1998 Buick Lesabre

WHILE DRIVING ON MY WAY TO WORK THE VEHICLE STARTED TO SLOW AND THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED OVER AND ATTEMPTED TO START THE CAR AND THE ENGINE WOULD NOT TURN OVER. I CALLED MY AUTO CLUB FOR A TOW AND THE CAR WAS TOWED TO A CONNOCO STATION IN PARK RAPIDS. THEY IMMEDIATLY KNEW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS, STATING THEY SEE A LOT OF THE 3800 ENGINES DO THIS. THE INTAKE PLENUM ROTTED AWAY ALLOWING COOLANT TO FILL A CYLINDER AND STALL THE ENGINE. GM HAS ISSUED A SERVICE BULLITIN FOR THE PROBLEM, BUT NO RECALL. THIS COULD BE A MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN WITH LOSS OF POWER TO THE ENGINE THE STEERING AND BRAKES WILL NOT FUNCTION AS THEY SHOULD. *AK

OUR 1998 BUICK LESABRE LIMITED, APRIL 2004 OUR UPPER & LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD'S & GASKET WERE REPLACED DUE TO A LEAK AND THE CAR ONLY HAD 62,000 MILES ON IT. THIS COST US OVER 2000.00 THE WEB HAS HUNDREDS OF SIMILAR COMPLAINTS FROM OTHER GM OWNERS. *AK UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD LEAKED, CAUSING LOSS OF COOLANT. VEHICLE TAKEN TO INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP. OIL AND OIL FILTER HAD TO BE CHANGED, SPARK PLUGS WERE REPLACED AND CYLINDER'S [ENGINE FLUSHED] HAD TO BE CLEANED OUT. ALSO BROKEN STARTER REPLACED. MY CAR HAD TO BE TOWED OVER 110 MILES BACK HOME AT A COST OF $ 236.50 [MY WIFE WAS VISITING HER MOM AND HAD 2 GRANDCHILDREN WITH HER WHEN CAR BROKE DOWN IN A REMOTE AREA ,LUCKY FOR US SHE HAD HER CELL PHONE WITH HER AND SOME NICE FOLKS AT A NEAR BY RANCH TOOK CARE OF THEM] MY MECHANIC ADVISED INTAKE MANIFOLD LEAKED, AND STARTER WAS BAD [HOUSING BROKE] STARTER HOUSING BROKE DUE TO TRYING TO START HYDRO-LOCKED ENGINE. QUESTION: WHY IS BUICK ALLOWED TO USE A PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLD? AS THIS IS AN AREA THAT GETS VERY HOT. IT'S OBVIOUS, BUICK MADE A BIG MISTAKE BY PRODUCING ENGINES WITH PLASTIC MAN- IFOLDS. THE INTAKE MANIFOLD ON THE ENGINE IS MADE OUT OF PLASTIC AND HAS THE EGR TUBE RUNNING THROUGH IT, CAUSING THE PLASTIC TO HEAT UP AND ALLOW ANTIFREEZE TO RUN INTO THE ENGINE. WHEN MY MECHANIC CALLED THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP TO ORDER PARTS, THE SALES CLERK TOLD HIM, "YES WE HAVE THOSE PARTS ON HAND IT HAPPENS A LOT" ALSO THAT THE UPPER & LOWER INTAKES HAD BEEN RE-DESIGNED AND THAT BOTH MANIFOLDS NEED TO BE REPLACED AS A UNIT. .(CONTRIBUTED BY MIKE & DELLA RICO) PS. ALSO, TRANSMISSION IS NOW ACTING UP [SHUDDERS ON TAKE-OFF AT TIMES] I UNDERSTAND THAT THESE PROBLEMS [MANIFOLD & TRANSMISSION] ARE MAINLY GOING ON WITH CARS HAVING K IN THE VIN. DO YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON THIS? THANK YOU

REGULATOR LEAKING ALLOWING FUEL TO ENTER THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. *MR WATER IN THE RESERVOIR TANK KEPT EVAPORATING. THE CONSUMER WOULD CONTINUE TO REFILL THE TANK BUT IT CONTINUED TO LEAK. THE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR CAUSED THE LEAK ALLOWING FUEL TO ENTER THE INTAKE MANIFOLD THROUGH A VACUUM LINE. THE PLENUM CRACKED DUE TO THE BACKFIRING OF THE ENGINE CAUSED BY THE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR. *SC *JB

VEHICLE FAILED TO START WHEN THE KEY WAS TURNED IN THE IGNITION. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A MECHANIC. MECHANIC INDICATED THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD DEGRADED AROUND THE ERG DISTRIBUTION NIPPLE AND THE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR DIAPHRAM RUPTURED LEAKING FUEL INTO THE ENGINE THROUGH THE VACUUM HOSE. THIS WAS THE SAME DEFECT AS DESCRIBED IN THE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR RECALL 03V473000, BUT THIS VEHICLE'S MODEL WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL ALTHOUGH IT HAD THE SAME TYPE OF ENGINE. *AK *NM

WHILE PULLING OUT FROM A STOP LIGHT THE VEHICLE BEGAN TO ACCELERATE AND SUDDENLY THE ENGINE LOCKED AND STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE CONSUMER'S HOUSE AND IT WAS FOUND THAT THE UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD WAS CORRODED. THIS PROBLEM CAUSED WATER AND ANTI-FREEZE TO ENTER THE ENGINE, WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO OVER HEAT. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *NM

THE ENGINE BACK FIRED AND BLACK SMOKE CAME OUT THE TAIL PIPE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHO INDICATED THAT THE UPPER AND LOWER MANIFOLD BROKE. AS A RESULT, THE TAIL PIPE/ TENSION O-RING/THERMOSTAT, AND GASKET NEEDED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO WATER CONTAMINATION. THE ENGINE HAD A MIXTURE OF WATER AND OIL IN IT. FUEL REGULATOR, COIL, AND SPEEDOMETER WIRES ALSO NEEDED REPLACEMENT. *AK THE SPARK PLUGS WERE CONTAMINATED WITH ANTIFREEZE. THE ENGINE WAS CONTAMINATED WITH ANTIFREEZE AND FUEL. RECALL#04V090000 THE UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD WAS BROKEN AND BURNED THROUGH AND THE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR LEAKED GAS. *SC *JB