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  1. #1
    Fact or Crap? Al's Avatar
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    Delta 88 3800 is dead

    I was drving along the freeway when I started to hear a light ticking sound. 10 seconds later, it got very loud. I got off the freeway and it cut out at the end of the ramp/ I restarted it and managed to drve it another 1/2 mile. At this point, it was going "knack knank knack (first k is not silent)." Then a puff of smoke and it was dead.

    I hope that swapping a 3800 is as easy as working on the engine its self.
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  2. #2
    Formerly known as Yellow Wagon jbiscuit's Avatar
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    sounds like the death sounds to me. Loud knacking probably means it ate a bearing or you lost the oil pump and starved the bearings of oil etc and it froze up. Does it have gauges or just idiot lights? Does it crank or is it toast? Time for a replacement motor I think so you are on the right track there.
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  3. #3
    Fact or Crap? Al's Avatar
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    Only has idiot lights. It went from no lights to a christmas tree in about 5 seconds.

    Local junk yards are selling engines for $400.

    Maybe I should find another cheap car.


    I also just managed to get it started for a few seconds. The coolant looks like dirty mop water. The oil has water in it. Also, the insulation under the hood fluffed off above the water pump. It was not like that 3 days ago.
    Last edited by Al; 08-06-2010 at 04:50 PM.
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  4. #4
    Fact or Crap? Al's Avatar
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    I wonder if i can swap the S/C engine in this car?
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  5. #5
    you would have to do some elec. work and tune the hell out of it or the pcm wouldn't know what to do with all that boost. but yea sounds like a bearing knock to me as well.
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  6. #6
    Rather be junkyarding PB86MCSS's Avatar
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    How many miles are on it? Engines should be plentiful in good running order but so would be complete running/driving older 3800 cars too for pretty cheap. Unless the car is pretty clean and in otherwise good shape I would have a hard time justifying the cost and work, if a motor is $400 or so. Just thinking if mine went, what I would do. This might be an obvious question but did you check to see if the balancer got loose or came off? I've heard that can happen on these with age and might cause some of your issues (besides the fluids mixing).
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  7. #7
    Speaks the Truth theavenger333's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Al View Post
    I wonder if i can swap the S/C engine in this car?
    anything is possible. worth it? no. like said above... the thing better be pristine inside and out, and be full of new parts to even consider swapping the motor. there are early and mid 90s lesabres, olds, bonnevilles etc all over the place for 1000 or less.
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  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Al View Post
    Only has idiot lights. It went from no lights to a christmas tree in about 5 seconds.

    Local junk yards are selling engines for $400.

    Maybe I should find another cheap car.


    I also just managed to get it started for a few seconds. The coolant looks like dirty mop water. The oil has water in it. Also, the insulation under the hood fluffed off above the water pump. It was not like that 3 days ago.
    Are you sure its dead? I thought the 3.8 was one of the gm motors that liked to blow the intake gaskets and or actually wreck the plastic intake manifold, causing coolant to POUR into the cylinders which would explain your symptoms.

    Happened to my dads buick and it was so bad when it happened that it sounded just like yours it hydro locked the cylinders the car wouldn't even turn over. New intake, gaskets, oil change and it was just fine.
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  9. #9
    Fact or Crap? Al's Avatar
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    I am going to fix this car, but I am planning on replacing it in the very near future. Having it run means the difference between scrapping it for $100 or selling it for $700.

    Quote Originally Posted by Moparjim View Post
    Are you sure its dead? I thought the 3.8 was one of the gm motors that liked to blow the intake gaskets and or actually wreck the plastic intake manifold, causing coolant to POUR into the cylinders which would explain your symptoms.

    Happened to my dads buick and it was so bad when it happened that it sounded just like yours it hydro locked the cylinders the car wouldn't even turn over. New intake, gaskets, oil change and it was just fine.
    The engine is a pre-series 1 and does not have the plastic manifold.

    It was "knack"ing very loudly. I was checking the engine out a few minutes ago and found that there was almost no oil in it. I checked it a few weeks ago and it was good. As for the coolant, there is lots of oil in there. This engine also went through a gallon of coolant per tank of gas for the last 10 fills and never dripped on the ground. It also had a habbit of overheating.

    I could go through and replace gaskets and hope for the best, but I found loads of local engines for under $200. My friend said the easiest way to change the engine in this car is to pull the tranny with the engine out the top, attaach new engine to tranny, and drop it all back in.

    Quote Originally Posted by theavenger333 View Post
    the thing better be pristine inside and out, and be full of new parts
    The car is ugly as sin and the previous owner crashed it 3 or 8 times. The only new part on it is a $14 water pump, a $60 ignition module, and a $90 battery. Then again, the previous owner redid the alternator and did a complete brake job with new lines and master cylinder.

