Radiator problems of the 1998 Buick Lesabre

Bought a used (2 owner) Buick Lesabre in Dec '08 having 37,428 . In early March, '09, after less than 4000 miles, started hearing a brief gurgling when engine turned off. In mid-March, while pulling onto a highway from a slight upward grade the vehicle lost power, and a drive train vibration took place for a few seconds. . . . Nearly causing an oncoming truck to collide with us. Took vehicle into a national franchised transmission dealer for checkup. . . Transmission checked ok. However, technician discovered radiator fluid in manifold intake area. Suspecting leaking intake manifold seal and/or cracked intake manifold cover. Need to use the vehicle, but have to wait for repair until money can be put together. Am a disabled ex marine,vietnam vet. . Shouldn't have to put up with this problem, especially when it looks like a very prevalent one ,based on what is on the net. Replacement part is only 140. 00 through a national parts company. The auto shops are quoting over 800. 00 to fix. C'mon, let's get something done about this before someone is killed!!! haven't you noticed the power failures in some of the reports??I would think gm would do a volunteer recall, rather than risk reputation, and consumer life&limb. The problem is that gm was using havelin's 'orange' antifreeze (dextrol) and it was faulty. It was congealing in the engine, disrupting coolant flow, thereby causing overheating enough to blow intake manifolds and/or gaskets. . . . . . . . Seems the 8 auto tech's I've talked to over the past week know this. So, why don't the industry and gov. "experts"???.

The contact owns a 1998 Buick Lesabre. The contact noticed oil in the antifreeze bucket in the vehicle. When the vehicle was taken to the mechanic, he was informed that the cooling coils had burst in the radiator. Currently, antifreeze has settled on the engine block. The vehicle was tested for a pressure leak and the mechanic was unable to find one. The contact was informed that the intake gasket failed. Nhtsa campaign id number 04v090000 (fuel system, gasoline:delivery) was referenced. The current mileage was 31,000 and failure mileage was 26,000. Updated 06/25/08. Updated 06/25/08.

Purchased new, this well maintained, garage kept vehicle failed with 44,500 miles. I changed the oil & filter after the first 500 mile break-in period & every 1k miles. On 2/12/04, there was a rough unexpected engine knock upon startup. Placed in reverse, there was a shaking sensation & the check engine lamp eventually lit. I drove to the dealer. I was told that the radiator coollant leaked into the oil portion of the engine. It was an unpleasant situation, however, a decision had to be made & I opted to replace the vehicle with a 2004 Lesabre. I drove it off the lot the same day and tried to put my 1998 problem behind me. I have owned Lesabres in the past, a park avenue & other gm products where I clocked over 250,000 miles each on most of them. Two days after the purchase of my 2004, the burning question was why my 1998 bit the dust? I felt drawn to my computer & searched: "Buick Lesabre plenum failures" to see what I might find. I viewed several hundred complaints at this site and many others describing the very same problem. All I could help but wonder, was if this same defect prone part was in the car I just purchased? I called gm and spoke to a rep. I told herabout my 1998 model and then asked if she could let me know if it had been changed on my new 2004 model? yes, my 2004 has the same defective intake manifold, so without any warning, the same situation will arise in the future. What will they do for me about my new car? nothing. Beware the ticking time bomb if your gm vehicle has the 3800 series ii. A loud pop, followed by hesitation & by the time the ser engine light glows -- it is already too late. Many fires have been reported along with this problem. Sources indicate that it is on approximately 35 mill assorted gm cars manufactured from circa 1994 to present.

Vehicle was leaking antifreeze. Intake manifold was replaced to stop the leak as well as the transmission was replaced. Dealer, on a previous occasions, repaired a hole in the radiator.

While returning home from our daughter's in virginia, our check engine light came on. We pulled onto a side road and turned off the car. Looking under the hood, we found the reserve radiator reservoir to be totally empty. After 20 minutes, we tried to start the car to no avail. We were towed back to the nearest town, selinsgrove, PA, to a pep boys and were told the engine had seized up. The next day the car was towed back to rochester where our mechanic proceeded to find out the problem. We also called the dealership where we bought the car two years ago, and the service manager told us that he had seen this before. The radiator fluid is entirely sucked into the engine through the intake manifold and there is never any indication of over heating or changes on the gauge readings because the engine is not hot, due to the fluid being in there. Consequently, we had to have the engine replaced. Three days after this happened to us, a letter was mailed out to all owners of 2000-2003 Buicks for this very same problem. We have a 1998 Buick Lesabre. We called the number given 1-800-832-8425 and also called bbb auto line for general motors. General motors will not do anything to help us in this matter because our vehicle is a 1998. The cost we have incurred to remedy this failure is in excess of $3,000. 00. The same engine was used to repair the problem: a 3800 series ll (l36) v6 engine. How do I know the same thing won't happen again? I do not! I do not want to keep the vehicle yet I cannot afford not to. We have bought gm cars and trucks for the last 35 years. We always said: "buy american". I guess that time is over. Is there anything you can do to help us?.

While parking, the consumer noticed coolant leaking from underneath the vehicle. The consumer drove the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and the mechanic determined that the radiator needed to be replaced. The input manifold cracked/split and the engine coolant leaked into the engine. The coolant reservoir kept on going down but the consumer never saw any coolant on the driveway or in the oil. The consumer requested that gm cover the cost of repair.