Very Complete Oil Change (with engine shots)!

[sciphi]

I did a very complete oil change today. I got almost all the old oil out of my Buick's engine, including the little bit left in the pan. How? The pan had to come off to change a leaking oil pan gasket with integrated windage tray. And, some interesting shots of the engine's bottom end!

Pickup screen. Just a few little specks:

Bottom end of a 3800 Series II V6. 87k miles on the engine, 57k of those with predominantly syn oil run 7500-9000 miles, some dino run 5000-6000 miles, and two Auto-RX cleanings and intermittent maintenance doses:

Oil going in was Castrol Edge 5w30 with an AAP TotalGrip filter and the dregs of an Auto-RX bottle laying around. I'm planning on running this until springtime, for ~8-10k miles. Just by observing, the Edge is thin at room temperature. It poured like thick water. The motor didn't make any funny noises and was driving fine for a trip around the block. I'll see how it consumes the Edge, as Benzadmiral reported the 3800 in his Park Avenue was consuming a good bit of it.

 

[pidster]

Thats what regular maintenance will do. Nice and clean, that motor should last you a good long time.

 

[Bill in Utah]

When looking for a car for my Daughter I wanted either a older GM V6 or a Taurus with the 3.0 V6 (I think my 99 was a lemon)

Everything I've seen was more than I wanted to spend...

Looks good!

Bill

 

[ItsuMitsubishi]

Looks good man, nice and clean! Those engines are pretty rock solid, it's everything around them that fails (coil packs, manifold gaskets etc). It has a nice, healthy tan What kind of syn oil has it seen before?

 

[sciphi]

Some Synpower, Q Torque Power, Schaeffer's 7000 (basically a syn), and that's about it...

 

[Sayjac]

Looks good. Judging from the engine pics and knowing what I know of upstate NY, that engine will likely outlast the body.

How difficult was it to remove the pan? Any special tools required?

Thanks for posting pics.

 

[sciphi]

The pan came off with a lot of extensions, a 3/8" socket that was just right, a wobble joint, a crescent wrench, a jack for support, and a bit of patience.

It wasn't too overly difficult to do. It just took a few hours and some creativity with removing and installing things.

I like how for once all the oil in the pan was drained. It looked like less than a cup (8 oz) of old oil left in the pan, so the drain plug does a thorough job of draining. I usually put in 5 quarts, and drained out 4.5 quarts.

 

[N4cer]

Doesn't look any different than any 150k engine I've torn apart that's had as much as even semi-regular maintenance. So good job though. Glad it doesn't look like [censored].

 

[daman]

Yep rock solid engines you could run veggie oil and get 200,000+ out them.

 

[BigNick]

Originally Posted By: pidster
Thats what regular maintenance will do. Nice and clean, that motor should last you a good long time.

I don't consider "two Auto-RX cleanings and intermittent maintenance doses" part of regular maintenance... Nonetheless looks good inside!

 

[mechtech2]

Bottom ends are almost always like that or cleaner.

 

[Spector]

Stupid question but what is the large gear that shows on the far left of the picture. I noticed this over the weekend on my 3800 when I changed the oil on mine and also noted it is exposed, no cover on it, can see the teeth from underneath??

I let mine drain overnight (use the Fumoto valve) and refill with filter takes 4 quarts 22 ounces. Maybe letting it drip overnight accounts for the additional oil whereas you add 4 quarts 16 ounces.

I use a 50-50 mix of Amsoil Series 3000 5W30 with Amsoil 10W40. the straight 10W30 called for in the specs gives me a little too much clatter (89,000 on mine)

thanks


thanks

 

[VNTS]

I doubt Auto Rx or any of these oil cleaners are needed in engine with normal sane oil changes.

Originally Posted By: BigNick
Originally Posted By: pidster
Thats what regular maintenance will do. Nice and clean, that motor should last you a good long time.

I don't consider "two Auto-RX cleanings and intermittent maintenance doses" part of regular maintenance... Nonetheless looks good inside!

 

[Johnny]

Originally Posted By: Spector
Stupid question but what is the large gear that shows on the far left of the picture. I noticed this over the weekend on my 3800 when I changed the oil on mine and also noted it is exposed, no cover on it, can see the teeth from underneath??
thanks


The flywheel.

 

[951Indy]

My 3800 series II didnt like Edge. It doubled its consumption. I gave it 2 in a row and gave up on it. I just changed to Ultra 10w30 this weekend. I'm curious to see the consumption on it. I've been hesitant to use the high end oils, but when bought as "Combos" with M1 or KN filters, they are hard to resist.

 

[daves87rs]

Looks good!

 

[JustinH]

Originally Posted By: Johnny
Originally Posted By: Spector
Stupid question but what is the large gear that shows on the far left of the picture. I noticed this over the weekend on my 3800 when I changed the oil on mine and also noted it is exposed, no cover on it, can see the teeth from underneath??
thanks


The flywheel.


Ford puts a little rubber plug over the flywheel inspection hole on many of their cars, I don't know if GM also does this and you just lost the plug.

The odds of anything getting up there are slim, but the ones I have seen always had the plug.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
Originally Posted By: Johnny
Originally Posted By: Spector
Stupid question but what is the large gear that shows on the far left of the picture. I noticed this over the weekend on my 3800 when I changed the oil on mine and also noted it is exposed, no cover on it, can see the teeth from underneath??
thanks


The flywheel.


Ford puts a little rubber plug over the flywheel inspection hole on many of their cars, I don't know if GM also does this and you just lost the plug.

The odds of anything getting up there are slim, but the ones I have seen always had the plug.


There should be a plastic cover plate that attaches in 2 places (I think).

 

[sciphi]

Yep, there's a little plastic cover there. It comes off to get the rear most pan bolts.

The car seems to like the Castrol EDGE 5w30 so far. It's running very smoothly on it. Then again, it's a 3800. They're smooth even when you've crossed two plug wires!

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Yep, there's a little plastic cover there. It comes off to get the rear most pan bolts.

The car seems to like the Castrol EDGE 5w30 so far. It's running very smoothly on it. Then again, it's a 3800. They're smooth even when you've crossed two plug wires!



It`s amazing isnt it ? I had the 3.0L version of that motor in an 85 Cutlass Sierra. They were supposed to be a junk motor, (according to the Mechanics at the Chevy dealer I worked @ at the time) And that thing was pretty fast for the kind of car it was. BTW, the only problem I had with it was the welch/freeze out plug sprung a small leak, more of a weep than a leak. So I put in some of that good ole GM radiator stop leak,and problem eliminated.