New w-body!!! Need advice.

[xtremerevolution]

So my girlfriend's sister has been looking for a cheap car for a while, in the price range of $1500. I told her for that money, you really won't find something particularly reliable aside from a 1st gen w-body, plus I know how to work on them so that's a huge added bonus.

 

So after seeing a car for sale on the side of the road at 7:00PM, I called the guy to set up an appointment for 8:30 the next morning. The car is a 1996 Buick Regal Custom with the 3.8L Series 2. Upon asking him if the price was negotiable, he said that someone had already called and wanted to buy the car no matter what and he only let me look at it because I called him first.

 

So moving on, the car was bought for $1,600 and has 110,000 miles on it. KBB on the car in good condition for private resale is listed at $2600.

 

The bad:

Rear leaf needs new pads (which I have a pair of, new)

Rear brakes rotors need to be changed: $50 shipped from R1 Concepts

Rear pads need to be changed: $30 retail, tops

Engine belt is cracking: $25

Clear coat on side moulding is fading: $6 can of clearcoat. I already have the sandpaper

Carpeting in the rear deck is messed up

Carpet pads are missing in both front and rear

A couple of lights are burned out in the back

Center wheel caps are corroded like mine were on the regal. I'll just sand them and re-paint them like I did my car.

 

And lastly, there's a weird noise coming from what I assumed to be the A/C pulley. It sounds like very small bells ringing in very high repetition, but the noise is pretty faint. The sound goes away the moment you turn the A/C on, so I'm guessing either some bearings are gone or it needs some grease. Any advice on what this could be?

 

The front rotors are new and all 4 tires are brand spanking new. Not bad for $1600 I'd say.

 

Other than that, the ABS light comes on because they screwed something up when they replaced the front left brake (caliper, rotor, etc.). I'm assuming they mangled with the ABS sensor and didn't clear the computer afterward. Also, SES light is lit, which he claims came from the same brake issue since it started going on at the exact same time. I'll probably just take it in to Advance Auto and have them scan the codes and clear it all out and see if it comes back. It shouldn't be anything I can't fix.

 

Shocks are all in good condition, the rear leaf isn't sagging, A/C and heat both work, seats are all cloth and are in good clean condition. The car is black with non-tinted windows. All windows roll down and come back up without any problems. Under body rust is minor, and absolutely no rust on the panels. Car was garage kept during the winter for the past 4 years. Turn signal switch works properly as well, and transmission fluid was changed at 90,000 miles. Car shifts solid and secure under full throttle at the 1-2 shift point, and pulls very well.

 

 

So what do you guys think? I'm mainly concerned with the bell ringing noise I heard. I'll have the SES code scanned later today.

[Crazy K]

the bell ringing is the ac clutch dragging. it should be fixed... but is really nothing more than a nuisance.

 

careful, the 96 received the poor quality plastic intake. You should inspecting it (remove the egr and see i the plastic is melted) and replace it if it looks to be old or on the way out.

 

I bet the abs sensor has metal brake dust on it, causing interference and the light to be on.

 

otherwise, not bad buy.

[xtremerevolution]

the bell ringing is the ac clutch dragging. it should be fixed... but is really nothing more than a nuisance.

 

careful, the 96 received the poor quality plastic intake. You should inspecting it (remove the egr and see i the plastic is melted) and replace it if it looks to be old or on the way out.

 

I bet the abs sensor has metal brake dust on it, causing interference and the light to be on.

 

otherwise, not bad buy.

 

So how would I fix the AC clutch dragging issue?

[xtremerevolution]

Got it scanned. He read the code as an evap purge valve leak/failure, and said it would be $25-$30 to replace. Sounds simple enough...

[Crazy K]

the bell ringing is the ac clutch dragging. it should be fixed... but is really nothing more than a nuisance.

 

careful, the 96 received the poor quality plastic intake. You should inspecting it (remove the egr and see i the plastic is melted) and replace it if it looks to be old or on the way out.

