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Comments
ive read online about alot of cars with the same problem but i cant find a solution.
My husbands mom used to own another 93 lesabre also and has the same problems. any help would be appreciated
Best of luck, Clifford has gone to live with a new family, so I don't have him anymore.
I have heater problems. always have it will blow cold air then after while warm hot air then go right back to cold. I in stiled new thermostat cleaned out heater core and same problems. The fan works fine. I am about fed up with it see or trade.
How is your coolant level inside the radiator? My first guess would be an air bubble in the heater core. If the radiator is staying completely full... when the car is completely hot after driving a long time, run the motor up to 2500 for 10 seconds in neutral, repeat 4 more times. That is supposed to push air out of the heater.
Also, sometimes people get an air bubble into the radiator so to fill completely, have someone run the motor at above idle while the cap is off and you'll see the level drop. When that happens fill the radiator full and put the cap back on. Then they can slow the motor back down.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Go back to where you bought it. It must have had a warranty since it was new.
My thought would be a sensor or something major has happened because of the knocking. If it's a spark knock that might be sensor; otherwise, it's a problem. It needs to be diagnosed and just putting parts on hoping is going to be expensive.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Another check is to use something like a light hammer or heavy screwdriver to tap the starter housing when it doesn't start. Sometimes this causes the solenoid contact to make connection through the damage or sticking. It verifies the starter is the problem. I got a rebuilt from a local AC/Delco rebuilder. I felt much better with that than getting a rebuilt from the competitive box stores where cheapest cost is best for them.
The neighbor helping me with my older Buick even used a battery charger/jumper unit and directly connected to the post on the starter to verify that it wouldn't turn.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I have an 02 Buick LeSabre Custom, 3.8l. with 65,000mi.,and not showing a code. The problem I'm having is once it gets up to operating temperature it has a tendency to stall. It will start again but cranks a few seconds and sometimes you have to feather the pedal to get it started. It starts right up when cold. Once in a while if turn the wheel all the way when backing out of the driveway it stalls, but that's when cold.
If someone out there can help I'd appreciate it cause it's only getting worse.
TY
When it dies, turn the key off and on for a couple of seconds and listen to the sound of the pump. Repeat a couple of times to build up pressure. See if it start faster. The feathering could be fuel pressure. Also could be MAF sensor -- I believe I recall one person having that symptom. You can disconnect the MAF sensor. It also can be removed for cleaning--don't touch the wires buried inside the plastic. Just spray with MAF cleaner or use an artist's brush to dust them. Lots of MAFs have same part number; so if you have another GM with same part, you can switch the two for a while and see if the symptom moves.
The fellow who lives next to me inherited his father's Monte Carlo. It has 65K on a 95 and fuel pump went out. It was his second car and he always kept a minimum of fuel in it.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
1. We took it to AutoZone and was told it could either be the vacuum line or the oxygen sensor. We fixed that problem.
2. We tuned it up, new oil, new filter and everything, but it's still doing the same thing.
3. We then told one technician at O'Reilly's what was going on and he said it might be the ignition coil. What is that, and what does it cost to fix?
It can be crankshaft position sensor.
It can be fuel pump. Try checking fuel pressure with a gauge while driving it. Some lose pressure as they heat up when running and cut out due to pressure dropping.
It can be the ignition module that's under the coils. It's doubtful it's just one of the 3 coils; you'd have rough running when one isn't working up to par. You can try disconnecting the power cables to it and reconnecting them. If it stays off long enough, you can pull a spark plug wire and have a spare plug ready to put in it and lay on metal part of motor while someone cranks to see if you get a nice blue spark. Or just lay the plug wire there--it should give a good loud spark.
It can be a vacuum line that has rotted or cracked. Check them all very carefully around the upper intake manifold. You can spray carburetor cleaner around the manifold and the vacuum lines while the motor is running. If there's a leak, when it sucks in the carb cleaner, the idle will change. Voila, you found a leak.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
You think for as many years GM's been building these 3.8's they'de have them refined by now. As much as I hate to say it, at least the Japanese usually fix a problem when they find one.
TY's Again
door,they don't last long at all.The fuel pumps usually go out around 80,000 miles.
Then the crankcase sensor!
From what you post it sounds like you are not smelling the coolant smell inside the car coming from the heater blower air stream. The windshield is NOT clouding up when you drive the car with water vapor coming from the heater core seeping inside the car. So that's not happening.
The coolant smell, based on what I believe you mean, is outside the car coming from the engine compartment after the car is shut off. When you drive the car, the temperature of the coolan increases and eventually builds up pressure in the cooling system. The radiator cap controls that pressure amount. The extra pressure enables the car to run higher than 212 deg. F. for cooling purposes.
If you are smelling coolant after the car is shut off, that probably means a seep while the car is still pressurized. The high pressure relaxes after 10-15 minutes and the seep under the hood would stop.
Do you see any coolant on the ground under the motor after the car has been driven, warmed up thoroughly, and then shut off?
A water pump sometimes seeps when it's failing.
There is a small plastic pipe about 3 inches long that turns 90 deg sideways that comes out of the side of the metal intake manifold above the water pump that sometimes can seep around either end.
There is a possibility of a seep in the radiator or one of the rubber hoses, especially at the ends where they are clamped on. Sometmes the clamp is bad, sometimes, the hose.
A worse case is that there might be a seepage inside the plastic upper intake manifold on top of the motor (after you take off the gray beauty cover). The replacement upper costs about $100 for the part.
You don't say how many miles are on the car. If the DExcool antifreeze has never been changed, that might make a manifold leak more likely.
What you need to watch is coolant level. When the car has cooled about 30 minutes or so, use a towel to remove the radiator cap and check coolant level inside the radiator. Fill it there, if needed. Keep the reservoir up to a mark for cold or where it is and mark it with a pencil when the car is cold so you can compare a few days later when the car is cold again if the car has used coolant. Always check inside the radiator to be sure it stays full.
Take a flashlight and look all around the motor on the end where the serpentine belt is and the radiator and hoses for leaks.
Let me know what you find.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The MAF sensor can cause strange symptoms. Often they show at idle and people remove the connector and start the motor and if it runs better, then the MAF may be to blame. The two fine wires can be cleaned with spray cleaners inside the MAF after removing it with two screws that are torx heads if I recall.
I would check the Fuel Pressure REgulator on the front of top of the motor with small rubber vacuum hoses going to it about the starting. A few of those go bad and leak gasoline into the vacuum hose. So pulling off the vacuum hose and finding liquid gasoline inside is a bad sign that it has failed.
The rough runniing and bad starting also can be the fuel pump in the tank has worn and lost pressure. That can lead to bad running, stalls, and restarts after a few miinutes. Some strange symptoms that are like other things as well. The fuel pump is accessed through a plate on the floor of the trunk behind the rear seat. It is not an easy job and requires skill and knowledge. The earlier fuel pumps had to be dropped under the car to get the out of the tank. At 130,000 you might be ready fora fuel pump. Rumor has it that if a car is run low on fuel often it wears the fuel pump and heats it up; neighbor had a 95 MonteCarlo go at 65,000 miles because he always ran it low as a second car that had been his dad's.
Did anyone have the car connected to a scanner at an Advance Auto Parts of Autozone to see what codes it read? Don't buy parts based on that. Those are hints?
The window regulators from a supplier for 00 and 01 were poorly made and fail often at a connection of wire to plastic slider. They are available repaired on the internet or Ebay where you send it in and in a few days they return it. You have to be able to take off the door panel to get it out of the door. They hold the glass up with something while the part's out.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Did you have bubbling into the reservoir from the hot exhaust gases being pushed into the coolant and escaping through the reservoir?
Did they check in the radiator neck with a hydrocarbon sensor like used for emissions testing to verify exhaust gases were present in the coolant?
A blown head gasket on a 3800 is _extremely_ rare, unlike many other cars.
What is more common is for the intake manifold gaskets to leak or the upper plastic portion to break down where the hot egr gases go through and allow coolant to leak into the air intake that goes to the cylinders. That coolant being sucked in may be causing a miss, depending on how much is sucked in.
Check the oil on the dipstick to see if it's milky looking. If so that's coolant getting into the oil through the lower gasket under the bottom intake which is metal.
Again have a shop that knows 3800s check. I can lead you to many forums about the Bonnevilles, LeSabres, and other cars and blown head gasket is an extremely rare find. At worst have a dealer check the problem. You may have to pay to diagnose, but you don't have to have it fixed there.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I think you're on the wrong tact here. Do you mean transmissions like in Hondas? I can give you the link to the Odyssey discussion specifically on transmission failures. Or the Accords? Or Civics? Maybe we could talk about brakes wearing out early and often on the rears of same brand.
Or the shifting and vibration problems with the 6,4,3 VCM Accords. Some of them are bad. They have to use a radio sound to try to cancel out the noise. I don't have that problem in my 3800 in my full-sized Buicks.
or talk about the Camry with the transmission software and design problem of their 2007 transmission in their V6s. They designed the shift controls inadequately and finally compensated by varying the software. The 4-cyl also had problems of some kind. People are still asking about the patch for the programming. Then there are the rattles. This is supposed to be the car that is the example for the US cars in a few people's minds. But there have been problems through Lexus, Avalon, and Camry with transmission and engine adaptation. Do some searches here on Edmunds. I believe brake wear at low mileage has also been meantioned.
It pays to read the threads for the cars set out as examples--usually they aren't. One difference is that they have had more money to throw at problems out of profits than GM has had because of GM's high labor and management costs. That has hurt GM attempting to leave behind problematic 80s and 90s vehicles.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
He could try putting the car in neutral when coming to a stop where it's most likely to stall and see if that avoids the stall.
It also can be a weak fuel pump.
It can be a crankshaft position sensor, but those usually give trouble at other times as well.
It might be a MAF sensor. Those are easy to clean with a spray for MAF sensors or air intake cleaning. The little wires collect dirt. But those wires break easily. I spray and then touch the wires with the hairs of a camel hair artists brush.
I very likely could be a sticking EGR valve. The connector at the EGR valve could be disconnected when it's likely to be stalling and see if that avoids the stall. The EGR could be sticking on adding EGR gases to the intake causing the stall. By the time the car is cranked the vibration has edged the EGR closed like it should be. Those took can be removed and cleaned, but don't get liquid cleaner up into the area where the control motors are.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
You might check the wires with a grounded screwdriver moved over them while running to see if you attract a leaking spark. But I'd just replace the mess of them for $40 or so at NAPA with AAA discount or AC/Delco wires at other volume suppliers.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
You've changed the EGR already.
You might try driving with a fuel pressure gauge taped to the windshield (duct tape) to see if something unusual is happening to the pressures at certain times. Fuel pumps can be fickle.
Your handle is systems analyst. I presume you are computer literate. Consider buying the program and connectors for your laptop to follow what the computer and sensors are doing while driving when that occurs. Or someone you know may already have a setup. Or you can buy a Tech II.
How did the spark plugs look that you removed? I hope you numbered each one and kept them... Were they white porcelain with slight grey tones on it?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Assuming it was, my first guess would be spark plugs and wires. It should have the correct AC/Delco plugs or NGK equivalent (NGK makes the Delco plugs I'm told).
You can check to see if the wires give sparks with spraying water on them in the dark from a mister bottle for plants, e.g. Or run a well-insulated screwdriver along the wires and the weak spots will jump to the metal, but make sure you have one with a good insulating handle.
Coils and the plate under them are another possibility. Coils break down when hot. Also they get corrosion on the contacts they sit down onto that are part of the ESC plate. If you can get a test the computer from a place that has the right cables... why didn't AutoZone get a test? is yours one of the 1.5 type connectors that require the right cable?
Corrosion on the coils and plate under them or a coil breaking down might show if it gives a miss that's primarily on two cylinders served by a coil.
BUT 1994 and 1995 H-bodies (Bonnevilles too) seem to have a higher failure ont he computer itself. The ragged running sounds like a neighbor's car that needed a new junkyard computer.
But breaking down with higher temp sounds like a coil. If you like recycling yards, you might pick up replacement coils and try switching them in--but inspect yours first along with the connector at the end of the plate under them for good connections. Take it off and clean. it.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Because it stalls while slowing down, I would check the EGR. I don't recall if it's electric or vacuum on that year without checking an old factory service manual from my 93 I used to have (150 K miles-my wife made me trade it for another leSabre). If it is vacuum, pull off the vacuum hose, and plug it with a golf tee or a pencil or a wooden skewer stick from the kitchen. Then drive it a while. Dirt may be preventing the EGR from closing completely once in a while. The EGR doesn't work until the motor warms up; does it ever stall while the engine is less than full temp on the gauge? But EGR usually closes when the car shuts off completely. That gives a quick restart.
Another is the MAF sensor. Do not replace with off brand. Rather get cleaner for air intake or MAF cleaner at store and spray the tiny wires to clean them. Do not touch them. I used a camel hair artists brush to clean while they were wet with the solvent.
