GM 3800 Series II: "Flat Tappets?"

[outrun]

Thanks,

I am late to chime in here but there are board ramblings about this component wear and SM oils. I know this motor is very reliable and I want to keep it that way.

Does she have flat tappets? I have never seen the lifters of this engine to know. All I know is the elementary book design of cam-->lifters-->pushrod.

Second is this board implying for the first time that some oils are now additive deficient. It was always the paramount argument here that in any quality oil supplemental additives are largely unneccesary (sans autorx, LC etc) \

Will non-API rated boutique synthetics keep higher additive packs since they are perhaps immune to SM parameters?

 

[Colt45ws]

I would expect it to be roller. I took apart a 3.4L V6 and it was roller. Thats (was) a lower end engine in the GM world.

 

[fito]

Roller.

 

[sciphi]

Definitely not flat-tappet. Otherwise you'd hear reports of people grenading them beyond the Dex-Cool/nylon-66 gasket fiasco.

Owning a 99 LeSabre with the 3800 SII myself, they'll run on about any oil you toss in the crankcase.

If you haven't done so already, change out the Dex-Cool and start making plans to have the lower intake manifold gaskets changed to the newest design aluminum gaskets.

 

[Oldwolf]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V6_engine

 

[Steve S]

This engine really doesn't require a syn oil to achieve lonnnng engine life. The engine has roller lifters

 

[BuickGN]

The Buick 3.0 and 3.8 got roller lifters in '87 or '88 in FWD form.