Buick LeSabre: No Heat & A Vibrating Dash

In this video I bring you along as I fix a customers 2005 Buick LeSabre that has a customer complaint of no heat. He didn't complain about the dash shaking with the blower on high but I take care of that too.
-Enjoy!
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South Main Auto Repair
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Avoca, NY 14809
Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, it cannot guarantee against unauthorized modifications of this information, or improper use of this information. South Main Auto Repair assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. South Main Auto Repair recommends safe practices when working with power tools, automotive lifts, lifting tools, jack stands, electrical equipment, blunt instruments, chemicals, lubricants, or any other tools or equipment seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of South Main Auto Repair, no information contained in this video shall create any express or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or the information contained.

[@ScottHiland]

I appreciate the holistic view here. Life expectancy of the vehicle, life expectancy of the owner, and knowing your customers and the history on their cars. It's good to know there are mechanics like you taking the long view and advising customers instead of mugging them.

[@Nick-cd1ok]

Well said

[@GunfighterWyo]

Exactly how things should be done. Look at all of the facts before doing an expense repair.

[@eddymahon1503]

Very excellent comment!!

[@phillycruiser1130]

You didn't change the heater core because you're an honest mechanic looking out for your customers!

[@bertgrau3934]

On some cars changing a heater core is a major job. I don't know about that Buick, but a Lincoln Town Car, you have to remove the entire dash, takes about 14 hours. Thats if you don't have any problems

[@phillycruiser1130]

@@bertgrau3934 its a real PITA for sure!!

[@tbelding]

@@bertgrau3934 Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe are the same way. Instead of doing the design _right_, and having the heater core with a plate around the pipes, able to be removed from the engine compartment, you have to remove _everything_. It makes what could have been a twenty minute job be an 8 hour "book" job.

[@PK15306]

"in the case of old Buick drivers, well things happen". Mr. O callin' it like it is! Those LeSabres and Park Avenues were great cars, plastic elbows not withstanding. Cruise down the road in Buick comfort at 80 mph and 32 mpg all day long.❤️ Great video.

[@Garth2011]

Makes you wonder why older and wiser folks drive them !

[@mrflamewars]

Hail to the king, baby! They should still be making the 3800. Especially when you consider the nightmare garbage it was replaced with.

[@Peter-pv8xx]

My 2001 has 318,000 and has never left me stranded, I do all my own work including preventative maintenance, a 2003 BMW 530i with 92,000 miles I'm working on for a friend is a total nightmare.

[@plkracer]

Dorman aluminum elbows, but buy the GM elbows for the o rings! I went through 3 sets of composite elbows, finally bought the dorman, but the o rings leaked. The GM o rings are Teflon coated epdm, they held up the last 100k I drove the car (over 300k) before passing it on to someone else.

[@Wrang15]

Lol I had a 72 Buick 225 with the 455 15mpg running what ever speed you were brave enough to hammer it to. Miss that thing road like you were on the sofa. 3200 mile trip no problem.

[@jmistret419]

Happy new year everybody

[@allanszast7579]

To you as well

[@mike1young]

🎊

[@jamesbromley5820]

🎉

[@arcademania7544]

🍺👍

[@dadtype2339]

Happy New Year to you too 🎉🥳 2023 🎉🥳

[@alansmith4734]

Buick LeSabre Story: Back when I was in High School (70s), my buddies dad had a new Buick LeSabre. He was a mechanic in the Air Force and loved to tinker on the cars while wearing a cool Air Force Coverall. He always had a beer with him. One day he was working under the hood of the Buick (huge hood), and had his beer can sitting on the plastic radiator cover on top. He closed the hood, the beer can was DOA, and there was a hole in the plastic cover! Some mistakes make good memories!

[@deconteesawyer5758]

They don't make beer cans like they used to.

[@mattthomas1369]

Lol

[@donakahorse]

all the sudden after you said flush gun, I get the music from love gun by KISS going through my brain. I'm broken. lol

[@jkbrown5496]

I remember the old '70 Dodge Dart we had that self-cleaned all the leaves out of the blower/ducts in Spring. You'd be going down the road, decide you wanted some cooling air, open the doors in the footwell. All the leaves and dust would hit you in the face, but the system was clean for the year.

