Quote:
Originally Posted by zeebo
actually, the supercharged 3800 cars have aluminum intakes, and do not suffer the coolant leakage issue as the na cars do..i have a 2001 buick park avenue with the 3800sc and it has been bulletproof...bought it at 60k miles and now has 230k on it and still going strong..(but i also take care of it) just had to do a cat conv. replacement as it was rattling and 75% plugged..after the new one, the car runs like it has 2 extra cylinders..  my 2 cents for getting a decent car is buy a car that old people have owned---they are easy on their stuff, and can afford to get them repaired--you dont want to buy a car like a mustang from a 25 yr old kid...if you know what i mean..
lotsa great running gm 3800 cars out there--pay cash for a clean used one and enjoy it for 10 yrs. i see no sense in spending $40,000 on a new ride. tho i would have some $ set aside for repairs...for any used car you choose to buy. the trick is is that you have to be able to afford the upkeep--most people can afford the monthly payment, just like on a house, but they cant afford the upkeep. |
I'm aware that the intake is aluminum, that's not what causes the coolant leaks in the later model 3800 II SC. Composite manifolds in naturally aspirated engines are a problem that causes coolant leaks. The Lower Intake gasket core was still some type of composite that deformed and caused leaks usually around 120,000 miles. Depending upon who you listen to to, two things are blamed, Dex Cool and composite core gaskets.
From sources online the composite type gaskets were still being used by GM until 2004. Near as I can tell the updated aluminum core gaskets weren't available from GM until 2005-2006. I'm told that these won't deform and allow coolant into the intake ports or crankcase.