don't have it, maybe they could tell you who has one. That's what I did. The Goodyear that had one is a new facility. I understand the equipment is something like 11k too. Not a cheap investment.

musclecar97 · June 2002

great driving story back on the 10th rjs, sorry it took me so long to respond.

the bosch plug wires I ordered came in only they were OEM brand and only 7mm. Checked around and nobody can seem to get the bosch wires. I ordered accel 8mm racing wires from expressautoparts.com for about half the price the local chain tried selling me the OEM brand, not original equipment manfucaturer, but a company that has named itself OEM. $124 vs $81. wow. My plan is to have them on, along with the new plugs and the K&N by July 27 when I take her to the track and see what she'll do in the quarter-mile.

rjs200240 · June 2002

Man... That's funny. It isn't too hard to guess their business philosophy.

Accel makes nice stuff. The only possible problem with race-type wires is that they might have more RF interference. If you don't notice anything, though, then it's no problem.

Let us know what she does. Have you ever timed her before?

Henry · June 2002

When we take a step back from the board and think about it a little bit, we are into a car(s) that is past tense (but then again so is the 67 Camero).

The funny thing about the Aurori is that you are either passionate about them or they're yesterday's news.

I have had my 95 for over five years now. And I can still walk out to the car, take a hard look at it, and still say its the best looking car on the street.

The only car I would rather drive is the Caddie CIEN. And since I don't have $250,000 for the CIEN . . . . make mine Aurora.

jonbgood · June 2002

I've been contemplating a Classic Aurora purchase now for the last several weeks. The accountant side of me says "stay away - too expensive to upkeep". The emotional side of me when I'm sitting in that cockpit says "this is awesome". Two evenings ago while driving around town, I caught a glimpse of a Classic pulling away from me at a stoplight and my eyes were so drawn to that car. I'm trying to talk the accountant in me to buy the car right, purchase an extended warranty, and enjoy the smell of leather for a few years.

garnes · June 2002

I brought the car back and explained the vibration at 65 to 71 or so with the new wheels and tires. They rebalanced them, but this time used the good old clip on weights to the outside lip. They originally used a stick on type that sits inside the rim. It's still an inside-outside dynamic balance but it's not as good. Now the car is smooth. It needed much less weight as well. A 2 1/4 oz weight was now only 1 1/4 when placed on the lip of the rim. No weight was needed at all on some sides. 1 1/4 was the biggest weight needed I think.

So, the better looking "inside the wheel" balance is not as good even though it seems to still be a dynamic balance.

I hope this might be of some use to somebody.

dtlr077 · June 2002

It turns out, my poor driveability was due to the fuel pressure regulator. This was most noticeably long cranking times with warm engine after car has sat for >10 minutes. Also near-stalling at intersections. I believe fuel was leaking back through the line coming out of the top of the FPR, and going into the throttle body. With a gauge on it, it lost pressure from 40 psi to 0 in about 2 min. Thought I'd post this if anyone else has these symptoms since this was a pretty easy fix.

mike98c · June 2002

dtlr077 When weather warmed up (this is Minnesota), car would stall without my noticing while creeping through stop and go traffic on freeway. Very annoying and possibly dangerous. When I did replace the FPR the car had backfired several times. I cleaned the throttle body and removed a lot of sooty carbon. After cleaning, idle dropped slightly and smoothed out to the idle I remembered before FPR went bad.

blk97aurora · June 2002

Has anyone personally replaced their Classic's water pump? Is the special tool referenced in the service manual required for the job? Or does it just make the replacement easier? Is there an alternative?

A couple of weeks back someone mentioned an overheating problem after dealer replacement of water pump because the cooling system had not been "burped." "Burping" is not mentioned in my '97 service manual. What is involved? I understand burping for my mid-engine Fiero, but have never heard about its need when the engine and radiator are relatively close together.