[@jayjudd6518]

Thanks I Learn every time I watch you Mr. O”

[@kerrylewis2581]

Love those Buicks and of course your outro. It may be the best on the interwebs.

[@brandonlink6568]

Next time you do a heater core flush it would be nice to get a money shot of the first blast of gunk coming out of it. It would be interesting to see how plugged it has to be to get a no heat complaint.

[@markwatson9816]

Agreed! Curious how much junk comes out and what it looks like.

[@alskjflaksjdflakjdf]

I'm not Eric but my daughter and I flushed the heater core in her car yesterday and surprisingly little gunk came out. I didn't think there was much hope but we put it back together. It was a smashing success with her car now pumping out heat like it should, where before it would only get the tiniest hint of warmth out of the vents. Stop leak had been used and the coolant had like these stringy bits in it. My theory is that those bits were cutting off the flow in the heater core.

[@0778drz110]

I think he did in an older heater core flushing video. Just imagine a bunch of rust flakes coming out...

[@DD-DD-DD]

Maybe just run the water outputs through some cheesecloth in a bucket or something. Give you some idea how much or little can cause a problem for a fella

[@chipburns4123]

Yes, I thought the same. I felt disappointed but didnt know why. Now I know. He missed the honey shot 😊

[@rustyredram7197]

Several years ago I had a 2008 Toyota Yaris with the big 1.5 that I kept outside and it was my daily commuter car. One fairly cool morning I went out, started the car and after a few minutes I turned up the blower motor to high. Suddenly I heard a skittering across the inside of the dashboard. A mouse was inside the duct and ran headlong into the blower to which caused it to squeak loudly and killed the mouse. It also caused the blower to be badly out of balance and shook the dash like it was going to leap out of the car. I had to get going so I turned the blower to the lowest setting (still shaking but not bad) and went to work. By quitting time it had already started to smell. Needless to say I wish it was as easy as that Buick to clean the blower out. I could have done it that morning and saved the assault on my nose. Thanks for all the great videos Mr. O!

[@ohbillytv179]

Always enjoy watching other people work on these engines. I've owned many over the years and have a Bonneville right now with 238k on it and I'd drive it about anywhere.

[@joe2mercs]

Great job. You fixed everything with minimal hassle for yourself and reasonable cost to your customer.

[@donw3912]

Great video Eric. Preventative maintenance is part of mechanics...the goal is to keep the rig in good running condition with smaller amounts of dough vs replacing the part, making the time down longer and more expensive for the owner. I do like that air/water gun you have Eric...slick puppy:-) Happy New Year everybody:!!

[@bobogto540i4]

Preventive maintenance would have been replacing the coolant every 50-70k miles and using proper coolant type. That's a one hour job plus $50 at most for coolant every 2-3 years.

[@stephenhine4312]

The 3.8 V6 was hard to beat. Had an Olds 98 with that motor. Great MPG and never let us down.

[@dkeglerg]

Thanks for the video. Used that power flush tool on my winter heater yesterday. I first learned about that handy tool in one of your videos. Have a good 2023 Mr O.

[@kingfisher3807]

What brand of power flush tool is that? I can't seem to find that exact one online

[@Pfcalrick]

Happy new year to you and your family. I really enjoy watching all of your videos. As a former mechanic myself I tip my hat to you sir.

[@cw3339]

I did it last week. New water pump, complete system flush, both front, and rear heater cores. New 50-50 antifreeze. It works great and puts out mega heat! Good for another 10 years. Southern California Soccer-mom van...

[@danielclark5170]

Buick is a good car and the 3800 series v6 is one of the best engines out there. Good job

[@arduinoNube]

Video suggestion: do an April fools video where you only show the boring stuff like cleaning up after a job (discarding fluids), putting tools away, paperwork, ordering parts, etc. It’s good for us to see the behind-the-scenes work that goes in to jobs. Thank you for your amazing videos! I watch them every day!

[@stuart1030]

Nice one Gregory, you have a cool sense of humour. +++++++++++++++++

[@jamespfitz]

That's an awesome idea

[@jodyzodl513]

That sounds like a coy ploy to get more Mrs O on camera. Lol 👍👍

[@stoneblue1795]

That actually sounds like fun

[@wyatt1153]

Master mechanic at work. Premium service. Intelligence matters. Bobs your uncle little fella.

