FAQ: High Mile Club - Wear/Repair Reports

1. 176k with about 25k driven by me.

2. I've have inner and outer tie rods go. The rear suspension links rusted out. Those were expensive, about $200 a piece. A/C compressor was repaced. And the ABS motor is shot, but it isn't worth it to me to have it replaced. A lot of the pulleys have gone and needed to be replaced also.

3. Engine is still solid. Trans was replaced before i got her.

4. Minor paint chips and bubbling on hood edge and on a few little spots on the trunk bottom edge. I drive her pretty hard at all times, so she has held up pretty well.

191k is impressive, especially from a 1st model year car with relatively minor repairs.

From the looks of it issues people have generally involve the cooling system (wp, gaskets, radiator, etc) or the pulley/belt system. Interesting.

As for me:

1. 64,000
   
2. Idler pulley, accy belt, trans fluid/filter
   
3. All original
   
4. I've put about 10k on it so far. Stupid power antenna currently inop.
   

racinfan wrote:

1. Mileage
   
2. "Major" repairs needed (outside of wear items)
   
3. Original engine/transmission?
   
4. Any other relevant information
   

I answered the survey with my ’92 since it has the most miles, even though it isn’t one of the last generation Rivieras it is a 3800 V6. I’ll do the post in order of mileage.

’92 Riviera Black/Burgundy / Retired
1. 215,600
2. None, I think I put a water pump on it a few years ago?
3. Yes/Yes
4. None
I bought this Riv at 90K miles and drove it for quite a few years, the last time it was driven it would still get 28 MPG and only use 1/2 qt of oil in 3,000 miles. I am keeping it now to use the sunroof in my ’65 Riviera.


’95 Riviera Smokey Amethyst Metallic/Graphite / Retired
1. 201,600
2. Put in a used trani at 195,000 miles/engine shakes? changed harmonic balancer, didn’t fix it.
3. Yes/NO
4. The history of this car is unknown, there is a vibration at all speeds from the engine.
This was my brothers’ car, I kind of traded him a ’94 Regal for it to use the Graphite interior in my ’65.
No Picture.

’99 Riviera Sterling Silver Metallic/Light Gray - Silver Arrow #152 of 200
1. 64,000
2. None
3. Yes/Yes
4. None


’95 Riviera Black/Platinum Beige
1. 54,000
2. None
3. Yes/Yes
4. None

Owned 6 weeks, 55k went I bought it, put 1000 since then. replaced power window motor.

HMMMMMM

134,004 miles DAMN U GUYS it just turned OVER the hill............. well water pump and all ignition stuff and few performance stuff

my silver riviera




1. 201k when I sold it
2. transmission faliure, AC compressor
3.yes/?
4.New owner replaced transmission still driving today.

I need to type up a essay for my current riviera.

[*]Mileage 174k - purchased at 34
[*]"Major" repairs needed (outside of wear items) - none
[*]Original engine/transmission? yes
[*]Any other relevant information -replaced bypass valve and pulleys.

1) Mileage > 216,000

2) "Major" repairs needed (outside of wear items)
See post for 0-100,000 GMPP repairs
https://rivperformance.editboard.com/N-A-3800-Tech-c6/Series-II-N-A-Engine-Transmission-f16/GM-Protection-Plan-GMPP-Story-t199.htm

3) Original engine/transmission? No/Yes

gaining on 181,000mi

havn't had the car for long but the numbers match, and the tranny hasitated when you put it in gear, but after that it screams like new!

1. 164,400 miles
2. Harmonic balancer
3. Yes/yes
4. Bo

racinfan wrote:

So who are the high mileage owners we have here? It would be nice to get an idea of the longevity that our cars are capable of and what kind of repairs were necessary throughout the lifetime of the vehicle.

So basically:

1. Mileage
   
2. "Major" repairs needed (outside of wear items)
   
3. Original engine/transmission?
   
4. Any other relevant information
   

I've seen a couple of cars around here near 200k but has anyone actually eclipsed that number yet?

108K
a/c - compressor, evaporator, condensor
water pump
s/c coupler*
brakes all serviced
rocker arms and springs*
tires*
pulleys and belts*
battery
tint redone (and needs it again)
oilpan/valve gaskets
radiator*
rear shocks
*upgraded (vs. stock replacement)

Im sure I forgot some

99Rivman wrote:

’95 Riviera Smokey Amethyst Metallic/Graphite / Retired
2.Put in a used trani at 195,000 miles/engine shakes? changed harmonic balancer, didn’t fix it.
4.The history of this car is unknown, there is a vibration at all speeds from the engine.

