1990 Olds 88 Questions

I have a 1990 Olds 88 Royale Brougham. I was wondering a few things.

1) Anyone else who owns one, with oil change every 3000 miles, how many miles does yours now have on it. (I'm about at 175,000).

2) How many horsepower does that 3.8 Liter V6 pack? (is it 231?)

3) Is anyone having problems with slow up and down on their windows (front left and right) and if so, was it lubrication or the actual motor?

4) Does your "lights left on" warning chime only work every here and there?

5) Does your car stall when in reverse, and if so, was it a tranny problem?

6) Approx how long do you have after the "Gas Low" light and chime activate until your car dies?

That's all for now. I got the car as a hand-me-down from my grandfather who took quite good care of it and it has all highway miles.

Thanks!

1) 110,000 miles.
2) I believe 160hp.
3) Yes - normal!!
4) No - works fine.
5) No - there is an updated PROM chip that resolves that problem. You may lose 1-2 mpg, though. It richens up the air/fuel mixture.
6) Don't know - do you and your fuel pump a favor and don't find out!!!

Hope this helps!!

1 i have a 1989 with 173,000 miles should go 250,000 with regular oil changes and if you are fairly easy on them i've seen some with 350,000 with original tranny and nothing major done to the engine

2. the vin C motor has 165 hp at 5200 rpm and 220 ft lbs of torque at 2000 rpm

3. yes they get weak in their oil age

4. works fine so far (knocking on wood...)

5. nope never has original prom chip gets 30

6. well i have found found that if i hit the low fuel light and i fill up with gas i put in around 15 gallons and its a 18 gallon tank you do the math and the most i have put in has been 17.3 gallons

Like dghawk said ,it is not an good idea to run that low on fuel since the fuel pump relies on fuel to keep it cool and if it runs hot for any period it will lead to premature failure.To answer #6,From experience 15-20 miles max. and hope your fuel pump survives.

2. the vin C motor has 165 hp at 5200 rpm and 220 ft lbs of torque at 2000 rpm

I was wondering why when it shifted into 4th it gives a good boost.. heh

sorry to jack the thread, but are the window motors interchangable front to back?? Because the driverside is pretty much done for, but the backs work great. Thanks for the reply.

1. My current 94 88 has just over 100k, my previous 87 98 was over 220,000. I have seen many L27's go past 400K.

2. 175 stock, now around 200.

3. PRE-92 window motors really did suck. My 94 goes up faster than most new cars, but my 87, man they would get stuck because they were going so slow.

4. No

5. Uh no problems, 32MPG on a total highway day. 22 or so in town.

6. I do not let my tank get below 1/2 because these fuel pumps really are typical GM, meaning not the best but they work.

Window motors interchangeable? IT depends on the year and model.

1990 olds delta 88. Would that model be interchangable?

I have a 1989 Olds 88 Royale Brougham. To answer your questions....

1) Mine's currently just over 276,000 miles on the odometer.

2) I believe it's 165 hp, and yes. It's 231ci.

3) Yup. I'm having problems with both sides. The front passenger side door suffered minor impact damage before I bought the car and part of the window was off the track. The window switch was also disconnected, but at the time I didn't know why. So I reconnected it and went to roll the window down. After it rolled down normally about 4-5 inches, the window suddenly fell into the door. The little plastic window guide that slides up and down the track was also resting on the bottom of the door, so I imagine that whatever hit the door caused the ball that was attached to the guide to pop out, freeing the guide to fall to the bottom. (Whatever the correct name for those parts are) To pop the metal ball back into the guide, I had to hold the window up with one hand, roll the whole thing part of the way up, reach into the door to support the window with my other hand, free a hand, heat the guide with a cigarette lighter without melting it, then push/pull/yank the guide back onto the ball. Now it sticks 3 inches from the full up position but if I go back and forth on the switch real quick, it'll make a popping noise and finish rolling up.
As for the driver's side, it's just slow. Lubricating what I could didn't help so I suspect it's the window motor. However, there could've been spots inside that I might've missed, being that it's quite cramped spaces withing the door.

4) Nope. Mine works normally (Knock on wood)

5) Mine stalls when cold and sometimes hesitates upon takeoff. Camshaft interrupter magnet fell off the sprocket a long time ago and I don't want to mess with it unless I want to replace the timing gears and chain, too.

6) Mine's a digital cluster so I don't have an idiot light per se, but the fuel gauge will glow yellow and say LOW in the upper left hand corner. It's good for maybe 15-20 miles, but I wouldn't risk the fuel pump to find out for sure ;-)

I have a 1990 Olds 88 Royale Brougham. I was wondering a few things.

1) Anyone else who owns one, with oil change every 3000 miles, how many miles does yours now have on it. (I'm about at 175,000).

2) How many horsepower does that 3.8 Liter V6 pack? (is it 231?)

3) Is anyone having problems with slow up and down on their windows (front left and right) and if so, was it lubrication or the actual motor?

4) Does your "lights left on" warning chime only work every here and there?

5) Does your car stall when in reverse, and if so, was it a tranny problem?

6) Approx how long do you have after the "Gas Low" light and chime activate until your car dies?

That's all for now. I got the car as a hand-me-down from my grandfather who took quite good care of it and it has all highway miles.

Thanks!