In the pantheon of great GM engines, the 3800 V6 might not be the first powerplant you think of. Nevertheless, one YouTube mechanic is tearing down this engine in a recent extended video to explain why the GM 3800 V6 is in fact quite good, indeed.
Clocking in at a little over 31 minutes, the video comes to us from the I Do Cars YouTube channel, and includes a full engine teardown and highlights from what’s going on under the covers.
“These engines have a propensity of outlasting every transmission that’s been bolted to them, outlasting every chassis that they’ve been bolted into,” the video host states.
“These engines are easy to service, they are great on fuel, they’re low stress, the parts are inexpensive. The only real thing I hate about the 3800 is the fact that I can’t sell any,” the host adds, referencing just how cheap examples of the 3800 can be.
As the host points out, the 3.8L 3800 90-degree V6 engine is based on the same tooling as the 215 aluminum V8 produced in the ‘60s, with a broad variety of iterations released over the years, from naturally aspirated variants, to turbocharged variants, to supercharged variants. This particular 3800 featured in the video is an atmospheric L26 variant plucked from the engine bay of a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix GT, with 126,000 miles on the clock.
After draining the crankcase and pulling the spark plugs, the host pops off the fuel rail and upper intake plenum. The engine clearly has quite a few miles on it, with the crankcase draining some really nasty milkshake, but the host states that engine was likely capable of running when it was pulled out of the Pontiac.
Checking out the intake gaskets, however, things start looking a little rougher, with some really nasty build-up caking the coolant passages. The cylinders look pretty good though, as do the cylinders – possibly because they were drinking coolant.
While an intake gasket failure turned this GM 3800 V6 in a crusty mess, the fact that it was likely still capable of running really says something.
Check out the full video here:
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Comments
If you don’t count spun bearings, bad head gaskets, bad intake gaskets and bad harmonic balancers as reliability issues, they sure are!
Cheap assed GM not spending on strengthening components so as to make them durable. Always a serious problem with this company, something I will always cuss them about.
Well, two people, so far, that have no idea what they are talking about.
The 3800 never had “gasket problems”, their one weakness was that when they got low on fluid, air would get in the lines, and would need to be bled out. An owner who never checked their fluid levels would find one day around 150-200K that the head’s overheated, and either cracked or stretched the gasket. A simple check occasionally at all the fluids would eliminate that. These are 300-500K engines to someone who cares for them.
Series 2 would blow gaskets routinely by 60k. Few of them made it beyond 100k miles fact
Pure B.S.
I don’t recall them having a head gasket issue. The intake manifold gaskets really depended on the year because they did address that late in their life. But they were also known for the coolant elbow issues, which is an easy fix yet spilling your coolant all out of your engine isn’t good.
The engine was overall reliable and repairs were easy and cheap. The transmission however, was pretty marginal
I have had a few of these. Had 1 that got rear ended at 231k miles and the car was totaled. Have another with 192k right now. Never any engine problems.
Too bad the newest of these is 15 years old.
I daily-drive my inherited 2007 Buick Lucerne with the 3800 Series III as a commuter beater. I can’t think of a better “free” car to rack up the mileage in, especially during winter. Addmitidely, stop-and-go MPG is sub par, but with skinny 16″ tires, I get 30-34mpg on the highway. That beats out many of todays tiny 3-4 cylinder turbo econobox’s, and thats with a 4-speed transmission too. I really wish GM would’ve contiued development on the Series III, I can only imagine what kind of fueleconomy htey could’ve gotten with cylinder deactivation, VVT and direct fuel injection like they’ve done with pushrod based LS V8 engines. Although it developed more power, the thirsty 3.6L High Feature V6 family has been horrendous in relability. The 3800 is a great engine, and one that I will hold onto as long as I can.
The 3800 and 3500 v6s were very strong engines from gm
3500 was a 60 degree downsized family V6, not related to the 3.8L.
