'99 Olds Bravada questions re: fluids

[starfireelvis]

Just bought a '99 Olds Bravada, didn't have the owner's manual in it(have one coming to me any day thanks to eBay).

Wanted to do a quick check on fluids, what types are used for transmission (Dexron III I would imagine), also are the standard GM fluids used here as well for power brakes, power steering, etc.

Thanks,

Mike

[rocketraider]

God help, boy- why didn't you ask someone before you bought this thing? Maybe you got lucky and got a good one, but you couldn't give me another one. Or a 94-later S-10 based anything for that matter. I'm convinced they are the biggest pieces of crap GM ever built- worse than Vegas and J-cars if that's possible.

The FIRST thing you need to do, if it hasn't already had it done, is get all the Dex-Cool out of it and use regular green antifreeze. This might buy you some time on the inevitable intake and heater core leaks.

Then check the front suspension over VERY carefully. The things eat ball joints and tie rod ends.

I will give them one thing. They are the best vehicle I've ever driven in snow. The AWD is almost seamless when it engages and a foot of snow didn't slow it down much. 6-8" didn't slow it down at all.

I hope it works well for you Mike. Mine was the most expensive vehicle I've ever owned, between its initial cost and what it cost me per mile to drive it. Can't say I was amused when the front end had to be rebuilt at 80K miles.

[starfireelvis]

Glenn, noticed your sentiments on the other thread regarding the '68 Delmont; oh well, it's mine now. Seems to drive fine, but we'll see what I'm in for.

Back to my initial question, just wanted to make sure about the tranny fluid, etc.; appreciate the word about the dex-cool and getting the regular green stuff in it.

Will keep you posted, thanks again,

Mike

[rocketraider]

Dexron III will work fine for transmission. All other fluids are generic; I don't recall anything having to have anything special. Even the AWD unit uses Dexron (or did in 97).

I think the biggest thing that chapped me about the Bravada was that after the local Olds dealer closed, no one wanted to work on it when it did need service- not even the generic GM dealer. As soon as a shop heard AWD, the immediate response was "We don't work on those"- as common as AWD vehicles were by then??!! And the AWD was one of the few things that never gave any trouble.

When I bought it, the 4WD front suspension issues weren't known- that generation of S trucks had not been out long enough then for it to show up.

The "box" Bravadas were a far superior vehicle to the 94-later. You still see dozens of box S-based trucks and SUV's here, and people will not give them up. They will drive them till they won't go any further and then hunt for another one.

[Larry Schramm]

Interesting experiences that you have had with your Bravada. I just sold my 98 Blazer with 256,000 miles and did not do any front end work like the ball joints, etc until it had over 200,000 miles. I will agree that it was one great truck in the snow, etc.