New to me old car.

[Hollow]

For Christmas my wife and I are inheriting a 1992 Oldsmobile 88. It's a single owner, all city driven, 75,000 original miles, grandma (literally) car. It needs a good bit of TLC from "Park by Feel/Sound" mishaps and "Spent 22 years in a carport", but is more or less a solid vehicle.

Thoughts on what to run in it?

1. What kind of vehicle you have.
See above.

2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well.
10W30 API SG or newer. 5W30 in winter. Original OCI unknown until I find the Owner's Manual.

3. Where you live.
East TN/Western NC mountains.

4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
Gently until some work has been done and I trust the vehicle.

5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
About 60/40 city to highway.

6. Whether your car has any known problems.
I'll be finding them out as I go...

I have a bunch of Quaker State conventional 5w30, which I'll likely run with Wix filters, although I might see if I can exchange some for QS Defy in 5/10W30 for the seal conditioners as it has been a low usage vehicle and is old enough to buy beer.

 

[crazyoildude]

for the engine any good 5w30 sn
for the trans an a/c delco trans filter and max life atf same with power steering.
I like valvoline brake fluid to flush the brake system. Pour some tecron into the gas to clean the injectors and some marvel every 4 tanks.
These are nice cars that can outlast their owners with very little work
Use green antifreeze or yellow zerex flush with water only.
great reliable car that will run a long long time

 

[daves87rs]

Sounds like a 3.8....

Will run on anything......

 

[barkingspider]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
for the engine any good 5w30 sn
for the trans an a/c delco trans filter and max life atf same with power steering.
I like valvoline brake fluid to flush the brake system. Pour some tecron into the gas to clean the injectors and some marvel every 4 tanks.
These are nice cars that can outlast their owners with very little work
Use green antifreeze or yellow zerex flush with water only.
great reliable car that will run a long long time


+1

Check brakes, tires may need replacing, check hoses and belts. Then drive it, it will run better and better w regular use. U will be fine w 5 and 10w30.

 

[Nick1994]

Oh man it's got a 3.8L

Want a Camry? I'll drive to Illinois and we can trade. Lol

Bullet proof motor, after some good cleaning and hoses and belts checked, as well as tires it should run forever.

 

[71Chevyguy]

Those engines don't care what you put in them. From my experience they like more frequent oil changes with conventional than trying to drag out a synthetic as far as it can possibly go. 5w30 or 0w30 is probably your best bet since today's oil is much better than it was back then. If you notice it is using oil you can step up to Rotella T6 5w40. I used that in my 3800 I used to have even down to single digits in the winter and never any issues or noises. That engine has a very power oiling system and pressurizes the oil very quickly and with very high oil pressures instantly. The Rotella did totally stop the oil use and it never used a drop of it in 5k-6k oil changes. I would still use 5w30 conventional if there is no oil use and it will run forever. Brand doesn't matter as long as it isn't city star or whatever those awful bottles of dirty oil were called. You are very lucky to get your hands on a car like that with so little miles on it. Many of us here would be more than happy to have one like that and treat it like the gem that it is. Enjoy it!

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Hollow
I have a bunch of Quaker State conventional 5w30, which I'll likely run with Wix filters, although I might see if I can exchange some for QS Defy in 5/10W30 for the seal conditioners as it has been a low usage vehicle and is old enough to buy beer.

That makes perfect sense to me. You could stick with the Quaker State Conventional as an alternative plan, too.

 

[jetmech1]

I had an '89 Olds and a '91 Park Ave. Both with 3800 engines. Almost the same situation as yours except I was lucky enough that both bodies were real straight.

I used Rotella T-5 10w30 and Wix. My "89 had the lowest mileage at 68,000. At 5,000 miles, it had just barely reached the add line. I pulled a sample and sent it to Blackstone. The report was excellent and still had a TBN of 3. Had I added another quart it could have easily gone 7500 OCI. Would still have that car if someone hadn't hit me and totaled it out.

 

[Merkava_4]

The GM 3800 and SuperTech full synthetic 10w30 is a perfect match.

For optimum smoothness, look no further than the silver bottle from Walmart.

 

[nitehawk55]

Is that the Gen 1 or 2 3.8 ? The Gen 1 had an issue with the timing chain letting go but I don't recall what years that was .Best to find out and change it if it is in the time period of the Gen 1 .

 

[charbaby]

Although I would suggest anything 10W30, my BIL ran 15W40 in all of his 3.8L engines even in the Western NY winters. He loved it! Even on ZERO deg days, these engines started easily and ran smoothly. Smoother than many Asian V6's IMHO! And I have an Asian V6!(1MZFE)

The last(most recent) Olds he had was a 95 Olds 88 Royal w/3.8L and he just sold it in 2012 w > 200K miles. Again, he used 15W40 Gulf Oil that he bought at his shop for diesel engines that they worked on.

 

[virginoil]

Check the service records otherwise speak to the mechanic that serviced the vehicle.

Probably skipped a few oil changes, transmission fluids, coolant flush, plugs etc and service periods stretched to max.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I used QS Defy in the last couple of years with my Buick with the 3.8 engine, and it slowed the little bit of oil consumption I'd been seeing since I got the car. Inexpensive oil at Walmart, and the engine ran quietly and smoothly.

My '03 Park Avenue was a bigger car than your Eighty-Eight, but with some newer technology, so I'd think your gas mileage might be about the same as I got: 21-22 with heavy city driving, 30-32 on the highway.

 

[Hollow]

Ordered some new tires for it, as the Goodyears have 10K miles on them. But are almost 12 years old! 4 new General Altimax RT43 will be installed when we get it.

My Subaru is running Maxlife ATF, so that will be easy to keep up with. I'm thinking of having a drain plug installed on the transmission pan, as I've gotten spoiled not having to drop the pan to do ATF changes by the Outback.

First oil change will be with GSGB 5W30 as it is what I have on hand. If I spring any leaks or consumption, I'll try some Defy. Bottle of Techron or Redline SL-1 will go in when I get it.

Mirror is easy to find on Ebay. Have to look through some local junkyards to try and find a new front bumper. Everything from the grille and lights down is gone.