OK. I just got a very used, not all that well cared for 1996 Olds Bravada. The goal is to turn it into a reliable daily driver. I hope that's possible.

Here's a bit of an overview:

What was right about this vehicle:

• Brand new tires. Goodyear Wranglers, and the raised letters still had the blue stuff on them.
• The price. Honestly, I could probably sell the wheels/tires on craigslist and sell the rest of the thing by the pound to the recycler down the road and come out ahead.

Things that I've noticed that are wrong with this vehicle (opportunities for repair/improvement):

• Rear diff leaks oil. The bottom of the cover was really bent, and someone tried to use black RTV sealant to fill the gaps. This has already been fixed with a new rear diff cover, new gasket, new bolts and fresh lube. No more leak.
• Front diff leaks oil. Not yet fixed, but I have fresh lube and a gasket. Hopefully this cover won't be as bent as the rear was.
• Transfer case leaks oil, was nearly dry. So far, I've just filled it up with a half pint of "Automatic transmission stop leak" and almost a full quart of Dex III/Merc ATF. That's what my Chilton book says goes in the transfer case. Not sure if that will fix it, but it can't hurt.
• Automatic transmission leaks fluid. The rest of the "automatic transmission stop leak" and some more fluid went in there. I suspect I'll have to do more, but that might buy me some time.
• Engine leaks oil. The rubber gasket on the plug was cracked and partly missing. Someone tried to cover the leaks with black RTV sealant, but the oil was dripping mostly from the plug. So far, I've given it an oil/filter change and installed a new plug. Leakage has slowed dramatically, but there's still oil all over the bottom of the engine. I think I have additional leak(s).
• Hood release cable broken at the interior lever/handle. Two pairs of pliers were included with the vehicle to pull the frayed cable end with. I have a new cable assembly, and I should get that installed this weekend.
• Lacked power at higher RPM's, under hard acceleration or going up hills. Seemed starved for fuel. Diagnosis: clogged fuel filter. Replaced fuel filter. Ran pump for a few key cycles until fuel from tank was clean and clear. there was some 'muddy' fuel in the line at the filter inlet. the filter had been clogged for a while.
• Hard starting (nearly impossible starting) after sitting over night, or after sitting for full day (6 hours or longer). I'll start another discussion thread about this issue with more details. I've done some testing and found a workaround for now. I suspect "spider injector" poppet nozzles are leaking, causing flooded condition.
• Engine doesn't get all the way to operating temperature. It runs at the thick line halfway between "100" and "210", give or take one thin line. I suspect I'll find no thermostat installed, or perhaps one that's failed open. I have a new thermostat for it. I see that one of the bolts on the pipe flange at the thermostat has no head, and there's a lot of black RTV around that area. No leakage yet, but that's going to be a more exciting repair than it usually is.
• Transmission doesn't seem to go into torque converter lockup. It's always "slushy" and the thing doesn't seem to be getting very good gas mileage. This is probably related to the thermostat issue. I'm not going to worry or chase this down until after the thermostat issue is resolved.
• Excessive dash rattling, clunks when putting it in gear, sometimes very noisy/rattly under hard acceleration. I'm guessing broken motor mounts. I have two new motor mounts and a new transmission mount. I plan to install these this weekend.
• "Service engine soon" light is on. There are stored codes for catalyst efficiency and for evaporative system issue/leak. I think I found the leak when I filled it up....
• Some kind of leak at the fuel tank. I filled it up fully for the first time, and there was gas spilling on the ground when it got almost full. I think between a quart and a half gallon leaked out before the gas pump shut off. I'm guessing the evap hose to the charcoal canister has rotted out or at least come disconnected from the tank. If I have to drop the tank to fix this, I should probably replace the in tank screen for sure. Is there anything else I should do at the same time? For now, my work around is never fill it all the way. I put about 8 gallons in when it's almost empty, and that gets me between 1/2 and 3/4 tank, and no leakage.
• Wiper washer doesn't work.
• Rear window wiper doesn't work at all.
• Trim handle on tailgate door handle is missing. You can still open it, but you have to get your fingers behind the metal part.
• Missing tag light (license plate light for you northerners) and center brake light. Parts are on the way from a parts yard now.
• Interior dome lights and courtesy lights are possessed by demons. They flicker over bumps, turn on and off when turning, and sometimes stay on or come on when parked, resulting in dead battery. For now, I pulled the "courtesy light" fuse. I need to find the problem.
• The ABS light is on. I'm not sure what the code(s) are. There was a lot of wear debris on the magnet in the rear diff cover. I can't find any information about the rear wheel speed sensor. Is it in/on the rear diff housing? If it is, I would suspect it's also covered with wear debris and possibly not functioning. I have several questions and I think I'll start another ABS related discussion thread for this issue.
• Front brakes leaking brake fluid. When I test drove it, the pedal was really long (went most of the way to the floor) and it seemed to be using more rear brake than front. The front reservoir was completely empty. When I first got the car home, I filled it with fluid and gravity bled the thing, and now I seem to have brakes at all 4 wheels. When sitting for a long stop (long traffic light, train at the railroad crossing), you can feel the pedal sinking slowly, so I think there's a small leak somewhere. More inspection and diagnosis is needed.
• HVAC blows hot all the time. Fan switch is missing the ****/lever. You can stick your finger in the hole and move the thing behind it, but it's not easy.
• Radio gets only static. It plays CD's, but not the radio. I suspect this and the HVAC issue are related. Possibly an aftermarket stereo was in this thing and got stolen and the thief damaged/broke HVAC controls in the process. There are other signs of aftermarket stereo and theft of that stuff (hacked speaker grills with cheap non-stock speakers, etc.)

