Finally got my Riv!!!!! 1995 supercharged

The day the 1995 Riviera went on sale I visited the local Buick dealer, and drooled at the first one I saw. I thought it was the most georgeous car to come out of Detroit that I had seen in years. I first thought I was looking at a concept car, but then found it was a real honest to goodness showroom model of the production car. From that moment I knew I had to own one. Not having nearly $30,000 on hand quickly brought that thinking to an end. So last October when I saw the listing for a 1995 Riviera on Craigslist for $1500, I knew I had to at least go look at it. As it turned out, it looked just awful, but beneath the dirt and a couple easily fixed dents, and some bad clearcoat. There was that beautiful Riv of my dreams. The saving grace was an interior in just about perfect condition.

So after a couple visits to look again and some negotiation I was the owner of a Riviera for $700!

I was aware of the need for at least rear calipers, tires, and some other small things, but the receipt showing the newly rebuilt transmission, and the owners word that the engine had only 40,000 miles since it was rebuilt were strong motivators to take the car.

So once I had it in my possesion, it had to pass a state inspection before I could get it licensed. There were a number of things that were required starting with the brakes which I had totally redone. New calipers, pads, rotors, etc. (The whole nine yards) Then the rear air shocks went on, followed by tie rod ends, a few bushings, hoses, serpentine belts and a new motor mount. So after about $1800 in parts and labor the Riv was licensed and on the road!

Oh the excitement! I was actually driving my very own Riviera. Then the day I decided it was time to actually drive her on an expressway came. Oh the short lived joy! (Never should have believed the engine story without a receipt to prove it!)

As I drove it down the entry ramp onto the expressway as old St. Nick experienced...".There arose such a clatter". The valves were serenading me as we reached sixty five. I quickly returned home, and pulled up next to my house. I checked the oil and found it full. HMMM? What could be the matter? I then turned the car back on and listened as the valve noises continued getting quiter as the revs increased, then came that awful CLANK! The car was dead!

Was I disappointed? For sure. But I had a Riviera! After some diagnoses it was determined she had at least "thrown a rod". The search was on for a remanufactured engine and after a lot of time on the internet and a load of telephone calls found a source that would sell me an engine with a four year, forty thousand mile warranty and would deliver it to the door of the garage installing it.

Today I went to visit the patient, and she has made a complete recovery! Tomorrow I will once again drive her at sixty five miles per hour!

So my $700 Riviera has actually cost me around $3500. I know I could have bought a perfectly good running 1995 for that to start with, but not with zero miles on the engine and most of all the other mechanicals. After all, I am a Riviera owner now!

As the Riviera and I continue our love affair, I'll keep all of you Riviera lovers informed. Little does she know the wonderful plans I have for her upcoming cosmetic facelift and cross country journey.



.

well its kinda 90% cases so when buying a used cheap car!
it will cost more later on swaping out parts
but i'm sure you will like the feeling when you get something fixed and know that the problem is cone and it only getting better.

Nice to hear you still love it.
and wellcome to the forum

Welcome and congrats!!!

Oh I don't like this story....I myself just got a 700$ 1995 riv with a reman motor.....

Although mine cruises quite nicely on the freeway and just makes a lot of noise in the turns due to bad bushings.

Welcome Harvey. You are definitely in better shape now then someone else pickin' up a Riv for $3500 without any assurances about the drive train. Give it a little body work and paint, and after five grand you will have a like new Riv, pretty good I'd say. Most of all, your enjoyment will derive from your enthusiasm to own one! Congrats.

Good for you man! The 95 Riviera is super cool! Can't wait to see pics! maybe some before and after stuff?

Not bad, I paid $4,000 for my Riv back in '07, so $3,500 for one now along with the self-assurance that the motor, tranny, brakes, etc., are fresh and safe sounds like a good find. All that's left is paint from what it sounds, which may or may not bring you above $5,000 total, but considering I must have dumped $1,000 within the first year, still makes yours even!

Let's say you have $5 to $6K invested when it's all said and done...It will be a bargain. I would much, much rather have that Riv than a NEW car along with a $400 mo. payment and increased insurance cost. But that's just me...

The Riviera is once again parked at my house having had a nice shiney new remanufactured long block installed. ($825 labor and a few materials including a used starter and another coolant temperature sensor) It sounds pretty darn good. I actually can't hear the engine running while idling while sitting in the car!

