Bought a 98 Olds Silhouette

Fairly new to this board but glad to be part of it,with all the useful info and articles on here.I was looking for a newer model,but settled os this 98 I found.The price couldn't be beat...1700.00!!I'm in Nova Scotia, Canada and the van came from western Canada where they don't use salt in the winter.It is in real nice shape in and out,Beige/sand colored....it just had a complete inspection and all it needs are the 2 rear air shocks,pass. tail light cover and a wiper blade,no big deal,the van has 120,000 miles on and runs solid.Only had synthetic oil,I checked the oil cap,oil level and the coolant,everything seems fine,unsure if the intake gasket has been done,the owner was unsure if it was or not,since he is not the original owner.This is the only thing I was uncertain of,hopefully with any luck it has already been done.At 120,000 miles it should've been.Let me know what you think and I look forward to searching through this forum.

Blair

Welcome to this forum!
Sounds like you got a good deal. Seems from what you've described, the van was well taken care of by it's previous owners. The main thing I would watch, since you''re not sure if the intake gasket was done, is the level in your cooling system. Watch for a sudden drop in the level, and also continue to keep an eye on the oil cap like you've said you have. 120,000 miles is at the "high end" of the spectrum when these gaskets need replacing from what I've seen. Hope your van gives you many more years and miles of excellent service!

Thanks for the reply,I have a couple of questions regarding the van.It has the cassette only,would I be able to add cassette/cd player from an Olds Intrigue?Or would I have to stick with just a CD player?

Thanks for the reply,I have a couple of questions regarding the van.It has the cassette only,would I be able to add cassette/cd player from an Olds Intrigue?Or would I have to stick with just a CD player?
I'm not sure about that as I don't have access to info on whether or not the cd player from the Intrigue would work, but the cd player from a Montana or Venture should work. I owned 2 Ventures, (sister to the Silhouette) and ended up taking the cd player from one and adding it to the other. It had the cd payer that was mounted separate from the main radio, towards the floor. On the van that did not have the player, had a storage bin in that location. It was an easy swap and no modification to the wiring was needed.

I was checking out the coolant level in the van and was glad to see the green stuff coming out,looks like someone had changed it out.A couple of questions,the second row of seats are the bench style,would the bucket seats fit in their place?I'd rather the buckets.I might try and pick up a flip down screen and DVD player....did the 98's come with the DVD or just the VHS?Does anyone have parts on the board?I'd like to find a set of fog lights and the air compressor kit that fits the compressor in the back.

Thanks again

Blair

Well it's been a year and a half since I last posted about my Silhouette.I've had nothing but good luck with it,no problems whatsoever.I'm actually looking at a 02 Premiere with the Versatrak option.It has every available option for that year,1 owner,all maintenence records since new.An older husband and wife were the only 2 to drive it,it has 107,000 KM's on it.The only few things I noticed was a small crack in the rear bumper where someone had nicked them,2 small cracks in the dash pad,and a bit of condensation in the headlights.Overall I'm pleased with it,I think I can get it for about 5500-6000...6 for sure.GM replaced the AWD system 2 years ago under warranty so hopefully that wouldn't be an issue.I'll have to try and get a closer look at the intake/cooloing system before I actually buy it,but the coolant resevoir seemed to be clean....it was well taken care of overall.Hopefully I'll have the same luck with this one as I did with my 98.One more thing,did the 2002 model year have an issue with the intake gaskets?I seemed to recall that around 02 was a model they changed the gasket material being used.

Cheers

Blair

OOpps,sorry for digging up an old post,I just realized through some searching that I can't do that

No problem. Since your the original thread starter, updates are allowed.
Glad to hear you are having good luck with your van.
The updated gasket was released in the summer of 2002. I think there is a good chance the van may have the old gaskets as being an '02 model it was probably made in late 2001 or early 2002, before the updated gasket was issued. Keep an eye on the cooling system, especially for any signs of a sudden drop in the overflow reservoir level, signaling there might be a problem developing. Hopefully your luck with your current van can be extended to the new one.

Thanks for the reply,the Versatrak systems that GM offers,are they quite reliable?I know they offer it on quite a few models.From the searching I've done,there doesn't seem to be many issues with it.The Versatrak system was replaced in the Olds I'm interested in,the dealer did it a 2 years ago just before the warranty ran out.

Blair

Anyone have the diagnostic codes for the power sliding door?I got the codes for the door but don't know what they mean.I also did a reset but it didn't do anything.Hopefully someone can help.

Thanks

Blair

Thanks for the reply,the Versatrak systems that GM offers,are they quite reliable?I know they offer it on quite a few models.From the searching I've done,there doesn't seem to be many issues with it.The Versatrak system was replaced in the Olds I'm interested in,the dealer did it a 2 years ago just before the warranty ran out.

Blair

The main Versatrak complaints are for noise. From various forums and personal info, they either work great or are crap - no in between.

I have a '02 Silhouette with 145000 miles and have only had 1 problem with the system. It was noisy and I did the 2X drain and refill on the fluid per the service bulletin about 10000 miles ago and its been fine since.

The fluid is quite expensive if you have to replace it. Being that it was replaced 2 years ago, it should give you many miles before any problems arise.