I had been planning a post to say how much I love all of the 3800 cars... I have been driveng my parents' 98 Eighty Eight and 04 LeSabre over the past few days, along with my 01 Park Avenue, and they all drive and perform so very nice, even given the difference in years and their age. Its amazing how well GM did with these platforms and the 3800 drivetrain. I don't know what I'll do when its time to replace my PA... I may have to stick to something 2005 or older just to keep having the pleasure of driving a 3800... maybe I'll do a supercharged version next time.

Anyway, my accolades were a bit tempered tonight when I realized that my PA had an empty overflow jug and was over a quart down in the radiator. It had been losing a few ounces per month since I bought it a year ago, but something obviously got worse recently. I do see that the water pump is visibly leaking, so thats a quick fix.

Here is my question... it had the upper plenum replaced by the dealer under warranty at 38,000 miles in 2003. I assume they didn't touch the lower intake gasket. It now has 90,000 miles. Would you guys recommend I go ahead and replace the upper and lower intake gaskets to be safe, or should I just assume that the slow leak up until recently was also the water pump?

The oil has never showed any signs of coolant in it, including tonight after realzing the coolant level had dropped so much.

its hard to say since you see the water pump is leaking....

do u notice any white smoke ( not condensation) from the exhaust??

and 90k, i'd say to do the LIM gaskets for piece of mind, we can help u through it or even meet up with you and assist!

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-Juan

No bonnie!
93 s10 ex cab: 2.8: t5: exhaust: tbi mods. 5.3, 76mm, and a D.r cam on a stand

Very hard to say. It could be the water pump causing the level to drop, but at 90K miles, I would replace the LIM gaskets for peace of mind...And obviously, the leaky water pump too.

The new LIM gaskets have an aluminum frame instead of plastic (the plastic was the failure point of the factory gaskets). As of right now, not all vendors have the new aluminum frame gaskets, but most do. Just make sure your new LIM gaskets have an aluminum frame and not plastic.

Read about the intake problem here: Series II 3800 Intake Problems
Then, to see how to change out the parts, go here: Change UIM and LIM gaskets

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1998 3.8 Dodge Caravan 214K
2000 3.3 Dodge Caravan 175K
1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe 4-dr sedan 25K (needs some work!)