1997 Riviera Questions

I know these questions may sound basic but I am curious for the answers. I am buying a 97 riv it has 132k on it. I do not know what has been to it previously. The car does run very well. I am however wondering if there is anything I should have done to it when I get to avoid future problems.

basic tune-up, plugs, wires etc. change all fluids, don't forget about changing the supercharger fluid. (is it supercharged?)

Otherwise they are pretty good.

yes it is supercharged the service manger at the dealer looked at it and said the the sc is in good shape. He said he sees them with bearings going out but said the one on my car sounded real smooth.

Heh. You know, it's funny. Lots of mechanics and dealer service shops and the like really like to talk AGAINST our supercharged configuration. According to them:

1. Oh, those supercharged, you gotta watch out - they'll go out on ya.
2. That supercharger is expensive to fix, watch out.
3. You should buy this extended warranty... if that supercharger goes out, that'll be a LOT of money.
4. This supercharged car doesn't get that great of gas mileage.

Is it just me or is the supercharger one of the more RELIABLE elements of our car? Change the fluid? Good. Maintenance after that... uh.... enjoy added power?

Yeah, the coupler goes bad. But there's a special replacement part for that, and it's a fairly simple operation. No problems there.

All right, this was kind of rant. It was sort of relevant. Just don't worry about the supercharger unless it's broken - and of course, like Derek said, change all those fluids, the SC oil included!

I actually got the excat opposite from the dealer on the supercharger. He told me that the LIM gaskets and such are alot better than in an N/A motor. My list so far includes these items if you can think of anything else add it

plugs
wires
air filter
fuel filter
pcv valve
battery

Front struts and rear shocks. Check belts.

The blowers are near indestructible. You really have to let it go to see one fail. Even with a bad coupler, it just makes noise. Still works.

For belts, make sure you get GATES belts. They're the best.

If I were you, do the transmission fluid and filter. Go with a full-synth fluid. I used Dexron 7 or something... it's GM's newest synthetic tranny fluid, and it works very nicely.

One of the first things I would consider is the lower intake gaskets. At 130K they are most likely original. While they are most likely not going to cause a problem today, a swap to the new GM (dealer only) aluminum gaskets will help bulletproof your investment.

No one has mentioned pulleys. At 132k it's possible some of your oem pulleys have already been replaced. They have a tendency to start failing around 100k. I'd strongly suggest taking both belts off their tensioner pulleys and checking each pulley for smooth, quiet operation, by hand. If your belts look like they are in need of replacing, do yourself a big favor and replace all of the idler and tensioner pulleys at the same time.

tie rods, the joints, ends....

the LIM gaskets are something I should do for sure it sounds likes? I asked the service manger and he said that the supercharger cars didnt have the problems like the N/A cars do.

The SC are less prone to LIM gasket problems, but they do fail over time it seems. I have 165k miles so far on original LIM gaskets. I have not had a problem yet, but recently 2 of my plugs were in bad shape. I am having my oil tested to see if antifreeze could be leaking from the gaskets, but no solid conclusion yet. My engine runs great, but I'm keeping an eye on this.

I recently replaced the injectors, but this probably could have waited a bit longer. I do not know if one or all six were clogged, but swapping made a big improvement in performance. I plan to send them out for inspection sometime soon.

If it aint broke, don't fix it!

manofmany wrote:

If it aint broke, don't fix it!

Ditto!

Bert