Bad luck with GM 3800 motor!
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Did it ever have leaking LIM gaskets? That's a sure killer.
Yeah these engines have the notorious cracking plastic intake manifolds or did they fix that by 2002?
Yeah and the upper intake was also a sure killer on the earler model series IIs. The later series II supercharged with a rod knock is kind of surprising, but could've been due to the lower gasket. (I don't think the Buick-derived cast rods was a strong suit either, cast rods higher rod/bearing failure rates). That some bad luck.
I'm not a big fan of the series II 3.8 (or all the annoying issues on 2nd generation W-bodies). At least the 60 degree would rarley fail even with a leaking intake gasket if the oil was changed frequently. GM finally fixed the 3.8 with the series III then canceled the engine what about 2 years later? Sheesh.
I'm not a big fan of the series II 3.8 (or all the annoying issues on 2nd generation W-bodies). At least the 60 degree would rarley fail even with a leaking intake gasket if the oil was changed frequently. GM finally fixed the 3.8 with the series III then canceled the engine what about 2 years later? Sheesh.
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Originally Posted By: Michael_P
Sorry to hear about that. The 3800 is actually a really good engine, Just cheap stuff bolted to it.
That's frustrating part about it. Despite being a pushrod engine derived from an older V8 design, it got all kinds of good, advanced things and ran smooth and can achieve high durability. All ruined with a few bolted on cheap stuff. Then those issue corrected just a couple years before cancelling it.
Sorry to hear about that. The 3800 is actually a really good engine, Just cheap stuff bolted to it.
That's frustrating part about it. Despite being a pushrod engine derived from an older V8 design, it got all kinds of good, advanced things and ran smooth and can achieve high durability. All ruined with a few bolted on cheap stuff. Then those issue corrected just a couple years before cancelling it.
The PP cause the rod knock [censored] pennzoil
Knock on wood, my wife's 1998 Regal GS is running strong. 153,000 miles and counting.
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
GM finally fixed the 3.8 with the series III then canceled the engine what about 2 years later? Sheesh.
That's GM for you:
"We finally got it right! This thing is perfect!"
"Good work. You've got 18 months to stop production completely."
GM finally fixed the 3.8 with the series III then canceled the engine what about 2 years later? Sheesh.
That's GM for you:
"We finally got it right! This thing is perfect!"
"Good work. You've got 18 months to stop production completely."
They are hit or miss really, my little brother has a 1992 Buick Riviera with the 3.8 and it has just over 200k on it. Got it from an older couple who never had an issue with it. The only thing we have had to replace is the brake lines last year. Strong and smooth engine for an older V6.
Did they every stop using the plastic coolant elbows? Those would break and burn the engine down fast.
Originally Posted By: yonyon
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
GM finally fixed the 3.8 with the series III then canceled the engine what about 2 years later? Sheesh.
That's GM for you:
"We finally got it right! This thing is perfect!"
"Good work. You've got 18 months to stop production completely."
Yeah lol. Engineering could've gotten get it right from the beginning. But the focus was on cost and other things. Ironically, how was cost saved in the end by continually revising something just to cancel it soon? Not to mention losing customers that won't trust the entire car or the brand over the rpoblems of a cheap gasket.
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
GM finally fixed the 3.8 with the series III then canceled the engine what about 2 years later? Sheesh.
That's GM for you:
"We finally got it right! This thing is perfect!"
"Good work. You've got 18 months to stop production completely."
Yeah lol. Engineering could've gotten get it right from the beginning. But the focus was on cost and other things. Ironically, how was cost saved in the end by continually revising something just to cancel it soon? Not to mention losing customers that won't trust the entire car or the brand over the rpoblems of a cheap gasket.
Originally Posted By: MuzzleFlash40
They are hit or miss really, my little brother has a 1992 Buick Riviera with the 3.8 and it has just over 200k on it. Got it from an older couple who never had an issue with it. The only thing we have had to replace is the brake lines last year. Strong and smooth engine for an older V6.
That was the series one, with less plastic parts exposed to coolant, and Dexcool, unlike the series II. Some of the late 80's early 90's GM But were more reliable than mid 90's to early '00 I think. Still it's a good case in point of a few non-durable parts design choices and maybe parts supplier shortcomings can hurt what is otherwise a durable design.
It seems GM has addressed those problems lately.
They are hit or miss really, my little brother has a 1992 Buick Riviera with the 3.8 and it has just over 200k on it. Got it from an older couple who never had an issue with it. The only thing we have had to replace is the brake lines last year. Strong and smooth engine for an older V6.
That was the series one, with less plastic parts exposed to coolant, and Dexcool, unlike the series II. Some of the late 80's early 90's GM But were more reliable than mid 90's to early '00 I think. Still it's a good case in point of a few non-durable parts design choices and maybe parts supplier shortcomings can hurt what is otherwise a durable design.
It seems GM has addressed those problems lately.
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Did they every stop using the plastic coolant elbows? Those would break and burn the engine down fast.
That exact thing happened to my brother's car. He started it up when it was -10° and left it idle in front of his house for a few minutes. He happened to look out the window and saw a huge cloud coming out of the engine compartment. It shot coolant all over the engine, but luckily, it had just broke when he saw it. I kidded around with the GM parts man that since this was such a poor design, GM should fix this for free. (The replacement was steel) He didn't see much humor in that.
Did they every stop using the plastic coolant elbows? Those would break and burn the engine down fast.
That exact thing happened to my brother's car. He started it up when it was -10° and left it idle in front of his house for a few minutes. He happened to look out the window and saw a huge cloud coming out of the engine compartment. It shot coolant all over the engine, but luckily, it had just broke when he saw it. I kidded around with the GM parts man that since this was such a poor design, GM should fix this for free. (The replacement was steel) He didn't see much humor in that.
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I had an `87 Olds Trofeo and sold it with a lil over 300,000 to buy a 3000GT. My dad gave his `90 Olds Delta 88 to one of my nephews with well over 500,000 on it. Both ran flawlessly,and the Delta 88 still does to this day.
Were the earlier 3800`s better than the Series II and III? They seem to be more durable and didn`t have all that plastic stuff on them.
Were the earlier 3800`s better than the Series II and III? They seem to be more durable and didn`t have all that plastic stuff on them.
it was dex cool.... i see it every day
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