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.

It runs fine, just not to its full potential. I am storing it for a time to bank some $$ and then get to work nursing it back to a healthy state. Then I will look at some basic performance mods.

Also check for leaks from the plastic coolant elbows that are near the water pump. They are also a known problem area.

If they are bad, replace them with the metal units.

Also look for signs the Lower intake manifold gasket has ever been replaced. They are the other major problem area that can dump coolant straight in to your oil if you are not careful.

Yep 1st thing I checked were the elbows. They're fine. They're plastic so I'm assuming they're OE and haven't been replaced. Regardless, they definitely will be getting replaced with metal ones. Cheap, easy fix for the potential headaches it solves. I've heard mechanics refer to this as "bullet-proofing".

L67 Supercharger Question
 

I currently have a 1999 Regal GSE that is bone-stock. I'm considering installing a slightly smaller pulley on the supercharger but have heard that can potentially cause piston chipping and also transmission problems. I'm not interested in making a "racer" I just want to give the car a little extra oomph when I want it. I'm also interested in any advice/recommendations for additional bolt-on or tuning mods for the car. Thanks in advance.

Same one we've been discussing or a different one?

I this is the same 200,000-mile car, I'd make sure the SC is in good condition and has fresh oil before handing it extra work.

. . . probably from excessive detonation from the increased cylinder pressures. Your stock SC pulley should be 3.8" . Every 0.1 you go down is worth around 3-5HP depending on your altitude and ambient temperature. Go in small increments. Go below 3.6" and you have to start worrying about issues more than otherwise with no other compensating modifications. Lower altitude and hotter ambient air equals more worry.

If this is a 200,000-mile transaxle I'd have some concerns unless I knew it led an easy life for 199,000 miles. One thing you can do that is almost never an issue is add a transmission cooler. Even if you don't do anything else to the car. The transaxle will thank you for it.

Based on this and the possibility that it has 200,000 miles on it I'd say go conservative. Especially if it is your daily driver and/or only car.

The sky's the limit with this platform. I've read about folks changing to a 180-degree thermostat, cooler plugs (so they can boost harder), undersize pulleys, bigger injectors, cold-air induction, PCM tunes, exhaust systems, etc. My take is start with things that make the car's life easier then work your way to where you want to be. For example: in general a freer-flowing exhaust system would make life easier on the engine to push exhaust out, and at the same time get you a little more power. That said, on this platform the exhaust system really isn't getting in your way until you add 50HP+ so I wouldn't start there. Maybe reduce your SC pulley by 0.1" and go from there. This would be your most bang for buck and is a fairly safe change.