I've driven it a short distance to buy gasoline, and the mechanic who did the work has driven the car more than I have since I bought it. The only issue is some sort of vibration when at idle that goes away as the car reaches highway speed. That has been diagnosed as a possible transmission problem that may have been damage resulting ffrom the previous engine throwing two rods. (The oil pan was full of chunks of rods when it was dropped) Possible villians the torque converter or shaft. Only speculation right now, as it could be something else completely unrelated to the transmission or engine.

The first project was to reprogram a new keyless entry keyfob, but I have not been able to locate the diagnostic plug! I know where it is supposed to be, (Under the dash left of the steering column) but I can't see it! So that will come later.

I had seen on YouTube someone repairing delaminating clearcoat, using Rustoleum clear spray coating, so I gave it a shot. (Nothing to lose since the paint was crap anyway!) Guess what. It works!! Just be very careful sanding with the finest grit sandpaper, and not breaking the color coat before spraying. The color coat will be a couple shades lighter then the rest of the car, but as soon as you apply the clear coat it will match just about perfectly. I then used clear coat compund and buffed it to a nice shine. Hey it's not show quality, but a lot better than two different colors separated by clear coat that had turned white.

Just for fun I added a 1/4 inch maroon color pinstripe along the top edge of the plastic fairing that runs around the bottom of the entire car, just where it meets the car body color. It's very subtle, but looks pretty nice. (Much like Foose does when he two tones a car) My car is WA9795 Green Gray. Sure looks blue to me but GM says it is green. Anyone know if anyone makes touch-up paint in spray cans for that color? Duplicolor doesn't

I also played with some window tint on the red taillight lens and the chrome surround. It really makes a difference. The rear view of the car has always been my least favorite, so having the bright red and chrome become almost the color of the car tones it all down to a pretty good look. I used the sheet material used on windows rather than spray, since it can be easily removed if the law says it's not legal.

So that's where the story of my 1995 Riviera stands for now. More to come. Thanks for your comments.

designer1962 wrote:

The Riviera is once again parked at my house having had a nice shiney new remanufactured long block installed. ($825 labor and a few materials including a used starter and another coolant temperature sensor) It sounds pretty darn good. I actually can't hear the engine running while idling while sitting in the car!

I've driven it a short distance to buy gasoline, and the mechanic who did the work has driven the car more than I have since I bought it. The only issue is some sort of vibration when at idle that goes away as the car reaches highway speed. That has been diagnosed as a possible transmission problem that may have been damage resulting ffrom the previous engine throwing two rods. (The oil pan was full of chunks of rods when it was dropped) Possible villians the torque converter or shaft. Only speculation right now, as it could be something else completely unrelated to the transmission or engine.

The first project was to reprogram a new keyless entry keyfob, but I have not been able to locate the diagnostic plug! I know where it is supposed to be, (Under the dash left of the steering column) but I can't see it! So that will come later.

I had seen on YouTube someone repairing delaminating clearcoat, using Rustoleum clear spray coating, so I gave it a shot. (Nothing to lose since the paint was crap anyway!) Guess what. It works!! Just be very careful sanding with the finest grit sandpaper, and not breaking the color coat before spraying. The color coat will be a couple shades lighter then the rest of the car, but as soon as you apply the clear coat it will match just about perfectly. I then used clear coat compund and buffed it to a nice shine. Hey it's not show quality, but a lot better than two different colors separated by clear coat that had turned white.

Just for fun I added a 1/4 inch maroon color pinstripe along the top edge of the plastic fairing that runs around the bottom of the entire car, just where it meets the car body color. It's very subtle, but looks pretty nice. (Much like Foose does when he two tones a car) My car is WA9795 Green Gray. Sure looks blue to me but GM says it is green. Anyone know if anyone makes touch-up paint in spray cans for that color? Duplicolor doesn't

I also played with some window tint on the red taillight lens and the chrome surround. It really makes a difference. The rear view of the car has always been my least favorite, so having the bright red and chrome become almost the color of the car tones it all down to a pretty good look. I used the sheet material used on windows rather than spray, since it can be easily removed if the law says it's not legal.

So that's where the story of my 1995 Riviera stands for now. More to come. Thanks for your comments.

the vibration at idle is probably actually motor/transaxle mounts. Either your mounts are wacked or they are aftermarket, the Anchor aftermarket mounts are a bit stiffer than stock and so transmit some vibration to the cabin at idle. The 3800 v6 is a notoriously buzzy (and remarkably durable) engine. My money (so to speak) says your mounts are collapsed. They are not that robust anyway except for the engine mount at the passenger side front box member, which almost never wears out unless the other mounts are too far gone for too long then it shears out.

