Buick - 3800 Engine (1988)

This video, taken from Buick's Know-how Series (KH-100), discusses the new-at-the-time Series 3800 engine design, features and performance.

[@MIketucky350]

Best engines ever made. I've been driving only 3800s for 21 years. Never had 1 engine failure. Even in high boost large cam setups.

[@gabevillarreal96]

Not sure if it's the best engine ever made but it's definitely one of the best gm ever made along with being one of the most durable and reliable. My mom owned4 of them with zero issues. She's since moved to Lexus and has had 8 of their V6s with zero problems ever. The Lexus motors are smoother and more refined and extremely reliable and more fuel efficient. GMs current motor that compares is their 3.6 liter v6 or the cadillac 3.0 turbo. Both are decent but neither can match the refinement and the durability and reliability of the Lexus motor. Not to mention fuel efficiency.

[@steelgun2181]

I have a 1989 Buick Reatta with a LN3 3800, love the engine! Super easy to work on and maintain 👍

[@DubYOUUP]

oh how i wish they would have kept the 3800 alive i can only imagine what a series iv would have been like.

[@bakedveal2624]

You and me both. To this day it's still a formidable engine, easily built, tons of aftermarket support, and hard to kill. My PAU had over 500k on one rebuild and still ran like a raped ape the day she died. Pulled the engine and junked the shell, now to find another Park Ave or Lesabre with a body that might outlast the engine.

[@kagome122885]

GM's 3.8 L engine was the best V6 engine ever made.

[@savagenomad5731]

RealTalk that engine was a V6 monster! Proof that Americans can actually make a great six cylinder.

[@dave1135]

8:53 reason gm came out with the redesigned cam button is the factory timing gear was aluminum with plastic teeth. The aftermarket gear set used a steel gear. It being thicker and having more mass than the plastic cam button could support, allowed the cam gear to walk forward a few thousandths of a inch, allowing the cam sensor magnet to strike the cam sensor following startup after timing chain replacement. It would start once, run fine, but never start again until the button was replaced, along with the magnet and sensor. Gm had a lot of these oops moments. Lol

[@digitalrailroader]

And so begins the legacy of the PHENOMENALLY reliable 3800 series of engines; this legacy would last for over 20 years, go through at least 3 major revisions, and be installed in at least one car in every make General Motors owned.

[@JKx150]

a quick look at the wikipedia - the block casting was revised over 47 years. Also I do not think this V6 block was used in Saab, Hummer, GMC, or Saturn.

[@Viper81766]

JKx150 Wikipedia, that is a place for trustworthy information.

[@JKx150]

Robert Wood agreed, but in this case Ill still put my money on the current wiki. Also 3800 series 1 2 3, Fireball, ect are just consumer names. Block casting numbers reflect the true legacy.

[@ningen1980]

Tell that to my 92 Regal that popped a rod for literally no reason. Maintained fastidiously, daily driven, and cared for like a baby. Seat rail mounts also failed in a spectacular fashion. GM = General Mess.

[@jamesadams2333]

i love my 2007 buick lucerne with the 3800! its been a good car to me!

[@trr5291]

That was the last real Buick.

[@tjw8t1]

If GM can make the same basic design of the LS engines forever, there was no reason to discontinue it. They could have easily made it more fuel efficient to keep it going, but in typical GM fashion, they always stop making something when they get it right.

[@BlazingBlakesGaming]

Mines still running like new at 216000 this 90 degree v6 was the best they ever designed in my opinion.

[@bakedveal2624]

Knock on wood, but it's about time you checked the LIM gasket, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[@ZylTinyHomes]

Park Ave Ultra with 3800 Series 2 with over 200k! Great fuel economy, very powerful, and low maintenance.

[@aprillovesgolf7042]

@@bakedveal2624 I had my upper and lower manifold gaskets changed and now my check engine soon light comes on and off. 1988 Elantra Park Ave. Only 148000 miles.

[@crazyfan740]

Thank you for uploading -- I drive a 1990 Buick LeSabre and find these videos helpful and insightful -- with a touch of nostalgia, of course!

[@Rome7869]

crazyfan740 ..............yes, yes it dose.......😀

[@tragedi25]

I love this motor, and want to have it put it in my cars that didn't come with it. One's a 1992 Chevy S10, and I could put a 4.3 in it, but I like the 3.8 better. There just great motors.

[@chrislemaster2695]

I have an 1987 Oldsmobile 88 2 door with these 3800 engine and had 517,840 miles on the original moter and trans..

[@jimmbobb]

Q: How do I know if my GM car has a 3800? A: Is it late 80s through mid 2000's? Does it have more than 200k miles? Is it still running? If you answered yes to all, you have a 3800 😂😂😂

It will say '3800' in big numbers on it.

