2006 buick lacrosse 3.8l

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 14, 2015
Messages
357
Location
Washington
Grandparents buick just hit 75k. Im the one that maintenances the car. What should i do for the 75k? Plugs, wires, belt inspection, tranny drain fill, anything else? Has oem plugs and wires. I already did a comple tranny fluid flush/ change at 50k at work. Anything im missing for 75k. Just did new douglas all seasons in december with a alignment.
 
Last edited:
Unless there is a problem, the plugs should be good to 100K. Check the belt carefully. The hoses should be good indefinatly. GM used quality hoses.
 
Brake fluid, coolant drain and fill, ATF d&f, PS fluid, clean and lube battery terminals, clean and lube brake calipers, wipers

New air and cabin filters
 
Coolant flush. Do it at the dealer or you'll never get all the old stuff out. Intake gaskets don't need to be changed on the newer 3.8's. Aluminum upper intake manifold along with the steel crush gaskets on the lower intake.

Honestly if it's only got 75k on it I'd go ahead an run CRC 5 minute engine flush to remove any sludge. Make sure the engine is operating temp before adding it, lowers the chance of dislodging a giant glob of sludge. Other than that the trans is decent, I'd drop it anyways to replace the filter, replaced with 7.2 qts of Dex VI and call it done.

Plugs and wires should be good. Changed mine at 98k just because of manufacturer recommendations and didn'd notice any increase in mileage, engine ran just the same too.
 
Sounds like just brake, ps, and coolant. Will check the cabin air also. Air filter was done about 2 oil changes ago so its fine. I have them do quaker state con with ac delco oil filter at walmart. Every 3-4k they live 30 miles from town so it doesnt really get short tripped.
 
Last edited:
Coolant flush if it looks like it could use it. Bleed the brakes and flush out the old fluid. Maybe check/clean the throttle body. Inspect belts and hoses but they do last quite a while so no need to shotgun all that, or the ignition stuff. (FYI when the time - 100K - comes for plugs, I've burned up a set of Delco coppers in ~1000 miles but Delco iridiums run very well.) Don't worry about the transmission until 100K, either. PS flush is optional but not a bad idea.
 
Last edited:
Cabin filter. When you replace the plugs buy new wires b/c you'll screw them up getting them off the OE plugs.
 
Last edited:
The main drive pulley for the serpentine belt is a combination pulley and harmonic balancer. They go bad around 75K to 85K miles. There is a black rubber piece between the inner pulley and the outer drive pulley. That black rubber breaks down with age and the outer pulley becomes un-aligned and that causes the serpentine belt to fall off of the drive pulley. When that happens the vehicle looses power-steering, alternator, and water-pump. Even if the person driving it has the mussel to man-handle the steering-wheel without the assist of the power, the engine will quickly over-heat without the water-pump working. And if someone does put a new serpentine belt on it will quickly fall off, until a new balancer/pulley is put on.

Note, to access the balance/pulley remove the front wheel and the wheel-well.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Also to flush the power-steering fluid with new fluid, get some type of siphon and two large bottles of power-steering fluid, and a container to put used fluid into.

Siphon out the power-steering fluid, replace with new fluid, start the engine and turn the steering wheel all the way to one side, and then all the way to the other side and then back to center, shut off the engine, and repeat until you use up all of the two big bottles of fluid.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
The main drive pulley for the serpentine belt is a combination pulley and harmonic balancer. They go bad around 75K to 85K miles. There is a black rubber piece between the inner pulley and the outer drive pulley. That black rubber breaks down with age and the outer pulley becomes un-aligned and that causes the serpentine belt to fall off of the drive pulley. When that happens the vehicle looses power-steering, alternator, and water-pump. Even if the person driving it has the mussel to man-handle the steering-wheel without the assist of the power, the engine will quickly over-heat without the water-pump working. And if someone does put a new serpentine belt on it will quickly fall off, until a new balancer/pulley is put on.

Note, to access the balance/pulley remove the front wheel and the wheel-well.

Also to flush the power-steering fluid with new fluid, get some type of siphon and two large bottles of power-steering fluid, and a container to put used fluid into.

Siphon out the power-steering fluid, replace with new fluid, start the engine and turn the steering wheel all the way to one side, and then all the way to the other side and then back to center, shut off the engine, and repeat until you use up all of the two big bottles of fluid.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah mine went bad at around 100k miles. They actually have a plastic access panel to get to the balancer, you don't have to pull the wheel well as you can swivel the access panel out of the way. Given the pain in the [censored] it is to get everything lined up and pull the balancer without damaging the CPS sensor (don't screw the puller bolts all the way in or the magnetic pull will screw up the sensor and cause a no start condition)I'd wait until it went bad to replace. My 3800 saw a lot of high RPM operation between 75k and the failure of the balancer which most likely contributed to it falling apart. I still drove it 60 miles back home without it damaging anything. Made a god awful racket tho. I remember sitting at a drive thru and hearing the bang bang bang of the balancer and thinking that couldn't be me. Moved the gear selector around and I was like oh [censored] my car is DONE!
 
