Buick Regal Maintenance and Repair

black87iroc

Ok Ive changed both wheel hub asembleys and roters and pads but the noise is still their now what are we looking at as the problem Its allmost like a nocking noise only happens if wheel is slightly to the left and not accelorating or brakeing just coasting go's away when wheel is turned slightly to the right This is a 2000 buick regal ls 3.8L non turbo with about 90,000

mps3817

Help
I own the 1997 Rag LS and the car is constantly overheating. It is running at the 3/4 mark all the time. The cooling system seems to be clogging. I have flushed it and chagne d the heater core, and radiator twice. Is this a commom occurance on the 3.8 when it hit this mileage??
How can I fix it?

Karen_S

Not sure if this is the issue, but I found this post in the main discussion:

PAman, "Buick Regal" #1209, 13 Jul 2001 11:09 am

mooseburg

Take a look at the tie rod ends or you might have a problem with a tire mounted on the front. Rotate those tires to the back of the car and see if it goes away or moves to the back of the vehicle.

dderico

I have a 01 LS, and lately it seems to be trying to run hot. It runs at the 3/4 line then cools down, then heats right back up again. The fan seems to be running fine. Any suggestions? The car itself is running great.

mps3817

I have none

I had to end of junking the car. It ran great but the overheating could not be corrected. I tried Buick even and could not come up wiht why. I changed everything. Heads radiator heater core, removed thermostat, flushed it out. nly thing my mechanic said it could be is the block breaking down. Please let me know what happens I am curious.

heath3

I HAVE A92 REGAL 3.8 I NEED HELP 2 FIND THE NAME OF A PART IT'S THE PART THAT THE SMALL HOSE GOES TO FROM THE WATER PUMP THEN IT SCREWS IN TO THE MANIFOLD

rican7757

It sounds like a front axle that is about to go. If it does it when you are turning right it is probaly the left one that is bad. What you can do is grab the axle and push and pull it side to side or in and out and it will make a noise usually if it is bad. Do both of them so you can tell. If it does I would suggest getting it fixed ASAP I had a bad experience when mine went.

dderico

I had the thermostat changed, and that seemed to remedy the problem. Of course there was a bigger problem though. The radiator guy noticed water under the oil cap. Sure enough I seem to be leaking water via the intake manifold into the engine oil. The guy told me I could either rebuild the engine, or get rid of the car. Hate to do it, but guess I'm going to get rid of it this summer. The tech said this is a common problem for Regals and Olds reaching 100,000 miles. Has anyone know of this problem???

praesto

I have a 2002 Regal, bought used, that for the first year had no problems with water. Suddenly I'm finding water on the passenger side floor every time it rains.

I have found that when the car is parked level or with the nose facing down it doesn't matter how hard it rains everything stays dry. Only when the nose is facing up does the water come in.

This happened suddenly and there was no accident, work on the car or firewall area. The interior filter had not been touch as well. I have been told that there is a "gutter" or railing that runs along the firewall that is designed to run off water to the side. It is possible that it could have fallen off.

The water seems to collect towards the center of the car but leaks out at it's lowest point, the far right side near the fender wall. I have seen discussions about this problem from a few years ago but no one seemed to have an answer. Any updates?

Karen_S

If you don't get a reply here soon, you might want to try posting over in Water Leaks-How to find and fix.

flutie23

Just recently my 2000 Buick Regal began making a noise in the right front end. It gets worse as I increase speed and gets a bit louder when I move the wheel left or right. I replaced the tires but still have the noise. Any advice on where to start looking?