    But still, can any other engine be put in there without extensive work? At this point I am simply curious.
    Last edited by Al; 08-07-2010 at 04:22 PM.
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  10. #10
    Speaks the Truth theavenger333's Avatar
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    no, the TPI 3.8 is it, unless you go DOWN in motor.
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  11. #11
    WHO'S CUP IS THIS?! Deggy's Avatar
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    I think a buddy of mine still has a built 3400 w/ built 5 speed. That could be fun.
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  12. #12
    Sounds like head gasket to me did you look at the oil does it look like milky crap?
    Also the labor of putting a L67 in that car to me would be a wate of time...
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  13. #13
    WHO'S CUP IS THIS?! Deggy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BadAzzGTA89 View Post
    Sounds like head gasket to me did you look at the oil does it look like milky crap?
    Also the labor of putting a L67 in that car to me would be a wate of time...
    I know. I was just being funny. I have no real input for this thread.
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  14. #14
    Rather be junkyarding PB86MCSS's Avatar
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    I don't think there would be any logical reason to put something in other than the same series 3800...since they are very reliable, plentiful and cheap especially if it is just a run of the mill car (no offense).

    With the habit of overheating and going through that much coolant (yikes!) I guess what occured shouldn't be a surprise.

    I haven't heard of the gaskets leaking as something common with these...the 3.1 and newer 3.4's I believe it was pretty common though.
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  15. #15
    Fact or Crap? Al's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PB86MCSS View Post
    I don't think there would be any logical reason to put something in other than the same series 3800...since they are very reliable, plentiful and cheap especially if it is just a run of the mill car (no offense).

    With the habit of overheating and going through that much coolant (yikes!) I guess what occured shouldn't be a surprise.

    I haven't heard of the gaskets leaking as something common with these...the 3.1 and newer 3.4's I believe it was pretty common though.
    3800s are very reliable and this is not a common issue for them. The problem is the nut behind the steering wheel. I did something to the car about 8 months ago which caused this issue on the first warm day of the year.
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  16. #16
    Rather be junkyarding PB86MCSS's Avatar
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    Hmm, I'm not following how a nut behind the steering wheel could cause this...just trying to picture it.

    I remember you had something welded with the frame or engine cradle, IIRC.
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  17. #17
    Fact or Crap? Al's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by PB86MCSS View Post
    Hmm, I'm not following how a nut behind the steering wheel could cause this...just trying to picture it.

    I remember you had something welded with the frame or engine cradle, IIRC.
    Nope. That had no side effects.

    A 3800 takes a few miles to warm up in the winter. I made use of some spare cardboard boxes to keep the radiator partially blocked. This worked very well at keeping engine temps higher. The issue is that the nut-behind-the-steering-wheel forgot to remove said cardboard from in front of the radiator before the change of seasons gave us a very hot day.
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  18. #18
    Fact or Crap? Al's Avatar
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    I changed the oil and added water to the radiator and now it runs like normal!

    I am delighted that it runs, but not sure about what I should do about it next.
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  19. #19
    Fact or Crap? Al's Avatar
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    Update:
    The engine runs quietly, but feels rough. This is nothing new, but it is worse than normal.

    Here is what i am trying to figure out...
    How does oil get to the rockers on this engine?

    I had thought that there was a pressurized line in the block that goes to the top end (think ohc engines). My friend just told me that the oil goes up through the pushrods.

    If this is the case, how is oil getting into my coolant?
    When Injustice Becomes Law; Rebellion Becomes Duty

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Al View Post
    Update:
    The engine runs quietly, but feels rough. This is nothing new, but it is worse than normal.

    Here is what i am trying to figure out...
    How does oil get to the rockers on this engine?

    I had thought that there was a pressurized line in the block that goes to the top end (think ohc engines). My friend just told me that the oil goes up through the pushrods.

    If this is the case, how is oil getting into my coolant?
    Most likely head gasket like others have said. That would explain the burning coolant, and oil gets in the coolant as well depending on how its blown. There's definitely oil, water, and combustion all being sealed between the block and the heads. I am not a GM 3.8l expert but in most every pushrod engine I have seen the pushrods only oil the rocker tip where they seat, there are still oil passages to send oil up to the head and spray on the rest of the rockers, or oil through the shaft or stud they mount to or whatever. The other remote possibility would be a cracked block or head, cracked in one of those passages. I would bet its just a gasket though.

    Compression and leak down test it, run it with the radiator cap off and the radiator or reservoir or whatever full and watch for bubbles in the coolant caused by combustion gases getting into the coolant.
    Last edited by Moparjim; 08-09-2010 at 10:13 AM.
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