FAQ: New Riviera Buyer Questions

Hi Al,

You may want to ask your friends who dumped fuel into the rail, was there any fuel coming out the supply line? They would have surely disconnected the line to access the rail. If the pump were running, it would have sprayed all over them.

First thing, listen for the fuel pump. When you turn the key on before starting, you can hear the pump run from the rear - it's a high pitched humming sound. If you pop the trunk while someone turns the key on, you will hear it from the middle, just ahead of the spare tire. If the pump isn't running, you need to replace it. Not too bad a job. We have a couple write-ups for this.

I once let a car sit for almost 7 years, and found the biggest issue was fuel going bad in the lines, and air pockets can form. Check pressure at the rail. Replace the fuel filter for sure. It's probably shot. Our fuel injectors need about 40 PSI at idle, so don't wast time dumping fuel into the rail. It's not going to do any good, and you could introduce dirt into the rail = bad news.

Best of luck!

Thanks all! Well we picked it up today

It actually does have 43,000 miles on the odometer and the Carfax is in agreement. The interior is nearly like new. It's got a few minor nits, but for the most part looks like it has been babied. It is heavily optioned, but doesn't have the Astroroof (which I like that it doesn't, not a fan of sunroofs = something else to break/leak) and it doesn't have the heated/memory seat which I wish it did have, but it's no big deal. It also doesn't have the single CD player, which I'll be on the lookout for. However it does have traction control and steering wheel controls. I'll decode the RPO codes tomorrow if I can find them.

And the color is indeed really attractive and I believe is the "Light Adriatic Metallic". I'll check the code tomorrow to verify. It is the Adriatic Blue interior with bucket leather seats.

It has the typical paint rot all these seem to have. It's still hanging on (no bubbles or chips yet) but it has the expected "shattered" appearance under the clear coat. That doesn't bother me though as it isn't terribly noticeable from a distance, and I expected it. Maybe I'll repaint it in a year or two if the car turns out to be reliable and not a money-pit

Someone in the past also splashed some sort of solvent on the hood, perhaps drove through something, that clouded(nearly blackened the clearcoat), and so there are a spray of drops on the hood and front bumper cover. It also messed up the chromed plastic grille. I won't worry about the paint, as the whole car's paint is defective, but I might want to get a replacement grille. So I'll be on the lookout for a replacement, perhaps a pull?

All the electric accessories still worked fine as far as I could test (couldn't test the A/C of course since the engine isn't running), but the HVAC blows, and the passenger door controls seemed to work as it all lighted up and I could hear the damper actuate. The power antenna even worked, for now (They seem to eventually all fail, on my second one for the 95 Roadmaster).

The only three electric accessories that I know of so far may have issues are:

1) The electric fuel filler door didn't release. I had to pull the manual cable in the trunk, which popped it open with no trouble. I don't know if the solenoid is just sticking from disuse, but I can hear it trying. Any thoughts on lubricating or servicing the electric plunger/lock for the fuel door?

2) The windshield wiper switch/stalk won't reliably turn back to "off". If you turn on the wipers, then roll the stalk back to "off", the wipers will stay on intermittent. I've tried to "wiggle" the barrel back to "off" and got the wipers to tuck away and stay off once, but subsequent tries were unsuccessful. The late owner of the car had electrical tape around the barrel to keep it firmly on "off". Any ideas if I can fix this without replacing it with a donor? It seems to clearly be a problem with the stalk.

3) They lost the keyless remotes which I assume this car had. Any idea what type of keyless remotes the 95 used? I have a 95 Roadmaster, and that uses the "square" looking GM keyless remotes. My daughter's 97 Saturn uses a more "teardrop" shaped remote that is common to just about all GM products of that vintage. Anyone have a photo of which one the 95s used, or if the "teardrop" later remotes will work? I've got about three of the later "teardrop" shaped remotes, so that would save me a bunch of $$ if I can program them.



I have no idea yet if the air pump and its relay is still good for the rear air shocks, and as mentioned we need to check the fuel pump. Regarding your tip about listening for the pump whine, I didn't hear it so it indeed may be dead, but again that is expected. If that is all that the problem is, that would be GREAT news


So we'll be draining the tank tomorrow, changing the oil, and inspecting the fuel pump issue, etc and see what else may be wrong.

I'm sure I'll be posting more questions real soon!

Thanks,
Al

I'm going to be checking out a 98 Riviera this week. It has 86k on it. I've been lurking the forum for awhile now and feel like I have a pretty good handle on the more common Riv-specific problem areas to look for.

Have I left anything out?

