3rd Jan 2003, 11:10

I have a 94 Buick Roadmaster Wagon with 90K on it. First time it wandered, I replaced the tie rods, sleeves, up to the center link at 60K. Cost me my time and less than $100, dealer wanted $400. I returned to the Pontiac Dealer said we can't align that car. How was he going to align it before?

I have had the car back at least 5x to my local mechanic for alignment in about 18 months. It lost some shims one time. Idler arm went at 80K and went again at 90K, the center link is also worn. I will replace those two parts this weekend.

Evaporator failed at 70K. $400 bucks for that part. The nuts needed a 7/32's socket. One muffler failed and both flanges rotted off, no big deal.

Distributor failed at 60K. $400 bucks for that part. The repair shop said this was common and said 700 to 800 to fix. The distributor sits flat against the block and you have to remove a lot of stuff to get to it. Take your time, label everything, and take notes.

Overall, I still like the car. But that Pontiac dealer incident estimated repairs to be 2500, the distributor 800, the latest water pump etc to be 800, and this is way more expensive than my 86 Pontiac Parisenne wagon. The Buick kicks and it is a lot more fun to drive.

Smoke those Volkswagens (I own a few of those also). I have even dragged Mustangs in the wagon!!! Hey DAD!

19th Nov 2003, 21:34

I just purchased a '94 Beast Wagon with 55K miles. She looks like a new car, but the mileage is really poor (10 mpg). I think something needs to cleaned or replaced: So far I have changed the air filter, the plugs & plug wires and had the fuel injectors cleaned. The plugs & wires were not very easy to access with all the emission gear around them. Any other replacement ideas? Also, I have noticed that the suspension does feel a bit sloppy. Can't find any non mechanical parts, like a rear cargo cover either.

30th Oct 2004, 20:22

I'm looking at buying a 1994 Estate Wagon. 149K. The owner has told me that he replaced some ball joints and the ABS computer. It has the High Output 5.7. What kind of gas consumption can I expect? (CDN) Is this front end wondering something I should be concerned with? The seller has only had it for a year. Is there something I'm not seeing? Please advise.

23rd Feb 2005, 15:19

1994 and older LT1 engines have weep holes on the bottom of the crankfire distributor, these were design to allow moisture to drain out, but they ended up letting water in when it rains, the "distributor" is somewhere around 400 dollars from the factory for the 1992-1994, the 1995-1997 units is a hundred dollars less and incorporates a hose that routes to your intake elbow to suck out the condensation and eliminates the weep hole troubles. I am not sure how hard it is to switch to the newer design, but perhaps a hybrid would work. By the way MSD makes an aftermarket rotor and cap for this optispark system that is only $150. Check you Summit catalogs.

8th Jun 2005, 20:20

Hi. I own a 95 roadmaster and I don't have brake lites? the upper in the window works... Any ideas would help...Steven.

30th Jun 2006, 11:34

Just purchased a 1994 with 95,000kms on it. Yes, I'm from Canada! The motor is mint and the interior is mint. I must say, I am amazed at the pick up of this huge car!

The only thing that I have replaced so far is the rollers for the power windows in the passenger front door ($150). The air is ice cold! I love the car!

I have one small problem. Just bought a new house, and it has a 3/4 driveway with sidewalk and the car doesn't fit. We are thinking of selling it! $6000 obo takes it.

Clcstudentministries@rogers.com.

I really don't want to give her up, but I don't know where to park it.

13th Jul 2006, 00:52

Hello from Toronto here.

I have a 1994 Roadmaster Wagon since new and currently has over 160,000km on it.

About 6 years ago, it car started stalling for no reason as if I turned the engine off with the ignition key. After a few months it started to do it too often. I took it to my mechanic and he changed the computer. That fixed the prob.

Replaced the fly wheel and start motor (my fault, started the engine when it was on!).

Changed the front rotors and pads at around 100,000km. The drum breaks are still original, including the shocks. Break line rusted out a few months ago. Rear automatic height adjustment pump keeps pumping if too much weight in car. Realized there was a problem when I loaded around 900lbs in the car 5 or so years ago. I didn't fix it yet.

Everything else is original. Car still runs like new. Very powerful engine. However, I think the mufflers and shocks are next. Fuel pump and coolant pump too! Been worried about them for years due to age, but they're still working! Overall, this wagon has provided 12 years and 160,000km of trouble free service.

For the exterior upkeep, I take it to the car wash at least 2x a month during the winters and keep tabs on new rust spots every few months; paint chips with touch up paint; spot spray with rust check for the under body and me wagon should look pristine for many more years to come.

Ride is comfy and handles quite well for such a heavy car. Best of all, power is amble especially with the 'detuned' 5.7 LTI. I rarely ever need to bow down to cars when merging or getting ahead of them at the stop light. If I'm matched up with a civic or corolla, I'm guessing just a bit under 1/2 throttle is enough. LOL!

7th Nov 2006, 14:32

I have a '94 with 154,000 miles, and I just replaced to water pump and radiator. The pump leaked bad and didn't cause any problems for the opti-spark unit, which surprised me. The engine never skipped a beat. I love the car.

27th Nov 2006, 22:36

I just bought a '94 Roadmaster, but the trim on the outside of the passenger door fell off. If you know a website where I could get this, and/or if you know how to go about fixing this once I do find the part, I'd appreciate it if you'd contact me. Thanks a lot. Z3232509@aol.com.

5th Jan 2008, 17:56

My 1994 Roadmaster will stop running for no apparent reason. It acts like it is out of gas. I changed the plugs and fuel filter. I can get it to run with starter fluid, but then it stops again. I cannot hear the fuel pump running. Can I access the fuel pump through the trunk or do I have to drop the tank?

24th Jan 2010, 13:29

We have a 94 Estate Wagon we bought with 80,000+ miles on it.

Window rail problems are common (my brother has two wagons and windows fall out of them, too). Simple fix: don't use the windows, the AC works awesome!

The comment about weep holes by the distributor are interesting. After sitting in a torrential rain, the car won't start for a while, but no problems while driving.

Had to replace original AC compressor after 100,000+ miles.

Last week the original (!) battery died. We find that we have a "starter system electrical ground problem" that killed the original battery and a new one we just put in. Trying to trace that now.

This car has a ton of power (recently smoked my son's high performance Grand AM), rides like a dream, and gets great highway mileage. At 160,000 miles, we have no intention of getting rid of it!

2nd Apr 2011, 23:55

14 to 22, depending on driving habits.