Have the left rear wheel speed sensor open or shorted dealer codes 1234 123

I just purchased a '97, 77,000 miles dealer trade in that whole sale- for $2499, ebay classifieds!

I have the former owners name, small town dealership they pulled the codes for me, yesterday I stopped at a NAAPA brake shop and was so talked down to by the counter guy. (I'm 56 female) Big drag when it happens... which is often.... my mechanic moved so I have to work this out I really need the forms help!

I understand how things work I'm the person everyone calls to set up their cable, computers. If I had the tools believe me I would attempt some repairs! Here is the skinny..

I'm going to call the dealer ship and see when the car had brakes, or shocks replaced. front end feels (steering wise) really new, no play. I'm not sure about the air leveling it seems to come on will follow the threads here. Brakes will chirp, hear it turning into the drive way. Pulled into a parking lot (slow but still) hit a rut) now a pop sound when I turn want to get this checked out. If I need brakes how hard or difficult is it to replace or check connection or get new wheel bearings to get rid of the abs/traction light? Do brakes and wheel bearings at the same time (left rear). Any idea of what the pop sound is? How can I tell if I need shocks? Car feels "lumpy or hard going over bumps like thud, thump" nothing bad just remember my other Riv's where not like that then again they were new.

Sorry this is so long but have sold my other car and I would like to get this one straight before winter sets in have some funds just trying to make them stretch. Thank you in advance...BTW any way to talk to these counter guys so they don't dismiss me out right?

Car had rear brakes and rotors replaced 2007 she only put on 4,500 miles a year on this car. (Small town googled her -lived three miles away from dealer ship.) So when it had 45,000 miles on it. (Milage in '08 was 64,000)
Could not get more information out of the dealership.

So recomendations? That "pop" sound happens when I turn sharply like to pull into a tight parking space. Ball Joint?


Should l have the suspension and shocks looked at and by who? Brake place or shock place? Help please.

Hmmm....

You may find that using an old luxury car (not just the Riv, any of them really) as a Daily Driver turns out to be expensive at best and possibly problematic.

Since you ask here are some ideas for you.

instead of phoning the dealership, go in person. If it is a GM dealer and you go in person and ask, most likely they will be able to pull the service record for you such as they have them from the dealership/GM computer files. Just say that you want to try to pick up where the previous owner left off, and what can they find for you? Most likely they will give you printouts of all the information they can get. Use a marker to black out credit card numbers if they appear on the forms, you don't want the liability of having them.

Regarding the counter persons and how to talk to them, forget gaming them. You're you and there is nothing we can dip you in to color you as someone or something else. Be yourself, and hope for the best. That said - you can try making statements instead of asking questions to elicit better responses, which is highly likely to work. For instance try "I'm new to owning a Buick Riviera, I could use help finding mechanics around here that work on these older cars in case one or another is too busy." Then WAIT for an answer, smile and start counting to 100. You'll get a good answer - the more the person feels they can confide in you quietly smiling there, the more info they will share.

Regarding the brakes, cars with disc brakes - well, I'd think you'd know by now that the brakes can make noise when cold, when not used in a while, if the rotors glaze a little, or as a characteristic of the brake design. So before you chew up a mechanic's time take a look at them yourself. Also - you say you bought the car "wholesale" off the dealer? Find your own independent mechanic. They "wholesaled" the car due to age or mechanical condition (or both). They are not expecting to warrant it like a new car and the state will not make them do that if you complain. Try looking at it this way: Your purchase was under $3,000 in a land where car transactions run $25,000 to $45,000 -- The money of course was a big deal to you but in the scheme of the dealership it's like a credit card transaction for major service on a car. Brakes/rotors/calipers all around and replacing a leaky steering rack on some cars can run that much.

