Yes, This was just the plain Valvoline Advanced. I'm sticking with it.
2001 Buick LeSabre - Valvoline Advanced 10W-30 - 8,372 mi
- Thread starter JGmazda
- Start date
I had that engine in a reagal and it would run 250k on crisco. I blew the radiator hose on a 98 degree day and wanted to see if I could blow it up. I was younger and the car was a rusty eyesore and I paid $500 for it. I drove it 20 miles with the temp guage pegged and parked it. About 6 months later, I replaced the hose and gave it to my worthless brother in law, who drove it for 2 yrs till the law impounded it for not having a license or tags. It’s probably still running around Toledo somewhere.
I've heard very good things about this engine and it's longevity. It's pretty much the reason this car is so attractive in my mind. Less headaches and worry.
I can't say that for many of today's vehicles. I feel like they can barely make it to 120k without some major issue.
I can't say that for many of today's vehicles. I feel like they can barely make it to 120k without some major issue.
Theres a few engines that come to mind over the years that were downright bulletproof and that was one of them. My grandad had a century that never had the coolant issue, somehow, and ran to 250k. The fuel mileage was way ahead of their time
Well, with only 80k in 20+ years, you probably will have this car forever.
Just bought an 04 LeSabre a few months ago with 78k miles on it. I did the same as far as getting the intake gaskets done right away. Once I took it apart, I could see that the intake gaskets had blown and it has stop leak in it that did plug the hole. I used the metal intake gaskets, coolant elbows etc, so I never have to touch it again. I also used Peak 10x coolant to get rid of the dexcool issues.
But I did more bulletproofing than most, I blocked the coolant passages in the lower intake from allowing coolant up into the upper manifold. I also put an aluminum Series III upper intake on it with a supercharged 3800 throttle body. I have done this to my other cars before and never had an issue for many years.
If GM had done this engine right in the first place, most of them would probably still be on the road.
But I did more bulletproofing than most, I blocked the coolant passages in the lower intake from allowing coolant up into the upper manifold. I also put an aluminum Series III upper intake on it with a supercharged 3800 throttle body. I have done this to my other cars before and never had an issue for many years.
If GM had done this engine right in the first place, most of them would probably still be on the road.
Wow...interesting decision to block-off the coolant passages. Do you think you gained any horsepower with the different intake and throttle body?
Yeah, the Peak 10X is good stuff. 3800 series engines are great.
It definitely does pull better in mid-range power. Doubt it makes much of a different in quarter mile times, but for daily driving there is a better feel of torque when not downshifting. Overall it was done for reliability and not for performance.
The coolant passages were blocked off to simply not let coolant get to the area where they usually leak. I have done this with cars that have the plastic upper intake as well. Even if the EGR burns through the plastic manifold, there will be no coolant to enter the incoming airflow. Have also not had any issues in cold weather down to the single digits, since that is supposedly the purpose of the coolant heading to the throttle body.
My goal here was simply to make sure the engine never needs to be torn into again. This should take care of the known problems. The series III upper intake also has the canister purge valve directly in the intake and I was not only able to use it there but if you unravel the tape holding the wiring harness in place, the wires actually do reach the the purge valve in the manifold. So I was able to use that setup without having to splice any wiring. Factory air cleaner hooks up as well even though the throttle body is moved to the right with the series III manifold.
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