Discuss your 2000-2005 Bonneville SE, SLE, SSEi, Buick Le Sabre 00-05 and Buick Park Avenue 97-05. Please use General Chat for non-mechanical issues, and Performance and Brainstorming for improvements.
i am working on an 01 bonny SE. i just installed a new fuel pump and went to look under the hood to see why the engine was chugging. found a bad hose connected to the throttle body coming from the fuel pressure regulator. that is now leaking after swapping the fuel pump!
anyway, i also put in a new thermostat a week ago and noticed there was little to no coolant in the car. took an entire gallon to fill back to full. today while looking for the source of an air leak, i noticed coolant spurting out of where the throttle body meets the upper intake.
i am not sure if it is a UIM issue. i truly hope not, however the car has 124K on it and I believe they are the original. any way to tell without disassembling anything?
i will just go with the throttle body gasket for now. i can recommend he get the UIM and LIM done soon, but it will be his decision ultiimately. he was hesitant on doing the wheel bearings when the one was grinding. cheap bastard!!!
Yes, coolant flows up into the UIM, and into the TB. If the gasket between the UIM and TB is bad, coolant can leak there. As mentioned though it is also possible that the plastic UIM is itself warped at the TB mounting flange (or that one of the TB mounting stud threaded inserts has pulled out of the plastic UIM), so if the new TB gasket (~$5 part) doesn't fix it, take a hard look at the UIM.
mlkmgr wrote:...found a bad hose connected to the throttle body coming from the fuel pressure regulator. that is now leaking after swapping the fuel pump!...
Are you talking about the coolant leak at the TB here, or a separate issue like fuel coming out of the line from the FPR to the TB?
2004 Buick Lesabre Limited, Gran Touring
Bone Stock
dat was fuel coming out of the FPR, not coolant. my apologies for the coolant mix up. i was going to tie it all into one thread, but thought i would differentiate the two separate issues.
would the warp be visible if it is the plastic intake?
also, do i need gasket sealer placed on the new gasket or should it be fine on its own?
Warpage of the UIM at the TB would not necessarily be visible, it doesn't take much to cause a leak. If a TB stud threaded insert is loose, that will become obvious when you remove the TB.
As gonzo said, just a gasket. On L36 the TB gasket is a silicone molded gasket that sits in a groove.
One more thing...is there any reason to suspect that the coolant leak got inside the UIM? Any steam or coolant smell in the exhaust? Unless you are 100% sure the coolant leak was entirely external, you should remove the UIM, sop up any coolant sitting in there, and get the oil changed ASAP as internal coolant ingestion can lead to oil contamination and destroyed main or rod bearings.
(When you remove the TB, look inside the UIM with a flashlight and see if there is a coolant puddle in there.)
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On your second item: if there is fuel coming out the FPR vacuum port, this means the diaphragm in the FPR is broken. You must replace the FPR as soon as possible, or you could have an engine explosion from fuel getting sucked into the UIM.
There is a recall on L36 H-bodies of certain years (I know my 1998 got the recall, 2004 not; I believe 2001 does) for faulty FPR's that do just that. There are also threads of exploded UIMs spread around the 3800 boards from this. Call a dealership and see if they'll replace the FPR free under recall; if not, get yourself a replacement ASAP, new--or even used from a post-recall year.
Last edited by agrazela on Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
2004 Buick Lesabre Limited, Gran Touring
Bone Stock
ok, looking to replace both UIM & LIM gaskets. i have read APN and Dorman and something about an aluminum gasket but not sure where to purchase or order from. any help or if someone can point me in the right direction, i would greatly appreciate it!
i was checking oreilly and advance auto (major chains in my area) and both offer Fel-pro kits with listings as "2nd design". Not sure if these are recommended or not?
You want to get the Aluminum Framed gaskets for the lower Intake manifold. You can get them at the dealer, or through INTENSE (intense-racing.com) The price is the same at both places, at least it was when I bought my gaskets last spring from the dealer.
-Tom
2003 Silverado Ext. Cab - Charcoal - 128,000 miles - Stock...for now.
2000 SSEi - Gone, but not forgotten.
thanks viper! i just saw that as well--should have actually read instead of just scanning the page! i was attempting to link to the "replacement parts" link and was getting page could not be found. anyway, thanks again.
ok, thanks to all those who have posted thus far. ordered the APN UIM kit and aluminum gasket from GM parts direct. i will begin to read the tech how-to to begin to familiarize myself with this procedure. i will post back as i am sure i will have additional questions once i begin....
It's not too hard, just take your time and organize all parts, bolts, pieces, etc.
Bye Bye: RIP sandrock
Sirius wrote:Think about it. You’re tooling down the road in your Prius, knowing full-well that this thing being green is as big a sham as federally mandated ethanol-enriched gas, Russia pulling out of Ukraine, and Obamacare.
If you ordered from GM Parts Direct, you will have plenty of time to study up on the procedure. Their delivery time can be 4 to 6 weeks--if you are very, very lucky; more like 2 to 3 months if you are only of average luck. I'm not kidding
In fact, if you ordered only the LIM gaskets from GMPD, you may want to either:
1) Cancel that order, or;
2) Also order a set from a faster place, like http://www.intense-racing.com or http://www.zzperformance.com, and sell off the GMPD ones when they show up
Meantime, have you looked into the FPR situation?
2004 Buick Lesabre Limited, Gran Touring
Bone Stock