Henry · June 2002

I had my water pump replaced as a form of preventive maintence given the number of water pump issues that had neem mentioned in this forum.

My mechanic told me that he tried to replace the water pump without the special tool and ending up buying the tool because he was having too much trouble getting the thing lose.

You can go your own way, but based on his story I would buy/borrow the tool.

Henri

musclecar97 · June 2002

Well the cool racing plug wires from Accel are no longer available. I've ordered the Bosch ones again and we'll see if the company can get them in.

On the 1/4 mile runs, I've never done it before and its to happen the end of July. I tried a limiter run on the freeway the other day, but started coming up on traffic and had to back off at 120. She was still pulling strong though I noted it had just shifted into 4th gear. I didn't have the tranny button pushed in, just mashed the throttle and held it there. As I braked a bit to slow down, felt like I was going slow and the speedo was right at 100. What a missle. 140 another day perhaps.

seegirt · June 2002

I just sold my 96 Classic after 4 enjoyable years.

The new owner is charged with giving her the care that I did. I have no regrets...either about owning her or selling her. Time to move on.....in my case down. I bought a 93 Volvo with 65K on it. A mere child of a car! With an engine that is literally in perfect condition!

Oh, but the feel and sound of that America V8!!! Nothing, NOTHING comes close!!!

Well boys, I appreciate the tips and jive.
Good luck to you all with your great American Classics! I'll not soon forget!!!

Seegirt

jonbgood · June 2002

Am I overlooking any good place to find a '99 Aurora? I keep close tabs on Ebay, Autotrader.com, the classifieds of several large metro. areas that are within driving distance. Is there any forums with classifieds allowed that anybody can direct me to? Thanks for any help.

Henry · June 2002

I had been looking for a 99 black on black fully loaded with under 36,000 miles with no success.

There are only a few great Classics.

jonbgood · June 2002

What are you willing to pay for the right car? Edmunds retail seems too high to me - based on what I've been seeing. What do you think a clean,one owner or off lease '99 with fewer than 38K miles, w/roof , should sell for? I asked over at "real world trade in values" what they thought and they said loaded (incl chrome wheels) with new rubber they see these at auction for $12.5 to $13k. I offered $14k for a '99 with 38k, white diamond, autobahn, roof, 12 disc changer, bose radio - no chromes - no heated seats and I didn't even get a counter offer.

pat · June 2002

Try this: http://applications.edmunds.com/products/uvlocator/index.jsp?id=lin9062g&bannerCode=HOME

Pat
Sedans Host

jonbgood · June 2002

Good resource - found one that looks promising up in St. Louis.

pat · June 2002

garnes · June 2002

blk97 - I'm the one with the water pump replacement that was not "burped". The dealer said that it's not an easy job and purging the air from the cooling system after the water pump job is critical. They goofed on my car. It overheated immediately from the air-lock. Maybe it's really not that bad of a job and they were just goobers - I don't know. I had it done under warranty.

jonbgood - you could also look at carmax.com for a comparison of prices. They are a little high I think with their "no haggle" price, but it will give you a reference. They show a 99 w/30k miles no sunroof for 18.6k, another 99 with 32k miles for 16k with sunroof, and still another 99with 25k miles for with sunroof for 17k. Carmax supposedly has clean cars - who knows.

garnes · June 2002

I just have to share this.

I got my tires at Discount tire. They have a big sign explaining how they carefully torque the nuts to spec. Well, I stood there and watched them. Sure they use a torque wrench, but they just lean on the thing and the nut is still turning after the "click". They do it really fast and there is no accuracy at all. If that was not enough, I went to give the guy the locking nut adaptor back and said "hey you will still need this". He said that it will just slip out of the wrench and they don't fully tighten any locking type lugs. Great!! I guess 4 out of 5 is good enough.

Well I redid them all at home and sure enough, some were really on there and the locking lugs were loose as can be. Furthermore, they have those torque wrenches dialed up all day I bet and that's not good. They are supposed to be relaxed back down to a low setting when not used.

