a new owner of a 98 lesbre v6 and i need advice

[myfirstbonnie]

Don't even look at it.

Throw it in the trash and get a new one. There is no doubt yours has failed and needs replaced.

You also should have done as suggested earlier and drained the coolant and oil and started it up for a couple seconds with cheap oil in it. This would have flushed any coolant out of the bearings and possibly saved the lower end.

I am not saying your lower end is going to fail, but history has shown that the coolant left in contact with the bearings will cause them to rust rapidly and cause a bearing to spin.

I wish you luck on your adventure, but you really need to take the time to listen and read what is suggested. We are not making any money doing this, we are just helping each other keep our cars running and learning as we go. There has already been a lot learned and we are trying to pass it on to you, but you seem to ignore us.

[1998buicklesabre]

i'm not ignoring what is being said when you unempolyed its hard to spend money and i'm just trying to get the car to give me another 1-2 years of life.... thats all

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

I get that. $10 in SuperTech 5w-30 is cheaper than $500 for a new motor. When it's an internal coolant leak, not changing the oil with cheap stuff a few times is penny-wise, dollar-foolish.

[1998buicklesabre]

well i called the auto part store they got one instock for 129.99 plus taxs so i'm gonna run over there and pick it up and in the morning before i get to my shop i'll make sure to pick up the oil at wal mart...

i'm not trying to ignore anything anyone says i'm just short on cash at the moment

[00Beast]

Wooahhhhh. Then don't spend $130 on one from the parts store, wait the few days and get this:

http://www.ineedparts.com/auto-parts/in ... 17806.html

[1998buicklesabre]

nah its okay to pay a little more to have it now... i got it its sitting in my truck. you guys are right i should just do it right the first time so i don't gotta sink money back into it in 6 months

this is the one i bought(i like 4 blocks from Oreilys)

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detai ... vi=1303287

[00Beast]

Since you plan on only having the car for a few years that intake should be fine, but it's still not a permanent fix, we've seen that. The only permanent fix is the metal sleeved unit.

[1998buicklesabre]

yeah. well here my thing i have another buick its a 66 skylark...

so what i want to do with this LeSabre is fix it and do it right and re-sale it the blue book on it is about 3600 i paid 250 for it and i have now with the new intak 228 dollars worth of parts.... i figure if i can get it running and fixed... i'll ask 2800 for it... and have some money to put in to my skylark


idk maybe when i'm done with the car i'll drive it and keep it cause its a very big and comfty car to sit in lol

[1998buicklesabre]

yeah. well here my thing i have another buick its a 66 skylark...

so what i want to do with this LeSabre is fix it and do it right and re-sale it the blue book on it is about 3600 i paid 250 for it and i have now with the new intak 228 dollars worth of parts.... i figure if i can get it running and fixed... i'll ask 2800 for it... and have some money to put in to my skylark


idk maybe when i'm done with the car i'll drive it and keep it cause its a very big and comfty car to sit in lol

this is how it looks right now i'm been doing body work on her

[1998buicklesabre]

so is there any advice or tips for putting everything back together?

[00Beast]

Put RTV on the coolant elbows (you did get new ones, right?).

Follow the torque specs and be careful.

Great write-up: http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... =53&t=3591

[1998buicklesabre]

yeah i got the dorman brand elbow.... i made sure to get it

[00Beast]

Be sure to clean the bore out well and put a bead of RTV on the elbow ahead of the o-ring so it slides in and lubricates and seals it. Otherwise it will leak, like mine and everyone else's seem to be doing lately, lol.

[1998buicklesabre]

and one more thing i made a noob mistake......i pulled all the plug wires off with out looking at the firing order..... does anyone know what the firing order is on a 1998 LeSbre 3.8?

[1998buicklesabre]

Oh MY GOSH i got the car all back to get and it runs good no smoke or etc... i changed to oil 3 times today after i let it runs for a little bit i need to change it again tomorrow

but thanks for all your help

[myfirstbonnie]

Now you need to plan a new O2 sensor. That coolant being burnt will ruin it and cause the gas mileage to tank. Alsoo a good idea to pull the plugs and either replace them or clean them and regap.

[1998buicklesabre]

i repalced the plugs and plug wires... the car runs great i'm very happy with it.. its not sitting at the end of my drive way fro sell lol 1850 obo..

anyways you guys have been a great help thanks so much for all the advice