Repair-It

The 96 RM brochure says a 96 wagon is 4,563 lbs. With the V08 fan I guess that's the slowest of the three.

I just checked. I have no steering damper. And no cornering lights. I actually was disappointed about the cornering lights...

This guy was a real enthusiast. I think this car has had the body mount upgrade (install cushions at all upper and lower locations to match the 9C1). I asked him if he actually had them installed but I have a GM Parts Direct receipt and a Scott Mueller writeup on it...That is kind of crazy.

He got back to me. He did the body mount upgrade shortly after he bought it. Cool!

Here's what he had to say about the steering box:

Steering has not been right since I started having to replace the steering box a few years ago. Alll re manufactured from NAPA. 1st wasn't bad but blew seal in a month. Next was way too loose. Same again. Settled with the one one in now but never satisfied. I will be interested in how you address this problem that certainly takes away from driveability.

Ah, Napa. Hmm. Probably not the best choice. It needs my Caprice's box. Or I could see if I can still get that super fancy box that is supposed to have no play and good feel that I always wanted. Using parts from my Caprice is way more cost effective but will disable it. I don't really want to double my work and put all the old RMS parts back on the Caprice but I could...

kevm14 wrote: Or I could see if I can still get that super fancy box that is supposed to have no play and good feel that I always wanted.

Delphi 670. Can get them blueprinted by Tom Lee for....a lot. They have 4 bolts so I don't know if the remaining 3 are compatible with the b-body frame holes. And I don't know if the output shaft has the correct spline pattern for the b-body pitman arm. Need more research.

kevm14 wrote:He got back to me. He did the body mount upgrade shortly after he bought it. Cool!

Here's what he had to say about the steering box:

Steering has not been right since I started having to replace the steering box a few years ago. Alll re manufactured from NAPA. 1st wasn't bad but blew seal in a month. Next was way too loose. Same again. Settled with the one one in now but never satisfied. I will be interested in how you address this problem that certainly takes away from driveability.

Ah, Napa. Hmm. Probably not the best choice. It needs my Caprice's box. Or I could see if I can still get that super fancy box that is supposed to have no play and good feel that I always wanted. Using parts from my Caprice is way more cost effective but will disable it. I don't really want to double my work and put all the old RMS parts back on the Caprice but I could...

My 9C1 box has already found a new home.

Got plates for the RMS. Drove to Bill's and then drove around for a while. More thoughts.

- A/C works awesome
- I cranked up the stereo and....it's not that good. It's what you'd expect from this car.
- We stopped on Bill's road to check these burnout marks. So I decided to make some of my own. Shockingly, it laid down dual strips. This posi has 182k on it so that is way better than average I think. Score!
- These tires are not performance tires. They give up way too soon.
- I think these FE2 anti-roll bars are not as big as the 9C1 bars. I need those, but then the ride is nice.
- I'll say it again: trans shifts perfectly. Original, just well maintained.
- When not in stop and go traffic I never noticed the EGR thing so I guess I can get to that when I feel like it.

I got around to looking at the history log in the owner's manual. I'll be typing that in here in a sec. It's pretty good.

Not every last thing is in here I guess. For example, no mention of the body mounts. But I know it was done.

Anyway, this is like the best used car ever. Check it out.
Date Mileage Maintenance performed
11/15/2006 20,000 All fluids, all filters, belts, tires
12/12/2006 22,600 Oil, filter, grease
2/17/2007 26,585 OFG
5/10/2007 31,210 Air filter, OFG
7/19/2007 35,520 Front O2 sensors (both banks), OFG
37,500 Front brake pads, brake fluid flush, OFG
10/1/2007 40,800 OFG
12/15/2007 46,300 OFG
3/23/2008 51,161 OFG
7/18/2008 57,300 OFG
9/27/2008 60,625 OFG, air and fuel filter
11/1/2008 62,500 All hoses, thermostat and surge tank cap, 1/2 antifreeze
12/14/2008 65,350 OFG
2/4/2009 68,500 OFG, ball joints, tie rods, center link, idler arm
4/18/2009 72,056 OFG
7/6/2009 77,375 OFG
8/30/2009 80,700 Air and fuel filter, axle fluid, trans fluid and filter
9/13/2009 81,500 Seafoam, OFG, AutoRX
9/30/2009 82,200 Spark plugs, Firehawk tires
11/15/2009 84,350 OFG
1/16/2010 87,430 OFG
4/8/2010 92,693 OFG
7/5/2010 98,149 OFG
10/3/2010 102,570 OFG
12/4/2010 106,500 OFG
4/8/2011 111,090 OFG. And again at 114k, 118k, 122k, 127k
10/1/2011 119,000 Steering box, PS hoses, water pump, thermostat, opti spark, wires, pinion seal, brakes, trans fluid and filter, oil filter seal, wp belt (??), gear oil
8/30/2012 136,900 Air filter, OFG
11/15/2012 138,000 Steering box, new brake lines, pack front bearings, fuel filter
12/13/2012 141,000 OFG. And again at 144k, 148k, front brake pads
9/13/2013 153,862 OFG
5/15/2014 158,255 OFG
7/15/2014 160,000 OFG. 4 new tires. All new front brakes/bearings
5/1/2015 165,000 Steering box and PS fluid
7/27/2015 167,575 OFG
9/15/2015 169,000 Transmission fluid change & filter. 12 qts Dexron VI synthetic, differential oil change (2 qts Valvoline synthetic), new spark plugs AC, new fuel filter, tires rotated, radiator flush and fill (Dexcool, 2 gallons, distilled H2O), 2 knock sensors, thermostat, upper and lower radiator hose, PCV valve
11/5/2015 172,685 OFG, 10W-30 synthetic
10/15/2016 178,200 OFG 10W-30 synthetic, toughguard filter, new starter, air filter