[@trr5291]

My 1992 Lesabre had 250.000 miles when I sold it. The 3800 was starting to knock and overheat.

[@keegankarsyn7080]

instablaster

[@liamkerslake1396]

290000km In on my car. RWD sedan in Australia. 😍

[@dave1135]

The good old kent-moore j-tools. Our upstairs in our service dept had shelves upon shelves of the special tools. Impressive how many there are. Our dealership sold every Carline gm offered, so we had a lot

[@SanJuanCreole]

I have this beauty in my 1989 Buick REATTA!!!!

[@tsnaha]

How many miles on your i just bought a reatta

[@jimmbobb]

That's gotta be the smallest, lightest car to have been fitted with that engine. Nice!

[@AspectOfTheStorm]

What an amazingly informative video.

[@goldrecordsvideos]

I've got this engine in a 95 Buick Riviera and it fucking rules - supercharged and smooth. I do notice the shake it has tho and it actually shook my rearview off the glass

[@caayydenn]

I daily drive my 1990 Bonneville with the LN3 3800. 321K miles and doesnt skip a beat. SES light rarely comes on

[@jawbusta129]

I'll need some tips from you man my 89 olds project needs some serious love

[@caayydenn]

@@jawbusta129 I guess it depends on the problem. I suppose one known issue that those cars had recalls for, actually, is the ECM is very prone to failure around 100K plus miles. ICM fails every now and then too which is just as important as the ECM. I have a couple repair vids on my channel for the issues my Bonneville has now and then. Maybe it could help.

[@sinusbradycardia]

Rivlanta, do you have any more vids like this the design differences of 3800 series II and III? When they are making reference to the 3.8L are they talking about the pre-88 FWD 3.8L engine. This video was very educational to me in understanding the differences between the pre88 3.8L FWD and RWD and the 3800 v6. I didn't understand what off center vs on center meant and now I do. I know I also understand how the 3800 got improved throttle response over the 3.8L FWD and RWD. Correct me is I'm wrong, but the 3.8L FWD pre88 had roller cams, whereas the RWD 3.8L used a flat tappet cam. I own a Grand National and I'm rebuilding the 109 block found in the 86-87 Regals, turbo and NA and the 1989 20th anniversary Turbo Trans AM.

[@BeamerTheFox]

good ol buick. sat an watched the whole thing.

[@fakenamejones4254]

That was beautiful!

[@stevedelacruz4560]

I have a 3800 series 2 in a 98 lumina ltz .fantastic motor

[@jimmbobb]

Nice. That's one of the lighter cars to offer that engine.

[@chadz34]

Beautiful engine series.

[@leonspringsboystv2025]

Just picked one up at auction 1993 lesabre custom.217,000 miles,still running like a champ. 400$ cuz the window was stuck down,cracked windshield

[@raymondhaley6185]

If the rubber inside the balancer wears out it's going make a lot of noise, replace it with a harmonic balancer from a1994-09L 27 /3800 or series 2-3 engine.

[@VinylToVideo]

This describes the pre-Series I 3800 motor of 1988-1991. I have had two (and currently own one) Series I cars and one Series II car. While the Series II puts out more power I actually prefer the Series I since it puts out less power to harm itself (my Series II got noisy, had cooling elbow issues, and probably needed more work by the time the car was hit and written off as it was still losing coolant after new metal elbows and a new radiator). Perhaps the pre-Series I is even more reliable; it probably is as it has slightly less power than the Series I and the Series I went to plastic intake manifolds in 1993. No experience with the Series III.

[@caayydenn]

You are exactly right. I see a lot of failures of the plastic parts of the later 3800s. My LN3 has 324K on it probably because of what you said.

[@digitalrailroader]

Series III has an aluminum intake manifold that rectifies the problem that plagued the Series II where the EGR tube would melt through the coolant passage in the intake manifold causing coolant to enter the engine and possibly cause engine failure. It was also equipped with forged rods and electronic throttle control. Unfortunately it still had the plastic coolant elbows (which I had to change on my 2006 Lucerne)

[@TheCoatneyadkins]

Wow this is cool, where did you find this! ?

[@bobg3034]

Gm should still use this engine!

[@nos676]

my '96 Lexcen still starts instantly every time, smooth ride, and economical. It's my spare car though. main is an N16 pulsar.

[@jimmbobb]

Lexcen?