[@DDD-us6uu]

He will be back just because of your honesty, that is money in the bank baby !

[@j19m12k14d1]

Best channel for Mechanics and Non Mechanics

[@JimmyMakingitwork]

Ahhh the old Buick 3800, love those things, helped put my kids thru school, ok slight exaggeration. But when you said 2005 I was amazed it hasn't rusted away....Fluid Film to the rescue!

[@AaronBelknap]

"Contact: Oh, it's a 3.8, Contact: Vroom. I love it. I love that flusher tool. I wish I had that when my Geo Metro ran (before the motor went). it never got warm! Years and years ago, an old mechanic told me to run Dawn soap through my system and so I did, you would not believe the goo that came out! Made a ton of bubbles when flushing! Great on trying to save the heater core and flushing the whole system. You're a good man that runs a good business. Hope the New Year brings you many blessings!

[@DonRRicks]

Eric!!! Great to see you here posting. Happy New Year!!

[@dalet6250]

My late dad loved his LeSabre. He bragged about the 35+ mpg's he got on trips. They were pretty decent automobiles for a GM product. His was a 90's something model.

[@stex1985]

Thanks for all the great posts this year. Looking forward to the new year. Happy New year !

[@LAactor]

HEY! It's that guy! Thanks for that. Always a good time hearing it.

[@gatekeeper65]

Thanks for some awesome videos all year long, as usual. A wonderful new year to you and your family, and wishing you all great health and happiness as well.

[@poolmotorrepairguyFL]

Jay the Florida pool pump motor repair guy. When Service Calls Longwood approved ! that was good info 2 see & know👨‍🔧good job SMAR

[@wesleypulkka7447]

Eric, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Keep these great videos coming. All the best!

[@bearing_aficionado]

Happy New Year, SMA!!! As a bearing aficionado, we need more bearing videos! That's your new year's resolution in 2023!

[@UMAKitsune]

That 3.8l is one dam near indestructible engine top 3 favorite engines

[@steventabert1716]

Happy new year Eric to you and the family! Keep up the excellent work and videos.

[@vickieday5269]

Thanks much for the info. I really appreciate all you share.

[@willfixthingsfordonuts]

You mention the thermostat neck at 15:46, and that's why I'm with this guy and I purge all dexcool and run universal. I've always thought that was DexRot that destroyed the neck.

[@daledollins2839]

Thanks for the tutorial, again. I hope you have a fantastic new year. You’re the best.

[@mod_incllc3235]

Here's to the nicest (and best) mechanic on the Tube. Happy New Year!

[@raymondniven5281]

Happy New Year to you Eric, and your family. Continued health, happiness, and success.

[@I-watch-at-2x]

I hope you had a very Happy New Year! Thank you Mr O, I learn something new every time you post a video

[@MrTabacon]

Appreciated seeing the extra work above a spill & fill fluid replacement. Happy New Year!

[@captainmanic1959]

16:51 Great flush job…back flushing the radiator was a good idea. With the older brass radiators we would unsolder the upper tank and run a rod through the tubes to break up the scale if the back flushing was not enough. I doubt that rod out jobs are very common these days. If you don’t want scale to build up, then don’t use tap water in your cooling system. Distilled water is a far safer choice.

[@Vincent_Sullivan]

Captain Maniac; I agree... I have used nothing but distilled water mixed 50/50 with ethylene glycol in my automotive cooling systems since my first car back in the 70s. I wonder how good the water is in the premixed coolants? After draining the cooling system I flush it out a couple of times with water I save from the dehumidifier - which is essentially distilled water and then use steam distilled water from the pharmacy to mix with the antifreeze for the final fill. Lately I have been using a vacuum filling rig made by Air-Lift. It works very slickly and gives you 2 advantages. First, you use it to pull a vacuum on the cooling system. If it holds the vacuum for a few minutes you probably don't have any leaks. If it doesn't hold the vacuum you start looking for why. Second, it eliminates the problem with air pockets/air locks as there is no air in the system when you start to fill it. Atmospheric pressure pushes the coolant into the empty system. Takes less time than fiddling around burping the system bit by bit. I don't see any disadvantages to using such a device so I wonder why Eric doesn't use one? They aren't that expensive...

