What extra Intrigue maintenance would you do at 100k miles?

Am i missing anything? (I try do all the basic stuff myself, but the bigger items I get done at a local shop.)

Here's the list of stuff i've done on my 2000 Intrigue GLS (w/ 3.5L) so far ...

Major stuff i've had done over the years:


Ignition Coil, Downstream Oxygen Sensor, Pressure Regulator, and Catalytic Converter at 55k miles
Original battery replaced at 60k miles (link) (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=688186) positive terminal ripped out of original AC Delco battery
Cam and Crank Sensor around 75k miles
Bosch Spark Plugs at 75k miles
Front Struts and Mounts at 77k miles
Radiator Flush at 80k miles
Starter replaced at 85k miles (link) (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=649677)
Outer Tie Rod Ends + Alignment at 90k miles
Front Wheel Bearing Hub Assemblies (Both at various mileages)
Oil Changes done every 5k miles with Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum
Cabin Air Filter at 80k miles

What i've done recently in the last year:


Replaced Fuel Filter (link) (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=979534)
Replaced Air Filter
Replaced MAF Sensor (Check Engine Light came on recently)
Transmission Filter Changed at 55k and 100k miles (+ 1/2 fluid change each time)
Checked Battery Terminals and Sprayed Protector
Replaced PCV Valve (link) (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t979990.html)
Replaced Power Steering fluid in reservoir a few times (link) (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t922549.html)
Replaced Brake Fluid in reservoir
Checked Serpentine Belt... looks in good shape (still has the original)
Replaced Front Sway Bar (+ Endlinks and Bushings) at 102k miles (link) (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=958146)
New Autocraft Gold Battery at 106k

Cabin air filter

sparcx -
You might consider radiator hoses, serpentine belt, and water pump. I did a lot of maintenance last summer on my 2000 GLS, including those parts. Both main radiator hoses and belt still looked good, but I thought after 10 years and 185K miles, the car deserved it, and I'd rather avoid on-road troubles. The old water pump surprised me; it looked new; the passages were clean, and the bearings had no noise or play. In other words, I guess I could have skipped it. Hope the new one goes another 185K miles as well as the first one did.

Good call on the cabin air filter, I didnt think of that even though ive replaced mine haha.

The only thing that comes to my mind is to inspect all CV boots on the front for any damage.

Cabin air filteryep. did that a few years back. Really dirty. If I remember correctly, its was a pain in the butt to replace because of the location

sparcx -You might consider radiator hoses, serpentine belt, and water pump. i've been thinking about the serpentine belt, but the current one seems like it's in such good shape. Radiator hoses seemed in good shape too, but I'll keep it in mind for the future.

Is there really a need to replace a water pump as maintenance rather than just waiting for some sort of failure? Everything seems to be cooling very well right now.

Anything i should keep an eye out for in terms of water pump failure?

Also one more question...

I did the downstream oxygen sensor when the ignition module failed about 5 years ago.

Would any of you replace the upstream sensor as maintenance or just wait for a code to appear first?

Would any of you replace the upstream sensor as maintenance or just wait for a code to appear first?

What sort of gas mileage are you getting?

What sort of gas mileage are you getting?hasn't been all that great lately.

Car is running really well with all the maintenance i've done recently, but fuel consumption still seems excessive.

I've always heard that they can get sluggish a long time before they ever send a code, and there are lots of cases of people getting better mileage from changing an 02 Sensor that never threw a code...maybe not on this exact forum, but on lots of others.

My mileage is about 21-22 with mixed driving and my right foot, both of which dont help anything. I thought that was pretty bad until I took a trip to Oklahoma and despite going 75-80 most of the way there I was pulling down 28-29 mpg, which is pretty darn good for the Intrigue, I have pulled slightly better over short distances while drafting semi's, but thats not always recommended.

Also the type of fuel you use comes into play, the great state of Missouri mandated that all fuel below 91 octane has to contain 10% ethanol, which has basically shot down my mileage personally, I used to get 24ish driving exactly the same. I dont know if Michigan has similar legislation or not, might be something to check into, but I do know that the 10% ethanol does have an effect on mileage, its not nearly as efficient as gasoline.

The 02 sensor is about a 60-70 dollar part if ordered online, auto parts stores generally more expensive. It also requires a special socket normally. It can be done with a box end wrench, but frankly I dont know if there is enough room back there. On the 3.5 model its also a bit of a pain to get to. So easily accomplished for less than 100 bucks if you DIY, I have no idea what a shop would charge.

