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is there something i should know about 1995...?


Jake48
09-29-2005, 12:55 PM
im new to this forum, and my original intent was to better understand the resources that may be available amoung riviera people, and what general experience has been with 1995 rivs since they are recently becoming available here, and my venerable '86 is becoming a project...

but from the moment i first scanned the threads here in 'riv-land', i cant help but notice that nearly all the posts seem to be related to problems with everyone's 1995 riv...

- was 1995 somehow a total disaster for buick production, or

- was the year so outstanding that everyone wants to keep
and fix the rivs they now own, or

- is there something about the '95 model year that attracts
techno-geeks who are basically inclined toward posting...?

in truth, i honestly like the simple style and proportions of my '86, and id prefer to keep it as long as possible... but to do that i urgently need some insight to the magic of the ecm and all those aging sensors that control my engine... there are also other issues less urgent i need to address in the future..

it seems that someone took out the screw adjustment for mixture on my fuel injector, and i cant even find any distributor i can turn a few degrees off long enuff to squeek thru one more smog...(ok ok my last car was a 1973 mbz with mechanical fuel injection and a dohc 6...)

perhaps coincidentally, my riv has been idling a little rough since i installed bosch platinum plugs and wires last year, it has gradually become harder and harder to start most of the time (cranks longer n longer) and recently i noticed my gas mileage had abruptly dropped about 30% to under 12 around town and under 16 hwy...

there is no visible smoke, but the black tailpipe says it has been running too rich for a while, and it failed the california smog for the first time...

i checked all the vacuum hoses carefullly (they looked terrible but didnt have any leaks), and then i replaced the o2 sensor and cleared the old codes from the crt... my gas mileage got dramatically better, along with hydrocaron emission issues.. but not quite good enuff to pass, and it still idles rough, and it seems to be hard starting most of the time now...

still no relevent current or history trouble codes (only ongoing codes for a/c compressor relay and twilite delay, which both ocassionally do fail),

i tried the techron blast but no luck, and mechanics only want to replace my cat to fix the symptom (ie pass smog) without considering any testing for possible real causes...(one mechanic was overheard to say "well whaddya expect, the damn car was built before i was born...")

so my questions are:

1) is there truth in the rumor about platinum plugs not working well for older cars, and causing ruff idle...?

2) is there a credible way to test all the other sensors, which ones are most likely to confuse the ecm, and what order are they likely to fail..? (IAT, engine temp, air flow, etc...?)

3) is there some reasonable minimum level of vacuum without which my symptoms are likely, and where is a good place to measure it..?

4) are coil packs and the ecm itself ever subtle when they fail. or if either fails, does the car just not run...?

i swear this all seams like more of an art than science anymore... maybe cuz we're all so damn productive..? well in any case, thanks for reading this far.. and please know thay any insight will be greatly appreciated...

plathegame
10-13-2005, 07:20 PM
i love my 95 riviera.. runs like a dream. dust rice burners w/ no problem and is alot nicer.. just turned 100k all i have ever done to it besides normal maintance was a ign switch, battery and a fuel pump


so my questions are:

1) is there truth in the rumor about platinum plugs not working well for older cars, and causing ruff idle...? 95 UP RIVIERAS COME STOCK W/ AC DELCO PLATINUM PLUGS THEY WORK GREAT.. JUST DONT PUT BOSCH PLATINUM PLUGS IN ANYTHING THAT IS NOT AN IMPORT. AT MY SHOP WE WILL TURN DOWN A TUNE UP BEFORE WE WILL PUT IN CUST REQUESTED BOSCH PLATINUM PLUGS IN ANY DOMESTIC VEHICLE AND ALOT OF IMPORTS FOR THAT MATTER.. I DONT KNOW WHY BUT THEY CAUSE DOMESTICS TO MISSFIRE LIKE CRAZY.. FOR YOUR OLDER RIV I WOULD REC PLAIN AC DELCO PLUGS
2) is there a credible way to test all the other sensors, which ones are most likely to confuse the ecm, and what order are they likely to fail..? (IAT, engine temp, air flow, etc...?) YES, IF YOU HAVE A SCAN TOOL LIKE A MODIS OR SNAP ON SCANNER ..

3) is there some reasonable minimum level of vacuum without which my symptoms are likely, and where is a good place to measure it..? GOT ME

4) are coil packs and the ecm itself ever subtle when they fail. or if either fails, does the car just not run...? THE CAR WILL USUALLY MISSFIRE IF 1 OF THE COIL PACKS IS BAD.. AS FAR AS THE ECM IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THE PROBLEM IS W/ THE ECM.. A BAD CRANK SENSOR OR IGN MODULE CAN CAUSE A NO START PROBLEM

i swear this all seams like more of an art than science anymore... maybe cuz we're all so damn productive..? well in any case, thanks for reading this far.. and please know thay any insight will be greatly appreciated...[/QUOTE]

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