GM used to do what Toyota are doing with their engines. Their legendary V8s were developed from earlier V8s from the 1930’s and improved upon with innovations over time. The 3800 was developed from Buick’s old V6 engines and became the 3.8L V6 in the early 80’s, that engine had some issues which were fixed with the new Series I 3800 V6. The 3800 became the standby engine for GM’s midsize cars for years and became known for smooth power delivery with balance shafts and very good reliability. Toyota have been continuously improving their powerplants for years upon years, making adjustments, strengthening components, using tried and true methods without going overboard with advanced untested technologies, which is why they will have older engines but garner consumer respect for their reliability and ease of maintenance. GM need to settle on their small displacement 3cylinder and 4 cylinder turbo engines and continue to improve upon them by fortifying their construction and components for long term durability and maintainability. GM to their credit are working to make their 2.7L turbo engine more stronger and durable, their newer 2.7L and the new 2.5L turbo have been bolstered and improved upon for heavy use. This is the way to go, no more half assed engines nobody knows about foisted upon the buying public and having technicians and mechanics scratching their heads at the unnecessarily difficult access to vital parts for servicing.
Turbo and long-term reliability rarely go hand-in-hand. Toyota, historically speaking, has generaly shied away from turbo engines in their 4 & 6 cylinder products. Only recently have they started adding turbo’s to their main-stream model lineups. Time will tell…
Boost wastes gas, just does well in gov testing that harmed choice and price for GM’s fwd-based cruiser customers. I think they’d eat up 4’s derived from the 6.6 V8 as long as one’s a 3.8L.
I’d prefer a 3.9 90degree V6 based off the 5.3, especially the 6th gen coming out. The 4.3V6 already weights only 20lbs more than the 2.5LCV.
I prefer leaning big for block size. LV1/3 being light means a 5.2L V6 would be a truck payload master and handle great in a pony.
Less weight in front doesn’t help fwd, lowering price matters more. An L4 can share a lot of V8 parts: 3.8 traverse, smaller for equinox, with add-on hybrid options cover the value spectrum.
I had a 2011 Buick Lucerne CXL with a 3900 engine and no problem with it at all. Still powerful at 200k miles when I sold it.
That’s wonderful. You do realize that the 3900 and the 3800 are completely unrelated?
3900 was a 60 degree v6. The 3800 was a 90 degree v6.
Almost everyone knows those were/are great engines. In a Buick Park Avenue it had plenty of power and consistently returned 30 mpg on the highway. They also were long lived.
When I was growing up, my family went through three Buick LeSabres’ all with this engine. Each one was still running well with over 400,000 km with zero issues before they were all written off in traffic accidents.
The 3800 is for sure a great engine. The Series II did have its issues namely the plastic elbows that failed from years of heat build up and erupted coolant everywhere and the various intake manifold issues starting with the 90’s version that melted the plastic from the heat tube followed by the upper and lower gaskets that let loose, sometimes into the cylinders. They finally got this engine right for 2004 with the Series III version but sadly their was no power gain and actually a bizarre power and torque decrease on the Lucerne’s from 2006-2008. Note that the Series III NA version of this engine was slated for a power increase to around 230-240 HP but that didn’t happen. The supercharged version did see a 20 HP bump though from changes to the supercharger itself.
Actually my 04 GTP Comp G had 260 HP and the engine was a Pontiac only model. It also boasted that it could run on Regular or Premium Fuel. It was about 20 Hp difference in power depending on the fuel.
They did change the pistons, Computer and the SC unit. The Torque was limited due to the transaxle. Guys that programed up the engine often broke pistons.
I spun a bearing on mine and snapped the input shaft on it after I replaced the engine. My 1998 regal GS had about every modification you could do outside a turbo kit or nitrous. Ported gen 5 blower, intercooler, worked heads, Northstar TB, l26 block (after the bearing…higher compression), VS cam. Headers, 2500rpm stall (didn’t care for this one). I was also an early adopter to e85. It was silly fast on the street but became quirky and unreliable. I want to say I made 360whp, which was enough for 11s.
It was not a Series III
Sadly the 3800 was the one engine I had issues with. Bad head gasket,. Took out the Cat too. Fixed it and sold it.
