Fixing up 91 Olds 88

[chemicall]

I have a few questions, by fall I plan to retire the 1990 buick lesabre limited. A replacement for that car is going to be a grey 1991 oldsmobile delta 88, it has the digital driver info and all those goodies along with working AC.

It's a friends car but I havn't seen under the hood for a bit, I remember motor looked the exact same. but I am wondering if the new parts I put in my buick, like timing chain, gears, timing tensioner, sensors, water pump, rad, will these fit the Olds?

Another thing is a couple power windows aren't working on the new car. Where should I start searching, and will the motors from the power windows in the Buick fit the Olds?

How about front rotors, cv shafts, wheel bearings? all that stuff is fairly new on my car

Any other recommendations of parts I will be able to salvage from the buick let me know please. Sadly the passenger side front pillar when you open the door is rotting all the way down and getting very deep in there.

Thanks alot!

[Jrs3800]

I think a lot of the items will fit your car..

But with the 91 you will get the best of both worlds.. It will have the new brake system, new electrical system( maxifuse / relay center )... As well the engine gets a little tricky..

The 91 Vin C is the best of the 88-91 3800 in that it had all of the updates that the L27 had... One piece rear main, no cam thrust spring/washer it instead use a thrust plate... I believe that the cam gear is different in that it used the single bolt in the nose of the cam.. The 91 Vin C used the L27 Crank as well... For 91 the Vin C was really the same engine minus 1 bolt Boss and minus the PCV ports in the heads for the L27'd integrated PCV system..

I don't think there is going to be a lot you can use internally..

The window motors and some like items should work tho..

[chemicall]

Bye bye teeves! that will be a relief lol, I havn't really had any electrical problems on the buick but if the olds is better than it must be great, I know the driver info shows a good bit of info what's going on as i checked it out before about 6 months and I was smiling as I was promised the car then.

So with the new breaking system do you think my rotors and cv joints will fit? would be nice.

I'm getting the car for $150 canadian. Only rust is on 1 rear quarter, but still all there. I have a gallon of Nason full-cryl II in 95 gm indigo blue ready here for it

I know it needs rear shocks, I'm expecting brake work and 2 windows. I'll be getting it soon and take it by the shop see if it needs any front end work. I got the whole summer to fix this car up, should be fun!

[clm2112]

My suggestion is to gut the old car of every part that looks to be in good shape, including window glass. You are going to have numerous parts that will interchange between the two..and anything that doesn't can find a home on eBay to offset the cost of the "new" Olds. Nearly all the electrical parts (relays, solenoids, blower motors, etc, etc,) are common parts to GM's in that era.

[chemicall]

Right on clm2112 that's what I like to hear! good idea about offsetting the price with ebay parts. The car is going to be here any minute, she still has it on the road and has been driving it. I'll snap some pics in a bit and let ya's see it.

[chemicall]

Well I got it here, here's some pics. http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s94/ ... nced/olds/

Pretty decent shape I'd say for a 91. Runs good, sweet interior. But does the oil pressure look a bit high on the gauge? or maybe my buicks is a bit lower, This was idling.

Things I noticed the power lock's aren't working and drivers window does not work. I think sometimes I hear a click when i'm pressing the driver window button.

I'll get a picture of the motor later, a bit dusty but no abnormal sounds it seems smooth.

So where's a good place to start looking at the locks and window? thanks!

[Jrs3800]

Not bad at all.... Good find..

[chemicall]

Thanks, i'm liking it so far. Hopefully this weekend is nice, so I can get at it.

[clm2112]

So where's a good place to start looking at the locks and window? thanks!

Think switches first (contacts get corroded and arc when used over the years), followed by wiring harness in the doors, then the motors and solenoids themselves.

Take the switches and clean them with contact cleaner, including the harness connectors. Try them again to see if it works better. If no joy, then trace the wires to the lock solenoid, and apply 12VDC directly to the pin on the connector (bypassing the harness in the door) to check that the door lock solenoid works when fed juice directly from the battery. If still no dice, replace the lock solenoid with one off the old car.

The same "divide and conquer" approach works for the window lift motors. Assume the switch is bad first, start testing there, then break the circuit up into components and test them until you have isolated the problem.

[chemicall]

So where's a good place to start looking at the locks and window? thanks!

Think switches first (contacts get corroded and arc when used over the years), followed by wiring harness in the doors, then the motors and solenoids themselves.

Take the switches and clean them with contact cleaner, including the harness connectors. Try them again to see if it works better. If no joy, then trace the wires to the lock solenoid, and apply 12VDC directly to the pin on the connector (bypassing the harness in the door) to check that the door lock solenoid works when fed juice directly from the battery. If still no dice, replace the lock solenoid with one off the old car.