-Engine cradle rust.
-Rust in rear passenger wheel well and trunk.
-Rusted lock ring at top of gas tank
-Check if LIM gasket has been replaced with aluminum version
-Steering wheel slop
-Rear air shocks functioning

Other than the engine cradle being shot or the gas tank issue I don't necessarily consider any of those deal killers for a car this age.

I wouldn't worry about the fuel pump locking-ring. It's going to have some rust on it. When you need to replace, it's a $10 part. It's difficult to know how bad things are by visual inspection.

At 86k, there's no reason for the LIM gasket to have been replaced. The OEM plastic gasket should last beyond 150k miles.

The rest of your list seems reasonable. Also you could check for engine codes to indicate problems. Check tire wear to reveal alignment issues. Paint quality on roof and trunk/hood. Inspect the battery and floor pan under rear seat. Make sure the HVAC system is working properly. Test the moonroof. Those are the big ones I'd check for.

Thanks for the additional pointers and the information on that lock ring. For some reason I was under the impression that the steel ring was embedded into the top of the plastic tank and that once it rusted out it was done for.

The seller did mention that he has new struts and new tires on the front so I'll be looking for other worn suspension parts. No moonroof on this one. It would be nice, but on the plus side, it's one less thing to worry about. He's asking $3200 and it looks pretty clean, although they aren't good enough pictures to evaluate the paint.

Here's what the ring looks like:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t4779p75-write-up-fuel-pump-tank-sending-unit-replacement#127508

There are metal tabs on the plastic tank that could rust, but it's impossible to know until you crack the locking ring loose. I wouldn't worry too much on a car with low miles, unless there's other rust under there.

Seems like a good deal if everything else checks out.

Well I never even got to look at it. I spoke to him this afternoon and we'd arranged to meet early this evening and he sold it in the meantime. I can't blame him for making a sale when he could, but it would have been nice if he'd told me before I drove over... So it goes.

hey everyone ,just wanted to fill everyone in il be going to look at the riv again in two days and to most likely purchase the car! whoopee . on a serious note im going to give you guys a little history about the 2 owners and such. I have looked over everything that would concern me and the car seems to be in great shape especially mechanically has a nice clean water pump brakes are very fresh coolant has been changed to the regular green stuff so the lim gasket seems to be dry from a visual perspective(have aluminum kit at home that will be going on the car) tranny feels firm and smooth with nice clean fluid. it has around 118000 miles the only rust the car has is surface rust and its right behind the passenger door but having worked at a body shop the rust is not bad at all the car was garaged for almost its entire life owned by an elderly lady for the first 100000 miles always dealer maintained. its in very great shape underneath unlike my Oldsmobile which had no rockers left and the subframe was in pretty bad shape along with the body mounts. this car rides like a dream better then my f41 lss! which had some creeks squeaks and rattles. the riv however has the fe1 suspension and some kind of computer controlled suspension? never dealt with anything like that before, but it rides like a dream. No rattles or anything, only thing is the rear struts are toast so it bounces quite a bit.

On to the owners

as I said earlier most of its life it was dealer serviced. The elderly lady first owner, then sold the car back to the sales manager she had purchased the car from years ago because it was in immaculate shape. then he drove the car for around 8000 miles. he then gave the car to his daughter and she had driven the car for the next 10000 miles before the car wound up in the classifieds because she her father had found her a hummer h3 (she loves them apparently) so the car has no purpose and she feels bad because its a great car so she is getting rid of it. All the car needs is an 02 sensor i'm donating from my lss. she was asking 2500$ for the car but i have haggled her down to 2000$ cash which i think is a pretty great deal for a car with tons of life left in it. but alas even though its in great shape it needs some tlc. here are some of the issues it has im not sure if they are big deals or not having never dealt with rivieras so maybe you guys could chime in and warn me if something small could be potentially very costly. first the passenger side door is a pain in the ass to open because the glass gets stuck to the trim so you have to kind of "gently" give it some force and it opens. the back seat has a 2" tear. owner said she had to pick up her dog (mastiff) from the vet and she had to take the riv and its nail cut the seat dog never went back in the car again apparently (sorry pooch no whine for you!) the heated seat (drivers side stopped working) and the power antenna runs constant when its hooked up owner said it was from a poor stereo installation, i think they used the antenna ground and it messed with it. small things yes but every issue is an issue with me i'm picky!

is there any other places you riv guys know about the can cause issues that i may have overlooked , like places of common water leaks etc etc. Sorry for the novel just want to double check with the riv fanatics first im sure you guys know these babies inside out!

cheers. thanks for reading!

