few probs;

when i start out in first gear, usually to the floor, i held it in first gear to hear the noise, it sounds like a vibrating noise, like someone moving aluminum foil continuously without an end, when it hits second, it stops.

it also does it when i'm in reverse, backing out of my driveway, or if i have my foot on the brake (which usually doesn't occur.. i hate two-foot drivers)

it kinda also sounds something like a bad power steering pump, but my pump must be working correctly, the steering is still really easy to do on this car.

last night, i filled the car after a long drive to the "full hot'' level in my coolant tank (the one on the passenger side of my car, behind the battery) and today, after i got home from a drive, it was at the bottom curve of the tank, if counting down the side of it in inches, i'd say a good 5 inches down the tank..

i also had my upper and lower intake gaskets overhauled when it was in for the oil leak a few weeks ago.. since then, the oil leak from the bottom end is worse.. supposedly, my mechanic, changed the oil pan gasket, and it still is being a problem.

i have the car parked on some cardboard but i don't know much about these engines.. i'm only really semi-familiar with 5.7 V8'* found in suburbans/tahoes/etc.

Please help, if you are reading ?

You can't 'overhaul' gaskets, just replace them. I'm not sure what you meant by that or what your mechanic actually did. I can't see any mechaninc replacing he gaskets and not the intake as preventative maint.

The loss of coolant is probably the classic upper intake manifold failure. More info here: http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...e=article&k=38

The oil leak could be coming from a number of places and just working its way down to the oil pan area. You'll need to look closer and determine where its coming from. I'd start at the valve cover gaskets, the all seem to leak. If you have a sjop find it, they probably will want to degrease the engine first.

You should stop driving the car until its fixed. If the coolant is leaking into the oil the engine won't last long.

I was gonna say check your oil for coolant, and smell your exhaust and see if it has a sweet smell to it.

First, the coolant leak is more troubling than the oil leak to me, but before we go too far, just check your oil for indications of water (lightness of any kind of odd residue on the dip stick or inside the oil filler. Also, take a good look under your engine cover for any indications of leaks or pooling coolant.

Now, just to be sure, inspect your coolant and radiator hoses for obvious holes, cracks, or splits. We know the 3800 often has the UIM failure, but coolant leaks CAN be caused by old hoses or bad water pumps (oh yeah, check the weep hole on your water pump snout for evidence of leaks).

Tell us what you see and we can go from there.

Also, if you just had the car to a mechanic for oil leaks, it'* fair practice to call him on what he did and why you still have them. Any mechanic worth his salt will want to get it right, even if it wasn't a failure on his part.

And I want to re-iterate the caution above about driving it before you know what the problem is. Driving it with a UIM failure is bad,...BAD I say, lol.

The power steering pump can be noisy and still work properly. Have you checked the fluid in the pump?

Your coolant leak sounds pretty severe to be losing it that quickly. There should be some indication of where it is. Did you find anything on the cardboard that would indicate an external leak? If so, what part of the engine?

I've heard of some shops just tightening down the bolts on the UIM to see if that stops the leak. Perhaps, that is what he did with the "overhaul".

The cautions already given about driving the car can't be stressed enough!

If you get steam coming off the dipstick, does that mean there is coolant in the oil?

:? :?:
You mean on your car? I would think so, yes... Any other symptoms, like coolant loss, hesitation or slight missing at idle or low rpms??

J Wikoff...Steam or smokelike oil residue?

In the two times I've pulled the dipstick since I had my timing chain replaced, steam came off it. I don't know if it was water or what, but I don't remember it doing that before. My coolant level seems to be stable thus far.