With all the rotor warping crap going on, I think it's a good idea to do this right. Not too many places seem to.

Henry - you are right about what you said way back about new tires vs. old. I got the new MXV4's and they blow the old MXV's away. You just can't beat new tires. It's just not accurate to compare any 3/4 gone tire to a new one.

jonbgood · June 2002

Thanks for the good info.

daeven · June 2002

I've been doing a lot of driving lately. I'm now up to 211,000 on my 95 Aurora. On a recent trip, I noticed I used a whole tank of fuel in about 80 miles. When I opened the window, I could smell the fuel in the air. I didn't quite have enough gas left to make it off the expressway and it stopped next to a Chrysler dealer on the off-ramp. New 300M, perhaps? Nah. They got me a rental and a tow truck.

It turns out the fuel rail had failed. $400 later (including the tow), I'm back to normal. I had asked to keep the failed part, but it was already gone when I picked up the car (disposal of evidence, perhaps). Anyway, I had just read THAT day of others here having to replace the fuel lines after similar symptoms. How the heck my car didn't go up in flames, I'll never know. The engine was sizzling when I popped the hood. Speaking of which, it occurred to me after the fact that doing that could have ignited a fireball. Think about that before you do the same thing. Maybe we should all be carrying a fire extinguisher in the trunk.

mindseye97 · June 2002

Question- Does anyone recall the issue of the relay clicking in the dash? I thought it was posted a while back but I can't find it. My '97 has started clicking sometimes when running or even just listening to the radio. Nothing seems to be shutting off so the function is not abvious to me but it sure is annoying...

mike98c · June 2002

My 98 experienced a clicking that turned out to be a relay for the lights. When it was clicking if you stood in front of the car with the lights off, you could see them flashing it was more prevalant in warm humid weather. I don't remember where the relay turned out to be. But the caddy dealer near me knew right where to point me when I described the problem so it must be somewhat common!

mindseye97 · June 2002

Thanks mike98c- Next time I hear the clicking from up under the steering column I will check the lights out. One things for sure it is VERY hot and humid around here this week, something we are not used to in Michigan.

dlcleav · June 2002

My continued problem isn't really a relay "clicking" sound but a very annoying "chirping" sound that occurs without reason. It's almost driven me to trade the '98 Classic but then I get a couple of days where the noise is gone and the Classic is back to normal.

rjs200240 · June 2002

if locking lug nuts are as effective when they are so loose they can be unscrewed with your fingers? I guess at least you found out they don't screw them on Garnes. Imagine people who don't ask or know better. Heck, if they were loose they would probably have fallen off eventually. I don't understand why torquing the lug nuts properly is such a difficult thing for tire places. I mean, imagine a place that specialized in oil changes but they said they don't bother to tighten up the drain plug because the heads are different sizes and don't fit in the one socket they use. It's ridiculous. I too always loosen and re-tighten my wheel lugs after a visit to the shop. I should get one of those clicking torque wrenches some day. I have one with the long pointer that runs the length of the wrench.

garnes · June 2002

RJS - you should see these guys - they just fly. That's basically the reason. It's too much time to torque it nice and slow.

I've heard that the kind of wrench you have is pretty accurate. It's maybe not as convenient, but good. If you get the click type, spend some money and get a good one.

hardesty · June 2002

of both worlds. KBB has info on the 2003 Aurora. Since it is back to only having the 4.0L V8, you can now order it without all of the options that pushed up the price. Base invoice is now under $32,000, and rebates should bring it under the magic $30,000 tag. Also, it looks like the Bose and Nav are available together now. The base includes the PCS. A fully optioned 2003 stickers lower than it did in 2002, and invoice for everything is just over $36,000, so you can probably get one home (taxed, titled, and rebated) for under $35,000. I would be hard pressed to think of a better way to say goodbye to Oldsmobile than to make it the best bang for the buck in its class. Of course, those who care about short term resale value need not apply. I just passed 5,000 miles on the 2002 4.0L, and still love the car. No problems at all, no oil consumption, no vibrations at any (<100mph) speed.

