FAQ: High Mile Club - Wear/Repair Reports

bought it with 35k and just hit 195k.

Put new shocks on the rear this weekend, new wheel hubs on the front, and then sheered both belts and a pulley on the way home from work yesterday.
Also have that wonderful antifreeze puddle under the radiator now too.

I love this car, but once my 64 is road-worthy I'll probably unload this one. I can't really keep up on 2 project cars for too long.

This car is going to drive me to an early grave. It's christine without the self repairing feature.

In the last month problem after problem keeps popping up.

The current list is:

1.) broken door handle
2.) broken lumbar
3.) another bad wheel bearing (third one, I'm getting a timken. stupid me and cheap parts)
4.) leaky oil pan
5.) failed AC Clutch (2nd one)
6.) Worn steering rack (not bothering to fix)
7.) loud pulleys

I'm just waiting for the next thing to irritate me. I'm the type of person where if his car isn't running right and isn't happy, neither is he. To put it mildly I'm not the nicest person to be around right now.

GMFreak8 wrote:

This car is going to drive me to an early grave. It's christine without the self repairing feature.

In the last month problem after problem keeps popping up.

The current list is:

1.) broken door handle
2.) broken lumbar
3.) another bad wheel bearing (third one, I'm getting a timken. stupid me and cheap parts)
4.) leaky oil pan
5.) failed AC Clutch (2nd one)
6.) Worn steering rack (not bothering to fix)
7.) loud pulleys

I'm just waiting for the next thing to irritate me. I'm the type of person where if his car isn't running right and isn't happy, neither is he. To put it mildly I'm not the nicest person to be around right now.

If I was you I'd consider:

- replace the squeeky pulleys *now* - it's not a tough job and you avoid getting stranded somewheres if one fails - when they fail they make a mess. Do not be surprised if the squeeking is not a pulley but rather the alternator bearing. It's rebuildable though.
- if your racks not dripping get a bottle of Lucas PS lube, suck old lube out of reservoir with turkey baster and pour in Lucas. Odds are the problem will go away for a (long) while, at least until a tie rod or the o rings actually fail.
- ROckAuto has decent prices on TImken wheel bearings. I tried a pair of bearings from Carol Stream (on eBay) - absolutely excellent seller, but weak wheel bearings. I toasted 'em driving on the QEW after they were on for a couple weeks. They should not have toasted. Anyway, Carol Stream gave me a refund.
- do you think something is pushing your AC clutches over the edge?

Albertj

sburch23 wrote:

245,000+

Haven't broken into the quarter million bracket but getting closer. I do not travel 1000 miles a week but am working in Central New York. I am afraid the salt will wear the car out faster than the miles.

Recently had to have the passenger heated seat switch replaced and the windshield washer fluid tube reconnected to the pump.

I agree with you about central NY road salt. It is almost as if they put something in it intentionally to accelerate corrosion. i really wish they'd switch back to grit or grit/salt. I'm Not Happy At All.

This year I attack the underbody rust with POR-15.

Albertj

albertj wrote:

GMFreak8 wrote:

This car is going to drive me to an early grave. It's christine without the self repairing feature.

In the last month problem after problem keeps popping up.

The current list is:

1.) broken door handle
2.) broken lumbar
3.) another bad wheel bearing (third one, I'm getting a timken. stupid me and cheap parts)
4.) leaky oil pan
5.) failed AC Clutch (2nd one)
6.) Worn steering rack (not bothering to fix)
7.) loud pulleys

I'm just waiting for the next thing to irritate me. I'm the type of person where if his car isn't running right and isn't happy, neither is he. To put it mildly I'm not the nicest person to be around right now.

If I was you I'd consider:

- replace the squeeky pulleys *now* - it's not a tough job and you avoid getting stranded somewheres if one fails - when they fail they make a mess. Do not be surprised if the squeeking is not a pulley but rather the alternator bearing. It's rebuildable though.
- if your racks not dripping get a bottle of Lucas PS lube, suck old lube out of reservoir with turkey baster and pour in Lucas. Odds are the problem will go away for a (long) while, at least until a tie rod or the o rings actually fail.
- ROckAuto has decent prices on TImken wheel bearings. I tried a pair of bearings from Carol Stream (on eBay) - absolutely excellent seller, but weak wheel bearings. I toasted 'em driving on the QEW after they were on for a couple weeks. They should not have toasted. Anyway, Carol Stream gave me a refund.
- do you think something is pushing your AC clutches over the edge?

Albertj

Nah, it's the idler pulleys. They aren't that loud, and have not changed at all in sound since I owned the car. I simply don't have the cash or time to do this right now.