If you remove the drivers side kick panel you will almost certainly find the diagnostic plug either tangled into the wires or laying on the panel. It's not actually fastened into place (when you remove kick panel it will be obvious where it is supposed to be) and most mechs that I know like to pull it out to use it and stuff it away (so it hopefully does not rattle) when done.

Albertj

Albert,

Thanks for the response. When I first got the car back in Novbember I did replace a rear motor mount with an aftermarket one from Advance Auto. I never really got to drive the car (25 miles) before the original ( I think) engine blew, so I wasn't aware of the vibration. The mechanic who installed the new engine brought it to my attention. It's not too severe, but it does definitely exist. I haven't driven over 35 MPH yet, so I don't know what it is doing at highway speed. Your guess sounds viable, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that you might be right. I'd sure hate to have to drop the transaxle.

I'll have a look later for the diagnostic port. Maybe the guy who removed my steering column for rebuilding stuffed it behind the kck panel. I think the car was designed to be worked on under the dash by contortionists, or anyone under four feet tall!

Harvey

I agree w/ albert. My dad's an ASE master tech and his diagnosis on the idle vibrations came down to bad mounts. If you pop the hood and look at the engine when someone revs it a bit, notice how much it vibrates. It will always move/virbate a little bit but mine looked quite violent despite not hitting more than 2.5k revs. It does go away at higher revs/ higher speeds due to the multitude of other forces acting as balancers on the whole system of forces.

My old monte carlo had a similar problem and once I replaced the motor mounts the vibrations went away and it handled a bit better too (less energy lost to mounts and vibration).

designer1962 wrote:

Albert,

Thanks for the response. When I first got the car back in Novbember I did replace a rear motor mount with an aftermarket one from Advance Auto. I never really got to drive the car (25 miles) before the original ( I think) engine blew, so I wasn't aware of the vibration. The mechanic who installed the new engine brought it to my attention. It's not too severe, but it does definitely exist. I haven't driven over 35 MPH yet, so I don't know what it is doing at highway speed. Your guess sounds viable, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that you might be right. I'd sure hate to have to drop the transaxle.

I'll have a look later for the diagnostic port. Maybe the guy who removed my steering column for rebuilding stuffed it behind the kck panel. I think the car was designed to be worked on under the dash by contortionists, or anyone under four feet tall!

Harvey

Your front mount is probably also bad but it's harder to see thus harder to check. The replacements are stiffer thus leading to the idle vibration. I replaced my mounts with aftermarkets earlier this year, I find the vibration at idle slightly annoying. However the factory mounts are **pricey** and are actually weaker than the aftermarkets. Basically they let the engine vibrate they just don't transmit the vibes to the subframe... If I had my druthers I'd come up with liquid filled replacements for both the transmission mounts and be done with the problem.

As for getting under the dash, try parking where you can sit on the ground just outside the drivers' door and reach up in to get the kick panel off. If the mech who rebuilt the column got a hold of the diag port he probably put it **way** up in that nest of wires behind the instrument panel... Bring a bright flashlight, you'll find it. It's a little black rascal in the obvious OBD-II trapezoid shape. The '95 has an OBD-II plug that is wired for OBD-1 and you need a scanner (I think the old Actrons are one but don't take my word for it they are listed elsewhere on this site) that will plug into and read either OBD-I or -II.

And the saga continues!!!!!!!

I've had the Riv back for a couple weeks now, and have put about 40 miles on the new engine. (The guy who installed it for me has put 59 on it!!!! Very frustrating.

I've driven it on short trips around the neighborhood under 40 miles an hour. Still don't know what it will do performancewise. Just after I got the car back I noticed fluid under the front end and based on the location I assumed it was just condensation from the air conditioner. Upon closer inspection I found it was nice clean brand new oil!! DAMN!

