$300 SC Riv!

i gotta say this site is pretty neat, i'm way glad i found it, here's a link to some pics of my ride, i got it for $300.00, got about 107,000 miles on it, I had to change the oil pan there's was a huge dent in it, all in all though it's pretty alright.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36279935@N03/

Hard to complain for $300, that's for sure.

nice find for $300! Is that a 96? how does it run?

Jack the R wrote:

Hard to complain for $300, that's for sure.

Congratulations, Garrick. That's $300 less than I paid for mine 4 months ago. It drove well enough for the 6 miles to the shop that is putting it in shape, and it's been there since. Yours could use a paint job; mine needs one, plus a lot of other work. Worth it, though--it's a Riv!
But it's nice to see someone do even better.

so far, so good. like I was saying I had to replace the oil pan cuz of a dent which was causing it to leak somewhat, only had one fuse blown when I got it and that was for the self-leveling compressor, the ride feels like your hydroplaning it's so smooth, like my friend's new car doesn't even feel this good & I'm not even joking about that either. so far what I am having problems with is there's still a leak from somewhere but don't know from what all fluid levels stay full and haven't gone down, the last couple of days i've just been lazy and haven't gotten back under there yet, it sometimes makes a ticking noise coming from the engine compartment and sorta a hissing sound best heard coming from the driver's side front tire area, the traction control light comes on and stays on but only when I get about two blocks down the road, the check engine light comes on but not always I went to autozone and got the code P0171 (definition fuel trim bank one condition) they gave me possibilities of oxygen sensor defective, ignition misfire-repair and fuel injector problem, but with the ticking that I hear I was thinking maybe the misfire and plus there is a crack on the plug that goes to the base of the coil platform. any ideas anyone? and one last thing which is of huge concern to me is that when i fill the gas tank the first half is great but the second I hit half tank you can almost watch the needle go down is crazy, again any ideas anyone?

First things to do when acquiring any used riv, or car for that matter, IMO is to:
1.change spark plugs (autolite 605 $12)
2. change wires (acdelco set $35)
3.new fuel filter ($15)
4.oil and filter change (use delco pf52 filter)

Take a look at the write-ups tab and FAQ tab for a ton of info about where to go from there.

You will see in a few threads that the gas gauges on these cars are crazy and in no way gives an accurate reading. Assuming you have a 96 you should be able to fill up about 18gals and get about 23mpg highway on a unmaintained motor.
Also, USE 93 octane.

There's a thread about fixing the gas gauge - it's cheap but you have to get into the gas tank.

Mr.Riviera wrote:

First things to do when acquiring any used riv, or car for that matter, IMO is to:
1.change spark plugs (autolite 605 $12)
2. change wires (acdelco set $35)
3.new fuel filter ($15)
4.oil and filter change (use delco pf52 filter)

Take a look at the write-ups tab and FAQ tab for a ton of info about where to go from there.

You will see in a few threads that the gas gauges on these cars are crazy and in no way gives an accurate reading. Assuming you have a 96 you should be able to fill up about 18gals and get about 23mpg highway on a unmaintained motor.
Also, USE 93 octane.

the autolite 605s are OK plugs, but not sure about changing to them just because. Definitely check the plugs that are in when you first get the car. If you want higher performing plugs and are not concerned about lingevity the 605s are fine. The gap, however, will widen fairly quick over time. The AP605 or APP 605 may be a compromise - those are the autolite plats and double plats. The OE plugs are iridiums. They will run acceptably for somewhat longer than 100,000 miles.

as for spark plug wires, for the money OE wires are the best bet. If you plan to keep the car more than 50,000 more miles, consider getting a set of Magnecor wires.

as for fuel filter, fuel is usually pretty clean; a good bet to change it though as the gas filters on most cars never get changd...

Albertj

garrickmc wrote:

so far, so good. like I was saying I had to replace the oil pan cuz of a dent which was causing it to leak somewhat, only had one fuse blown when I got it and that was for the self-leveling compressor, the ride feels like your hydroplaning it's so smooth, like my friend's new car doesn't even feel this good & I'm not even joking about that either. so far what I am having problems with is there's still a leak from somewhere but don't know from what all fluid levels stay full and haven't gone down, the last couple of days i've just been lazy and haven't gotten back under there yet, it sometimes makes a ticking noise coming from the engine compartment and sorta a hissing sound best heard coming from the driver's side front tire area, the traction control light comes on and stays on but only when I get about two blocks down the road, the check engine light comes on but not always I went to autozone and got the code P0171 (definition fuel trim bank one condition) they gave me possibilities of oxygen sensor defective, ignition misfire-repair and fuel injector problem, but with the ticking that I hear I was thinking maybe the misfire and plus there is a crack on the plug that goes to the base of the coil platform. any ideas anyone? and one last thing which is of huge concern to me is that when i fill the gas tank the first half is great but the second I hit half tank you can almost watch the needle go down is crazy, again any ideas anyone?

With the hissing sound you hear, you may have a vacuum leak causing this code. A vacuum leak is the single most common occurence to set that code (P0171 and P0174). Take a piece of hose, about 2' long, and go around the top of the engine using it like a stethoscope. This will help you pinpoint the leak.

As for the crack on the coil platform. Look to see if there is any carbon tracking around the area. a cracked ignition anything will sometimes make an audible "ticking". The ticking you hear is the spark jumping to the closest ground, which will cause that particular plug(s) not to fire.

As for the gas tank problem. The Fuel Level Sensor is more than likely bad. A new one comes on a new Fuel Pump Assembly. You may just want to buy a new one, unless the gauge thing doesn't bother you. Lucky for us Rivs, there is an access door in the trunk to replace the fuel pump.

like scott said, the ticking is most likely ignition. my experience with that sound happened to be my plug wires, but it could be wires/plugs/coils.
i would also change the plugs/wires/fuel filter/oil like matt said, as these are sometimes the most neglected parts on a car even though theyre so cheap and anyone can do it.

another thought id just like to throw out there about the ticking because of your other thread, is you may have an exhaust leak. especially since there is "soot" looking grime below your crossover and you said the sound is coming from the drivers side by the tire i would also check for an exhaust leak in that area because that will make a "ticking" sound too. a way to tell the difference between exhaust and ignition is exhaust makes more of a t t t t t t t t t while ignition is usually a more pronounced tic tic tic tic tic tic that sounds more like electrical grounding out on something.
sorry lol i didnt know how else to explain the sound over the computer

so Garrick, what have you fixed so far?

Albertj

basically just the oil pan so far still just checking it all out

That's a damn good deal! I paid $450 for my Riv, but I needed an engine and a whole other pile of parts. DCM is one of my favorite colors, you lucked out.