Fmr12B Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Hi all! Great site! Looking to get a Olds Cutlass Supreme 'vert as our 3rd car in the stable and did a bunch of searching on this site for info on how far the 3.4L motor and trans will go. Found a lot of good info but wanted to hear from owners on how there drivetrains are holding up. Looking specifically at a '95 as the interior is god-awful in prior years. Trouble spots? noticeable things to look for when buying? DIY Maintenance easy/hard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted April 6, 2004 Report Share Posted April 6, 2004 Floor it. If it doesn't squeal them off the line, it's normal. Around 3500 it should really get going, and put you in the seat. AT the 6500 shift, make sure it is crisp and hard. Also going 20-25mph, floor it, see how long the kick down wait is and if it is crisp. The car should almost squeal them on that kick down. If it has more than 150k on it, don't buy it. The 4t60e tranny isn't very reliable at high miles if it ahs been raced hard. High shift points, hard launches, and heat hurt it a lot. Other than that if it feels fast and has under 100k with no service ligh, you should be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topless94style Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 I have had mine spin tires lately as i got up into the rpms, havent chirped between gears yet. My tranny is starting to slip a bit too when i really get on it, right around 6000+rpms, and i only have 95K on it. I rarely beat on the car, the passed couple of weeks i have trying to figure out what is wrong with the tranny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihela816 Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 I don't think that the tranny likes to go above 6000 RPM's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyman87 Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 I don't think that the tranny likes to go above 6000 RPM's it may not like it but it will sure as hell do it. mine does it quite often Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey b Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 if it has higher miles it probably has been replaced. on the left side of the engine is a plastic cover. 2 8mm bolts. Take those off and look for rubber shavings($600). Ask when the alternator was replaced(600). Check for oil under the throttle body. Dist O-ring is a biatch. It can be ghetto-rigged cheaply and easily, but if you don't want to go that route then it's about 1000. Like they said, beat on that tranny and see how it takes it. It IS the weakest point. And BTW, mine will burn em off of the line. With very little engine modification. You'd best at least get a chirp. What are the miles on that anyway? Do you have any $ for mods after you get the car? What kind of car repairs can you do? Tierods and balljoints take quite a beating too, and if you can't fix those (although it's easy to do and learn) or don't want to learn that is a couple of hundred bucks too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fmr12B Posted April 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 I guess prpeared for some serious expendutres is things break, huh! Alternator $600. WOW! From what I've read there are few mods for this car. I plan on keeping it stock for the most part aside from possibly tinkering with the stereo by adding Mp3 capability. I have my other car to go fast and corner in so I'm more concerned with enjoying this car during the 8-months of spring/summer we get here in the bay area. This will be the weekend car predominantly for short trips to the beach or vacationing in Reno and the like. This will be the cruiser. I do my own tune-ups, oil changes, fuel filters, brakes....... the basic stuff. I can change parts like water pumps but engine pulls or tranny rebuilds and its gonna have to see a tech. What do the rubber shavings under the engine cover ($600) mean? Serpentine belt? Thanks for all the replies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian89gp Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Alternator $600. WOW! What do the rubber shavings under the engine cover ($600) mean? Serpentine belt? Thanks for all the replies! Those prices are to have someone else do it. If you won't work on your own engine, don't buy this car. No mechanic in his right mind wants to and will charge a good deal to do anything. Shavings are from the timing belt, should be changed every 60k max. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heza Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 my 2 cents... as for the transmission. best thing to do is change the tranny fluid every 15k miles at minimum. i change mine every third oil change (9k miles). install a transmission cooler, probably the best thing you can do for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fmr12B Posted April 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Alternator $600. WOW! What do the rubber shavings under the engine cover ($600) mean? Serpentine belt? Thanks for all the replies! Those prices are to have someone else do it. If you won't work on your own engine, don't buy this car. No mechanic in his right mind wants to and will charge a good deal to do anything. Shavings are from the timing belt, should be changed every 60k max. Brian I get waht your saying about mechanics cost. I'm sure its higher here in Cali as Avg. labor rate is $90/hr now with dealers getting $95-$100/hr. I live in an Apt so I'm limited to what I can do with a car mechanically. With having this as a 3rd car I'm not so worried about takinga few days and swapping a painful part. I just read battery swaps are ridiculously time consuming as well. Timing belt swaps are $600? Good lawd! Will ensure I see a receipt showing the last time this was done! Glad I have timing chains on the Ford! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegeta Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Battery swap is a piece of cake, so I dunno where you heard otherwise. Timing belt is only hard if you are scared. Alternator is the same. There are write ups on the 60degreev6.com site if you wanna check out the procedures. There are also a lot more mods for the DOHC than most people know about. Timing belt is about 250 in parts I believe, for all the pullies, bolts, and the belt itself, and the tensioner. Alternator is 100 bucks I believe and just time consuming on the replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted April 7, 2004 Report Share Posted April 7, 2004 Alternator swaps only cost but 150 if you do it yourself. They'll just take ya 6 hours the first 3 times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokesGTP Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Mine has 135k on it and it'll squeal them every time from a stop, pretty well I might add. It'll also break them loose on the kickdown at times, and it has an intermittent SES light, but whos LQ1 doesn't . My 1-2 shift is a little sloppier than it used to be but the tranny seems strong, now granted I only take it up past 6k maybe a couple times a month but the tranny seems fine. Also if you buy a LQ1 don't expect much for mileage, I get about 15 around town on a fresh tune-up, maybe 26 on the highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fmr12B Posted April 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Seems like the engine holds together great! Only weak point is the tranny if it gets beat on but it seams like I'll be using this car a 3rd source of transportation for crusing and not high speed acceleration so I should be good to go for a long period: So long as: Timing belt is recently replaced Alternator is charging Dist. O-Ring leak? just messy or a problem? Whats the fix? Tranny kicks down at 6500rpm with no slip in 1st -3rd Any other problem areas: suspension? wheel bearings? Tie-Rods? Cats? brakes - ABS? electrical? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey b Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 yeah, be sure to check the U-joints Wheel bearings can go, but I've owned W's since 98 and haven't replaced any yet on any 3 of the cars. The balljoints and tierods are rather prone to going out. Only 20 bucks if you do it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccrplayrgtp Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 1. buy the car, as it a rarer setup. 2. buy a manual transmission car and convert it to a 5 speed 3. shift whenever the hell you want 4. sit back, top down, enjoy! if I were looking at it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soccrplayrgtp Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 one more thing, buy a mechanics manual (chilton), a nice tool set, jackstands, jack, and a tub of good pumice handsoap and save yourself hundreds or thousands in repair costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteOut Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 Hey, there's nothing wrong with this engine so long as you like removing the upper intake to do any sort of work...on the plus side you CAN add oil without removing the upper intake, probably a good thing if its got the o-ring leak. All in all a fantastic engine to drive, not so wonderful to live with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey b Posted April 8, 2004 Report Share Posted April 8, 2004 white out, is your O-ring leaking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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