Did the vibration start AFTER the tranny replacement??
If so, I'd say the Tranny has something to do with it... like not installing the torque converter exactly where it came out of (clocking)..
OH, My car.... 117,000
Is a $130. battery or a $700. intake manifold major
How about a $500. + $250 towing bill to replace the
half-shaft on the left?? (Stranded on Pa turnpike)
Engine / trans are original
Bought it at 39,000 miles 9 years ago.. Paint is crazing slightly.

duffy wrote:

99Rivman wrote:

’95 Riviera Smokey Amethyst Metallic/Graphite / Retired
2.Put in a used trani at 195,000 miles/engine shakes? changed harmonic balancer, didn’t fix it.
4.The history of this car is unknown, there is a vibration at all speeds from the engine.

Did the vibration start AFTER the tranny replacement??
If so, I'd say the Tranny has something to do with it... like not installing the torque converter exactly where it came out of (clocking)..

No the vibration was there when he got it and we just never bothered to get it taken care of. He thought maybe the harmonic balancer and changed that but it wasn't the problem. It isn't being driven right now so it isn't an issue, if I do anything with it besides part it out I'll have to look into it.

I suggest we focus on hints, tips, tools, and comments on maintaining high-mileage Rivieras. I am thinking that 'high-mileage' definitely means 100,000+ miles, but probably 150,000 (the interval stated on the coolant-bottle sticker for changing the coolant).

I'll get things started (provided I don't get too sleepy) with some posts. Please contribute!

I recently had a number of problems crop up at about the same time (~160,000 miles) on my Riviera. I've solved them all, with some help, but it took a while.

One was the fuel pump. It started working intermittently - that is, it would quit from time to time while driving, almost as if the ignition switch was turned off. I thought it might be a switch problem or a failed crankshaft sensor. Could not diagnose it with my scanner (I use Car-Code by Alex Peper). It finally quit and would not restart at all - towed to dealer. The tech put it on his scanner (Tech II) and could not command the fuel pump to come on. (at first he thought it might be the ignition switch too).

Another was - after the fuel pump quit & was replaced - the car would still stall out adn not restart. This was improved by replacing the crank sensor. Mechanic could not find a problem, and at that time he tested the ignition switch & it was OK. I told him to replace the crank sensor anyway. That helped for a while. but then it started not restarting again. This time, though, the "SECURITY" light woudl come on. Sometimes it'd come on when I tried starting the car, and sould sta on. Sometimes, it'd come on while driving. That was a problem withthe VATS system. It can be bypassed with a simple resistor - for various reasons I decided to repair it.

I am kind of wondering what other systems will start having 'end of lice' problems. To that end I overhauledthe braking system. I'll put that in another post (or two).

We had that same problem with my moms old riv. The security light would come on and it wouldn't start for 3 minutes. We bypassed it as well.

Ya story of my life right now. I have codes for the cam sensor and the MAF sensor. I already replaced em both with basically no effect. Car usually still does the same crap. minor throttle hesitation and the engine doesn't know what to do when I stop. When I am slowing for a stop the rpms pop up for a second when im near stopped and when i'm really lucky it'll die then

Most noticeable thing with mine after 137k miles, is the rubber coating on the steering wheel is wearing off. I know i can get it fixed, but still I treated the wheel pretty well.

AA wrote:

Most noticeable thing with mine after 137k miles, is the rubber coating on the steering wheel is wearing off. I know i can get it fixed, but still I treated the wheel pretty well.

Mine started doing that and I'm only at 83k. I picked up the wheel cover to cover it up. Once it started it just kept getting worse..

yea my wheel was definitely doing that when I got the car at about 142k. I have a cover on it that looks nice but I would be willing to pay some money for a new or lightly used replacement wheel. pretty sure it'll be a cold day in hell when i find that tho

I always took care to drive touching only the rubber part, never the leather. Maybe I should've tried the other way around, or maybe driving gloves?

some vinyl cleaners can soften the rubber and make it more susceptible to peel off. i have had a wheel cover on mine for a while now, but as far as i can remember it is not damaged...i'm afraid to check now
by 150k there are a few things i think everyone should have replaced, just to make sure it doesnt fail at the wrong time.
i have done all of these in the time i have had the car, either b/c it broke, its a general maint item, or b/c i was fixing something else close to it very few of these were serious problems beyond normal wear and tear btw.

(these are in no particular order) ;
radiator, t-stat, upper and lower hose, water pump, all tensioner and idler pulleys, belts, pcv, pads & rotorsx4, fuel filter, plugs and wires, power steering pump, alternator, CKP sensor, MAF, tranny filter, all vac lines, s/c coupler and pulley bearings, lots of gaskets, and im sure there is more i'm missing.
so yea, i have almost a new engine beside the internals. i'm waiting for the a/c to have problems b/c thats the only system i havent touched yet i plan on replacing the rockers and fans sometime soon.

My cat converter died at about 90k, but I'm still on my original SC coupler!

AA wrote:

My cat converter died at about 90k, but I'm still on my original SC coupler!

What happend to the cat, clogged?

I had to change out my coupler. Changed that when we did the cam.

It split down the middle. I was told the casing is designed to split when the unit fails. I don't think it was clogged, but it rattled a bit, so could've been broken inside.