Last edited:
The GM 3.8L is a awesome engine. Very good on fuel economy, super reliable, can easy go 300k with just oil changes, spark plugs, and plug wires. A coil may go occasionally but super easy to replace.

Only issue(s) with the engine are intake manifold gaskets and coolant elbows.
 
The series III engine has a metal upper intake and upgraded gaskets that are generally trouble free. You should pre-emptively replace the elbows when changing the coolant though.
 
Originally Posted By: bmod305
Coolant elbows!!! PCV


I replaced the plastic coolant elbows with metal elbows . At 38,000 miles , the old ones looked OK , but I am hopeing the metal ones last a LONG time .
 
Originally Posted By: Hemispheres
Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
The main drive pulley for the serpentine belt is a combination pulley and harmonic balancer. They go bad around 75K to 85K miles. There is a black rubber piece between the inner pulley and the outer drive pulley. That black rubber breaks down with age and the outer pulley becomes un-aligned and that causes the serpentine belt to fall off of the drive pulley. When that happens the vehicle looses power-steering, alternator, and water-pump. Even if the person driving it has the mussel to man-handle the steering-wheel without the assist of the power, the engine will quickly over-heat without the water-pump working. And if someone does put a new serpentine belt on it will quickly fall off, until a new balancer/pulley is put on.


Note, to access the balance/pulley remove the front wheel and the wheel-well.

Also to flush the power-steering fluid with new fluid, get some type of siphon and two large bottles of power-steering fluid, and a container to put used fluid into.

Siphon out the power-steering fluid, replace with new fluid, start the engine and turn the steering wheel all the way to one side, and then all the way to the other side and then back to center, shut off the engine, and repeat until you use up all of the two big bottles of fluid.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah mine went bad at around 100k miles. They actually have a plastic access panel to get to the balancer, you don't have to pull the wheel well as you can swivel the access panel out of the way. Given the pain in the [censored] it is to get everything lined up and pull the balancer without damaging the CPS sensor (don't screw the puller bolts all the way in or the magnetic pull will screw up the sensor and cause a no start condition)I'd wait until it went bad to replace. My 3800 saw a lot of high RPM operation between 75k and the failure of the balancer which most likely contributed to it falling apart. I still drove it 60 miles back home without it damaging anything. Made a god awful racket tho. I remember sitting at a drive thru and hearing the bang bang bang of the balancer and thinking that couldn't be me. Moved the gear selector around and I was like oh [censored] my car is DONE!



He is trying to do preventative maintenance on his grandparents car. Because they are old they probably do not have the strength to man-handle the steering wheel without the power assist that power steering provides. Without the ability to turn they could wreck the vehicle. Not to mention being stranded somewhere where-ever the serpentine belt comes off. For an older couple replacing the main drive pulley/balancer would definitely be worth while preventive maintenance.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
Originally Posted By: bmod305
Coolant elbows!!! PCV


I replaced the plastic coolant elbows with metal elbows . At 38,000 miles , the old ones looked OK , but I am hopeing the metal ones last a LONG time .

The aluminum Dormans are the way to go. The Dorman o rings are a different story(junk). They will eventually leak.If you want the longest lasting solution, peel the o rings off the aluminum Dorman elbows and replace with AC Delco's. They are slightly thicker.You will likely never have another problem with them.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Lubener
Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
Originally Posted By: bmod305
Coolant elbows!!! PCV


I replaced the plastic coolant elbows with metal elbows . At 38,000 miles , the old ones looked OK , but I am hopeing the metal ones last a LONG time .

The aluminum Dormans are the way to go. The Dorman o rings are a different story(junk). They will eventually leak.If you want the longest lasting solution, peel the o rings off the aluminum Dorman elbows and replace with AC Delco's. They are slightly thicker.You will likely never have another problem with them.


12 years old would also be a good time to flush the cooling system and install new coolant.
 
A retired Mercedes mechanic once told me that anti-freeze is initially an acid, and that chemicals are added to it to neutralize the acid. He said that the chemicals that neutralize that acid loose their ability to work over time and the anti-freeze again becomes an acid. He said that if you ever see an old vehicle with a very clean cooling system you should replace the anti-freeze because it has become an acid and has cleaned the cooling system, but if not changed the acid will eat through the cooling system.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top