Or the crankshaft position sensor behind the harmonic balancer may be failing. Often they act up when hot. Splashing cold water on them if the car stalls will help them cool and the car starts. That's worth carrying a milk jug of water to test if it stalls again.Locate the sensor while the car's cool, then you'll know where to splash the water if it stalls. But crankshaft position sensors should fail just driving as well rather than only when slowing down.
Also check connections on the end of the ESC under the coils. Someone reported a poor ground connection which occasionally failed. Pull the connector and clean and check all the contacts.
Another wear item is the ignition switch contacts which are actually down on the top of the steering column near the base. It's operated by a rod from the switch at the top. The contacts inside wear and burn with use and years. The ignition contact may break contact while other contacts supplying power to other things stay connected. But you are saying that it doesn't restart fairly easily...
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Did you mean, "...just would NOT fire?" If so, I'd starting thinking about corrosion from Buffalo salt and moisture. Check the connection on the front of the coil ignition control (the slab the coils mount on). There's a connector at the front that a few people have commented gives trouble especially the ground wire on it.
If you could determine when it won't start if there is spark that would help. Pull off a plug wire and put an old spark plug in it and lay it on the metal of the motor and see if you get spark while cranking.
You _might_ have a crankshaft position sensor giving trouble. It controls giving a pulse to fire the plugs and injectors, but it should have a back up pulse it uses.
You can see if the injectors are firing by touching one while cranking and feel the click as it squirts. Try it when the car's running so you know what it feels like--or you can disconnect the electric wire at one and put the ends of a 194 little running light bulb into the socket and watch the light flash when the injector is fired while cranking.
But I'm guessing you need to check the positive battery cables. Cut back into the plastic connectors to see the copper wiring. Separate the two big cables which are clamped against each other by one bolt onto the batter. Look for corrosion between where there's a lead spacer. Those are replaceable. Check the other end of the cable from the positive that goes to the relay center on the firewall. It provides positive power to lots of relays and large fuses there. One person reported a bad wire at that end and replaced the whole thing for $40-50 if I recall. Probably could be repaired.
Check the buss grounds that are under the carpet on the driver's side and passenger side. They are under the carpet at the door sill right where you feet come into the car with lots of snow and rain dripping on them. There can even be salt in the snow. The ground buss has electrical tape all around it making it look like a bundle until you open it.
These are not my pictures but are from somewhere on the web. But they show the corrosion on the buss grounds.
You might have a fuel pressure problem, but you need to have a pressure gauge to check that. Has the fuel pump in the tank ever been replaced?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Did you mean, "...just would NOT fire?" If so, I'd starting thinking about corrosion from Buffalo salt and moisture. Check the connection on the front of the coil ignition control (the slab the coils mount on). There's a connector at the front that a few people have commented gives trouble especially the ground wire on it.
If you could determine when it won't start if there is spark that would help. Pull off a plug wire and put an old spark plug in it and lay it on the metal of the motor and see if you get spark while cranking.
You _might_ have a crankshaft position sensor giving trouble. It controls giving a pulse to fire the plugs and injectors, but it should have a back up pulse it uses.
You can see if the injectors are firing by touching one while cranking and feel the click as it squirts. Try it when the car's running so you know what it feels like--or you can disconnect the electric wire at one and put the ends of a 194 little running light bulb into the socket and watch the light flash when the injector is fired while cranking.
But I'm guessing you need to check the positive battery cables. Cut back into the plastic connectors to see the copper wiring. Separate the two big cables which are clamped against each other by one bolt onto the batter. Look for corrosion between where there's a lead spacer. Those are replaceable. Check the other end of the cable from the positive that goes to the relay center on the firewall. It provides positive power to lots of relays and large fuses there. One person reported a bad wire at that end and replaced the whole thing for $40-50 if I recall. Probably could be repaired.
Check the buss grounds that are under the carpet on the driver's side and passenger side. They are under the carpet at the door sill right where you feet come into the car with lots of snow and rain dripping on them. There can even be salt in the snow. The ground buss has electrical tape all around it making it look like a bundle until you open it.
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k110/imidazol97/100_1930.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k110/imidazol97/bussbar.jpg
These are not my pictures but are from somewhere on the web. But they show the corrosion on the buss grounds.
You might have a fuel pressure problem, but you need to have a pressure gauge to check that. Has the fuel pump in the tank ever been replaced?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,