Be aware that a lot of people are fooled by an "O2 sensor" code thinking it needs an O2 sensor, when in reality the code is something like "O2 lean", indicating a vacuum leak. O2 sensor is the #1 incorrectly replaced part.

So don't just throw an O2 sensor at it. Check the code and find out what the real problem is first.

Glad to hear you found something in good shape!

JR3800 wrote:

the riv however has the fe1 suspension and some kind of computer controlled suspension? never dealt with anything like that before, but it rides like a dream. No rattles or anything, only thing is the rear struts are toast so it bounces quite a bit.

It's just a basic self leveling system. Nothing fancy, just a compressor to fill or deflate the rear shocks to level the ride out to a set height. It could be the compressor that's bad instead of the shocks, but either way most people just replace them with standard shocks when one or both of them go wrong.

I saw you say something about having a car with an F41 suspension. Some people have actually swapped out all of the F41 components into the Riv (or the FE3 components out of a Cadillac STS).

As far as the antenna, it's probably shot. I can't think of any reason why a bad stereo install would break the antenna and cause it to run constantly. I'm sure it could be fixed (there's some sort of sensor in it that tells it when to stop), and I have a bunch of spare antenna parts if you ever feel like messing with it. I forget the technical name for the sensor, but I have one or two that work fine.

Lastly, things to look for are areas where water gets in and sits. Check the spare tire area and under the back seat. Check if the idler/tensioner pulleys have been replaced. If not, replace them as soon as you get the car. Many people on here can tell you stories about being stranded when one of the pulleys seizes up and throws the belt off. Other than that, we mainly suffer from electric problems (not that they're massive crazy issues). Overall if the car is really as good as you say it is it should last you another 150k+ miles if taken care of.

Look in the rear wheel wells behind the shock for rust. Other common rust areas are on the subframe, under the lip of the trunklid, and like Matt said under the spare tire and back seat.

It's just a basic self leveling system. Nothing fancy, just a compressor to fill or deflate the rear shocks to level the ride out to a set height. It could be the compressor that's bad instead of the shocks, but either way most people just replace them with standard shocks when one or both of them go wrong.

I saw you say something about having a car with an F41 suspension. Some people have actually swapped out all of the F41 components into the Riv (or the FE3 components out of a Cadillac STS).

As far as the antenna, it's probably shot. I can't think of any reason why a bad stereo install would break the antenna and cause it to run constantly. I'm sure it could be fixed (there's some sort of sensor in it that tells it when to stop), and I have a bunch of spare antenna parts if you ever feel like messing with it. I forget the technical name for the sensor, but I have one or two that work fine.

Lastly, things to look for are areas where water gets in and sits. Check the spare tire area and under the back seat. Check if the idler/tensioner pulleys have been replaced. If not, replace them as soon as you get the car. Many people on here can tell you stories about being stranded when one of the pulleys seizes up and throws the belt off. Other than that, we mainly suffer from electric problems (not that they're massive crazy issues). Overall if the car is really as good as you say it is it should last you another 150k+ miles if taken care of.[/quote]


one of the tension's squeaks but i have replacement idlers and pulleys so nothing to worry about ! I haven't checked under the spare tire but i will when i go on thrusday! and how do i go about looking under the back seat without pulling it out ?

also the suspension in my lss is f41 also had a compressor that for the elc system it turned on but no air came out of the lines, however it being an h body im not sure if the parts are compatible. I put new rear monroe matic air struts with the manual airline kit on that car but the shocks are a different design then the riv all i can try is hooking up the monroe airline kit (ak29IIRC) to see if that solves the bounce.

at-least the antennae is seized up ! unlike my olds which was seized down.

The back seat is very easy - just pull up on the front edge of the seat. Lift way up and it will unhook from the rear hooks. The battery is under there, make sure it's vent tube is intact. They are often broken. It's a cheap part that will help prevent corrosion in that area in the future.

JR3800 wrote:

at-least the antennae is seized up ! unlike my olds which was seized down.

Oh, I thought you meant the motor would just spin constantly, not the antenna being stuck in a position. The mast has a piece of plastic in it that acts as a pushrod to raise and lower it. The plastic is just snapped. I think some people have been able to replace the mast, but for the price you're better off disassembling the antenna, lowering the mast, cutting the plastic, and getting one of those aftermarket hidden antennas.

Thanks everyone ! All the help is greatly appreciated and just to clarify the antenna is stuck up because she wanted it up rather then down the motor does consistently run when it is hooked up so she ran it Untill it was up then unhooked it could it possibly just be u plugged from behind the stock headunit ?