I also have normal maintenance and tune up parts for this thing. I plan a thorough tune up and "catch up" maintenance over the next few weekends.


Again, the goal is to get this thing to be a reliable daily driver. Here's what I have for "tune up" and "catch up maintenance":

• New spark plugs, wires, dizzy cap and rotor
• New PCV valve
• New air filter
• New Fuel Filter (already installed)
• New upper and lower radiator hoses
• New radiator cap
• New thermostat
• New serpentine belt with new tensioner
• New hood release cable
• Cooling system flush and fresh coolant. It looks like it has mostly water in it now. Should I go with DexCool? Or a more "universal" long life coolant?
• New gaskets and fresh lube for both front and rear diff. Rear is already serviced.
• New wiper blades all around
• Maybe even rotate those almost new tires.

Have I missed or forgotten anything important?

Even with all the parts mentioned here, I think I still have a good deal here. I'm still not up to a four digit investment yet.

 

Rule #1: Get rid of the Chilton manual! It's full of wrong, and incomplete information. It can not be trusted. Perfect example:

Your transfer case uses AC Delco "AutotrakII" fluid ONLY. It is only available at GM dealers. Dexron ATF will destroy the transfer case in short order.

Engine & transmission mounts: don't waste your time with rubber mounts. They are junk and will fail prematurely, usually a year or less, use polyurethane mounts. When you realize the time it takes to replace them, you won't regret getting good mounts.

Tune up: use AC Delco plugs, distributor cap & rotor ONLY. And good quality wires.

 

X 2 on the uselessness of a Chilton manual. I put mine on my lap when I eat soup so the bowl doesn't burn my legs.

Your leaking fuel and evap code could be caused by rotted fuel fill neck. It's so common that auto part stores keep them in stock.

Pumping the brakes in the driveway and looking under the truck will show where its leaking.

If you can't tell whether the coolant is dex cool or not due to someone else changing it. I would use universal just to be safe.

Oh yeah, welcome to the forum.

 

OK. What's a better choice then?
Really??? I also have a hard copy of the owner's manual. On page 7-46, it says the transfer case uses "Dexron®-III Automatic Transmission Fluid". Maybe there's a later service bulletin that changes that, but I had multiple sources saying "Dexron®-III Automatic Transmission Fluid" is what should be in the transfer case.

Also, is Dexron worse than air and empty space? Between the Lucas "Transmission fix" and the Dexron III that I put in it, I added over a quart. the capacity listed (both the owners manual and Chilton agree here as well) is 1.25 quarts. I'm pretty sure what's in there now is better than driving with it dry.

It's leaking from the transfer case more now, too Probably the reason it wasn't leaking when I got it was because it was basically empty. I'll be ordering seals, and I'll check with the local $tealership for the "Autotrak II" fluid.
Good info to have there. I already put in the cheap rubber transmission mount. I have new rubber motor mounts, but I haven't put them in yet. If it will save time in the long run, I might consider just dumping them and going with something better. What do you recommend?
I knew that from previous GM experiences. I got genuine AC/Delco plugs, cap and rotor.

The wires I got were from 'Federal Parts'. They don't look too bad. If they work, I got a great deal. If there are any problems, I'll get something better, and consider the money I paid for these as "Tuition, school of hard knocks."

 

The Borg Warner AWD transfer case in your '96 Bravada is a torque biased case and does not require anything special in regards to fluid, i.e. regular Dex III. The newer New Venture cases with electronic controls need AutoTrak 2 fluid due to the viscous clutch on the front output.

As far as manuals go, the factory service manuals from HelmInc.com are the defacto best. You can typically find them used on eBay for a fraction of the cost.

 

OK. I just checked the parts catalog, and the aftermarket cross references. Is it the hoses that rot out? or the actual filler pipes? Theres an "intermediate pipe" assembly (GM # 15712082) which the aftermarket sources call the "lower filler neck" and a "Filler pipe" (GM # 15712084) which the aftermarket sources call the "upper filler neck". There are two filler hoses and two vent hoses between those parts and connecting the intermediate pipes to the tank. Dorman has an upper part #, and a part number for a kit containing both the upper and lower pieces.

I'll have to inspect those parts closely, I guess, and order what is really needed.
That works for most people and most driveways. My driveway isn't most driveways. Mine is dirt and gravel, almost a half mile long, and so washed out that the Jehovah's witnesses just leave their flyers taped or rubber banded to the gate by the road. actually, it's so bad now that we park the two cars and now this Bravada on a gravel pad down by the gate, and only the Jeep with the big mud tires and the 3 limited slip/locking diffs goes up the driveway.
I'll probably put it up on jack stands when I rotate the tires, and look at everything for signs of leakage. Maybe even clean everything up with brake cleaner, then pump the brakes and look for new fluid leakage. For now, it's only taking a few tablespoons of fluid every couple days to top it up.
What's in it now is almost clear, with a bit of rust (or maybe some residual coolant, hard to tell).

I was planning a full flush with Prestone or Peak flush and distilled water in the system for a day or two, then "rinsing" a few times with distilled water only for a day or two before putting any coolant back in.

So I guess the question is, after flushing and thoroughly "rinsing" all previous coolant and flush solution away, is Dexcool any better than "universal" for this engine and cooling system?