Gm motor gurus?

[heyttown]

With gas between 3 and 4 bucks and going higher, im looking to park my suv and get something a little easier on the pocketbook(helps fund the boat gas bill...lol)

Found 88 buick regal with 70,000 miles, test drove it today, ran great, no visual problems...No rust, good tires...For the price,(I think I can get it for 1500) it works for me.... Its got a 2.8 L engine,

Just wondering what the scoop on those are or the car...Kinda like dodge is notorious for tranny problems...Yaday yada.. Is this a good Gm product or am I wasting time on this motor and should look elsewhere.
I understand buying used is a risk and all..I just dont want to buy something that is known to be a lemon.

 

[DJ]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

I'm not a GM guy but my dealings with used cars gives me a clue.

The 2.8L V-6 had some "potential" issues. Not all but some. Many lived for hundreds of thousands of miles.

1. Camshafts tended to be soft.

2. Head gaskets, if the coolant wasn't flushed as described, in the owners manual.

Other than that, a pretty bulletproof package. Have a technician check it out, looking for:

1. Cylinder balance.

2. Exhaust gasses in the coolant. (PH test).

That's a good $50.00 for those tests but well worth it.

 

[trans80]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

those are known for intake and headgaskets leaking. if its fuel mileage your looking for why not go for a four cyl? besides a 2.8 can nickel and dime ya. i worked on many i know.

 

[heyttown]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

Its a matter of trying to find best bang for the buck with limited income...And used cars around here are crazy prices for cars with 150,000 plus on them...Plus Im a big guy so I dont fit comfortable in a saturn type vehicle...Or I would definetly be looking for compact... 6cyl should get better then my v8 in the suv...

Keep em coming folks, I love this board.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

I owned a 90 Cavalier with a 3.1. Same as as a 2.8, just stroked. I had NO trouble with the engine. No leaks AT ALL. No headgasket or intake gasket issues. (That was before GM changed the intake to the SFI on the 3100 and 3400 and they all go bad.) The only issue I had was a real chinsy plastic clip that held a metal heater pipe in the thermostat housing broke and allow all the coolant to blow out at 100,000 miles and the motor did get hot. I replaced the crappy plastic clip with a brass threaded fitting, hose and clamps, refilled it with 50/50 antifreeze and it ran that way (perfectly) until I sold the car 4 years later with 186,000 miles on it.
My car had the 3sp THM125 auto trans. The lockup torque converter solenoid went bad at 125,000 miles causing the car to stall at every stop light. I inquired about a repair and was quoted anywhere from $300 to $900 (depending on if they had to remove the trans) to replace it. I unplugged the switch (easy to find it was the "only" electrical plug on the trans) and again it ran that way until i sold it at 186,000 mile. No effect on gas mileage and at 70mph it only made about a 100 rpm difference. Now if that Buick has the 4sp auto, you won't be able to do that, cause it'll burn up the transmission to run in O/D with the converter unlocked.
I do know where you can get some 2005, 2006, or 2007 Impalas with anywhere from 55k to 75k miles priced from $8000 to $10000 dollars. They are fleet cars that an Insurance company turns in every six months. In theory they are one employee's cars, not passed around to a bunch of employees. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

If that car has rear disc brakes, we had some issues with our 90 Lumina coupe (Lumina same car as the regal) due to that. Seems like to you HAVE to use the parking brake to keep the rears adjusted properly. My mom didn't and ours ate the first set of front brake pads in 20k miles. Started using it and I don't remember putting brakes on the car again, before we sold it at 76,000 miles. And again no engine issues in that car. But it did have the 4sp trans "go bad" and we had to replace it. Of note, that car always seemed like the temp guage read real low. Well, when the guy changed the trans, he replaced the thermostat, so I suspect that it was running too cold, and that helped mess up the trans.

 

[whywhyzed]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

........

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

What rubber timing belt? The are cam in block engines, they have a timing chain, no belt. But yes, it's a 20 year old car. And $1500 is a lot of money for it. Unless it's perfect I wouldn't spend over a $1000 on it.

