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1997 LeSabre Limited


belvedereII
01-27-2009, 09:29 PM
Buick fans, my sister inherited a 1997 LeSabre Limited and wants to know if there is anything to watch out for on these cars. I've been told they're reliable cars, but it seems every year/make/model of car has certain things to attend to sooner or later. The car's only got 25,000 miles on it and had regular service, so my thought on it all is to just drive the thing. Still, if anyone knows of issues with that year/model I'd like to pass on whatever that may be. Thanks!

BII

sandman608
01-29-2009, 06:38 AM
I have heard the intake manifold going bad on the Gen II motors.I don't know if their is a preventive measure to take.I believe I have seen a post here on the subject you might want to do a little research.You can click on the search key & type in yr. make,& Gen II intake to see what it comes up with or If you know a good reliable parts store, salvage yard call them & ask if they have every run into this.Short of that they are very reliable,nice car's :smile:

imidazol97
01-29-2009, 07:26 AM
Buick fans, my sister inherited a 1997 LeSabre Limited and wants to know if there is anything to watch out for on these cars. I've been told they're reliable cars, but it seems every year/make/model of car has certain things to attend to sooner or later. The car's only got 25,000 miles on it and had regular service, so my thought on it all is to just drive the thing. Still, if anyone knows of issues with that year/model I'd like to pass on whatever that may be. Thanks!

BII

The only problem area I'd immediately check is the intake manifold. There are two parts to the problem.

#1 is that coolant if not changed every couple of years or if the level gets low and air is mixed in with the hot coolant deteriorates the intake gaskets. The DexCool is suggested change at 5 years IIRC or 100K miles. Your car is 11 years old. Look at the reservoir tank. If it's got an orange coolant it has DexCool. If there is a lot of goop or scum on the reservoir then it may not have been changed and may have deteriorated.

Open the radiator and look at the insides for goop, crud, etc., that's brown. A little would be normal from the organic sealer pellet GM used to seal minor seeps at the factory. While you've got it off, clean the underside of the radiator cap to insure good seal of the little disk that goes up and seals under pressure. If the coolant level in the radiator is lower than the cap neck, start checking for why. It may mean a leak somewhere.

If someone added the old style green antifreeze to DexCool, you'll get a crud formed that can block heater passages and cause other problems.

If not sure, I would recommend having a drain and refill of the DexCool. Note: some will suggest to replace DexCool completely with the new, long life green coolant that mixes with all types of antifreeze. IN my opinion, the DexCool formula changed after the deterioration problem was found, and doesn't have a deterioration problem now.

#2. The upper intake is plastic. The Lower Intake Manifold is metal. The EGR gases go into the lower intake manifold and then go up through a tube into the upper where they are sucked in with the incoming air. The LIM has a metal tube sticking up that goes into the upper intake plastic. The high heat deteriorates the plastic around it. In 99 the size of the tube was shrunk leaving more room between the plastic and the metal hot tube. The plastic deteriorates there and coolant in the UIM starts to seep out there and into the intake air and is sucked into the cylinders.

That takes about 75K miles on many engines in normal driving. I suspect that car was used for short trips where less hot running would have occurred.

Good replacement UIM kits have a smaller metal tube to be fixed into the LIM metal. You can see if the intake was replaced by removing the plastic cover over the motor (twist the oil filler tube a quarter turn to remove the whole thing), and looking at the little circles printed on the plastic. One has years, 95, 96, 97 and a little arrow pointing to one of the years telling when that manifold was manufacturered. If it's later than 96 or 97, that one has been replaced.

If not watch the coolant level. Check it once a week with the car cold and parked the same after you fill to the cold level. Coolant loss may mean an intake leak problem, otherwise you have hoses, water pumps, etc., that can start leaking.

#3 Rest of the car? If in a salt area, I'd have the brake lines inspected for rust. I'd change the oil every 2000 miles first two times to be sure long oil change interval times haven't left deposits even though oil may have been changed at 3000 or 4000 miles, the time may have been real long. I wouldn't use any additives. Just let fresh oil pickup anything left behind by previous oils.

#4 Check the age on the tires. I assume they're original. Consider replacing them; tires should be replaced after 6 years, according to tire companies.

Smith1000
01-29-2009, 08:01 PM
I have 2 '97 Lesabres and they have been fairly good cars. One has 205,000 miles and the other 160,000. I replaced the UIM on the one with 160k last September. I believe it had been replaced before, before I owned it. The other, with 205k needs another UIM and I am planning to do it this weekend. I did it once before. I believe it had around 130k on it at the time. They have had relatively few problems otherwise (for the miles). I have put salvaged instrument clusters in both of them. I have had an intermitent MAF sensor problem. I have replaced the cam and crank position sensors in both of them. There have been a few other things, but no major expenses.

Hapynzap
02-04-2009, 08:24 AM
With only 25000 on it the upper intake is probably not a problem yet but keep an eye on any coolant loss as the gaskets can go bad too.

happydog500
03-04-2009, 11:42 PM
[QUOTE=Smith1000;5906286 I have replaced the cam and crank position sensors in both of them.[/QUOTE]Don't want to hijack this thread, but at what miles did the cam and crank sensors go out?
Thank you,
Chris.

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