Just got a caprice wagon, what should I check / replace/ improve?

I bought a 94 caprice wagon with only 50,000 miles. It only had one owner
and never had a hitch on it.

Car is bone stock, like out of the dealer bone stock. It's this light blue color with light blue cloth seats.
Most comfortable car I have ever driven.

It has hubcaps, without a doubt some of the ugliest hubcaps I have seen. They are huge discs with chevy logos

Ac was a bit low, so I put in half a can of r134a and it's ice cold now.
Oddly the car has a 96 impala ss looking ac system, I guess it's standard on the LT1?

What kind of stuff should I do right away?

I planned to have my buddy change all fluids, flush the rad and then rustcoat the entire under body first.

Depending on what the service receipts say just do what the owners manual calls for.

Flasheroo wrote:

Depending on what the service receipts say just do what the owners manual calls for.

Sadly it had no manual with it, I'll have to buy one.

1.  Change all the fluids.
2.  Check tires.
3.  Give it a thorough cleaning; inside, outside and underneath the hood.  Give it a good waxing.
4.  I'm guessing you have to get it inspected, that will take care of alot of safety issues and systems.
5.  Make a list of things it needs or are missing.

that's a good start.

Tom C.

I'd also recommend replacing the radiator hoses and check out the radiator and see if it has any leaks.
Depending on age, I'd also replace the tires, brakes, and shocks if needed

Check the auxillary battery post and make sure it's the later version.

Check your distributor ("optispark") vent harness and make sure it is pulling vacuum off of the intake elbow.

Check the AC drain tube next to the AC lines that go into the firewall and make sure there's a 90 degree elbow on it. If not, add some plastic drip hose and run it down to the brakeline and ziptie it there so the condensate doesn't wick back into the cabin.

Once you swap transmission fluid, closely monitor the new fluid. If it gets dirty fast (like within 500 miles), flush it again. Just open the cooler line behind the passenger side of the radiator - don't bother dropping the pan. I won't get into a big argument here, but old fluid loses its detergent capability and just drops the dirt wherever. New fluid with good detergent picks all the dirt up and carries it around; you have to flush the fluid to get the dirt out (the filter pores are too big intentionally). Keep doing this until the fluid stays clean. Leaving new dirty fluid in there without flushing it will turn the fluid into sandpaper and wear out your seals.

Wouldnt try to overwhelm a new owner would you?

jeez what a lot of work to put into a 50,000 mile car,..

put 50,000 more on it,. then start changing stuff,..

don't flush the trans,. just look at the oil if it,s good let sleeping dogs lie,..if not then just drop the oil add a filter re-fill,.

check your centrelink,. idler arm,..

drive it,. have fun,..

How did you put in only 1/2 a can of a/c stuff?,. and how did you know it only needed 1/2 a can?

nick

phantom 309 wrote:

jeez what a lot of work to put into a 50,000 mile car,..

put 50,000 more on it,. then start changing stuff,..

don't flush the trans,. just look at the oil if it,s good let sleeping dogs lie,..if not then just drop the oil add a filter re-fill,.

check your centrelink,. idler arm,..

drive it,. have fun,..

How did you put in only 1/2 a can of a/c stuff?,. and how did you know it only needed 1/2 a can?

nick

It has a pressure gauge that you adjust for ambient temp, then fill to the correct range.

Geez guys. I'm with Nick. Change the oil. Clean it up. And drive the damn thing!

But also check the auxiliary battery post...

^ Wouldn't want to forget that one.

The later version of the auxiliary post is BRASS, the earlier version is ZINK plated. If you do not have the BRASS one, you have a fire hazard. The 94 probably does not have the vented opti. I would just check/fill/change fluids as recommended, and drive it. Grease your steering joints, because nobody ever remembers to do that. Check your brake linings, they are a wear item.

All the personal dislikes can be fixed with the injection of some cash. Many of these cars go 150K-250K without any major issues. Save your money for when it needs fixing.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

I'm pretty sure all B/D cars has the vented opti, even the 94's. I think it was just the early LT1 Y and F bodies that had the non-vented...

toomanytoyz wrote:

Geez guys. I'm with Nick. Change the oil. Clean it up. And drive the damn thing!

Not picking a fight, but this information is coming from people who have owned these cars a long time. All of the suggestions will result in SAVING money and hassle down the road. I'm all about enjoying the car... with lowered risk.

I decided I wanted to take care of everything and sleep easy.

Car had bad air conditioning, turned out to be a bad compressor... so while that had to be done I did or had done:

Air filter
Gas filter (good thing I did it the car had sat, more on that,,)
Oil change, switch to synthetic
Coolant flushed the rad and heater, good thing I did that too.
New lower temp thrermostat
New serp belt
New plugs since it is a pain to do them and had to be under the car anyway
New wires because I am paranoid
Trans filter, gasket and drain tapped the pan (5 quart change)
Idler arm as it was bad from sitting

Here's where it got bad.

The car was owned by a grandpa and when he got sick or died it must have sat
So the water pump bearing is bad, pull it off and the temp sensor is funky looking too, coming apart.

So water pump and sensor.. $99 total

and closer inspection the thing had been corroding the optispark, the optispark threads seized and broke off, so had to replace the opti as it could not be serviced or anything, broke the thread out too.

So that was $200 for a rebuilt oem. ouch.
Then cap n rotor tweaking

I decided to change the shocks out, monroe sensatracks. I can ride over railroad ties
now and not feel a thing. That was the worst thing ever to do the rear shocks.

Fix the heat shields / replace brackets for em.

All together is cost about $1500 in parts alone, but I figure the wagon is like owning a classic plane,
1-2 years of pain until all the stuff that will break breaks. I cut to the chase and just replaced the obvious stuff

Car is amazing now, the ride is so nice it's a pleasure to drive.

I am glad I checked it so well as I was almost to point of failure on the water pump and having it dump itself all down the optispark on the highway.