My son is driving a '92 Bonneville SE that he bought used with 100K miles about 7 years ago. It now has 280,000+ miles. Water pump, belts, hoses, plugs, wires, struts, filters and 3 sets of tires. Same tranny. Engine is making a little lifter noise now, but the bearings and oil pressure are still good. If this Buick-built engine is not the most reliable, and low-maintenance production engine ever built, it has to rank in the top 5.

:( Congradulations you all have Depressed me! My Engine is at 130,000 and was treated like crap before I got her...

But give me hope... :P I might beable to get her back in shape! Thanks!

I would expect at least 200KI out of any 1990 or newer engine bulit today they are making them a lot better than they use too. My friend had a 89 grand prix with over 300K before he sold it, and it was still running good.

Midnight express: just for good luck.. could you change 90+ to 87+.. so my car fits in that catagory? .


-justin

It'* not unusual for the 3.8 to get well over 200k miles. Not all of them will get this kind of mileage however. I've owned my 93 SSE since '95. At about 73k a cam bearing fell out of it. Yes, fell out. I found it in the oil pan well mangled but in one piece. This is no mean feat when you consider what it takes for a cam bearing to come out of its race, spread around the cam, then squeeze past the crank to get to the pan. Then, at 120k, I spun the #3 rod bearing in Winnemucca, NV. I was passing a friend at around 102mph when it engine "missed". By the time I got it off the highway my oil pressure was about 10 psi and it was rattling like it was full of marbles. One thing I will say about the Bonneville is that it'* about the easiest engine pull I've ever done. There'* a big cannon plug in the firewall that disconnects 90% of the wiring. Pull the leads off a few sensors, disconnect the exhaust, transmission, A/C, motor mounts, and yank it out. I've done it twice now. I have over 180k on it and I fully expect it to go another 100k.

While my car has had some unusual engine problems, I've been really lucky with every thing else. I've never changed a wheel bearing, CV joint, I don't have any electrical problems, the paint still shines. The leather seats are showing some wear and I'm about to change the original struts. Given that, it still rides better than a 10 year old Camry! I plan on driving the old girl right into the ground.

My transmission, however, has been flawless. It still has the bearing whine that was supposed to be fixed way back when, but it hasn't missed a beat.

Hmm. It just occured to me that I have more mileage on my 93 Bonneville than I do on my 63 star Chief (~103k). The 'Chief needs a tune up, the body is beat, and the interior is rough, but it doesn't burn oil and drives just fine!

I'm at 170,000 miles on my engine and tranny. Haven't had a problem yet except for the */c.

yeah late 80s and you should be good to go !!

Crazy,

I've got just under 200k miles on my '97SSEi and have had no problems with the engine or tranny, all I have done is change my tranny oil and engine oil fairly regularly. The only things I have done are a water pump, battery, alternator and a catalytic convertor. This year I have developed some electrical problems as well as problems with the hvac system. Since I drive a lot, I'm thinking about retiring my bonny.

IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!!!!

115,000 on my 97 SE...no problems at all...this thing is just broken in...I expect to clear 200,000 easily....