Manifold/header/muffler/tail Pipe problems of the 1998 Buick Lesabre - part 1

The vehicle acted like it had a miss, the service engine light came on, flashing, then stopped flashing but remained on. I drove vehicle home, and the next morning it would not start. I had it towed to a shop and the mechanic said that it had hydro locked due to coolant dripping on the piston from a coolant leak at the intake manifold. This is not a cheap repair.

My intake manifold gasket was made of plastic and my engine locked up, I was informed from my mechanic that gm was aware of this problem and came out with a better one made of metal. This a costly mistake leading to 850 dollars of repair, that could have been prevented if gm would have stepped up with this in the first place and been fixed with the new gasket instead of causing more damage then needed.

My 1998 Buick Lesabre ltd, 73,943 mi,started to require water to be added to the overflow tank. The car was taken to a gm garage and it was determined that the upper and lower intake manifolds were leaking, causing coolant to enter engine and oil. This repair cost$1200. To correct. Further investigation showed that this is a common problem and gm has turned it's head to the issue. The internet is full of this specific problem.

1998 Lesabre upper manifold plenum over heated, melted, causing a hole which allowed anti-freeze to leak into the oil.

: the contact stated while driving 60mph, the vehicle stalled and the heat indicator gauge dropped to zero. The vehicle was towed to an independent repair shop for inspection. The mechanic determined the plastic intake manifold needed to be replaced.

Defective manifold gasket. Coolant degrades gasket causing coolant to leak into engine, catalytic converter and exhaust system.

The contact stated the antifreeze was low . He took the vehicle to shop the to have it checked. They found the intake manifold was leaking antifreeze into the engine. This, in turn could have caused the engine to blow up. The intake manifold was replaced. Updated 02/06/06.

1998 Buick Lesabre engine seized causing consumer to come to an abrupt stop. Upper intake manifold had warped causing anti-freeze to go into the motor per mechanic. ** answer required***.

When started vehicle and there was a backfire with a lot o smoke. Care would not start. Took vehicle to Buick garage, and they said it was the intake manifold, and they repaired it.

Vehicle stalled. Driver pulled over. Driver was unable to restart vehicle, and had it towed to dealer, and mechanic determined that engine needed to be replaced. The Chevrolet dealer told the consumer that water got into the engine block and locked it up. They removed and replaced the(manifold) plenum with all new gaskets, new oil, anti freeze and new spark plugs.

1998 Buick Lesabre. Plenum gasket on the intake manifold fails and allows coolant to get into engine. Then engine dies in the road causing people to slam on breaks. No wrecks. This is a well know problem with Lesabre's but Buick has failed to correct the problem. I had to pay $1200 to fix car and it now probably has engine damage. I would like Buick to come forward with this and let people know about it. This has to stop!.

The 3. 8l gm engines used '95 - '98 for the Buick: rivera, Lesabre, park avenue, regal, chevy: lumina, monte carlo, Oldsmobile: 98,88,intrigue, pontiac: bonneville, grand prix have a known defect. Service bulletin 01-06-01-007a coolant leak. In December 2004, my plastic intake manifold melted and allowed the engine coolant to fill the cylinders of the engine with coolant. Gm resolved the defect with a design change in 99. I feel that gm is responsible for the cost of the repair of the defective part. Second the engine shut down at 55 mph in heavy traffic, which is a serious safety hazard that warrants a recall. I contacted gm; service record number 1-293342957 they never called me back after a number of messages (7) then denied the claim.

While placing the vehicle in reverse a loud popping noise was heard coming from the rear. Then, vehicle stalled. Consumer was unable to restart vehicle, and had the vehicle towed to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic determined that the intake exhaust manifold system, and a head gasket needed to be replaced. . Also, exhaust manifold cover blew off.

While driving at approximately 50 mph the plastic manifold burst without warning, causing the engine to lock up. Owner contacted the dealer and the manufacturer, and was told that there was nothing else they could do.

While driving,in inclement weather windshield wipers come on and off intermittently. The consumer was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and the mechanic determined that the windshield wiper motor needed replacement. This vehicle was not on a recall and the warranty expired. The plastic intake manifold leaked water without unknowingly and would blow out and ingest all of the water from the radiator and also the overflow into the motor.

1998 Buick Lesabre- check engine light went on, stopped at gas station,car would not start after stopping, intake manifold had failed, causing engine coolant to get iinto the engine, because the engine was locked up the starter also broke when trying to restart the car, was stranded 60 miles from home, to get towed and get car fixed cost over 2000. 00 dollars. It seems the intake manifold has a defect.

The vehicle failed to start after re-fueling. The engine cranked but wouldn't turn over. The dealership without inspecting the vehicle identified the intake plenum ( manifold) as the problem. There was a small hole which caused the oil to mix in with the water/ anti freeze. This part has been upgraded in the 2002 and later models. The plenum part #fh10095 manifold was replaced. . . . .