What to do? Take a look at the written warranties (if any) that came a long with the sale and stick to what is in writing. I suspect that your 'warranty' if any is the statutory minimum for the state you are in which is either nothing (since you bought wholesale) or 30 days 3000 miles (since you are a retail customer and in some states can not waive such a warranty). If you approach with "curiosity" you can simply ask the dealer's service manager what the issues are with the car so that you can save up and have them fixed. A longshot for you: if you bought the car from a large dealership, take a really hard look at the service shop. If it looks too clean and mostly has new or relatively new cars in the bays, then ask the service manager "where do you sublet problem cars or heavy mechanical work to?" - Because if the shop is real clean you can just about guarantee that except for new car warranty work they are NOT working on cars there. They are most likely "subletting" the heavy mechanical work and problem cars o another nearby shop. When you find out who they sublet work to, that in all likelihood is a shop you should consider taking your car to instead of the dealer.

I assume your ABS light was on when you bought the car, which lends to why they 'wholesaled' it to you - they would get more $$ for the car that way than at auction, really. Your problem now is $$$$. On the Riv the ABS light can easily be a $1,000 - plus problem unless you fix it yourself.

Thinking back on what other members have posted you likely have a bad sensor in a wheel or a bad ABS unit. You posted "dealer codes 1234 123" which means nothing to me, sounds like something that was said to make it easier for you to move on down the road... try having the codes read at a parts store (autozone, o'reilly's, pep boys, etc) or...you say you re the go to person for computer problems? Get your own scanner. I use "Car Code" - go to http://www.obd-2.com, buy the dongle for your car and computer (most likely the OBD-2 to USB version for GM), download the software, and read the codes yourself. You will likely find a service manual for your Riv on eBay or ask at your regional public library, chances are you can get to service info on-line thru EBSCO or another on-line reference library.

Why do all this? Because if the dealer replaces a wheel bearing for you the bill can be around $1,000/wheel. The high price covers the time mostly but also covers their butts because it's not a frequent job and other stuff tends to break when going in there. If you do it yourself (you can) it will cost you parts tools and time and even with top shelf parts the bill won't likely exceed $200/wheel, or if it's the ABS modulator (the ABS motor unit, if you don't change brake fluid often enough they rust up) then whatever you can negotiate for a good used one for (junkyard) - new they are $280 from RockAuto.Com, GM part 25642299. To work on the brakes you should get a mity-Vac and bleeder bottle, or consider making up a bleeder using the instructions posted elsewhere on this site. Done at a dealer that's another $1,000 job. To replace ABS motor you need a Tech II scan tool or another that will activate the "purge cycle" for the ABS motor to bleed out the air. IF you don't do it yourself the thing to do is find a mechanic that will work with you on keeping the parts costs down, maybe obtain the part yourself to drop ship to them. The odds that you can find a good used one for reasonable $$ are good, a number of CBOP (Caddy, Buic, Olds, Pontiac) cars used the thing from model year 1991-on.

As for the noises over bumps and popping in parking lot ruts - well, it's your car and I am not your boss or parent, but I will point out that you are driving a 15 year old car, it is not a tank just sized like one and if you keep challenging the suspension it will break in ways that you won't easily (if ever) fix because many of the parts aren't available anymore... for your own sake don't challenge the suspension with bumps and ruts unless you cannot stop/swerve/slow/avoid.

While you have some time on your hands find the threads on this site that have to do with maintaining high mileage Riv to get a picture of one-time and infrequent maintenance you will need to do, like the lower intake manifold and the radiator.

And finally, welcome aboard!

Abert, you good guy you! I owe you big time for the suggestion about talking to service at the dealership! Mike the service manager said she really took great care of the car, but her husband was sick so in the last few years she really did not drive the car much it sat and has some minor rusting over the rear shocks, (they are original.) The ABS light came on and they recommended she have some fabrication (he said don't let anyone scare you, this is minor) on the frame around the rear shocks and replace them as they are leaking fluid. That said if I get it repaired "you'll have a really good car as nothing else is wrong with it ...she felt she needed a different car for taking him back and forth to the doctor." It was her baby. He asked me how do you know so much about cars? (I explained the shock possible hang up) That felt really good. In the 70's I drove Corvette's my boyfriend was a mechanic and he taught me some stuff.

