97 SE engine wont run - something serious i fear. My ex gf ran it until it overheated. Does any one know a reasonable place to get a rebuilt engine?--

Boneyard, perhaps?

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1996 Bonneville SSEi
- Stock Is A Bad Word -
3.6, FWI, 1 Range Cooler, and Energy Endlinks couldn't prevent a spun bearing.

Have you drained the oil and checked for the milkshake?

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WHITE WHINE - 1992 SSE Supercharged 236.26 ci (.040 Over) 15.090 at 90.2 MPH on old engine w/ slipping trans & melted O2 sensor - Gen 3 M62 and matching TB, Gen 2 Pully, Zillamotorsports Ported LIM, YT 1.72 Roller Rockers, SII FPR & Injectors, Hypertech Thermomaster chip w/ 160 Thermo, TransGo Shift Kit, Infinity/Pioneer Speakers & a 10" Alpine Type R Sub, all the watts, 140 amp Alternator, Ricepipe CAI w/ heatshield, Pilot Angel Eye Foglights, Clear Corners, '02 17" Chrome Bent 5's, Magnaflow F-Body Muffler and Hi-flo Cat, Ceramic Coated Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Fan Override, Monroe Reflex struts, red calipers
2009 G8 GT - Sport Red Metallic, loaded, SOLO Axlebacks, Rotofab Intake, Tuned, autodim mirror, removed intake manifold cover, HSV GTS triple gauge pod, two tone red-hot shifter and HSV SuperSport steering wheel, GXP rear sway bar and diffuser, 3.45 diff and various Camaro suspension bits, LED Taillights

Yarr!
How's your coolant level?
If you happen to be losing coolant mysteriously, check your oil!!
There may also be evidence of oil in your coolant.

This can help: http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=3591

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1996 Bonneville SSEi
- Stock Is A Bad Word -
3.6, FWI, 1 Range Cooler, and Energy Endlinks couldn't prevent a spun bearing.

well the exhaust smell in the coolant is strong so I'm certain the head gaskets are toast. Just thinking should I put the $$$ in it and get a rebuilt engine for $1300 and drive it another 200 k or find a spare in the junkyard & takes my chances...

As others make their presence known, you'll likely hear that it's highly unlikely that your 3800 has blown a head gasket.
Have you had a look at the condition of the coolant or the oil yet?

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1996 Bonneville SSEi
- Stock Is A Bad Word -
3.6, FWI, 1 Range Cooler, and Energy Endlinks couldn't prevent a spun bearing.

Head gasket failure is VERY unlikely. The most common culprits are a failued upper intake manifold (EGR valve eats through to a coolant passage due to a poor design by GM that has been improved on in the aftermarket) or your lower intake manifold gaskets leaked (newer design available for them too) or BOTH.

Drain your oil immediately. It may save your motor.

And one of the root causes:
www.dex-cool.net

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Click here for mod list for both cars
93 SSEi, 95 SLE (supercharged) 97 Buick LeSabre Limited
PontiacDad at WCBF '04: Cruise control? That's like surrendering!
Comprehensive guide to troubleshooting, rebuilding, and modifying Eaton Superchargers

Funny thing - a few years ago I had the upper & lower intake gaskets replaced. $1600. Hasn't run right since... Okay how troublesome is it to r & r them myself? I have rebuilt engines before. Mostly 1960s V8 Ford & Chevy. The oil is a little cloudy and the coolant smells of exhaust & is dark. It also blows the coolant out the cap and now the water pump too. Serious pressure in the coolant system. Is the consensus still the UIM & LIM gaskets?

So is the consenus to avoid dex cool or is the new LIM & UIM gasket material resistant to the dex cool? There is tremendous pressure in my coolant system since it blows the cap off the radiator & blew out the water pump too..... How much to r&r the LIM & UIM gaskets in today's prices? How many shop hours?

The updated gaskets and UIM will be good. I don't know prices or time... maybe $200 and an afternoon to do it yourself?

UIM and/or LIM gasket failures aren't likely to build coolant system pressure. I'd do a compression and leak down test.