Look for broken or cracked motor mounts.The oem mounts fail and are a pia to swap out.Listen for worn S/C coupler & check the obvious,switches and the such for the power seats.Look carefully at the rear adjustment links, if perished yer lookin at black opps mission to find 'em
besides the basics stated allready,the Riv is a robust vehicle with tons of character and as many little twitches that will drive you batty

So, I did my best on searching but I didn't come across anything relevant so I apologize if I missed something. I am looking at a Riviera for sale, and the owner describes this issue: "Fuel gauge only works when it wants to. And the speedometer won't go past 60mph. (VSS) but yes the car will go well over 60".

Assuming I decide I want the car, how big of an issue are these? Are they easy to fix?

Thank you!

Well, if it were just the Fuel Gauge having issues, I'd say that it might just be the Fuel Sending Unit that's failing. That requires Fuel Pump removal and the sensor replaced (if you can buy just the Level Sensor, It's usually part of the Fuel Pump assembly). VSS could absolutely cause the Speedo to not work properly, but you also have another gauge not working correctly. The IPC itself might be screwed up, in which case you'd have to find a good used one and have it installed/programed. Or, you really do have 2 different problems that need to be addressed.

The Fuel Pump/Level Sensor assembly can be accessed from the trunk. Pull the carpet up, and you'll find an access panel that's bolted down with about eight 7mm screws. Directly below that panel is the Fuel Pump and wiring.

The VSS sensor is located on the Output side (passenger side) of the transmission. It's right on top of the Output Shaft case.

Wow, that's some hardcore knowledge there. Thank you for being so helpful! I have no problem working on a car (more of a "shade tree mechanic" myself) as long as I have a resource to pull from haha.

If it is indeed the IPC, how do you get it programmed?

For the Level Sensor, what is that part actually called? I only see fuel pumps and sending units online when i search for it.

Thanks again!

I think it's typically the sending unit that goes bad, resulting in the gauge not working. It's a common problem with these cars, nothing to worry about really. I just reset my trip odometer every time I fill up the tank and just refuel by 400 miles just to be safe.

But would the sending unit only work "some of the time" like he described?

It should fix it, assuming it's not a problem like a ground wire or something. Here's a good discussion about the gauge problem for you: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t10120-fuel-gas-gauge-problems-questions

Others have replaced their sending units with success too. I replaced mine once (I have had 3 Rivs) and it definitely worked better but still wasn't 100% accurate. The build quality of mid-90s GM parts is to blame I'm sure.

I wouldn't be discouraged by it though. If the car you're looking at is in good shape, these are great vehicles! What year are you considering? Supercharged or no?

nomosolo wrote:

But would the sending unit only work "some of the time" like he described?

Absolutely. It isn't just Riviera thing, it's a GM thing. They've had problems with the Fuel Level Sensors for years and years. Grand Ams, Aleros, Envoys, Trailblazers, Yukons, all the Buicks, etc etc. It causes an intermittent Fuel Gauge and/or incorrect level reading on the gauge. The Sensor is nothing more than a small circuit board with different sized copper tabs that read as a sweep depending on where the float is at (like a potentiometer).

Here is the Fuel Level Sensor on it's own
http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=437775&cc=1303322

It also comes with the Fuel Pump Module when you buy it. Either way, the Fuel Pump needs to be removed completely and disassembled to have that part replaced.

gunmetalRED wrote:

It should fix it, assuming it's not a problem like a ground wire or something.  Here's a good discussion about the gauge problem for you: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t10120-fuel-gas-gauge-problems-questions

Others have replaced their sending units with success too.  I replaced mine once (I have had 3 Rivs) and it definitely worked better but still wasn't 100% accurate.  The build quality of mid-90s GM parts is to blame I'm sure.  

I wouldn't be discouraged by it though.  If the car you're looking at is in good shape, these are great vehicles!  What year are you considering?  Supercharged or no?

Thank you for your help! Yeah it's a 97 supercharged with 137k. I can't link to it because of some 7 day rule on the forum haha. It does have an "open title" thing I need to look into, gonna call my DMV later.

I am in the market for a riv, i had a 96' sc but while searching recently through the ads most of the rivs in really good condition are the 95's sc, so since I know little about the series 2 except that it is bulletproof and even less about the series 1, i am interested to hear what do more knowledgable owners think. I would prefer a series 2 N/A but they are really rare, almost non existent here in Ontario. Obviously the 99 would be the best choice but still what do you guys think about 95's and the major differences from 96-99?