20 Most Recent 1996 Oldsmobile LSS - Page 4 Questions & Answers

Your car probably has AC so the box under the hood has a drain for removed moisture and this can often clog with environmental debris; when that happens, the water can't drain any more and may end up inside the car.

Check the heater hoses under the hood on the passengers side.If they are both hot when the vehicle is at operating temperature then go inside the vehicle and open the glove box and remove the inner liner.Move the temperature from hot to cold and see if the valve actuator arm is make a complete travel.If you are not sure then disconnect the arm.It just pops off.then manually move it one way and then the other and check to see if the temperature changes.If it does then replace the actuator.If your heater hose were not hot then replace the thermostat.Make sure and do not remove the radiator cap when the system is hot.Let it cool down.Hope this helps.Good luck.

If you remove the panel for the dash you should this sensor located somewhere around the vents where the air come out, it should be hanhing close to one of the vents

Hi,
Your thermostat maybe stuck in partially open position. It's inexpensive and easy enough to replace versus overheating and damaging your engine. I recommend putting in a new one.
Hope this helps...

There is a special tool for this. It is a spring tool that goes from one pin to the other pin on other side.

Yes this is A "O" Ring on the tube, and if yours is Metal you Lucked out ,as Most of them are PLASTIC, I have NOT seen A "METAL" Pipe on a 3800

you must have your car put on a diagnosis computer

There is two bolts the other one is behind the starter you will need an extension for your socket to reach this one, will be the same size socket as the first bolt you removed.

check for a vacuum leak at the actuator under the hood

Over time your car has developed refridgerant leak and leaked out all of its fluid. You need to take it to a mechanic and get a "fill and check on a/c system" If it has a leak they can tell you what you need o fix it if not your refridgerant will be fille and your a/c will work.

That sounds like a vacuum leak if you have a car that uses vacuum hoses to move the damper for the HVAC system. Newer cars have very few vacuum lines generally, so it might not be too hard to find the one thats bad, if that's the problem.

a bad vehicle speed sensor can make them shift hard

The Chilton's book will show you step by step instructions. It's a good thing to have when the next problem comes up, too.

It is very bad to let your car run out of gas. You may need to give it exessive amount of gas when starting it.

it is located in the upper intake plenum near the front of the motor under a plastic top you turn loose

sounds like a loss of spark issue, have u had it checked for computer trouble codes? if not Kragen and Autozone do it for free.

Depending on where you bought the spark plug wires/plugs you could have a defective one even though they are new. I bought plugs/wires from O'Reillly's and it turned out the plug wires were bad even though they were new. Car ran even worse than before I did the work. Napa autoparts sells the best plug wires I have ever used Belden Maxx....Other than that you could have an ignition coil that has gone bad. They should run about $30 each and are not that hard to change out on that vehicle. See if someone can test those for you. Also you may want to pull each spark plug out and make sure that it is gapped properly. You can call any parts place or dealer and ask them what is the spark plug gap for that vehicle. Even if they say they are pre-gapped from the factory it is essential to always check this yourself and make sure that each one is gapped properly. Hope this helps you.

There was a TSB, not a recall on this problem. To be sure, calling any gm dealer would require them to tell you.

If you have a 96 Oldsmobile Lss it will be a little more difficult then most. With the hood open looking into the engine area where you put the oil in, you will need to pull this off. With a little effort it pulls out. Then there is a wingnut on top of the large plastic covering that covers the top of the engine. Remove the wingnut and then remove the engine covering. I would put the oil cover back on for the meantime, and put the large plastic engine covering to the side. What you will see to the left side near the battery is the ignition coils (3) and there are (6) wires running from them (2) each..(if you have the v6... ) 3 wires go to the front of the motor and 3 wires go to the back. I would start with the back because that is the hardest. Follow each wire and where it ends there is a boot that covers that spark plug. This may take a tiny bit of effort but remove the boot. Make sure and do just one at a time so you don't get confused with the placement. Before hand you should check the "gap" on each spark plug to make sure that it is appropriate for your vehicle. For the LSS it is .60 Using a gap tool readily available at most parts places slide the arced (non porcelin) end of the spark plug into the gap tool at the lowest level and slide it around until you get to your corresponding gap. Once they are all gapped put them back in the box until you need them. Once you have the boot removed you will need your ratchet, a small extension bar and a spark plug socket (available at most parts places) This has a special rubber inside that grips the spark plug and helps protect the porcelin from damage. Put the plug socket over the plug and push in until it makes contact. Then apply pressure until the plug begins to come loose. Once it is out, put the new plug in and hand tighten it, once it is hand tightened, follow that up with the socket making sure not to over tighten. Place the boot back over the plug and move on to the middle, and the next one, and then do the front of the car, same procedure for each. In all honesty I would replace the plug wires at the same time Napa has the best plug wires that I have found Belden Maxx and I recommend NGK plugs (whatever your preference is fine, I have found that these work trouble free for me) Whenever you are replacing plugs/plug wires...please please please only do one at a time. If you replace the wires and send them to the wrong cylinder you will have a mess on your hands. Hope this helps someone.....