[@jimmbobb]

Ohhhhhh Holden Commodore! Gotcha

[@Rome7869]

Please tell me you have one for the 3300...... It so similar but so different.....🤔

[@Davidmoore-xy6wu]

The 90degree 3800 has had like 7 or 8 generations on designs .. as he even said it looks like the 3.8 this is the l27 or the earliest of tune port 3800s or what the aussies called to ecotec 3800 these are considered completely different from the series 2 and 3 3800 only because from 95 - 04 the they were constantly updating the design and hell the 2008 3.8 has a different pcm then other years and its still unable to tune

[@thebuttcutter549]

This is the first generation LN3 motor.in my experience these are the most reliable of all the 3800s

[@Koexistence13]

Helluva slide hammer technique

[@bauermobiletoolsystmfabrct8686]

Awesome video thank you!! Was this a OBD1 system? I wonder if any non oem Buick obd1 scanners are for sale on the interwebs. Ill have to check

[@caayydenn]

Yes its OBD1. I know its late but all you have to do get a paperclip and "jump" terminal A to B in the OBD port and count the engine light flashes to get the code. Costs nothing.

[@thebuttcutter549]

You can get a GM tech 1 scanner for it.hard to find but they're out there.

[@RuhRohRaggie069]

Amazon $ 15 - 20 bucks where i got mine the paper clips doesn't work for all like mine 89 Electra P ave

[@savagenomad5731]

This looks like a strong motor, any tips if I turbo mine? Internals are currently stock.

[@Flontat]

FullthrottleV6. There are allot of ways to go about it, the engine doesn't hit it's true potential unless on Ethanol and 20 plus pounds of boost otherwise you get about 14hp per a pound of boost on stock internals, and more per a pound of boost on a properly built car.

[@savagenomad5731]

Chris Christopher that's great to know, thank you so much.

[@ZylTinyHomes]

For the supercharged 3800s: aftermarket exhaust manifold, slightly smaller pulley on the supercharger, and a reprogrammed ECU... better get wider tires too, heheh

[@johnrickard8512]

Some 3800s are fit with a supercharger from the factory. I'm not sure what modifications were made as a result but I assume they weren't extensive.

[@thetimedoctor8542]

I have a 1990 Buick LeSabre 3.8 love it Does anybody want to help me restore it it’s my daily but I could use some upgrades and replacement parts

[@barristanselmy2758]

The best engine in the world, next to the Toyota Land Cruiser's The best Models were 80's to around late 90's.

[@vpimike2646]

The only things that could kill it were dex-cool, the plastic coolant passages and GM's management..

[@MeaHeaR]

Im Con-Fewwwwwwséd, did the Holden Coomodés havé thé 3800. OR the. 3.8 Litré ¿¿¿¿¿

[@RobertsVintageGardenTractors]

I had to do head gaskets in my 2003 Monte-Carlo SS with a 3800 series 2 in it. Not a fun job to do.

[@worryphree]

Yayy!!

[@richdakii7498]

👌👌

[@DStabs720]

The LN7 and L67 are the best Buick V6s!

[@eazy69ful]

what size is the tensioner pulley bolt

[@eazy69ful]

What is the tensioner pulley bolt size

[@SINISTER69er]

Hey you have 3800 subscribers lol

[@teresa67factoid95]

It's not that the 3800 is so good, it's that every other gm v6 is Crap.

[@johnrickard8512]

Not every engine can make it to such high mileages. The 3800 from what I've seen is one of the most reliable engines of all time(Emphasis on "one of". There are several Toyota and Honda designs that qualify too. Main reason why it's seen so much in GM vehicles is for that reason - it was the one engine that could compete) which is good because it is often paired with a somewhat weak transmission.

[@MS-gn4gl]

Wrong. Name another american v6 engine that goes 250k miles consistently with easy and cheaper repairs. You can't. There may be better performing v6s but all things considered this was and is the holy Grail of American v6 engines.

[@digitalrailroader]

Especially the High Feature V6, which likes to eat timing chains.

[@teresa67factoid95]

@@MS-gn4gl Ford's 3.0 Vulcan v6. Cast iron block and heads! Timing chain. Bullet proof.

[@jedk9523]

has anyone else here had a 80's car with a spare tire explode in there trunk, just a random question lol.

[@eternalblue2119]

As used by bogans all over Australia

[@eternalblue2119]

Anus Beater

[@eternalblue2119]

bat eater

[@leonspringsboystv2025]

You listen to Chris Daughtry m8?

[@jimmbobb]

Holden!

[@RuhRohRaggie069]

No shit great motor fast with 35 mpg I still drive my 89 Electra P ave daily can hardly afford to drive my F150 with 5.8 L ( H ) 8 mpg

[@jasonmoore1900]

Sexy engine.

[@howtobebasic2122]

the only good engine Gm ever made, however the rest the car fell apart around it.

[@kcarman88]

Sadly yes

[@eazy69ful]

What is the tensioner pulley bolt size