I've been away for a while, just had neck surgery. Two disks removed, three vertebrae fused (C5,C6, & C7), and a little less hip bone (they use a piece of it in the neck). I'll be off work for a while, so I'll check in more often.

rjs200240 · June 2002

I noticed last year that intellichoice had info about the 2002 and the new nav system way before I got any info from GM. Where do they get this info from? The engine still makes 250hp, so nothing on the 2003 would seem to convince me to buy another. The red has a different name (bordeaux instead of cherry). I wonder if it's basically the same color though. I see they pared down the interior color choices. I've never seen one in anything but neutral or gray.

Henry · June 2002

I was looking at the dealer book for the new aurora. While I am still not "Intrigued" with the outside of the car, the inside dash is very clean compared to the classic. In this case, I think less is more.

The car's delay in starting is starting to become more pronounced. I am thinking that it does not make much sense to buy a 99 unless I want to get rid of the 95 (and I don't). Now if I am gonna own two Auroras, it might as well be the two versions.

But can I really justify a 250hp Aurora over a Caddie?

rjs200240 · June 2002

You can.

garnes · June 2002

Henry - if total power is most important then go with the Caddy. But the Aurora is every bit as refined mechanically. Personally I love the looks of the classic and the new Aurora. The new one is still very distinct with the bulging fenders that are chiseled. The front is more aggressive looking too. The interior is a little better than the classic. It's a great looking car. The STS - well it's not bad at all, but the Aurora is pretty nicely styled inside and out. You can't beat the wrap around interior - and that's what YOU look at all the time when driving. It seems to be quite a deal compared to a Caddy too.

hardesty - those numbers are incredible. That is really a lot of car in 2003 for that money. Nothing even comes close to offering so much. I hope everything works out for you. Doctors orders - keep your toe out of the Aurora for awhile.

blk97aurora · June 2002

Henry,

Thank you for your advice. I have ordered the parts; now I need to locate the tool. I'm not in a hurry. My coolant is past due to be replaced and I figure that when I open up the cooling system I might as well replace the water pump and thermostat as preventive maintenance (79,000 miles).

hammen2 · June 2002

I frequently see the "NorthStar Water Pump Tool" up for auction on eBay Motors for $29.95 or so. I don't know for sure, but, for a lot of the things on eBay, you can probably get it for less locally (I see a pair Bosch wiper blades up for auction for $20 + s/h; the same blades are available at my local AutoZone for $8 ea. :-)

--Robert

fjk57702 · June 2002

My water pump started leaking last winter. The sevice manager said that some of them go after 25,000 miles while others have lasted over 100,000 miles. Some of the ones replaced early have been replaced again.

The point is that I wouldn't replace it unless it's leaking.

jonbgood · June 2002

I'm going to look at a '99 with only 18xxx miles at a Cadillac dealer. Seems almost too good to be true. Any advice on this one? Also, color listed on car is "Cashmere". Any guesses what color this is in Aurora talk? The salesman made me think it is bronzemist or tan. Is there something I can ask him to look at to confirm which color it is?

Henry · June 2002

Its where I would start

Henry · June 2002

jonbgood · June 2002

Is there a color code listed somewhere on the car he could use to confirm the color to me? (This is a long distance deal)

rjs200240 · June 2002

I was laughing my butt off when I read your post!!

JonBGood, the color code is listed on the build sheet in the trunk. The number code for the paint color should be in the trunk. Here are the codes for the ones that sound like your color:

Gold 60U
Bronze Mist 76U
Champagne 83U
Copper Mist 88U

jonbgood · June 2002

Dealer confirmed color code is 76u. Anybody have any problems with their bronze mist paint?

Oldsmobile Aurora

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles