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Buick LeSabre General Care & Maintenance
My son has a '98 LeSabre that just turned 60,000 miles. He was told that something called a "fuel injector flush" is recommended for this vehicle. Is it necessary?
'14 Buick Encore Convenience
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
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The DexCool should be changed every two years... just like the regular stuff. Many claim you won't have any of the alleged problems that DexCool might have caused in the past from being in too long. It's cheap insurance for me.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
When done, make sure you follow the procedure in the owner's manual for bleeding air out of the system by opening the bleed screws.
While you are doing this, I recommend using a new Stant radiator cap. Kind of a long story, but Dex-cool does not mix well with air, and if you have a cap that leaks or has sediment on it, it allows air into the system causing problems.
I have a 1996 Buick LeSabre with about 100,000 miles on it. I am very happy with the car. The only concern I have is that the rear of the car rides high and stiff. It all started after taking my three kids, luggage, cooler, and other goodies on a long trip. After unloading the trunk, instead of the car drifting down to its normal level, it rides high. It seems stuck in this mode. Sometimes it will ride lower and softer, but then it will ride high and stiff for weeks at a time. Is there an easy backyard mechanic fix?
I've read about vent valves not working back at the part that's behind the rear wheel that controls the adding air and venting air. You'd need to test connections there. You also might trying moving the wires that come out of the trunk and around those parts. My 98 had a broken wire that was in the air and water wash behind the right rear wheel. So the system wouldn't do anything. The wire had broken from being moved around in the wash behind the wheel.
You need a service manual with a wiring diagram to properly track what's happening. I traced power from the front fuse panel to the rear before I found this problem. Since your car sometimes seems to operate properly you may have a broken wire making contact sometimes or a bad connector--but they're pretty well made so that's less likely based on my observation.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I'll purchase the Haynes manual for it (good to have anyway) and follow your lead during the next backyard oil change or perhaps this weekend if time allows. Thanks again.
helminc.com
Look at doityouself DIY for pricing. They might have a sale on yours.
http://www.helminc.com/helm/Result.asp?Style=&Mfg=GMC&Make=BUI&Model=LESA&Year=1- 996&Category=&Keyword=&Module=&mscsid=5TJL6M3L6SAP8NDC6R5WE3TWA8DL9JMA
The $130 is for a multivolume set, two or three. I buy them when my car is new and get my money's worth out of it. Otherwise I'd check the used market; the internet has made that easy.
Also, some major libraries have access to car manual copies like those. A major city near us has them online but you need to apply for their card to get a local user number--then you can access the info, and print, free.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
If there are no major running problems indicating injectors being uneven, that's the least of the things to check.
If it's never had the upper intake manifold, plastic, replaced, he needs to fill the coolant tank carefully when cool to a mark, and then watch when the car is cool to be sure he doesn't start using coolant.
The transmission should have had the pan dropped and the filter replaced and then refilled with 6.5, approx., quarts of Dexron III transmission fluid. The rubber gasket on the tranny should be reused-it's special. Don't put on an aftermarket gasket.
If he wants to treat the injectors, go buy a bottle of 20 oz fuel system cleaner by Chevron, called Techron. That's the name of their additive in their fuels at their stations. Follow the directions on that bottle. It's available at Meijers, Advance Auto, Walmart. Be sure to get fuel system cleaner if he can. There also is an injector cleaner. He'll notice a difference after a few miles when he puts that in if the injectors needed cleaning. That will be $9-10 compared to $50-$100 at the shop. The smaller size for up to 12 gallons is $7.
Have him try the Techron and report back what he thinks.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
That's what I thought. His car is running just fine.
'17 Chevy Volt Premiere
I don't worry much about injector cleaning. Like I say, I put in $6 bottle about twice or less a year to keep them clean. It does make a difference in how they run with the Techron. If I bought cheap gas, I'd put it in more often.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
So, my question is, does synthetic oil normally look that way, compared to regular oil? Or could there be dirt in the engine?
I was out of it for a while, (sick) but just recently had my mechanic do a tuneup. Told me car had same wires since it was built, so I thought it would help. No such luck! Do you think this fuel injector stuff would be something to use or try at least. I dont know what to do, engine light isnt on, and car drives reallly good. Only thing I notice is when I turn it on is a slight hum, which I believe is the pump, and I guess it stays on I just dont hear after the radio's playing.
Thanks so much for any assistance you want to give me right now, cause I dont know what to do, and I dont reaaaaaaaaly want to bring it into the dealer car service in town!
Hugs
Joyce
My question is how do you get your numbers for the town part and highway part? The 1998 did not have a driver info readout. Are you calculating the mileage the right way?
Is your driving all short trip? Is your city driving stoplights every block or is it suburban type. Is the highway driving a long, several hundred miles trip, so that you use most of a tank of gas before refilling? Is it interstate or just typical state route highway?
Our 1998 seemed to get about 22 in short trip and going to work (stop sign every one mile cross country, 40-45 mph roads) and about 31 on highway at 70 mph on long interstate trips.
If the car has very high miles, over 150K, that could have enough wear to lower mileage. The only other thing is oxygen sensor and I would not replace those without knowing it's a real problem and only replace with GM sensor. That's what I've read elsewhere.
How many miles are on the car?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Happened to check board this morning and found your reply, for some reason the board didnt notify me anyone answered.
Thank you for that!
My driving is mainly around town, 2 mile hike into town. not too many red lights in town. Stop to shop here and there.
Highway driving is about 100 miles at 70MPH.
I have filled the tank and calculated mpg that way, which is usually a mix of some highway, but mostly around town, and it always averages about 14-15mpg. Also calculated long trips on interstates at 70mpg and got about 15-16mpg.
But since most driving is just around town, etc. I put in gas as soon as the red light goes on and calculate it from there. That is never more than 11mpg.
The car, when I purchased it had about 80K and now has about 90K.
Any suggestions maybe that fuel injector cleaner or something?
Thanks so much,
Hugs
Joyce
The dealer wants way too much money for the job so I think I may tackle it, unless there are some special tools required. What does this take to do it? Thanks for any help.
paul
1.Remove right tire. Remove plastic cover to access engine compartment through right tire well.
2.Remove Bottom Nut and Bolt from Motor mount that sits between bottom pulleys. There is a bolt with a removable sleeve that allows access with new belt to bottom pulleys. You may have to tap out the sleeve since it looks like a solid bar mounted to the engine block.
3. Job takes less than 1 hour if done right instead of the 4 and 5 hour nightmare posted on most websites. Your welcome. by joe kenney
http://www.carspace.com/guides
I'm about to take off for a 4000-mile drive, and would like to flush and change coolant entirely, especially now that I have a mix, which is supposedly a major no-no. An amateur shop that changed oil today said they "couldn't get a reading" on the coolant.
Any expert advice on whether to go with Dex-Cool or not? Buick insists on it, of course, but I've read much bad about it, and nothing good.
You can drain it completely, flush out all the dexcool and green stuff mixture. Then I would refill with DexCool. I took off the lower radiator hose to drain mine every two years. It will take just about the 6 quarts needed to give a 50/50 mixture. I sometimes have to put the extra into the reserve tank.
If you unscrew a knock sensor on the bottom of the block I'm told a lot more comes out.
Either way your best bet would be to rinse and fill with dexcool, which is really good and nondamaging to water pump and aluminum. An alternate would be to refill with one of the compatible antifreezes that is supposed to mix with DexCool.
With aging the mix is supposed to turn blackish and give a gummy residue. I'd drain and fill at least 3 times to get as much of the old mix out as possible. I would run the motor til it circulated then drain again and refill after it cooled a while. I did that 2 times just to rinse out old DexCool (2 years old). Be sure to get the air bubble in the heater out after the motor warms up by reving to 2500 for a few seconds about 5 times--from the owners service manual. Also after that you can bleed the air out at the thermostat screw to get the last air out. Air mixing with DexCool as it circulates supposed causes part of the problems.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Three questions:
1) any reason why you recommend sticking with Dex-cool rather than flushing out completely and starting anew without it? I've read on many sites that it's nothing but trouble, corrodes innards, etc.
2) any idea which other anti-freezes are okay to mix with Dex-cool? That sounds like a good compromise solution to me.
3) I assume I can eventually find the plug at the bottom of the block, but where's the thermostat screw?
TIA,
TDC
I ahve heard people on another board discuss a product (Walmart has it I believe they said) that is says it's universally mixable with others, green and Dexcool. It'll say on the label. But your choice should be to flush and drain and get most of the stuff out and put in one new chemical.
DexCool took lots of grief for the seals leaking around some motor sizes on their intake manifolds and the throttle bodies where coolant is sent up through to keep them from icing. There was a problem with the chemical makeup of early seals, years ago, and those seals were changed. DexCool also formed a brown sludge if air was left in the system. I was told certain designs of radiators for filling, Ford had one e.g., were hard to fill and get all the air out. Those seemed to have trouble after years of running hot with the DexCool breaking down.
Also adding green stuff to it or using anything like a tester that had a little green stuff in it contaminated the Dexcool causing a sludging to form. I think DexCool gets blamed for problems the owner helped cause by not changing it every two years like regular antifreeze and not watching when it began to look gunky in the overflow and radiator cap area and getting the old stuff out of there.
I don't know what the knock sensor looks like. It has an electrical wire to it. Myself I avoided trying that just used the lower radiator hose at the radiator. Drain, fill with water, run, drain, fill ...
The thermostat air bleed is the little brass screw on top of the round hemispherical housing at the end of the upper radiator hose on the right of the picture.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I ended up getting the universal stuff at WalMart, supposedly Dex-Cool compatible. They had four brands all with the same composition and all claiming they could be mixed with anything. Including Prestone, so I'll assume it's legit. And I'll try to flush very thoroughly.
Thanks for the photo of the thermostat screw -- very obvious once the plastic cover was popped.
Now... just as soon as things cool down a bit more...
Do not buy any parts or replace anything. See what the codes mean as symptoms, not an indicator of exact parts bad. I suspect it will be related to the pollution checks on the parts for pollution control, p0442. It probably will turn itself off after a while if the store won't turn it off for you.
Is the gas cap seal good. Put petroleum jelly on it on the cap and check that the plastic part on the filler is in good shape and clean. The most common problem is the tank doesn't seal tight enough for the vacuum check the car does occasionally to look for leaks.
The algorithm for checks is tank between 1/4 and 3/4 full (your gauge doesn't work thought). Then the car is restarted when the coolant temp is between two temps (130 and 170 guessing my recall numbers). And the system will check for leaks. I've had a couple and on restart the light turns off.
Your 2000 has an access cover under the mat in the front of the trunk to get to the fuel pump and the fuel level gauge.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
In the morning when the engine is cold the car idle races exceptionally high and the odometer and speedometer do not work. After about 10 miles of driving, when the engine warms up, the idle returns to normal and the odometer and speedometer works again. I do not know how these two could be related and I can't get to the bottom of this problem in order to solve it.
Thanks, Barry
I've not been able to be certain the bulbs are available nor have I had the nerve to try inching the switch out myself.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I love this car!
I'd suspect a steering rack problem. But it also could be a rubber bearing mount for the struts at the top that's not right. I had a fairly new leSabre that had one replaced under warranty> It would give a thump when it let go when it had bound up some> you could turn the steeering wheels with the motor running with the car on the ground on gravel or grass where the tires turn easier and feel the binding let go by holding your fingers on the coil spring>
You also could have a slipping belt on the power steering if it"s really worn> or you could have a power steering pump problem> have you checked the fluid level?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Never drove a Buick before. Now I know what the "Buick Ride" is all about. Would like to think I'm too young for this car but I love it anyway.
At 16 years without knowing what climate the car is in (extra hot?), my wild guess from reading forums and people's problems and what they turned out to be would be the harmonic balancer on the end of the crankshaft at the bottom of the motor. The thing is two parts with rubber between them. The rubber deteriorates and the two parts eventually can knock against each other, metal to metal, giving a knock most prominent at idle when the motor is going slow when the speed up and down with piston pulses are most obvious.
While you have the belt off, you might check to see if there's play between the inner and outer parts of the harmonic balancer
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Why do you believe you need to replace that part? Did a mechanic tell you it was bad? Are you having a problem with the brakes?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Sounds like the parts I got on mine when I had to replace the fuel pump and associated lines due to a leak. When I got under the car after having the work done, there were two clean pieces, about 4 inches long, cylindrical, tapered at one end if I recall, and about 2.5 inches diameter. There is one in each brake line.
I suspect the place replaced them because they disconnected the brakes lines and new ones padded the repair bill. It may be the old ones rusted and were not reusable.
I won't be going back to the place doing the work. I'll junk the car if I don't have another shop to work on it instead of returning to that shop.
I suspect you would be better off seeing if another good shop can tighten it for you unless you have the right wrenches. I first would diagnose that pushing on the brake causes brake fluid to come out at the connection rather than nearby on the rusted line or through the wall of the valve. I would be afraid of distorting the rusted line or a bad connection unless you have the wrenches for tubing that spread the pressure.
Some H-body cars of that age have developed leaks in brake lines due to rust from salt in Ohio and north. Depends on the car.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The intakes will leak internally or seep around the edges leaving a trail the color of your antifreeze at the end of the plastic top next to the throttle body. That's where the coolant goes up and through to warm the air intake part--the throttle body. If you are losing coolant in the radiator and reservoir when you check every week or so, then you need to be concerned. There are other places llike water pump and connectors that can develop seeps of coolant also.
The brake things need to be checked. You will be losing brake fluid out of the reservoir on the firewall. That is not good. Also if a line is leaking or a connection is leaking it can get worse if you hit the brakes hard and then you're in trouble. It's a safety issue. So have someone else check it.
The company probably won't care if you make a complain so I'd skip it and just tell others about them--if another shop or you decide they really were trying to get you to replace things that weren't needed. Some shops encourage that especially the chain stores.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The turning the headlights on when the sensor doesn't get enough light to tell it it's daytime is a different operation. The sensor is buried down in the dash in the grooves for the defroster; if you look down from outside the windshield close to the left radio speaker grill, you'll see the dime-sized sensor for the headlights.
The one interaction the twilight slide switch has with the headlights is that it turns them off if you're in PARK and you slide the switch to the left. As soon as you shift out of PARK the headlights should come back on.
If the headlights aren't turning on automatically, I'd suggest using the regular buttons on the door instead. There is a connector for that sensor under the top of the dash, but I am not sure it's worth trying to get to it.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Thanks, Roger
If that's a Series I, I believe the plastic connector that's in the middle of the lower intake manifold is prone to deterioration with age and heat. The other connection may also be a plastic item: I can't recall the other Series I hose, but there are some plastic angle tubes that are used on some models. Those may both have been plastic, hence they crumbled. Try the HELP! rack at your auto parts store or ask at the counter. The HELP! is a Dorman product I've been told. The replacement parts should be there.
If you mean the heater core connections..., are you asking how to get the heater core out? That's easy, relatively. It's done from inside the car. Take off a few screws, break loose the sealing putty around the cover on the housing and voila you see the heater core.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Are you stopping under the bright streetlight? The system should have a delay. When you drive into a tunnel, there's a delay of 5-6 seconds before the headlights come on, and I thought there was the same delay when coming into brightness. When I back out of the garage with the newer leSabre, it turns lights off in about 5-6 seconds and I believe that's what my 98 does.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,