1999 Regal GSE
 

I recently purchased a 1999 Buick Regal GSE, 3.8 series II sc. It has approx 200,000mi. Runs decent, but has the expected intake/coolant leak which I plan on fixing soon. My question is how do I know if it has the sought-after L67 motor? Also, the OBD gave me a Code A solenoid for the supercharger. One last thing the instrument cluster works fine except for the odometer and boost indicator. No display there. Thoughts?

Take a picture of the top of the engine and I'll tell you exactly what you have.

You say it's supercharged, so it has to be an L67.....

L67's do not have the same intake coolant leak that the naturally aspirated L36 had....

Ok I'll do that and get the pic to you soon as I can. Thanks.

My mechanic told me the same today. I haven't scheduled time for him to tear into it but upon a quick visual, and based on his experience he's thinking water pump. I'm new to Buick/GM so I'm learning on the fly here. I bought a 2000 Regal LS last July for my daily. Got it cheap and put about a grand into it on basic wear n tear items the previous owner had neglected. Runs like a top and I love the car. This got me interested in the GS so when I came across this GSE I had to snatch it up. Plans are a full restoration and a few basic performance mods. I really appreciate the advice you seasoned vets have for a new guy like me. Thanks.

L67 was a honey of an engine.....

Only problems I ever saw were problems with the nose cone of SC'er, w/p, oil pan gasket, boost solenoid and the gasket between the lower intake and the SC'er plenum(this would crack and suck in air, causing a lean condition)....

This bugger could get over 30 mpg on the highway, and that SC'er gave the 3.8 that extra oomph.

In my opinion, the last version of the Buick Riv, with a SC'er, was one of the best cars GM ever made.....

Here's a pic of my engine.

Picture of engine posted.

Definitely an L67.

And yeah if nothing obvious has coolant on it from the leak, look for a dark film on the inner edge of the alternator pulley and maybe a couple of ribs worth of the belt. If the water pump shaft seal has started to leak the pulley slings the little bit of coolant all the time and stuff collects on it.

I'll take a look. I had the car up on a lift and visually there is obvious coolant leaking all the way down underneath. Appears to originate at front of engine(?) and going where it wants to go. First order is I'll pressure test and go from there. We also noticed small oil leaks by valve cover, oil pan & p/s. All-in-all I'm not overly concerned as these things are fixable and I think overall the car is worth putting a bit of $$ and TLC into. I paid $1500 for it. I have svc records dating back to 2003, and it's apparent the previous owner took care of it.