So go to a repair shop that does suspension (spring & tire?) Best bet for shocks?


This is what I can afford to drive right now. I call salvage yards all day for a living ( I work for a company that re-manufactory's hybrid batteries) luckily I have good local connections for parts. (New and used.) So now I know what is next? THANK YOU I LOVE THIS BOARD!

it's repairable just not conveniently. At a minimum = Have to remove the stuff around the hole (and the carpet inside), wirebrush it to get the loose reust and undercoating off, then treat with rust converter (NOT naval jelly, rather the stuff that paints on bluegray and turns black) then scrape again and then paint with POR-15. Then fit an aluminum patch and epoxy in place if you can't reach the area with a rivet gun.

When it is all dry, schmeer body seam sealer over it (neatly) & paint the whole shebang chassis black underneath and (if you want) the trunk interior color inside. Then re-undercoat the underside with the 3M rattle can undercoat (it's pretty good stuff).

Wha-la.

Albertj


Now where to call? Look under auto fabricators?

Lisa P wrote:

Abert, you good guy you! I owe you big time for the suggestion about talking to service at the dealership! Mike the service manager said she really took great care of the car, but her husband was sick so in the last few years she really did not drive the car much it sat and has some minor rusting over the rear shocks, (they are original.) The ABS light came on and they recommended she have some fabrication (he said don't let anyone scare you, this is minor) on the frame around the rear shocks and replace them as they are leaking fluid. That said if I get it repaired "you'll have a really good car as nothing else is wrong with it ...she felt she needed a different car for taking him back and forth to the doctor." It was her baby. He asked me how do you know so much about cars? (I explained the shock possible hang up) That felt really good. In the 70's I drove Corvette's my boyfriend was a mechanic and he taught me some stuff.

So go to a repair shop that does suspension (spring & tire?) Best bet for shocks?


This is what I can afford to drive right now. I call salvage yards all day for a living ( I work for a company that re-manufactory's hybrid batteries) luckily I have good local connections for parts. (New and used.) So now I know what is next? THANK YOU I LOVE THIS BOARD!

"fabrication on the frame" is kinda minor BUT also means you need to have the thing bead blasted, painted with POR-15 or other rest converting epoxy, so that the rust stops. Again, your issue is that many of the parts (front cradle for instance) are made of UnObtainium. Some Canadian list members have their frames oiled every spring (WaxOyl). Do the repairs sooner rather than later. Once these cars start rusting, they rust FAST.

Rear shocks you can do yourself with hand tools, less than $100 in parts (get KYBs from CarQuest or Monroe MA-822s from wherever, either is well under $100 the pair) and replacement nuts and bolts for the lower mounts (the ears of the chocks bolt onto the control arms). At this age just replace them. If there is no cracking in the upper shock mounts reuse them but if you bend the rubber and find cracking get a replacement set. .

You can forestall engine wear by switching to synthetic oil but don't cheap out use Mobil 1 or another good one that includes a seal conditioner. Other owners report that with regular oil changes their 3800 engines are easily running 200+ thousand miles .

You keep asking about taking the car to a brake place or a shock place. I think what you really need is a old-line mechanic. A brake place won't do a better job on brakes necessarily, and for the rear shocks paying anyone to do them is money for nothing if you have the tools. I am not saying it should be done this way, but frankly It can be done in 45 min or so in the driveway with hand tools, without jacking the car up, if you have a bad enough attitude and replacements for the lower fasteners on hand.... At $100 per hour for flat rate labor the job will come in at under $300 if you go to an independent mechanic and get KYB or Monroe shocks form NAPA or CarQuest. It will take longer with Gabriel shocks from AutoZone because the air tubing doesn't match up, if you have time order their Boge shocks (from AutoZone) they are a direct fit and a darn good shock.... yeah it might be high time for you to get the service manual (the mechanic will use it he just won't tell you, you'll have to find the fingerprints) and some tools...

I have to run.

Albertj