Why so many gasket problems? Maybe you need a different supplier. Could it be the material the gaskets are made of. I know GM don’t want these engines to last for years, no parts business or new car sales, but you can’t get loyal customers with poor products
Lol if you told GM your gaskets were made of material, they’d show you the door. That stuff was too expensive for GM bean counters.
Is this the same 3800 that was available back in 1978 as the 231ci even-fire and earlier as the 231ci odd-fire engine? The one that was a 225ci bought back from Jeep? I had one of those in a 1978 Oldsmobile Starfire that ran like a champ and even better when I put a Holley 4bbl intake manifold and 500cfm carburetor in it. It got towed out of my driveway with only 85K miles after being rear-end at a dead stop by a car doing 45mph. I loved that car.
All were related. Just updated and changed as time went on.
That was the old Buick 3.8L V6 and it didn’t have balance shafts. It’s that engine GM engineers improved upon fixing the various problems and came out with the excellent 3800. They were related but definitely not tge same engines.
1 balance shaft on a 90 degree V6. 2 counter-rotating balance shafts on inline 4s (though a low-end 4 like the old Cavalier 2.2L doesn’t miss them).
idocars is not a mechanic but a dismantler and salvage reseller
just so we are clear.
Buick grand national engine was best ever bring it back! 5.3 and 6.2 are unreliable burn oil and lifter failure.put this back in autos
Buick grand national engine was best ever bring it back! 5.3 and 6.2 are unreliable burn oil and lifter failure.put this back in trucks and suvs
Bought 2002 loaded Impala LS new with 3800. Just passed 196k & gets over 31mpg on road. Have changed oil every 3000 miles with Havoline 10w40. Dealer recently told me I should get 300k. And the cd/cassette deck & sunroof still work as I continue to go, “Rocking Down the Highway”,
The father of the 3800 powered many a Buick Regal in naturally aspirated form and formed the heart of the all mighty turbocharged & intercooled Buick Regal Grand National and Grand National GNX…..not to mention the Pontiac Firebird Turbo Trans Am of the late 1980’s. A great, great engine. Right up there with the small block chevy and LS small block.
I don’t believe that the GM that designed and built this engine is the gm (small letters) of today!
Early examples of the 3.8 had lubrication problems. The crankshaft broke in half on my ’79 Cutlass wagon. A friend’s Grand Prix of the same era had an engine replacement (warranty). A co-worker had serious problems with the engine in his Buick version of the Chevy Monza. These problems appear to have been solved on later versions of this engine.
Ironically, the Olds engine continued to idle (roughly), because the crankshaft had broken on an angle.
Interesting. I’ve owned the following cars with that engine:
1985 Olds 98 Regency Brougham, which I bought in 1994 for $250 because it had spun the rod bearings. Rebuilt the engine and drove it for 120,000 miles. Went through 2 transmissions in that time.
1988 Pontiac Bonneville SSE, also lost rod bearings.
1992 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi. Harmonic balancer failure, supercharger input shaft coupler failure, transmission failure.
1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP. Cracked the rear head when the cheap plastic heater hose elbow broke. Replaced the head and got a few more years out of it before the rod bearings spun. Also had to replace the supercharger coupler. Gave it away when the trans failed.
2000 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi. This one lost a trans and I put the engine in the GTP.
2003 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi. Engine and trans still going strong when I gave it away with 250,000 miles.
2005 Pontiac Grand Prix. First non-supercharged 3800 I owned since the ’88 Bonnie. This one lost rod bearings, as well.
Overall, I had more failures than successes with that engine, but I still liked it enough to keep buying cars powered by 3800s. Love the low-end grunt of the supercharged version.
Another Dex-Cool victim!
GM quit building the 3800 engine twenty years ago! They had a great thing but manglement er management decided otherwise. The last car I owned with it was a beautiful ’94 Olds 88LSS which I drove all over the country. It got 30+ mpg on the highway and only started using oil after the 200k mile mark. Ran it until 284k miles and sold it to a retired mechanic who wanted the engine. IMHO, GM hasn’t built any thing comparable since. Their quality in everything has suffered too. Now I’m a Toyota man. They keep running and running.