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WHITE WHINE - 1992 SSE Supercharged 236.26 ci (.040 Over) 15.090 at 90.2 MPH on old engine w/ slipping trans & melted O2 sensor - Gen 3 M62 and matching TB, Gen 2 Pully, Zillamotorsports Ported LIM, YT 1.72 Roller Rockers, SII FPR & Injectors, Hypertech Thermomaster chip w/ 160 Thermo, TransGo Shift Kit, Infinity/Pioneer Speakers & a 10" Alpine Type R Sub, all the watts, 140 amp Alternator, Ricepipe CAI w/ heatshield, Pilot Angel Eye Foglights, Clear Corners, '02 17" Chrome Bent 5's, Magnaflow F-Body Muffler and Hi-flo Cat, Ceramic Coated Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Fan Override, Monroe Reflex struts, red calipers
2009 G8 GT - Sport Red Metallic, loaded, SOLO Axlebacks, Rotofab Intake, Tuned, autodim mirror, removed intake manifold cover, HSV GTS triple gauge pod, two tone red-hot shifter and HSV SuperSport steering wheel, GXP rear sway bar and diffuser, 3.45 diff and various Camaro suspension bits, LED Taillights

I just did the APN upper intake and Felpro second revision metal lower intake gaskets on the extra 96 I just bought to fix up. The cost was $188.60 shipped. I started the tear down on a fri for about 2 hours and got it to just needing the lower intake pulled. Then after work on sat I started at 2:30 and worked till 10:30 and had it complete. Keep in mind I also replaced the t-stat, plugs, valve cover gaskets, air filter, blower motor, and changed the oil. I took my time and worked steady at it. The car runs perfect now and was well worth the $550 buying price!! Total investment is about $850-900 and it has 145K with new tires, leather int in great shape, and no rust at all. It is a very nice car. Good luck with your intake job. It is not that hard and make sure you print out the write-up on it. Also print the firing order and belt routing as I needed that too.

Jesse

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2003 SLE 145K PLIM, Tune, FWI, 180stat, Magnaflow cat and mufflers
1968 Galaxie Country Sedan Wagon 390/C6/2.75

HOWEVER, the longer you wait to drain that oil/coolant mixture (if you have any), the more likely it becomes to replace the motor.

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2005 GXP - White Gold Pearl, no mods...yet.
2000 SSEi - Resurrection in progress. Built L67 w/L32 fuel rail, ported heads, and cam. Camaro front brake system, GXP cluster, and much more in planning.

Does anybody have a guess what a shop would charge? sounds like a 6+ hour job .

The oil looks - smells ok the coolant got blasted out the cap & water pump so the system only had water in it until that leaked out.... should be ok. Looking @ the difference in price of a shop doing the work & just getting a rebuilt engine so my daughter can have a dependable car for college....

Instead of getting a rebuilt L36, look for a lower-mileage L26 instead. That's what I did with mine...for about 350.00 (I think...if not it was darned close to that) I picked up an L26 from an '08 Lucerne that had only 2k miles on it, with a 6 month warranty. The only things that has to be changed out are the intake manifold and the fuel rail/injectors. Of course, when LKQ sells engines like that, you get them bare...no accessories, no water pump, no flywheel, but you usually get the coil packs if they aren't busted up.

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2005 GXP - White Gold Pearl, no mods...yet.
2000 SSEi - Resurrection in progress. Built L67 w/L32 fuel rail, ported heads, and cam. Camaro front brake system, GXP cluster, and much more in planning.

I guess in my feeble little mind if a shop is going to charge $700 or more then a $1400 rebuilt sounds like a smarter idea. What would you do if it were your teenage daughter driving it ?

Look on www.car-part.com for a 2008 Buick Lucerne engine. They're cheap, readily available, and can be found with relatively low miles (<10,000 if you're lucky). In my area, there's a junkyard that has 4-5 of them for $350 or so each. Figure 6 hours remove and install for a competent shop, and you're in it about $700, plus any other parts needed.

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Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

Unfortunately in my hood the prices are dramatically higher. Used ones in a lower mileage car start @ $800. Plus another $450 for shop labor / other parts and we are talking money....hmmmmm

Where do you live?

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Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

You're looking at 500-800 depending on what the shop charges for labor. Closer to 800 if you get some other things done at the same time - but what a time to have someone else do the valve covers while it's torn down that far.


edit: for syntax

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1996 Bonneville SSEi
- Stock Is A Bad Word -
3.6, FWI, 1 Range Cooler, and Energy Endlinks couldn't prevent a spun bearing.