[@alwhitesell4023]

Had a 97, 98, 99, 05 Buick Park avenue 3800 engine changed to the aluminum elbows and intake gasket on all four. Pretty much all I did to all four of them. Great cars.

[@chrishartley1210]

Had to change the heater core on my brother's car a few years back, no amount of flushing would clear it. Problem was that to change the heater core we had to take out half of the car's interior, dashboard, steering column, front wiring harness, etc, etc. Once it was all out, someone said "oh, you should have cut that plastic panel by the firewall, made a hinge with a soldering iron and the core just slides out". The air was blue. 20 hours later after really struggling to put it all back (the wiring harness got caught up on EVERYTHING) and it was fine.

[@318ishonk]

A happy new year to you & family Eric!

[@WTFIsThisGuyDoing233]

I wish I had a shop in town that would actually take the time to do this right. Gold standard of maintenance on this channel every time.

[@GC-jh1uf]

Happy New Year, Eric . . . and to your family too. I've learned so much from your channel. In fact, Santa brought me a set of impact sockets this year!

[@midengineZ06]

Buick/Pontiac 3.8L V6 is one Gm few bulletproof engines

[@Robalo-2660]

Happy New year Eric , Vennessia and family! We wish you much success for 2023. You are a great inspiration to all us mere mortals.

[@JBlake-moon-shdo]

Happy new year Eric. Hope this Buick driver is around for many more episodes on south main auto. 👍

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

Happy New Year, Eric and family! Great flushing, btw :-)

[@BG-vq9fd]

Wow, what a thorough job.

[@edchenal821]

Thanks for another lesson. Happy New Year.

[@Chris00443]

Thankyou for sharing Love the maintenance tips

[@georgebridge4136]

Always interesting videos you work on a range of vehicles good knowledge Happy New Year to you 👍

[@richardvastine7486]

New Year and a SMA video. Great way to start a New Year!

[@OtherSarah2]

Welcome to 2023! looking forward to more great videos. I always learn something, watching you.

[@dr.shorty8765]

thanks for the video Eric. Happy New Year!!

[@josephking6515]

Another excellent segway into making the _Comment_ part of the speal. Nice! 👍

[@solargarage]

Happy New Year. Thanks for bringing us along.

[@stevex3976]

Happy New Year to the SMA family!

[@paddlefish04]

Happy New Year to you and you family! Thanks for the excellent content.

[@zx8401ztv]

Eric, i hope you and your family have a smashing 2023 and more customers :-D

[@martiningenbrandt4336]

Just want to thank you for sharing your wealth of knowledge. Prayers for you and your family in the new year 🙏

[@mikeblankenship1198]

Great job Eric. Thanks for sharing.

[@wdputman556]

Happy New Year and thanks for the videos.

[@patriel1]

Wow you were pretty through more than I have ever done. Happy New Year to you and your family!

[@alanw9295]

Another great video. Love all of them. Thanks much

[@rider547]

Thanks for the video Mr. O. Great demonstration on flushing out the coolant system. Happy New Year!!! 🎉🎉🎉

[@44R0Ndin]

Appreciate the approach on the why you flush a heater core vs why you replace it, especially when it's a Buick. Buick just can't shake the "old people's car" label, no matter how much they spend on fancy commercials with young people having fun in them and people amazed that it's a Buick. And with that, comes the need to think of how long your repair job has to last, and how much the person can afford to put into a fix. Lots of these older people are on fixed incomes after all, they can't just drop... usually around $1000 on a heater core replacement after you include labor costs. So being able to get this thing working again with just a heater core flush and cleaning out the squirrel cage blower wheel is a gigantic savings for the customer, and if something else more major goes wrong with the vehicle, chances are they'll remember you saved them money in the past and come to you for help. One of those "earn less now to earn more later" kind of things, if you get what I'm trying to say. If you don't hit the customer with a sticker shock every time they visit you, they'll probably bring it to you for more minor stuff more often. Stop thinking of the up-sell, and think of the future-sell instead.

[@ginamiller6015]

Oh-oh, I think I need to add one of those flush-gun tools to my shop 🙂 Thanks Eric for all your helpful videos, I really appreciate them!