So I guess take a look at your mileage, your driving habits, and even the fuel itself, and see if its really worth it.

did you look under the serpantine belt to see if it had any cracks on the underneath of belt? looks like you covered about everything. if more people like yourself would do this it would save them money. only other thing i can think of is tire wear.

My mileage is about 21-22 with mixed driving and my right foot, both of which dont help anything. I thought that was pretty bad until I took a trip to Oklahoma and despite going 75-80 most of the way there I was pulling down 28-29 mpg, which is pretty darn good for the Intrigue, I have pulled slightly better over short distances while drafting semi's, but thats not always recommended.
This is what I get as well. For a 200+hp midsize that runs like these do, that's outstanding mileage. And why I stick with the LX5.

The 02 sensor is about a 60-70 dollar part if ordered online, auto parts stores generally more expensive. It also requires a special socket normally. It can be done with a box end wrench, but frankly I dont know if there is enough room back there. On the 3.5 model its also a bit of a pain to get to.

Really not a bad job. I used one of these:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d830b3127ccec7020616922f00000040O08IZtXLZszag9 vPhI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/



A similar tool could be had at the 'Zone for about 10 bucks. Check out their site - it will let you find the closest store by zip code, and tell you if they have one in stock. It's part no 25249. Check it with the new sensor to make sure it fits.

hasn't been all that great lately.

Car is running really well with all the maintenance i've done recently, but fuel consumption still seems excessive.

I'd bet those Bosch spark plugs are a factor.

The LX5 is pretty picky when it comes to spark plugs. Stick with AC Delco 41-980 or NGK PTR5C-13 (stock number 7730). The AC Delcos are actually the NGK plugs in an AC Delco box with a GM p/n stamped on them.

I would also replace the upstream sensor as maintenance.

krivasauto I dont think anything is a hard job for you haha :) you completely disassemble your car and put it back together blindfolded the 3rd Wednesday of every month just for fun!

But yeah I believe that little tool he posted is called a crow's foot probably cheaper than the actual oxygen sensor socket, which is what I have. I cant remember where I bought mine but its basically an 18mm deep well socket with a slit down the side of it, at least I think its 18mm...

I do agree though that the Bosch plugs could be a problem, Ive always heard that GM vehicles perform poorly with them, most Cherokee owners ive encountered dont like them either for what its worth, in fact I cant think of anyone who DOES recommend them.

Also my .02 would be to not get a Bosch O2 sensor either if you can keep from it. But thats based on years of everyone hating them and having problems with them from my Bonneville forum days.

krivasauto I dont think anything is a hard job for you haha :) you completely disassemble your car and put it back together blindfolded the 3rd Wednesday of every month just for fun!
LOL. If it were for fun, it would be a 72 Cutlass Supreme convertible, red with white interior, with the rallye wheels and the floor shifter:

http://www.cars-on-line.com/slideshow44019/72olds44019-1.jpg

Sigh. Someday.

krivasauto I dont think anything is a hard job for you haha :) you completely disassemble your car and put it back together blindfolded the 3rd Wednesday of every month just for fun!

Great Comment LittleHoov--

I'm just waiting for Krivasauto to start a traveling Intrigue repair shop. I think I'd be the first in line for service!

The Oxygen sensor isn't that hard to replace if your using a box wrench which is wide enough to wrap the O2's and tighten it. I call it the 1st O2's not the cat sensor I can do it in under then minutes because I already replaced it and didn't tighten it hard.

I get about 17-21 city, 21-24mixed, would be 24-27.5 if mostly highway

I recommend NGK Iridium IX sparkplugs but you will have gap them closer inwards not out, Ac delco is NGK lol saw that myself at the auto parts store.

Krivasauto since our cars are Cutlass Supreme replacments this car was a Intrigue back in the day with RWD 442 just like the Chevelle SS. Man why did GM screw up many RWD Midsized sedans with FWD. I would like a 70 Chevelle SS as a project car but with todays Technical advancements.

Hey Krivasauto since you do alot of work on your Intrigues I wonder if the thought of performance bothers you, well I see you made your point, Because if its going to be completely stock im not going to be happy working on it.
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2000 Intrigue GX 3.5 110k
Mods: Cold Air Intake, Polished Intake Ports, 12inch front brakes

Krivasauto since our cars are Cutlass Supreme replacments this car was a Intrigue back in the day with RWD 442 just like the Chevelle SS. Man why did GM screw up many RWD Midsized sedans with FWD.
Maybe that's why I like Intrigues so much. Wonder what it would be like to take an lx5 and slide it under the hood of a supreme.


Hey Krivasauto since you do alot of work on your Intrigues I wonder if the thought of performance bothers you, well I see you made your point, Because if its going to be completely stock im not going to be happy working on it.