I ordered Timken bearings off of amazon for 88.92.

I was thinking of doing the lucas power steering additive, I'll give that a shot.

I doubt it's something other than crappy quality chinese made clutches that keep failing. The original worked fine, just made a lot of noise. These just suck. It's always engaged extremely hard, and now it's given up the ghost.

I've got an appointment at autozone to speak with the manager monday. I'm not at all happy with them. Three wheel bearings, a weak battery, and two bad AC clutches, and a bad can of R134a refrigerant yesterday too. I can't remember the last time I bought something of quality there.

albertj wrote:

sburch23 wrote:

245,000+

Haven't broken into the quarter million bracket but getting closer. I do not travel 1000 miles a week but am working in Central New York. I am afraid the salt will wear the car out faster than the miles.

Recently had to have the passenger heated seat switch replaced and the windshield washer fluid tube reconnected to the pump.

I agree with you about central NY road salt. It is almost as if they put something in it intentionally to accelerate corrosion. i really wish they'd switch back to grit or grit/salt. I'm Not Happy At All.

This year I attack the underbody rust with POR-15.

Albertj

If they would just spend the money on the chemical they use to treat bridges to prevent freezing and use it to treat the roads, imagine how much money they would save in salt. Of course it's the government and they're too stupid.

Kyle, I share your negative view of Autozone. They are rarely helpful and everybody in mine is constantly in a pissed-off mood and uninterested in helping. The only guy that always had a smile on his face and was very knowledgeable about many probablems quit because he couldn't find anybody pleasant to work for him.

I also share your problem in which many things seem to go "bad" at the same time. It can be overwhelming, but such is life. You may find that if/when you solve all of the problems you are having now, there will be a long period in which you are problem free for the most part. Sometimes, it just takes a while to get to that point!

My 2 cents...

Go to a "real" air conditioning shop and replace the pulley or even the pump if they say so. I've been lucky so far, but an OLD friend with an A/C shop says that the clutch/idler bearings are the weak point in these variable-displacement compressors - Gee, I miss Frigidaire...
Personally, I keep fighting myself as to turning off the pump to save gas, and leaving it running to save the idlers...

As far as the pan, first make sure that your pan hasn't been too bent by the stupid necessity of jacking up the engine just to change the belts. For a while, because of the dents in the bottom, I seriously thought I had a plastic oil pan that they used on another 3800... Then, buy the gasket and the "half-caulking-gun-cartridge" of sealant from your local GM dealer... I did this over a year ago, and have had nary a drop of oil on the cardboard on my garage floor since.

Kyle, I think your real savings comes from doing as much of the work yourself as you can, time permitting, with OE or better parts.

I mentioned in anohter thread getting wheel bearings from Carol Stream on eBay. Great vendor but parts not so good. Toasted 'em. Earlier I'd had a set of the Duralast brake rotors. Won't do that again, at least not on the Riv. Also, I ran thru 2 sets of 'economy' rotors in 2 years, before concluding that the cheapest way to put breaks on this beast was (1) use OE or better parts - meaning Bendix, Raybestos, ATE (all of these are OEMs for GM) and (2) do the work myself to avoid problems with shortcuts that the mechanics understandably like to take in doing brake jobs.

So I *will* shop around to get the bset deal I can on OE or better parts but I'm done with the rest of the aftermarket.

I don't blame you for not being the nicest person around right now, and I understand why. In my case, I concluded it was self-inflicted and I think that may also obtain in your case. I sincerely hope your finances improve and, well, just take this as confirmation that you need to use OE or better parts.

By the way, ACDelco AC clutches are only $54.- each on RockAuto.com, and usually one list member or another puts a current discount code up on this site (use search to find "rock auto discount" to get the thread).

Albertj

Kyle,
Check your PM's

Kyle, is your sig's mileage of 76,543 still current?

albertj wrote:

As mentioned before, get Optima sealed battery or a vented replacement - here are helpful details

- 'exact replacement' batteries are available at GM dealers, bigger WalMarts, most AutoZones, and from people who sell Enterprise batteries.
- be sure to get the Group 79 replacement - you *need* the high-rated battery because the Riv uses a lot of battery power when it is *off*. And you need the vent gizmo on the battery that puts the fumes through the grommet on the floor - if you do not, the acid fumes will destroy the floor *very* quickly. If for some reason you need a new vent tubing set they are still available thru GM dealers and they are not that pricey. Part number is molded into the old one. If the new battery is smaller than the old don't wig out, just get the matching vent tubing.



