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I just bought a 96 98 too. l like the white wall tires and moonroof on yours. Make sure it's had an upgraded upper intake plenum. They're made of plastic on the Series II 3.8l and the EGR causes the OE manifold to warp. Then the car starts using coolant. I just finished that, the lower intake manifold, spark plugs, wires, coil packs, etc. on mine. Finally driving it. Now all I have to do is wash it and detail it.
You can still get the correct tires in Toyo Extensa 205/70R15 with white walls. The car had Goodyear Invictas still on it and plenty of tread but 24 years old. These photos are the original tires still, which I just replaced a few days ago.
As far as the intake goes I know this is an issue but on a 9800 mile car that will not be driven much I should be able to just watch it for now. These cannot go that bad that soon????
The A/C took the charge too, there may be a small compressor leak but not sure yet so watching it, but it blows real COLD!!!
9800 miles is quite low. Just keep an eye on the coolant level for now. Also do a coolant flush if you don't have documentation showing that it was done recently. Our cars use DexCool and that stuff turns to sludge if not maintained properly. This causes all sorts of problems!
Location: Edmonton, AB. And "I am Can 'eh' jun - eh"
Posts: 24,525
Beautiful car! I had a 95 and it was absolutely a dream to drive. The little front side windows and smaller mirrors took a bit of getting used to though. I would buy that car again in a heartbeat if I found one like that.
The Dexcool is 24 years old and still looks like new. I have talked to two GM mechanics and they have said it looks clean and it is full to the top so no air gaps in the system. They said no rush to change it.
With that said I will most likely put some new Dexcool in next spring. Actually good it had Dexcool since the corrosion issues have actually been avoided by the Dexcool. Also no crystals have formed on the cap or radiator. Which says the coolant is OK for now, but I will replace it soon.
So actually having Dexcool in it was a good thing I think. The car went 175 miles in 23 1/2 years and I have put about 400 miles on it with no issues.
Last edited by gkhashem; October 2nd, 2019 at 08:55 AM.
The car was actually an Oldsmobile zone car. Used by sales reps or service reps for I assume the Boston area. The dealer I guess was the recipient of the car and when it was turned back in around May 1996 the dealer bought it for his collection since no more were being made. At turn in it was around 9250 miles I can guess from an oil change sticker from May 1996.
So the build date was Nov 1995 and was used until May 1996 then stored by the dealer. It had a few paint rubs in it but they all buffed out nice. One or two chips that have been dotted with paint and except for that about a perfect car.
Any thoughts on parts I should hoard that are known issues on these cars. I know about the upper intake manifold. Anything else?
October 1st, 2019, 04:47 PM