Doesn't bother me - I just know that there is no such thing as a free lunch, I like the way they are, and I am called so often to do other things I would hardly work on my cars if I didn't have to. But I am all for other folks like you showing me how. One of these days I am going to lower the silver one, put some 442 style stripes and hood scoops, and some rallye-style wheels. Sigh. Too much want, too little time and money.

i've seen the map and throttle position sensors mentioned on this forum before.

Would any of you touch those? or just leave them till a check engine light turns on?

I would guess they've never been touched on my vehicle at this point. (partly because i don't know where they are :P )

ooh! ooh! I thought of one!


If you havent already, clean the throttle body. I personally pulled mine completely off so I could get to both sides of the throttle plate really well. At the same time I did mine I also lubed up the throttle spring a bit....for me I noticed that my gas pedal stopped sticking, which Ive heard others complain about, and mine has started doing again. Makes it difficult to give light throttle.

At the same time I did mine I also lubed up the throttle spring a bit....for me I noticed that my gas pedal stopped sticking, which Ive heard others complain about, and mine has started doing again. Makes it difficult to give light throttle. what would you use to lube up the spring?

i've got wd-40, marvel mystery oil, lithium spray grease, PB Blaster, etc

I think at the time I used WD-40, which for my environment is probably best, I live in a very dusty environment, so having a big pile of lithium grease, etc, is just asking for problems. WD-40 kinda cleans and lubricates but it doesnt typically stay around for very long.

Im not sure if my sticking pedal was caused by the dirty throttle body or the spring, I did both at the same time and whatever it was fixed it.

i've seen the map and throttle position sensors mentioned on this forum before.

Would any of you touch those? or just leave them till a check engine light turns on?

I would guess they've never been touched on my vehicle at this point. (partly because i don't know where they are :P )

Just leave 'em. The SES light usually does a pretty good job of indicating when these parts fail.

no wd-40 does not last long. and another thing if you put that junk on your spark plugs thread you will have a hell of a time getting them out if you don't change often. cleaning throttle body is a good start. bosch plugs i have never liked do you have the split fire in it? that will eat gas. i'd go from anything but those like ngk's or ac's or even motorcraft and those are junk also i'd rather use autolite or anything but boch's,or nipodinzo.

bosch plugs i have never liked do you have the split fire in it? that will eat gas. i'd go from anything but those like ngk's or ac's or even motorcraft and those are junk also i'd rather use autolite or anything but boch's,or nipodinzo.It was probably five years ago. Back when i didn't see too many preferences for plugs. At the time I just went with what that particular shop recommended. I think they were BOSCH Platinum+2 (Part # 4305).

looks like it has two electrodes on it http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/316l1-WcHGL._SS400_.jpg

I'll probably change them sometime in the next year to ACDelcos just to be safe.

When i get this spark plug change done... would you guys recommend changing out the spark plug boots as well?

If you havent already, clean the throttle body. I personally pulled mine completely off so I could get to both sides of the throttle plate really well. At the same time I did mine I also lubed up the throttle spring a bit....for me I noticed that my gas pedal stopped sticking, which Ive heard others complain about, and mine has started doing again. Makes it difficult to give light throttle.

I've done that also there was a layer of gunk on the back of it so I used a screwdriver that takes bits star bits I believe. Removing it makes cleaning allot easier. But when you put it back makes sure the perimeter is clean and all aligned well if not throttle will stick.

Check your MAF clean it if its dirty use some QTIPS and some electric cleaner or maybe rubbing alcohol but be careful its fragile don’t apply pressure.

When i get this spark plug change done... would you guys recommend changing out the spark plug boots as well?
Not unless you tear them up pulling them out, or if they are falling apart from age and heat and gunk. But mine were in good shape, and I just cleaned them off:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0df33b3127ccef94d1ed24a0c00000030O08IZtXLZszag9 vPhI/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

I get about 17-21 city, 21-24mixed, would be 24-27.5 if mostly highway
that's pretty good at least compared to what's posted on the govt fuel economy site... They estimated 17/26 based on the newly revised EPA estimates. The old EPA estimate was 19/28 for the 3.5L.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/bymodel/2000_Oldsmobile_Intrigue.shtml

Does anyone know if the 3.29 gear ratio could affect fuel economy?

Just did a check of my fuel economy and i think i'm averaging close to 28mpg on the highway. Kind of surprised at the results.

Must be a combination of the recent maintenance that I did like the transmission filter, fuel filter, and MAF sensor. I also dumped a can of Marvel Mystery Oil Fuel Injector Cleaner in recently too.