The same "divide and conquer" approach works for the window lift motors. Assume the switch is bad first, start testing there, then break the circuit up into components and test them until you have isolated the problem.

Perfect that's what I needed to know, thanks!

I posted a couple pictures of the motor and a video of it running - same link as the pics are in.

It for sure needs to be cleaned up and tuned up, after a wash down, new plugs,clean the sensors, fuel filter, pcv valve, possibly needs valve cover gaskets. (ill toss on my air box, delco pack, and bonneville napa beldins at the end of the summer from the buick)

Power steering pump has a leak, mine looks to be the same. The pump is pretty covered in steering fluid(but she always kept it topped off!), i'm not sure where it's leaking yet.

Transmission lines to the rad look really brittle. I'm thinking I should just goto a tranny cooler while im fixing it up this summer and avoid the rotted peeing everywhere trans lines like happened to me on the Buick.

[chemicall]

Hello everyone today, crappy day here.

Anyways today i'm wondering about doors, the drivers door on the olds has a nice rust spot, and well i scraped some rust and went right through.
This guy on ebay claims this door fits lesabre, olds 88, 98. 87-91. Here's the link; http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1987-199 ... enameZWD1V

Then this would mean my buick doors will fit the olds 88? they look the same comparing them.
If so I'll be switching my driver door over to the olds.

Any info appreciated. Thanks!

[chemicall]

Well talked with my brother some today and we are going to do the body work and shoot it in my old mans garage in a month or so, it should look really good :D here's a pic of the GM indigo blue w/metallics, but on a different car....
should look really nice on the olds with blue interior.



Also I changed the topic name - more appropriate I think.

[chemicall]

Well I pulled all the carpet from the trunk, as everything under the carpet was wet, letting it all dry out, trunk is in good shape.
It seems I have to do the same to the interior. Pulling up the front carpet a bit also revealed a good amount of moisture and a small hole in the right passenger corner, time to start working and welding sheet metal! lol

Only thing i'm gonna have to get the drivers power seat working before I can unbolt it, as I can't gain access to the bolt cover screws.

goin back to it in a half hour.

[chemicall]

Well I got the motor all degreased. Looks good now, I couldn't handle it the way it was. I took some pics, there is before and after at the link. I didn't do the windshield wiper/rad resevoir box, i'll take it right off later and clean it. Going to get the trunk sealed and painted tomorrow, and the wheel wells, if it's nice, i'll see. If it's nice i'll have some more pics. Oh and I noticed there is already a trans cooler installed in line after the one in the rad.

http://s150.photobucket.com/albums/s94/ ... nced/olds/

Thanks for lookin

[chemicall]

Well I got the trunk sealed, rust fixed, and painted the trunk. Also got the front inner wheel wells and frame done also. It's starting to look good. Pictures at the link in the post above

I'm wondering, how does the back part of the back seat come off? I know how to pop the bottom piece off....

[clm2112]

I'm wondering, how does the back part of the back seat come off? I know how to pop the bottom piece off....

Do you mean taking the rear bench seat back out of the car? If so, go ahead and remove the bottom part of the seats with the clips. With them out of the way, you'll find the lap belts attached to the belly pan of the car, remove the lap belts. They also hold the wire loops that hold the seat back in place. Now lift the seat straight up to release the top row of hooks and the seat back will come out in your hands. (Wiggling is in order here...the clips never seems to release all at once.) Tada! No back seat

[chemicall]

Thanks clm2112, yeah that's what I meant. I just want to get in there make sure no rust is developing, and if there is, fix it now. Really nice day here today, so I'm back at it.

Going to see if my friend want's to come down today and starting sanding the car down also, I'll leave that to him while I work on the interior

[chemicall]

Well I couldn't get ahold of my friend today, so no sanding started. I got all four outer wheel wells cleaned and coated, they look good, no pics yet, but i'll get some soon.

Also checked out the brakes and front suspension, I'm going to need rear shoes and front pads, the rear brake lines are looking rusty and i'll be replacing those. The suspension is all tight and nothing looks worn, nothing moves or shakes, it's all really tight, so that's good.

I got the windshield washer/rad overflow box and air box all cleaned today and put back in also, looks great now. I'll have to find out where the power steering is leaking, and the valve covers might be, not sure yet.

edit - Had dinner, took a couple pictures of the motor with windshield washer and air box back in, also took a couple pics of a couple wheel wells.

[chemicall]

Hello all today,

I'm wondering what year/model cars I can get front/rear strut braces to fit my car? Any info is appreciated! thanks!

[Jrs3800]

Strut Braces?