 

[tommays]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

I have owned two of the Oldsmobile verison and they were OK cars

The dashboard tends to shake a LOT over bumps and they tend to rust out right about NOW in the lower areas of the doors amoung other places

 

[dolluper]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

2.8 's were pretty soild motors .. they did tend to leak oil at the distributor but it was a simple fix>>> gasket like an o-ring solved that problem....even the distributorless models leaked there also >>> same fix with an extra gasket..The price does seem high ..at auction an 88 might bring up to 400 but in show room shape maybe 800

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

Your biggest problem with this car will be the rear disc brakes. They were a horrible design from GM. If you drive in to a Monroe, etc. they'll say "let me guess, rear brakes". I had a 91 and had all kinda of issues with those. However, by now the calipers may have been replaced with better aftermarket parts. I did hear that using your parking brake often helps to "reset" them and can reduce problems. Other than that though, my 91' with the 3.1 was an extremely comfortable car and was sold running with over 160k on the clock. I traded it in on a 95' Regal and traded that one on a 2000. Hoping to get one more Regal as 2004 was the final year.

 

[heyttown]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

What is more accurate Nada or Kelley blue book? if I search for this car on both its coming up with a 2000$$$ difference. between the 2 sites.

 

[slia67]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

If you are looking for room and gas mileage, look for a early to late 90s Buick Lesabre with a 3.8L engine. The drivetrain is nearly bullet-proof if half way taken care of, and they get better than 30mpg on the highway.

Doug

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

I agree with slia67. You CAN NOT go wrong with anything with the 3800 in it. Bulletproof, powerful, and surprisingly gas thrifty. LeSabre, Olds 88, Regals all use it.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

NADA is completely wrong in regards to this particular car, I looked it up. They are acting as if it's the "old" rear drive Regal, so NADA for a 1988 Regal is inaccurate at best. Looking up an 89 Regal Custom with just over 70,000 miles give NADA values of $2000 retail and $1050 clean trade in. If Kelly is higher than that, it's just too high (as usual).
slia and ez, I have seen and been shown the repair bills for the intake manifold leaking on 3800s of this vintage also. So it's not completely bulletproof. And ez, nice to see you were given the same info as us in regards to using the rear parking brake.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

Some of the 88's used aluminium drums on the rear.....so replacement was with cast only in pairs.....it's easy to see if you have drums OR disc's

 

[MikDee]

Re: Gm motor gurus?

Well I've had about 4 of these type of cars, they were the improved, redesigned to front wheel drive 1988 GM intermediate's, delivering a lighter, more economical, more nimble, better ride, better handling, 4 wheel disc brakes, and a 4 wheel indepedent suspension.
Many years ago, My son was looking for a good used car, and found an 88' Olds Cutlass Supreme (International series) 2.8 motor, White with a grey interior, 88k miles for $600! We liked it so much, I started looking, and I picked up a clean used 88' Cutlass Supreme (International series) White with a burgundy interior, with a the 2.8 motor, and only 35k miles from a dealer for a song, I think it was $3500 at the time, for the ex-wife, it was loaded, & pristine, basically the same car as my son's but almost brand new, it was one of the best cars I ever owned, and gave me 28+mpg on the hiway, until a few yrs later, when it got totaled parked on my street one night Also, on occassion I had rented a late model Grand Prix (similar car), so I managed to get a clean low milage 90' Grand Prix SE for the ex-wife with the insurance settlement.

Years later, after the divorce I started dating my wife upstate, and about a year later, she needed a car, so I offered to get her a decent car instead of an engagement ring, she was cool with that, and I found a nice clean sapphire blue 89' Grand Prix sport coupe 2.8V6 for $2k, that we were very happy with for a long time, once we bought our First new Santa Fe SUV, we sold the Grand Prix running great, but just needing a muffler for $500

I now have an 89' Buick Regal Grand Sport Coupe 3.1 motor, left to me for cash to my stepson when he moved to Tennesee, that I'm looking to sell. I never had any serious problems with these types of cars, except the rear disc brake calipers stick open, (early design problems) it can be solved by cleaning, & replacing the pads, and using the emergency brake on occasion to exercise the caliber pistons. Good Luck, Mike