UPDATE:

I pulled the engine over the weekend and found the cause of all of my problems. The oil pickup was plugged solidly, causing the engine to suck oil from the bypass. Apparently an earlier failure of the cam timing chain gear resulted in nylon debris entering the oil pan and thus plugging the pickup causing oil delivery issues to the crank bearings. The front main really took a beating, which absolutely accounted for my knocking on startup, when warm (at idle), balancer "shimmy", and oil slinging from the front crank seal.

The rear main showed some pretty good wear, but not as much as the front. The #2 and #3 mains looked fine, as do all of the rod bearings.

The crank is in the shop now, and it looks like it will take a cutting of .020 to bring it back. I should have the crank and new bearings (crank and rod) back by the end of the week...then the fun of reassembly and re-installation begins!

Glad you found the issue, let us know how it runs once you get the crank back, and get it all installed.

Are we talking about the LN3?

If so, they did not use a nylon timing set. That went the way of the old LG3, or the 3800 predecessor.

I am glad that you found a pretty substantial issue however.

Thank you, will do!


I did not know that. The muck clogging the pickup screen was tough stuff...even lacquer thinner didn't touch it. Since the LN3 didn't use nylon, I have no idea what could have gotten in there and did that. I'm not taking any chances trying to clean the old pickup, I am also replacing it with a new unit.

Thanks for the info. I'm glad I found this issue when I did...we'd have hated to lose a car this nice over something this easily fixed!

FINAL UPDATE:

I got the crank back last Thursday. Mains turned .020 and rods .010 under....I reassembled the engine on Friday and installed in the car Saturday, and I am happy to report SUCCESS!! The engine is quiet, the balancer runs true and the oil slinging is now a thing of the past, and it runs like it did when it was new. Total cost to fix: $175.00

Here are a few pics of the car I took last evening. These pictures show the reason I was so determined in fixing this problem.

Glad it runs good now, and yeah I can see why you were determined, that car looks extremely well taken care of, thanks for sharing those pics!

As a rookie, one of my first oil changes was on a LeSabre.....I released the hood latch, and I am trying to lift that hood from the front to no avail.....finally a tech came over laughing and lifted it from the rear....

This is what an older car can look like when an owner cares about their ride!
Dave I got to say great job on assembly & getting the engine re-installed!
You will be again enjoying your Olds for many years ahead now!
Finally I got some competition for under the hood detailing!

Thanks guys, it feels great to have it back. I take a lot of pride in caring for my vehicles. This job (as all I undertake) was done completely by the book...all of the retainers, clips, loom retainers etc are all in their respective places, just as they were installed at the factory, and all of the fasteners removed were torqued to factory specs on install.

Life is good!!

Looks like a freakin' Buick to me, Soft Ride!