Albertj

Thanks for your help. It's really much appreciated. You bet I'm gonna print this page out and take it with me when I go get the new battery... haha.

florence_x wrote:

albertj wrote:

As mentioned before, get Optima sealed battery or a vented replacement - here are helpful details

- 'exact replacement' batteries are available at GM dealers, bigger WalMarts, most AutoZones, and from people who sell Enterprise batteries.
- be sure to get the Group 79 replacement - you *need* the high-rated battery because the Riv uses a lot of battery power when it is *off*. And you need the vent gizmo on the battery that puts the fumes through the grommet on the floor - if you do not, the acid fumes will destroy the floor *very* quickly. If for some reason you need a new vent tubing set they are still available thru GM dealers and they are not that pricey. Part number is molded into the old one. If the new battery is smaller than the old don't wig out, just get the matching vent tubing.



Albertj

Thanks for your help. It's really much appreciated. You bet I'm gonna print this page out and take it with me when I go get the new battery... haha.

If you have a reasonable GM dealer near you they may be the best place to get the battery - they can take care of the vent tubing and what not at the same time. Anything under about $140 for the 880 CCA version is an OK price I think.

If you get an Optima battery you will have to rig a special mount to make it fit right - Jack The R I think did a write up on that it is elsewhere on this site. He made a mount out of a plastic cutting board cemented to the bottom of the battery.

For my money I'd flip open the rear seat and measure the old battery, and make sure the vent tubing was OK (in all likelihood it is fine) and then get a Group 79 battery that fits exactly - and so be done with it. I would not bother with an Optima. I do not want to get into a shouting contest, however, with Optima battery fans and I think it is fair to say that they can be made to work and some folks are happy with 'em.

The "Group 79" battery is kinda the top of the car battery heap. I am not certain that a more powerful battery is made for a passenger car.

Albertj

I finally replaced the original battery this year with an Interstate. Later when I was having some work done to the stereo, the shop commented that it was a much better choice than an Optima. I was surprised as I had never heard anything bad about them. They said that they solved a lot of stereo problems by replacing Optimas.

Hey guys, I thought I'd stop in and give an update on my car.

1. The transmission went at 75k. Why, is a complete mystery to me. I didn't drive the Riviera rough, like I did with my Regal, so... yeah. Had a full rebuild done, and shift kit installed. $1600 later, it was back.

2. Radiator finally sprung a major leak, and spilled coolant everywhere. Got a newer (and better) radiator installed. My father offered to drop my car off to get the work done - when he did, he suggested to my mechanic that the thermostat get replaced as well. My nice Stant Superstat 180* was thrown out, and a stock 195* was installed. I noticed the increase in operating temperatures the day I got the car back, and had to get a new Stant. *sigh* It's back with a fresh 180*.

3. Got sick of my floating car, so I got the KYB GR-2's for the front. Holy CRAP, what a difference! THIS is how this car should ride. It's still extremely comfortable, but now bumps don't make me seasick. Really pleased with these. Also, I had new Monroe air shocks installed a while ago as well. Car is riding great, and rear suspension air compressor still works.

4. I finally had my stainless ceramic coated ZZP Powerlog, ceramic crossover, and rear ported manifold (by Hulkspeed) installed. I think I purchased them from Dave about two years ago, and they've been in a box ever since. I decided to start living. New metal OEM gaskets, too. The car feels like it can actually breathe - nothing's holding it back. I'm assuming a drop in KR, and yet another increase in top end. So far, I love them. I wish I would have had it done sooner, but time is something I don't have much of lately.

5. LIM gasket upgraded to the aluminum. I figured I'm not getting rid of this car anytime soon, so might as well get this taken care of. Morad's shop did the work for me, and did an excellent job - I'm thankful they're willing to take in extra work now and again, even though they aren't technically a shop. They also did the manifolds at the same time.

6. I'm almost at 85k. Things are starting to go bad, left and right. My left mirror had the tinting fluid explode, so I'm going to have to order those stick-on mirrors as discussed on here. Both my seat adjustment plastic frames have broken off, and look terrible. Still haven't really sat down and figured out a solution for that yet. The edges of my doors are showing very early signs of rust. Not sure what to do about this, but whatever I do, I imagine it'll be a small fortune. Other than that, car is tip-top.

So, there is (basically) everything that is going on with my beloved Riviera. I'm seeing less and less Rivieras on the road in 2010, and certainly less Rivieras that look like they're in decent shape - most are looking like junkers, unfortunately. Such is the fate of an old car. I plan to take her to over 150k, easy. My Riv is only middle aged!

When I get a chance, I'm going to take a few pictures of the new exhaust pieces.

Good to hear from you, Ben! I merged your post here - not extremely high miles, but the car is getting up there in age. It's nice to see you're keeping up on everything.