 

I bet the abs sensor has metal brake dust on it, causing interference and the light to be on.

 

otherwise, not bad buy.

 

So how would I fix the AC clutch dragging issue?

someone gave a write up not long ago...

[xtremerevolution]

the bell ringing is the ac clutch dragging.  it should be fixed... but is really nothing more than a nuisance.

 

careful, the 96 received the poor quality plastic intake.  You should inspecting it (remove the egr and see i the plastic is melted) and replace it if it looks to be old or on the way out.

 

I bet the abs sensor has metal brake dust on it, causing interference and the light to be on.

 

otherwise, not  bad buy.

 

So how would I fix the AC clutch dragging issue?

someone gave a write up not long ago...

 

If anyone can find that for me, I'd greatly appreciate it. I tried searching, but this is the only relevant thing I could find:

 

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=33459.0

[Crazy K]

replacement of complete compressor:

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=70990.0

 

or adjustment of the clutch components:

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=71336.0

[xtremerevolution]

replacement of complete compressor:

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=70990.0

 

or adjustment of the clutch components:

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=71336.0

 

Those show me how to take it off, but how do I increase the gap?

[Crazy K]

read again the second one. follow the link, and then follow the link in that link!

[White93z34]

look on the top of the plastic upper intake, there will be a date stamp on it. whatever year it reflects will tell you if it has been replaced or not. If it has not I would strongly advise just going ahead doing the intake gaskets on it / replace the upper intake. that will head a slew of problems off at the pass.

[xtremerevolution]

look on the top of the plastic upper intake, there will be a date stamp on it. whatever year it reflects will tell you if it has been replaced or not. If it has not I would strongly advise just going ahead doing the intake gaskets on it / replace the upper intake. that will head a slew of problems off at the pass.

 

I'm assuming FelPro gaskets, which rockauto sells for $32. How much is that upper intake plenum to replace? I'd appreciate any resources you can give me. I'll be doing all the work myself.

[White93z34]

I believe rockatuo sells a complete "doorman" upper intake set as well doorman part number (DOORMAN Part # 615180). I have used it before, defiantly a quality set. It includes a smaller diameter EGR stovepipe to help avoid the hot EGR tube making the plastic brittle and causing a coolant leak that will hydrolock the engine.

 

the felpro gaskets will work just fine as well. be sure to replace that plastic coolant elbow as well.

 

 

[xtremerevolution]

I believe rockatuo sells a complete "doorman" upper intake set as well doorman part number (DOORMAN Part # 615180). I have used it before, defiantly a quality set. It includes a smaller diameter EGR stovepipe to help avoid the hot EGR tube making the plastic brittle and causing a coolant leak that will hydrolock the engine.

 

the felpro gaskets will work just fine as well. be sure to replace that plastic coolant elbow as well.

 

 

 

Just to verify, we are talking about the intake plenum and upper intake manifold gasket. Correct?

 

Where would this plastic coolant elbow be, and what part number is it on rockauto.com? I feel like I'm asking to be spoon fed answers, but I really have no clue what I'm looking for.

[White93z34]

no I was talking about both the upper intake and its plenum gasket, as well as the lower intake gaskets which are also a large failure point.

 

the coolant elbow is on the pass side connecting the tensioner and the lower intake. as for where to buy them. the HELP! section of most autoparts stores has it for about $5

[rockfangd]

i cant even begin to tell you how many regals, lesabres, etc... that have had coolant coming out of the air box . Only on the 3800 though and mostly for that year

[88red4cyl]

i cant even begin to tell you how many regals, lesabres, etc... that have had coolant coming out of the air box . Only on the 3800 though and mostly for that year

 

Why was coolant coming out of the air box?

[xtremerevolution]

i cant even begin to tell you how many regals, lesabres, etc... that have had coolant coming out of the air box . Only on the 3800 though and mostly for that year

 

Specifically the Series II 3800?

