Please give me some advise

[lesabreowner]

We own a 1998 Buick LeSabre. It overheated on a trip. we immediately turned off the air and the temp came down below the red zone. We stopped very shortly there after. When we drove again, we drove to the nearest gas station and filled the radiator which instantly cooled the engine back down to where it typically ran. When we drove off, it spitted and sputtered and the engine light came on so we pulled off again... Someone looked at it for us but it stopped running rough. They couldn't hear or see a problem and we were told it might just be the oxygen sensor. We drove the 2-3 hours home without incident. THe next morning it was drove 5 miles, the engine light went off and it began spitting and sputtering again. We made it home and it hasn't started since. It wouldn't even turn over, just a click. There seems to be nothing in the oil (except oil) a mechanic had taken it. he pulled the spark plugs and fluid/water and antifreeze came out of 4-6 of the cylinders when he tried to turn it over. He thought it was the head. Another person hearing our saga suggested it might be the plenium especially since the fluid was in several cylinders and it would not even try to start.

[BillK]

Owner, (Name ??)
If it is a 3.8 V-6 they have a problem with the plastic intake manifold rotting out at the egr passage. Take the car to the Buick dealer, they know the fix, and it might be covered under warranty.

[lesabreowner]

Could that what the buick mechanic meant over the phone by a dislodged plenum?

[BadBuick]

I wouldn't know about the problem with the plenum and I know bill is very knowledgeable about buicks, so i would listen to him. Here's my two cents though... The car was overheating and you filled the radiator with cold water. When you restarted the car the hot engine got a big gulp of cold water. This could easily have warped or cracked a head which would explain the coolant in adjacent cylinders. The fact that it wouldn't turn over may be caused by the cylinders being full of coolant. I think you have a problem with the head because the car overheated. Cause and effect, know what I mean? Anyways hope it works out.

[BillK]

Noname,
Here is a copy of the AERA service bulletin,

"The AERA Technical Committee offers the following information concerning coolant leakage on 1995-2000 GM 3.8L VIN K engines. The information in this bulletin resulted from continued customer complaints about loss of engine coolant over a period of time. In most instances, coolant usage gradually increased without a determination of where it was going.

The coolant leaks in these situations have been reported leaking from the upper plastic intake plenum. This plenum cracks or erodes in the coolant transfer hole that is supplied coolant from the lower intake manifold as shown in Figure 1. Two straws are inserted in this passage to illustrate where the coolant transfer ports are. Those passages actually provide a route for coolant to go into the throttle body area.

This particular failure usually starts by an unexplained small amount of coolant loss. Customers complain that they always have to top off the coolant. Until, the leakage increases to an amount that will finally provide an air, fuel and coolant mixture that will not support combustion. When that occurs, the engine goes into a no start situation and the plastic plenum must be replaced."
Any Buick dealership, or independent shop with a good information system such as Alldata should be able to find this bulletin. It is a very common problem in our area.
Hope this helps,

[ 11-25-2003, 10:18 AM: Message edited by: bob ]