On the door edges, this can happen when the doors have been opened and scrape the ground, or make contact with a curb, or the paint can just crack and start to peel. You can try sanding off the rust and using touch-up paint to keep it from getting worse. A shop can fix this without painting the entire door. They paint just the lower half for $200-300. Good luck!

I'm dropping money left and right on this car...

I have some other paint flaws and dings I was thinking about having taken care of as well.

Do you think it's rusty underneath that plastic bottom portion of the rocker panels?

How much money? More than $200-350 EVERY month you'd spend on a new/used car? Probably not.

I just bought left & right control arms for $80 ea. The old ones bushings and driver ball joint were in fine shape for 206k miles, but the passenger ball joint was shot. I should be good hopefully for another 150-200k. It's really not much money spent for what you get.

Buapo wrote:

I'm dropping money left and right on this car...

I have some other paint flaws and dings I was thinking about having taken care of as well.

Do you think it's rusty underneath that plastic bottom portion of the rocker panels?

When I bring my car to the body shop, usually about every 18 months on average to have the dings and the little rust spots that pop up taken care of, I have them drop the molding all around the car and inspect for rust and take care of anything that needs it. So far they haven't found any rust under the moldings but I will still continue to have it inspected.
I have had the bottom edges of the door show the beginnings of rust from the paint getting scraped and have had it taken care of during these visits.
I am or should I say the car is due for another visit for misc small things and a couple of persistent spots that show signs of surface rust. One is the passenger door bottom edge and the edge of the drivers fender.
I usually spend about $600.00 to $700.00 every time I bring it in.
This shop isn't the cheapest, heck he may even be the most expensive, I don't know, but the work he does is perfect and the color matching is impeccable and I am always happy with the finished product.
I feel this is part of keeping an older car alive and well, especially here in the Northeast where they use way too much salt on the roads in the winter.
It still beats a car payment and I haven't even added in the cost of regular and preventive maintenance yet.
The key is to not let the list get too long before having things taken care of and it doesn't hurt so bad financially.

I, in no way feel that I am dropping too much money into my car. It is like any car that you plan on keeping, it requires some maintenance and that isn't a burden if you plan for it and put money away for it. I put away $100.00 per month for the car. If it needs it OK, if it doesn't I'm ahead of the game at the end of the year and I have no monthly obligation to do that or make a payment and I have one nice car to drive around in.

Quote :

The key is to not let the list get too long before having things taken care of and it doesn't hurt so bad financially.

Agreed! Catching the little things early can prevent big troubles on down the road (literally).

Hey, it's good to see Buapo back on the board!
He gave me a lot of help when I first joined all those years ago... (1.2 to be precise!)

Rick made a great post, Ben - I think if you live in snow country you should ask the body boys if they know how to remove those rocker panels without breaking anything. From Rick's post, it sounds like he doesn't need to buy a bag of new clips every time. I've never really looked at it myself, and just now when I tried to look it up in my Techline eFSM, the damn thing wasn't programmed right - it takes me to wheel house moldings instead of rocker trim...

The body shop I use has access to all the GM fasteners or he at least keeps them in stock, so a plastic fastener doesn't stop him from delivering a car on time.
I have yet to try to remove one of those panels without breaking the fasteners, so i assume they have the same issue. They just don't bother me with it and they just take care of it.
But again, this is not a one man shop and they do charge for their services. Which I do not mind paying for.

I'm glad to be back!

And, everyone makes a good point - I don't have a car payment, and I don't nearly spend $250-300 per month. Actually, the only thing I usually spend money on is for oil (Mobil 1 high mileage, fully synth) and filters. I have an unlimited alignment, balance, and rotation, which I have done 2-3 times a year (Firestone must hate me for purchasing this service).

I would like to get the remainder of the bodywork done. I have a guy who does a fantastic job, but he works alone, and I'm not sure if he's still doing it.

I still love owning and driving this car!

Also, one of Morad's employees clued me into an oversized oil filter normally for the 4.3 engine, that will fit our cars just fine. I plan on getting this filter from now on.

Hi Ben,

My Firestone guy is very good (30 years here in town...) When I went in for my free rotation at 5,000 miles and he saw that it had been over a year since I bought the tires, he told me to come back more often!

As for the filter, yes, you can go larger and better... Check out my post halfway down this page: https://rivperformance.editboard.com/care-maintenance-f8/pf-52-oil-filter-t2530-15.htm?highlight=oil+filter

The rocker moldings are screwed in from the bottom. They come off pretty easy, I think it takes a small Torx bit (had to replace mine once because I lifted the car with jack in the wrong place).