[xtremerevolution]

Alright, I put together a list of things that need to be repaired on the car. We've decided that the intake manifold, UIM gasket, LIM gasket, and evap purge valve will be replaced in the Spring when she gets more money. A coolant flush will also be done at that same time, since I noticed some mud-like sludge sticking to the radiator cap from the infamous dexcool. I'm wondering if I should put dexcool right back in it in the spring, or if I should just go back to the green stuff. I'm really not sure yet. Any help with that would be appreciated.

 

She bought this car so she could get another job other than the one she has now shoveling horse shit (I'm serious) for minimum wage. So for now, we're doing spark plugs, spark plug wires, rear rotors and pads, the drive belt, and a good seafoam; half in the intake and half in the gas tank. For rotors, I'm going with R1 Concepts stock OE replacements, which are $53 shipped. The pads are raybestos service grade semi-metallic. Spark plug wires are adcelco part 9756S, and the spark plugs I chose were Autolite $606 copper plugs. If anyone has any bad experiences with these plugs, please let me know and I'll just pick up some ACDelco Rapidfires from Advance Auto down the street instead.

 

Any comments?

[rockfangd]

when the intake cracks it comes back through the TB and burns off in the exhaust. When you remove the airbox cover sometimes it will have antifreeze in there lol.

[xtremerevolution]

when the intake cracks it comes back through the TB and burns off in the exhaust. When you remove the airbox cover sometimes it will have antifreeze in there lol.

 

Well, it will get replaced in the spring for sure. I shouldn't have problems with that intake any time soon. I checked all around it and it showed no signs of warping or cracking, so it can wait a bit.

[White93z34]

It will not show any signs externally. none. what happens is the area around the EGR tube gets brittle and breaks internally, and when that happens you get a hydrolocked engine rather fast.

[xtremerevolution]

It will not show any signs externally. none. what happens is the area around the EGR tube gets brittle and breaks internally, and when that happens you get a hydrolocked engine rather fast.

 

At what mileage does this usually happen to people? Is it something I need to worry about that bad?

[88red4cyl]

It will not show any signs externally. none. what happens is the area around the EGR tube gets brittle and breaks internally, and when that happens you get a hydrolocked engine rather fast.

 

At what mileage does this usually happen to people? Is it something I need to worry about that bad?

 

I'm curious about this too.. The 99 still has the original upper intake at ~135K miles.... How much would a shop charge to replace this (and I assume do the LIM too if it is necessary on this motor)?

[Andrew]

It will not show any signs externally. none. what happens is the area around the EGR tube gets brittle and breaks internally, and when that happens you get a hydrolocked engine rather fast.

 

At what mileage does this usually happen to people? Is it something I need to worry about that bad?

 

I'm curious about this too.. The 99 still has the original upper intake at ~135K miles.... How much would a shop charge to replace this (and I assume do the LIM too if it is necessary on this motor)?

if you brought the parts yourself, i cant see a shop that knows what they are doing charging for more than 2 hours labor. it really is easy. you can do it.

 

get the Dorman kit(comes with upper gasket IIRC), the better aluminum LIM gaskets from GM, new elbow, and you are good.

 

the best way to check for this problem is to pull of the throttle body and look at the EGR stovepipe area, and see if its melted/distorted at all yet. if not, you should be safe waiting a while. it is impossible to say at what mileage this happens.

[White93z34]

I've seen the problem happen on cars that have hardly 50k. and I've seen it as late as 150k plus.

 

2 hours labor is a stretch, at least if you want it done right, 3-4 hours is far more reasonable.

 

Like I said, untill it fails, you will have little to no warning. even if everything looks alright. best way to check is to look at the date code stamped on the top of the UIM. if the date corresponds the year of your car (or previous year). Any 3800 car I'd buy that did not have that job done on it, I would bank on doing very soon. so far every one of these upper intakes I've changed out, and its been quite a few now. have not been melted, distorted or anything, just down inside of it it finally cracked.