Oldsmobile 88 power steering loss problems

Filed May 16, 2022 · Body, Suspension · 118,300 miles · MN

The contact owns a 1999 Oldsmobile 88. The contact stated that while reversing out of a driveway, the front end of the vehicle lowered without warning. Due to the failure, the contact lost power steering assist as the steering wheel would spin with no control. The vehicle had yet to be diagnosed or repaired for the failure. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 118,300.

Filed Apr 30, 2007 · Transmission · 47,000 miles · GA

Tl*the contact owns a 1993 oldsmobile delta 88. The contact stated that while driving at any speed, but especially when decelerating, the vehicle stalled, causing a loss of power steering and braking. The vehicle had a service bulletin cmp95c1101. The contact stated that over 1000 miles the vehicle failed 75 times and became worse. The current mileage was 48,000 and the failure mileage was 47,000.

Filed Feb 24, 2006 · Body · 147,700 miles · MI

This car, like many front-drive cars, uses a front subframe to carry the engine, transaxle, steering gear and lower control arms. The subframe is attached to the body with six rubber isolators, each of which is fastened in place with a large retaining washer and a bolt. One of the six retaining washers rusted through and the outer half of it fell off the car. I took the car to a gm dealer and asked the service manager to inspect and report on the condition of the other five washers. As I suspected from my visual inspection,all five were seriously weakened by rust and in need of replacement. The subframe had also rusted from the inside out, to the point that the service technician could easily poke a screwdriver through the rusted sections. The rest of the underbody, including the floor pan, rocker panels, strut towers, fuel tank, tank straps and rear suspension parts, was virtually free of rust. If the retainers or subframe had failed on the road and the rear of the subframe had dropped down, the driver would have lost steering control of the vehicle. The failure mode and consequences are similar to safety recall 98v323000, which covered subframe retainers on 2.6 million ford, mercury and lincoln front-drive vehicles. I paid for replacement of the subframe, the six retainers, the six mount bolts, and several of the rubber isolators that exhibited rust damage to their internal metal sleeves. With labor charges for the parts replacements and the front-end alignment that was required after replacement of those parts, the total bill came to $1558. I held onto the rusted retainer that fell off the car; the dealer disposed of the remaining parts, since I did not have storage space available for the large subframe. I consider myself lucky to have found and repaired this problem before it LED to an injury or fatality accident. This subframe and retainer design is not unique to the olds 88, but is shared by the gm h-body and c-body platforms.

Filed Aug 16, 2004 · Engine, Fuel system · 52,485 miles · FL

The vehicle stalled while driving. When this occurred, the vehicle lost power steering and brakes. The vehicle was serviced several times by the dealership and the fuel pressure regulator recall 04v090000 repairs were performed, but the stalling still occurred. *ak *sc the consumer took the vehicle to another mechanic and they that the crack shaft position sensor was bad

Filed Aug 5, 2004 · Steering · 50,348 miles · PA

I have a 1987 oldsmobile 88 lss that I took in for inspection. It passed inspection, but I was told that it was not safe to drive. There was a failure in the power steering pump that could cause the bearings to lock up, burn the belt and I would lose steering.

Filed Apr 23, 2003 · Engine · MD

While driving the vehicles engine shut down which caused loss of power steering.

Filed Sep 3, 2002 · Engine · TN

While driving vehicle will just stall out without warning. Have no steering or brake power. Contacted dealer. Cannot locate cause of problem. *ak.

Filed Feb 5, 2002 · Engine · MI

Engine sputtered and shut down causing loss of power steering, power brakes, etc. Fortunate not to have happened at high speed or in heavy traffic. The engine locked up completely and would not restart. Cause was coolant leakage through crack in plenum which had to be replaced at a cost of over $700. This is very likely the cause of the following consumer complaints listed on your site: odi id's - 553119, 883623, 886028, and possibly others that were unexplained. I only searched for olds 88, but the same engine is used in pontiacs, and other gm makes. This problem is common enough to have been listed by the automotive service assoc. Of arizona repair shops - see their website and an article under the title "coolant leakage" which explains the problem very clearly. The plenum is plastic, and is simply subjected to more engine heat than it can safely handle over time, causing the cracks to develop over time, hence the continual and gradual loss of coolant until it finally gives way resulting in too much coolant leaking into the engine to allow for combustion. As stated earlier, this engine shutdown could be very dangerous at higher speeds or in traffic.

Filed Sep 18, 2001 · Acceleration, Engine · IN

The vehicle stalls and suddenly accelerates while driving, the dealer has been unable to duplcate the problem, this problem causes loss of power steering and brakes. Nlm

Filed Sep 6, 2001 · Steering · MN

Lost steering control - three bolts that hold the pump just broke off & went on to push right boot into right tire. Water pump broke & also overflow antifreeze tank broke. Had to replace two tail lamps because of broken brackets or prongs that hold it.