Startup Precautions

[Padgett]

For a modern computer car: turn key on and crank for no more than 10 seconds (5 if not cranking fast) then turn all the way off, on again and wait for a few sends, then crank for 5 seconds again.

 

Two reasons: first cranking heats up the starter. Hard cranking heats faster.

Second if it is not firing then turning completely off then on again should turn the fuel pump on again for two seconds for more of a prime.

If not even a sputter after three cycles, then something is wrong and need to figure out what is missing (air, fuel, fire).

['93RegalGS3800]

Leave for a day, answers flood in!

Good info all, thanks Ron for the photo.

 

Crank and drive will no doubt work.

I'd not heard of filling the filter, but see the logic.

Do these tweaks & primps make a difference? Maybe they're measureable one-percenters which add up over time.

Remnant oil in the crank & cam journals might suffice for lube carry over,

so fresh gas on un-lubed cylinder walls would be the weakest point (think I read a study on this long ago..).

Prudent attention to detail is an overall asset in car maintenance and in life.

While it's possible to obsess compulsively, most people tend not to care & would not manage well with a 20 y.o. car.

 

Yes, the Buick oil filter (angled) is difficult to access.

My normal concern upon installation is getting grunge in the new filter or on the oiled gasket.

I drain the oil when the engine is hot, let it drip for several hours while I do something else.

Use the slope of the property to angle towards the drain hole, both front wheels driven up on wooden boards (3-4" elevation), rear wheels chocked, steering wheel cranked hard left to give me filter access. No jacking.

 

No jacking? I had the car jacked up when I did mine. I think I'll always jack the car up to change the filter.

 

Only problem I had with the angled filter was the wiring harness you have to move out of the way. Of course I use a cap with a socket drive in the top to remove them, no place to use a strap. Had wondered if they planned to eliminate the PF47 and replace it with a PF52 which would stick out in the vertical position. OTOH wasn't that about when they began putting 3800s in F-bodies. Might have been a drag link or tie rod issue.

 

I used a strap wrench but the handle was on a hinge and you could somewhat twist it loose and then get it the rest of the way with your hand. I have not seen a socket drive oil filter for a 3800 and am now intrigued on where to find one...

 

 

Also, Battery battery battery. Get a new one as stated above. I had trouble with an old one that would not hold a charge for longer than a day. Once I installed a new battery the car would crank at my will.

[Padgett]

I have a set of Rhino ramps and placed on the slope of my driveway, the car is almost level. Is how I always change the oil.

[94 olds vert]

I have a set of Rhino ramps and placed on the slope of my driveway, the car is almost level. Is how I always change the oil.

I have an area of gravel dug out, that is just deep enough so I can change the oil without jacking up the car.

[Padgett]

ps Flotool #2

[95GS]

After a much prolonged repair, I'll be starting my Regal for the first time in 4 months.

 

Yesterday with a new battery it fired up right away. (My fuse/relay box is different from Ron's, but thank you.)

 

But after the engine warmed up, oil smoked off both exhaust manifolds for about five minutes, a lot - then it was ok.

Never had that problem before...do the valve covers leak oil while the car is sitting idle?

 

I then read of this 2009 recall tonight on Wikipedia. I bought the car that year and don't know if it was previously retrofitted. 

How does one tell?

Are youz all aware of this issue?

 

April 2009 3800 recall:

 

"GM recalled 1.5 million vehicles with this engine on April 14, 2009 due to risk of fire from engine oil leaking under the valve cover gaskets onto hot exhaust manifolds. The fire could spread to the nearby plastic spark plug wire retainers on the valve cover and then to the rest of the engine compartment. GM fitted the affected vehicles with redesigned spark plug wire retainers.^[4] These engines were noted for having problems with the plastic upper intake manifold cracking around the EGR passage. The engine would then hydrolock. The lower intake gaskets and upper intake manifolds were revised, correcting all these issues."

[Imp558]

If you're unsure replace the valve cover gaskets, it's not a mammoth undertaking.

['93RegalGS3800]

If you're unsure replace the valve cover gaskets, it's not a mammoth undertaking.

 

I had to do this on my Regal when they started to go out. Having to fight the hoses and harness on the back cover did me in because I'm just a dumb shade tree mechanic but at it's core it's a simple job.

[ron350]

That recall was GM answer to all the supercharged 3800II fires. Back then Grand Pries were burning up taking garages and homes with them.

 

From what I remember some one on the GP forum had an engine fire after the recall mod. All the dealership did was remove the front spark plug wire holder and replace it with cheap plastic clips. If there was oil on the front exhaust manifold they were supposed to replace the valve cover gasket or something like that.

 

Replace the valve cover gaskets and the fuel line o-rings and you should be OK.

[Padgett]

And the real answer was a steel insert into the plastic plenium next to the EGR  (fortunately all of mine have the metal pleniums). At least a GP fire did not produce toxic gas like a Fiero or Trabant..

[95GS]

Thanks for these replies. Yes I'd guess the gaskets are not a huge deal to change, wiring & harnesses (& snow) aside.

I was just puzzled that they could leak that much without the engine running. Perhaps there is an interior lip which holds static oil.

And maybe they've been continually leaking at a very slow rate while running, but this oil is burned off unnoticed.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the fuel line o-rings. Are there any other parts to switch/inspect while I'm at the valve covers?

 

Padgett - is this steel insert obvious, easy to spot?

[Nas Escobar]

Coolant elbows if they're plastic. They like to crack.

[LumiLTZ]

Didn't take too many precautions when I fired up the boneyard L36 I threw into the red Lumina... didn't know how long it'd sat before I acquired it.  Spun it around by hand while out of the car on the stand to make sure it wasn't locked up.  Once in the car and after filling up on oil, I killedl fuel/spark and cranked it a few seconds to prime it.  Put fuel/spark back on, and let 'er rip... fired right up, had a miss for a couple seconds and smoothed right out.  Still running good today (though the car's now on the dead line pending final disposition due to rust).

 

The recall was a bunch of crap, wasn't going to solve the issue of leaky valve cover gaskets being the root cause of the BBQs.  My old 305 SBC in the Caprice has leaky valve cover gaskets, and it too, even after just sitting for a time will smell like burned oil as it warms up, with visible smoke when you lift the hood.  That's a project for this winter on that car. 

 

As for other 3800 things... as said above, metal coolant elbows, and the UIM can spring a coolant leak by the EGR passage after enough time exposed to hot exhaust gas there.  Some of the aftermarket UIMs will have a steel insert in that opening, or have the smaller 'stovepipe' that gets driven into the LIM.  Myself, I eliminated coolant into the UIM altogether by tapping pipe plugs in the LIM.