So happy that i've been able to get it back up again.
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I bought an upstream oxygen sensor and new AC Delco (NGK) Plugs the other day. Haven't installed them yet. Probably won't replace the Bosch Platinum 2 plugs just yet as it seems like they're running just fine.

I will probably do the O2 sensor sometime soon to see if i can eek out some more gains.
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The one thing I did recently that had the most significant change with my intrigue is changing out some of the Power steering Fluid mentioned in another topic (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=922549).

I did three or four changes out of the reservoir about once a week and it really helped a ton. It's really brought back the steering to feel like it's a new car again. I think it's criminal that GM didn't mention some sort of fluid change every 50k miles or so. Wish i had done long before 100k.

Would you guys mess with the brake fluid at this point or leave it be?

I recently changed out the fluid in the reservoir but that's it so far. I was considering doing that a few more times rather than mess around with the calipers since i'm pretty much a novice in terms of the brake system.

Would you guys mess with the brake fluid at this point or leave it be?

I recently changed out the fluid in the reservoir but that's it so far. I was considering doing that a few more times rather than mess around with the calipers since i'm pretty much a novice in terms of the brake system.

You need to check the fluid and see what color it is with a white napkin or paper, mine was light green. I changed it yesterday and now its all clear from reservoir to all 4 calipers. Turkey baste what you can out of the reservoir and top it off with new fluid. I started with the closest wheel FL/FR/RL/RR and proceeded till the furthest. Watch the reservoir as you flush out the old fluid don’t let it run dry keep filling it. The fluid will become clearer as you go and check it with a napkin.

Things you will need:
A person to pump the brakes
Gojo, rags, white napkins, latex gloves
32oz Brake Fluid Dot3 or 4/5/5.1
Hydraulic jack
4 jack stands
19mm socket bit
10mm combination wrench
Clear snug hose for bleeder
Container
Turkey baster
A pan to catch brake fluid when you finally bleed it
Torque wrench- lugs 100ftlbs, 118ftlbs center hub nut to be to spec

i would also bleed all for calpers get junk out if it's not clear? also it will last longer on front brake line hoses from colapsing inside.

You need to check the fluid and see what color it is with a white napkin or paper, mine was light green. I changed it yesterday and now its all clear from reservoir to all 4 calipers. Turkey baste what you can out of the reservoir and top it off with new fluid. I started with the closest wheel FL/FR/RL/RR and proceeded till the furthest. Watch the reservoir as you flush out the old fluid don’t let it run dry keep filling it. The fluid will become clearer as you go and check it with a napkin. yeah, my fluid is still pretty crude oil black.

Would you put any penetrating oil on the bleeder screws beforehand?

When i googled searched for some info, i see that people have broken bleeder screws before. That's the last thing i want to have happen as I'm not experienced enough yet to fix that level of a mess. heh

Thanks for the list of stuff, I might give it a go.

If you’re doing it for the first time make sure you break all the build up around the bleeder use a flathead and slightly rub around it with a wire brush if you can. I would use some lube too if its your first time doing it. I did all that before when I changed my pads and rotors. I have to say if you are worried about breaking the bleeder do all of this and use a 10mm socket over it with a ratchet that should hold it the best.

For some reason the bleeder on my FL caliper was a 9mm and the rest were 10mm so if I were you I’d make sure what the size is.

Got around to putting in a new Autocraft Gold battery from Advance Auto Parts. It brought back a lot of memories on how much of a pain in the butt this battery is to install. At least this time the positive terminal of the battery didn't completely rip off and start leaking acid all over the place like the OEM battery did.

I've been going with the higher 770 cold cranking amps battery. The OEM battery only requires 690. It's a little more expensive, but I figure it's worth it considering how cold it gets here in Illinois.

Last battery was an Autocraft Titanium that lasted six years (now called Gold). Starting was getting sluggish in the recent cold weather. Had it tested and it was bad.

These old and new Autocraft batteries were both made by Johnson Controls which is a pretty reputable battery manufacturer. I believe Autozone Duralast batteries are also made by Johnson Controls.

yeah, my fluid is still pretty crude oil black.












Would you put any penetrating oil on the bleeder screws beforehand?

When i googled searched for some info, i see that people have broken bleeder screws before. That's the last thing i want to have happen as I'm not experienced enough yet to fix that level of a mess. heh

Thanks for the list of stuff, I might give it a go. also if that don't work i take a brass hammer and smack them that will loosen threads inside calipers,wheel cylinders and if you smash them you could always buy 4 new bleeders.

Got around to putting in a new Autocraft Gold battery from Advance Auto Parts. car started up perfectly today in 17 degree weather. No longer sluggish. Glad i caught it before i got stranded somewhere. :)