[@terryharvey4811]

Just remember to cut your air pressure down. I run about 25 PSI on my flush gun,

[@FishFind3000]

I just looked them up and you can get a matco one for $68 and knock offs for way less

[@85rx7se]

Word of advice on the GM 3100 / 3800 engines. Where the heater hoses connect to the engine are plastic elbows and they do break. You can get metal ones as replacement. I would replace both radiator hoses,T stat, pressure cap, ,water pump, belt and tensioner since you are in there anyway. .Not much extra cost and fill with a 50/50 mix of coolant..

[@wattie1050]

Great thorough clean and maintenance of the coolant system Eric textbook .👍👍👍 as per usual great job .😁

[@victorbellan8357]

Nice job I’m sure the owner appreciates your effort & honesty !

[@brucebratschi4300]

Happy New Year Eric and family.

[@whiplash1938]

My first visit to your channel, Eric, and I absolutely admire your honesty, work ethic and competence. I am addicted to The Car Care Nut (I have 2 Toyotas) and Rainman Ray in Florida. And now I add you to my subscriptions. Thanks for your video and you three will keep me entertained and give some needed knowledge.

[@gto3370]

Great job Eric. An honest man can look at himself in a mirror an be proud.

[@thomasslate5341]

Thinking of stuff getting sucked into the blower, way back when I had a 65 Rambler Classic 660. Fired it up with snow on the cowl vent. A horrendous crunching sound and a pile of snow was deposited on the floor board. 😮 Quite a surprise. Never happened again, but of course I am more diligent about cleaning off the vent afterwards

[@danlemke6407]

Happy New Year to you and yours!

[@richard.d5121]

Watching one of your streams is just how I wanted to strat 2023 thanks for the video

[@richardracette6162]

Great video. Happy New Year to you and your family!

[@brandonpetrilla1731]

Very thorough Eric, Nice work

[@KevinBarton-ow6ut]

i like how you look out for the customer and not try to rip people off. love your channel

[@geraldwollett6141]

Happy New Year, Thanks for the Great video's

[@benjaminstockton3917]

Awesome job Eric O. Appreciate the videos buddy 👍

[@davidbelville2463]

Wishing you and your family a blessed New Year! Josh too!

[@petehernandez9104]

Thank you Eric, I watched one of your previous videos where you use CLR to flush a heater core. So I did it to my Ram and it worked awesome! After 18 years of turning wrenches I thought I knew a lot, until I started watching your videos and saw you do some things a bit easier. Thanks again for all your videos they definitely help.

[@DialedIn57]

Eric, you da man!! Love your videos. You’re so honest and tell it like it is.

[@klystron1]

Great job. Happy New Year 🎉

[@Rogues4Ever]

Great to see such a professional, thorough job. We used a flush machine at my old job but with a restriction in the heater core, it wouldn't have done much for the problem. Great work as usual.

[@916commons]

Hey Eric. I just found your channel a few months ago, and wanted to say I really appreciate your approach to the repairs you do. No endless rattling and goofball chatter… you get to the basics of just getting the job done well, with added side notes, when needed. Just wanted to put my 2 cents in on that. Wish there were Many more honest auto mechanics like you. Thanks!

[@tonyjordan1320]

I love it when he refers to NY as PRNY-so true....

[@TrueIndie88]

Fantastic job. A great reference video for dexcool antigel removal.

[@HowNotToDoEverything]

Happy new year! Stay warm-ish!

[@charlesglandon7840]

I'm glad you didn't go too far that fuel gauge was pretty low...Thanks for your videos Happy New Year to you and your family.

[@JackdeDuCoeur]

Nice work. Happy New Year!

[@duanebuck193]

I took one of the small caps from a spray can, cut a hole in it and glued in a section of 3/4" hard plastic tubing. The cap fits perfect on the end of my little shopvac hose, allowing me a smaller extension hose to put into tight areas (especially beside the seats) to vacuum up small debris and such.

[@ludvigjakobsson9347]

Happy New Year!! I really like the way you taken care of your customers. A lot of companies have a lot of learn from you. Mr Eric O.

[@warpath58]

I really like how you treat each and every job with the utmost care. Thank you for sharing your talents.