The vehicle upper intake manifold failed prior to recall notification. The consumer request reimbursement. The vehicle died while the consumer backed out of the driveway, restarted and backfired along with engine light illumination, and later the vehicle was started, but had ran rough. Since 10/08/02, the vehicle had run fine.

Consumer was concerned about reimbursement from the manufacturer. Consumer received recall notice 96v116000 concerning intake manifold failure. Consumer had recall repairs done. However, recall repairs failed. Consumer informed the mechanic that this problem occurred more than once, and had not been resolved.

While driving vehicle started to lose power. The vehicle gradually lost more power and quit. The consumer was informed that the upper intake manifold was cracked in one of the passages, which required a total replacement of the engine.

Vehicle's engine misfires and loses power. The service engine light had come on along with the misfires and power loss. The consumer was told that the problem could be due to the engine hydraulic lock. The consumer stated that gm was aware of the plastic intake manifold problem.

The engine light was on, the vehicle was repaired. A recall letter was received. After sending the receipts to the manufacture, they are not refunding the entire amount. The intake manifold.

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.

My 1998 Buick Lesabre started to smell of anti-freeze earlier in the day on 4/27/04. The car was parked for most of the day, quick trips to the store at most. When I got home that night, the car was shacking and pouring exhaust vapors out of the exhaust pipe. In the morning on April 28t,. It started just fine. So, I drove it to my mechanic. The car ran smoothly for about 200 yards, then it progressively got worse, until I was practicly coasting when I reached my mechanics. After they looked into the issue, they concluded that the intake manifold was cracked and had spewed water into my engine. This left water in my oil and no coolant. My mechanic flushed my oil, flushed my coolant, replace the manifold with the factory part, and replaced the gasket with the factory part. My mechanic told me that this was a common issue and that all of the 3. 8l gm engines had plastic intake manifolds. I then began to research on line this issue, and apparently many people have had the same problem. I called Buick 3 times trying to plead my case. Each time I was told there is no recall for this car, but the model 2 years prior had the same issue and the part was recalled. I have found a notice that NHTSA is trying to have the replacing the "delphi fuel pressure regulators" replace, which can cause the intake manifold to crack. Nhtsa recall campaign number: 04v090000.

Plastic upper intake manifold melted causing the engine coolant to flood into the crankcase. Engine subsequently locked up and had to be towed to a dealer. $1500 in damages on a car with 50,000 miles on it.

While driving 35 mph vehicle stalled. The driver was able to drift to the side of the road. Consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership for inspection, and mechanic determined that intake manifold failed. Consumer had the mechanic replace the intake manifold.

The intake manifold and the exhaust system were a manufacturer's design flaw. When the consumer contacted the manufacturer, the consumer was told that the tubing was too small, causing the tubing to rupture. The intake manifold was worn through.

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. 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.

1998 Buick Lesabre stalled at a stoplight and wouldn't start. After having the problem diagnosed and the intake manifold removed, water was discovered in the intake and in the cylinders.

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.

While driving white smoke came from the rear . Vehicle was taken to a repair shop, where the mechanic determined that intake manifold leaked coolant onto the engine, and engine needed to be replaced.

While driving engine check light came on. Prior to this, there was an anti freeze odor within the cabin of the vehicle. Upon inspection of the vehicle by the dealership they noticed that the upper and the lower intake manifold melted. Consumer believed this defect could cause the engine to stall, creating a dangerous situation.

I am upset that the gm recall # 03054b does not include the 1998 Buick Lesabre, only the park avenue, according to the customer service dept. For Buick. My Lesabre did the same thing as described on the recall results for the office of defects investigation found on the internet. However, your office did list it using NHTSA campaign id number: 04v090000. Please e-mail me @ johnbillips@hotmail. Com or leave a message for me @ 850-482-8156, if my vehicle (1998 Buick Lesabre, custom) can be added to this recall. After looking at the reviews for this vehicle it seems there are a few complaints. Thanks.

On January 2004 an independent repair shop replaced the intake manifold at consumer's expense of $1, 1000, five months later, the consumer received NHTSA recall #04v090000 which stated that vehicles equipped with 3800 v6 (l36) engines and certain delphi fuel pressure regulators, the regulators have a much higher than usual rate of fuel leaks. A leak can allow fuel to enter the intake manifold through a vacuum line. The manufacturer indicated to the consumer the recall was the fuel pressure no the intake manifold. However, the mechanic determined that a defective fuel pressure broke the intake manifold. The was attempting to stall while in motion, when the vehicle reached home the vehicle died. The engine turned but did not start. The intake was leaking coolant into cylinders.

Plastic intake manifold warped allowing coolant to leak through engine block and hydrolocked engine. Call to local Buick dealer comfirms this is not isolated defect. The engine shut down as I was entering the highway. Manufacturer refused to admit responsibility for defective part. My cost $879. 98. Possible future engine damage.