gulf0

HOW DO YOU GET A KEY WHEN YOU LOST YOURS WITHOUT HAVING TO GET A LOCKSMITH

prestocat

I've changed the spark plugs, wires, fuel filter, and air filter. I've also changed the catalytic converter in aug 08 because the old one was plugged. I'm getting about 15 to 16 miles/ gallon right now. There are a lot of hills where I drive, but I was getting at least 20 to 21 miles/ gallon before. I've never taken the car on a long highway trip before, so I don't know what the highway mileage was. Also, when the car is idling, it sounds like it is sucking in a lot of air through the air filter box. You can hear it sucking from about 5 to 10 feet away. It's done this ever since I bought the car in June 08. Does anyone else's regal make this sound, this loud? Please help with either issue. Thanks in advance!

own4gms

My 2000 Regal GS runs badly whenever there is a vacuum leak. I've replaced the vacuum lines (dealer item). The 180 degree elbow on the vapor recovery solenoid gets especially soft. Also, if you ventilation system doesn't switch between levels (defroster/vent/floor) the vacuum leak is on a long vacuum line from the engine to under the dash. My leak was caused by that vacuum line rubbing on the battery's negative cable where it attaches to the frame. I was able to disconnect the hose near the battery and slide a short vacuum hose connector available on the "HELP" isle at the autoparts store over the leak.

joe862

I just got this 1996 regal 6 cylinder. When you idle the fans wont turn on. I bypassed the control switches and can get them on. My question is, is the coolant level sensor the same as the heat sensor that tells the control units to send power to the fans?
Help!!!!!

praesto

2000gs

It can be one of several things but I have found the most common one being the cabin air filter being plugged or not seated properly. It is located under the plastic guard on the passenger side just above the firewall of the car. there are a couple of plastic screws that hold it in place and after removing them you can lift off the plastic shroud.

The other problem you might have is a leaking heater core. Is the leak water or does it smell like coolant? Does the floor get wet after a rain storm or is it always wet and smell like coolant?

Regards.

tommy1614

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/Feg/drive.shtml

As for the sucking, don't worry about it, I put in a K&N Filter, and you can hear that thing breathe inside my house, i triple checked to make sure it was seated properly..

abutcher

My 01 Regal LS seems like it gets bad milage as well, not sure what to do. I've done plugs, wires, ful and air filters. It now has 143,000 miles and is losing coolant somewhere as well which I am keeping an eye on.

jay_m

Block breaking down?
Time for new mechanic!
Don't know how you 'flushed it out', but cooling system isn't usually that tricky.
Changed heads?! sad.
If the beast doesn't cool properly, there has to be debris in the system, or bad water pump, or bad hose. I'd pull hoses and thermostat and flush it out with water, then compressed air.
Maybe even pull one or two expansion plugs (freeze plugs) to look for crud in there.
Also verify that it really was running hot, and not just a gauge lying to you.
cheers
Jay

jay_m

I've heard of this problem (inlet manifold gasket/coolant in oil), but what's wrong with changing the inlet manifold and giving it clean oil and coolant?
So maybe the motor only goes 250,000 instead of 300,000?

mps3817

jay_m

If you replaced the cat converter, (or even if you didn't) you might want to change the Oxygen sensor. (O2 sensor). The computer will regulate fuel according to what the sensor says. If it lies, then the computer can put more fuel than the motor needs and the extra is wasted. (yes, still burned and exhaust is still pretty clean, but not as efficient as it should be.)
Coolant loss? Probably better drain/flush system, fresh coolant and, well, I'd use stop leak.
But, I'm cheap. Look up Dex-Cool and inlet manifold problems on GM engines. It seems there can be problems with the gaskets caused by old coolant and air in system?
Good luck
Jay.

gulf0

dscourtright

Car died, fuel pump went out. Replaced fuel pump with new one and now the car hesitates on acceleration and when you drive it for awhile it will not start after that. Rechecked my installation twice and can't find anything wrong. Any suggestions?

prestocat

mnmkyf

Just spent way too much time doing this. I followed the instructions in the owner's manual (looked easy enough), but really struggled. Am I missing something? Is there an easy way to move the hose so it's easy to remove and replace the side cover? Or is this part of the master plan to frustrate me so I'll take the car in to the dealer for service?