I got the car up on a lift and discovered lots of oil coming from the front engine cover. I was hoping it was going to be the oil pressure switch, but that would be too easy. So "The Beast" sits again until I get it back to the engine installer who didn't do such a good job afterall. (Shouldn't he have noticed an oil leak when he had it?) It looks like it might be a seal of some sort, which means removing the front cover and locating the problem no doubt. KACHING! $$$$

Anyway I haven't lost faith and still like owning a Riviera. Another discovery is the drivers seat adjustments. It goes forward and backward, tilts front and back but doesn't want to go up and down when lifting or depressing the entire controller. I am guessing it's the actuator switch and not the motors since everything works but one function. Anyone else dealt with this issue? Also noticed that the volume controls on the steering wheel work sometimes and sometimes don't. Think the control needs a good cleaning? All the other buttons seem to be doing their job. Is it a hard job to get to the volume switch?

I've tried playing with little custom touches and placed a 1/4" maroon pinstripe along where the gray plastic trim on the bottom, and the paint color meet. It looks pretty good. It's nice and subltle but it works. GM says The car color is green/gray, but it sure looks like a deep teal to me! The plastic around the bottom of the car is a medium gray color.

I also played with using window tint film on the taillights and the chrome around them. The rear view of the car has never been my favorite, and the film turns the red and the chrome dark enough that it fools the eye into thinking it matches the body paint color. To me that is a huge improvement over the red and chrome.

Well that's todays rambling about "The Beast". I'll update as life with my Riviera continues.

Although not trivial the front seal is not too tough to replace. My guess is that's where it's leaking from all else being straight.

You need to consider replacing *all* the motor and transmission mounts. They are available aftermarket and dealer, just use the search function on this site for PNs for GM as well as for Anchor mounts.

Remember the Anchor mounts are not as compliant as the OEs.

Albertj

FRUSTRATION GOES ON!!!!!! Haven't been here in a few weeks, so here's an update on "The Beast" (What my 95 Riv is now named)

After about 100 miles on a freshly rebuilt engine, there was the major oil leak coming from the front crankshaft seal. I had the seal replaced along with a new harmonic balancer and a new oil pressure switch. Everything seemed to be wonderful. I have driven the car another 94 miles still under 50 mph, and noticed the oil light starting to flicker and eventually stay lit when the car engine was turning under 1000 rpm. Today much to my dismay I am seeing oil leaking from the front of the engine again! I haven't had it up on a lift yet, but it appears to be the front seal again.

Has anyone had this situation with their car? (Series 1 3800 SC)

From the moment the new engine was started it has had a vibration of some sort. Guesses so far have been the motor mounts, balance shaft, harmonic balancer.

I am starting to think perhaps the torque converter or transmission is causing a vibration in the crankshaft that is causing the front oil seal to back out and start leaking. Does this sound logical? I am not any sort of mechanic, so it is strictly a guess on my part. The transmission was rebuilt about a year ago (before I owned the car) and has about 20,000 mles on it. When the original engine went, two rods blew apart. Could that have done significant damage to the transmission?

Of course the engine rebuilder could have screwed up and not done a proper rebuild. Anyone have any thoughts?

Other than this issue, I still love the car and will continue bringing her back to as close to new as I can.

Hey Harvey, I am no mechanic either but my feelings are that the shop may be the source of the problem. Not necessarly the workmanship, could be the parts they installed or the lack of experience with these motors. Having said that, I know that these motors can leak from the rear seal or from the valve covers but with all the vibration your taking about, someone missed something somewhere. Good to see your not giving up on her though.

Harvey, I aM also no mechanic. But if you only noticed the vibration after engine was installed (was the engine pulled out to rebuild?) I would suggest something was either damaged or not correctly adjusted. In the last two months, my 1998 had a very minor vibration, only felt in the steering wheel at idel and in Park. The Buick dealer replaced a transmission/ engine brace that had a crack, near the steering box, replaced steering box as a small leak was noticed, then replaced one worn engine mount and one worn transmission mount. On mine, very slight vibration issue solved after more than 2 weeks in the shop and $3,000 - LOL! I can laugh because I was about the only one who felt the vibration, but after my instruction to put one finger on the steering wheel, close your eyes, 3 different managers agreed with me. $3,000 well spent for minor stuff I will not worry about in the future. Some might say too expensive, I say my Riviera drives like new and my Buick dealership credited about $1,500 in labor for trouble shooting or my bill would have been about $4,500.

Not been here for a while. I've had my Riv since October of 2010 and have driven it all of 200 miles! The reason? The engine failed after 200 miles, and is now back at the builders for replacement or repair under the warranty. The annoying part is that it's going to cost me another $850 in labor to pull and reinstall the engine. The engine came to me with a 4 year 40,000 mile warranty which is being honored but I had to fork out labor cost, even though the engine obviously was not constructed properly. After developing a major oil leak in the front seal at around 100 miles, I replaced the seal and put in a new harmonic balancer. After another 100 miles the seal started leaking again and there were traces of metal filings in the oil indicating more serious issues than just a leak. As I was pulling into the garage to put the car on a lift the lovely sound of what I believe was a spun rear bearing occured.

