1991 Oldsmobile 98 Touring Sedan from North America - Comments

When I first acquired the car, it hadn't been highway driven over 55mph in 3 years at least, so I kinda expected trouble. The tranny went out, at 70,000. After I had that repaired, I blew out the coolant pump at 75,000 miles. Since then, the alternator went (at 95,000) and until now (currently about 101,500) smooth sailing. I put mostly mid-grade gas into my car.

The air conditioner isn't very good anymore, dealer quoted $1200 to fix...

This is a great car. I first started in a 1986 Lincoln Continental, then got (in 1994) a 1986 Volvo 760 Turbo (intercooler). This is my first FWD car and I expected it to be a bit wussier'. It really has balls!

The interior is awesome, with a trip computer / lockable trunk control with the glove box lock, nice big center console for storage, motorized adjustable seats with motorized lumbar, leg, and neck supports as well as full tilts and reclines. All leather.

This car is kind of a battleship. It drives like a cop car that had its suspension tuned for comfort. It's great fun on the highway, as well as on twisty roads.

That 3800 is a great engine- they still use it to this day (it's a little different now, but basically the same engine). Expect to get at least 250,000 out of that car with proper maintenance. Mine had 245k on it before it got impounded : (

I wrote the 98 TS review, and I would like to add some more information two years on.

After replacing the alternator, I have had no serious problems with the car. I do have a minor problem, though - the oil pressure interface in the dashboard computer (a Hyundai product) is quite messed up. When I start the car, it either tells me "OIL PRESSURE SENDER PROBLEM" or "ENGINE OIL LOW". I about had a heart attack the first time I experienced this message - I was about 800 miles from home in the middle of nowhere. Since then, I hardly notice (the warnings can be cancelled by pressing the TEST button). The automatically dimming mirror no longer automatically dims. The dealer is confounded on both counts, and wants to perform exploratory mechanical surgery on the vehicle. I will not allow somebody to work on my car without a clear diagnosis of the problem and an accurate estimate, so these problems remain unfixed.

I am considering adding a Memcal 2620 computer to the car, to boost the output of the supercharged engine, and a performance muffler. The guy at the hot rod muffler store was impressed that this vehicle came with huge exhaust from the factory - in his words "It's already all set up."

I have a 1987 Touring Sedan I bought in 87. Right now it has 175,000+ miles and is still going strong. Still zippy, handles great and generally runs great. Recently it has started to rough idle when the engine is warm, to the point of feeling like it is going to stall. Now into the 6th trip to the 3rd garage, no one can find the problem. The Mass Airflow was replaced last year, perfectly tuned, fuel injectors pressure cleaned, and so on - still not right (though the pressure cleaning has made it a bit zipper). Added BG 44+ a couple of times in 2 months, helped dramatically the 1st time, but only for the 1st tank full, then back to old rough idle. Just added it for the second time, but didn't have as dramatic an impact this time. Now the A/C hit a snag, not blowing really high on MAX like it used to (a couple of weeks ago). The shop ordered and installed a new temp control center, it burned out within 10 minutes of installation, so old one's back in new one will be here in a couple of days. Sure wish they still made these - best car I've ever driven, even with 175K miles. Would buy another in a heartbeat if I could.

Hello, I have a 1990 olds regency touring sedan, I bought it with a lot of abuse, gave hardy any money for it, water pump bearings were bad and was leaking, radiator was leaking and some one was driving the car with a broken plug wire, I guess I saved the car from being abused any more.

I believe the car will do some mileage, it has 165.000 miles on it now and sence I put it back together she still is a fun car to drive as well as confortable..

I'm looking for some parts. I will mention some of them.

Center caps for 16 " wheels

olds emblem for front of hood.

If any one has extra's contact me at eje2275@hotmail.com.

Back a few years ago I had 1981 Olds Regency 2dr coupe which needed work on it to bring up to standered. I had the motor rebuilt or major work done as the person before me did not take care of the car. The body and Interior was beautiful otherwise I would not have bothered with it. Having done the work I had a fine tuned sounding motor, had to get all the gum out of the motor and flushed it time and time again, but when it was done, the motor was silent and smooth. We fixed the A/C and it did get cold in the car. It was a beautiful deep maroon, white quarter top and deep maroon plush Interior and it was all worth it, turned heads when on the streets.

Hello, it's me again, the original writer of the review. This is my 3rd comment here - we almost have an actual 'forum' going!

Not soon after I posted my second comment above, I purchased the factory service guide for the 1991 Olds 98 Regency / TS from Powell's City of Books in Portland. With its help, I managed to track down the problem and suggest to my service technician a solution, and got rid of the spurious computer error problem.

Now I have about 140,000 miles on the car, and all climate control has failed, except Oldsmobile's patented Flow-Through Ventilation System which of course still operates. It failed after a hard 2500 mile drive, not more than an hour from home. I will have the problem rectified soon. I will probably have the rear view mirror repaired or replaced as well, as well as the metal trim as I seem to tear that off by snagging clothing on it quite often (!). Still it's a great car and I wouldn't trade it for, but a few others like it. The large fuel tank and highway oriented gearing make it indispensable for driving all over the continent, and I have taken this automobile so far into backcountry (Muriel, OR) that I drove 30 miles on 4WD only roads by riding on the bank at the side of the road with one wheel, and the hump in the middle with the other, propped up at least 7% above horizontal much of the time (20 degrees?).

I drove by some guys with a Jeep, and they just stared in amazement at my wife and I as we idled past on this dirt wagon rut. This car is a keeper. If I ever see another one for sale, I would not hesitate to buy it.

Additionally I learned from the first owner of this particular car that not only was he a VP of Engineering at Oldsmobile, but that this car was built for him and was one of the first ones produced of that model year. I will eventually have it repainted and then clear coated, and all trim replaced. There is no body damage.

Does anybody know how many 1991 98 TS were produced? I heard the number was less than 1000 from the same source, but he wasn't sure.

I own a '90 98TS that I promise is the most unique of its class -- definitely NOT your father's Oldsmobile -- ours is a full-blown ART CAR. As a single mom with now-9-year twins, I was hesitant to buy this already older car with 162K miles on it several years ago. All the bells and whistles actually had me shy of it at first, figuring that's just more to break down. But, here we are at 240,000 miles, and this car is seriously a family member now, so very much a part of who this little trio of ours is I can't adequately describe it here. Rebuilt tranny about 2 years ago, and just recently had to replace harmonic balancer, also alternator, a/c compressor, radiator and water pump within past year or so... I'm thinking there's a connection here. Service engine light remains on, but some black electrical tape does the job on that for the time being. Gas mileage has been pretty bad lately, even after replacing plugs, wires and coil pack, and I notice some rough idle when cold, but it's not consistent enough to be of concern just yet. I perform most of my own repair work (after getting fed up with paying outrageous rates for other people's guess work and fixing friend's screw-ups on it). It's proving to be a good learning vehicle for me. Keep fingers crossed for us as we hit the 250K mark this summer and keep an eye out for the bit of color you see happily cruising by on its way to the next event.!

Cory

Houston, Texas.