barry_allen03

have a 1991 buick regal limited 3.1 v6 coming home it died wouldnt stay running changed fuel filter ( couldnt believe it ran at all) still same problem will run for awhile maybe 15 mins maybe 5 mins then dies might be in gear or at idle changed map sensor stillsame problem any one ahve any ideas?

classofcountry

I just bought the car....one owner...200k(highway miles) and it checked out fine in Carfax. Right away I notice 2 problems. The oil pan is leaking, and the one that really woories me is that while holding it at a steady speed, anywhere from 45 - 55 MPH, while going up inclines, even not so steep inclines, it shudders and shakes....then it runs fine. Anyone else ever experience this problem?

jipster

Nope. Probably needs a tune-up. My dealer recently quoted me a price of $189. Check all your filters as well.

classofcountry

Thanks jipster. I'll give it a shot. 3 mechanics told me it was transmission is shot. I really didn't want to hear that.

bigsteve3

I had the same problem, even had people tell me it was the tranny. Wrong! It was a bad spark plug wire.

david_95

I've had a similar problem with my 95 Regal. Like sometimes I’ll be driving on the highway, and having no problems. Then I’ll be going up a hill at around 55 mph, and then the car will shudder as I try to maintain a speed of 55 mph. So I have to ease off the accelerator and slow down. At first I thought this was a transmission problem, but I’m guessing it’s the same problem that causes my choppy idle.
So I had this acceleration problem on the highway when I was going up a hill. And a weak idle. These problems have been going on for several months now. They were annoying, but didn’t seem that serious. Then all of a sudden, on a rainy day, the car was really responding poorly to acceleration at all speeds. I was able to drive around, but I couldn’t count on the car responding right away when I hit the gas pedal. And the car would shudder at times.
Then, I didn’t drive the car for a few days, and then it was dry, no rain, and the car ran better. So I’m thinking humidity makes the problem worse.
I have also noticed over the past few months, that the car runs best when I start it up after a few days of not running it. Then if I drive the car a few miles and let it sit for about 2 hours or so, it would idle weakly when I would start it up again. The car’s been doing that for several months now, but it wasn’t really affecting the drivability or the response of the car when I hit the gas pedal.
Now it’s gotten much worse. So, I’ve already replaced the following items myself to no avail: mass air flow sensor, oxygen sensor, and egr valve. I’m guessing the next thing to fix is the pcv valve. But I also think it might be the fuel pump. My first guess though is the pcv valve.
So I guess you have a similar problem. I'll let you know more as I learn more. Have you figured out what's causing your hill problem yet?

barry_allen03

taker

I have the very same car and its acting the very same way, I have replaced the crank position sensor, ignition control module, fuel pump and filter. My problem remains and im totally at a loss on this thing. And to make things even easier its not even turning on a check engine light, this thing really has me stumped. Other ideas I have gotten while researching include the ECM (BRAIN) and ignition switch but after already wasting over 200 its time to have a different approach on this thing.

If anybody has any idea what could be going on im all ears!!!! :sick:

classofcountry

bjjetrich

My 2001 Regal 3.8 coughs (I've heard it called fishbite, hesitation, misfiring, loss of power, and chuggles) at about 50-60 mph, 1500 rpm on hills or upon acceleration. I've replaced TPS, EGR valve, MAF, MAP, O2 sensor, spark plugs and wires, coils, ICM, and PCM. Fuel pressure is okay. Starting and idle are okay. Gas mileage is okay. Catalytic converter and exhaust are okay. Transmission is okay. No problem with performance at any other time. I haven't replaced the crank position sensor or injectors (too expensive for just a troublehshooting guess). I suppose after 196K miles it could be time to replace those, too. I read that there is a new and improved GM throttle position sensor (part no. 24504798) that will solve my problem. I'm not sure what the one was that I just put on new, but I don't think it's any different than a new and improved one. Has anybody figured out the solution to this problem?