Well, the engine is now back at the builders facility and I am waiting to hear from them, In the meantime the Riv sits.

I must say that the short time I had with it, I was impressed by the car. It drives very nicely, and quietly. The car definitely performs. Hopefully it will be on the road in the next couple weeks.

designer1962 wrote:

Not been here for a while. I've had my Riv since October of 2010 and have driven it all of 200 miles! The reason? The engine failed after 200 miles, and is now back at the builders for replacement or repair under the warranty. The annoying part is that it's going to cost me another $850 in labor to pull and reinstall the engine. The engine came to me with a 4 year 40,000 mile warranty which is being honored but I had to fork out labor cost, even though the engine obviously was not constructed properly. After developing a major oil leak in the front seal at around 100 miles, I replaced the seal and put in a new harmonic balancer. After another 100 miles the seal started leaking again and there were traces of metal filings in the oil indicating more serious issues than just a leak. As I was pulling into the garage to put the car on a lift the lovely sound of what I believe was a spun rear bearing occured.

Well, the engine is now back at the builders facility and I am waiting to hear from them, In the meantime the Riv sits.

I must say that the short time I had with it, I was impressed by the car. It drives very nicely, and quietly. The car definitely performs. Hopefully it will be on the road in the next couple weeks.

if everything else is good sometimes when installing the front seal you need to also install a "repair sleeve" - Timken supplies them -- have to measure at the time of seal replacement. Obviously a spun bearing is not just a worn shaft, just saying the two problems although unrelated may well coexist.

Hello everyone,

I just realized that a year has passed since I last posted here. Mainly because my Riv has been sitting without an engine for that long! Certainly not the way I intended it to be, but I've been at the mercy of others.

The failed engine (after 200 miles) was the fault of the rebuilder. He admitted the crankshaft was not the correct one for the engine which caused back and forth movement (hence the vibration) and the catastrophic failure. The engine had a 4 year 40,000 mile warranty which was honored but i had to pay for the labor to remove it. Once the engine was picked up and returned to the shop the fun really began.

I figured the turnaround time would be a couple weeks at most. Boy was I wrong! After about four months many emails, phone calls, complaints to the Better Business Bureau, The states Attorney General's Consumer Protection office, threats of a lawsuit, and a few other things, the engine was finally done and shipped back to me. The rebuider claimed it was a very difficult engine to properly build due to the scarcity of it. To me a Lamborghini or Ferrari has a "rare" engine, not a Buick! . How many thousand 3800 series ones were made?

Well then I was happy as can be knowing that in a couple weeks I'd be on the road! Again, was I wrong! The engine was dropped at the garage early in June, and for the past month they have given me excuse after excuse for not starting the job. Finally today the car was pulled into a bay and the work was actually started!

I've already had to get a new timing cover and oil pump, since the engine rebuilder didn't even touch the one on the blown engine that was severely scored by the shifting of the crankshaft. I can't wait to see what else is going to be needed.

The only thing done was a rebuild of the bottom end apparently. Looks like a new crank, bearings and rings. The oil pan was not even cleaned! There is still traces of metal in the oil residue! I asked if they had bench tested the engine and was told it was pressure tested, and compression tested. HMMM? Does anyone know how that can be done without an oil pan, and timing cover in place with oil in the engine? What I have has never had as much as a drop of oil in it. It is absolutely spotlessly clean.

So that's where I am with my 'baby" now. Basically where I was a year ago! I'll be posting from time to time now.

By the way the engine rebuilder's website if anyone is interested is:

http://www.marshallsmachine.com

Sorry to hear of all the trouble! Hopefully all goes well from here.

...have a look:

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Item/4142/rebuilding_the_38l_buick_engine.aspx

Albertj

Thanks Albertj.

I sure wish I had that document a year ago!

It will be very useful the next few days as I go over the new engine before it gets dropped in the car.

I wonder if the rebuilder has anything like that at his place. It took three tries before he got the correct pistons the first time around; and still managed to put in the wrong crank!!

Keeping my fingers crossed!

I would post that Marshall's Machine Shop on RipoffReport.com