Exclamatory notes:
- Tons of trans maintenance. This explains why it shifts perfectly at 182k. Running Dexron VI now, interestingly.
- He actually flushed the brake fluid at least once
- New hoses twice
- He actually used distilled water like I do for coolant changes
- Diff fluid like twice
- Fuel filter twice
- Seafoam!
- AutoRX!!!

This is awesome.

Scrubbed the door panels. Cleaned the seats. Vacuumed. Put the original floor mats back in. Nice.

Some Fleetwood observations:
- Power antenna at the rear, same location as the Fleetwood. All other B-bodies have it in the front.
- Glove box tiny, from the Fleetwood
- Tweeters on the upper door panels like the Fleetwood

EDIT: This thing cruises all day at 90 mph. And overall it drives so effortlessly with the LT1.

I did confirm an exhaust tick of some kind out of what I think is the driver's side manifold. I don't see any broken bolts though. I really don't know what's going on. It is annoying with the windows down over 1/4 throttle. Windows up, seems fine.

Couple things to say here.

I'll start with the inspection. They actually gave me a sticker. Because they are awesome. Read on.

Took car to Tire Pros. Waited, as usual. They brought the car around and I got up to look through the shop window. I could tell some of the guys were checking it out and I heard one guy say "It's a ROADmaster" or something. So I walked out and around to go to the garage bay to participate.

When I got there, one guy was in the middle of taking a picture of it with his phone. Basically, they all liked it. One guy, this black guy that I remember doing my Caprice's emissions check the time before last, definitely liked it. I asked if he remembered that silver Caprice on SS wheels and he definitely did - I identified myself as the owner of both. It was cool.

Then this other guy is like "I just bought a 96 Impala SS." It sounded like he bought one that needed some work for $4k. I'm happy with my purchase in that regard. He actually wanted to know what my plans for the Caprice were, in case I part it out. He could use some things. I guess that's something. So that was all fun stuff. Basically everyone appreciated the Roadmaster, and I'm sure Ed has the exact copy of these stories with his wagon, as I do with my Caprice. Actually one guy said he was looking for a RMW, too.

Inspection results on ground: one center high mount stop lamp bulb out. Sigh. No problem.

Lifted it up. I took a peek myself. Verdict from them is that it is in very good shape. It definitely needs some rust encapsulator or whatever to stop some areas. But this is exactly the right time to get after it. So rust party, indeed.

Two issues from under. One I knew about. That is an about to fall off exhaust clamp on the back of the driver's side muffler. The other is a little more serious. Let me get some pics in here. Opti or water pump drive leaking again I presume. I actually already see some small spots on my driveway where I park it. Nothing like the Caprice at least. What's this? Missing?? This exact thing happened to me in the Fleetwood. I knew this rolled more than the Caprice but damn, with NO front bar effectively, this is going to feel worlds better when I fix it. I drove the Caprice just now to see if I could find some hardware (more on that later). Compared to the RMS in its current state, the Caprice feels like it corners completely flat. What it is supposed to look like. Clamp falling off...bought a 2" clamp, bulbs, and the end links on my way back. Passenger side floor. Like I said, if I get after this now, I will be OK. I need to treat it though. My Caprice floors might actually be better in this area. Driver's side floor. Radiator support. This is definitely worse than my Caprice. And now some frame shots. Frame looks good. This is where my Caprice has holes in the frame. This is totally solid and perfect. What's this? A hidden key I think! I took it down. It is electrical taped closed. I haven't opened it yet.