Hello!
I am new to the forum, and completely new to any kind of auto mechanics, I hope I am posting this in the right spot. I have had my 95 lesabre limited for about 2 years now, it is my first car and I don't ever want to get rid of it, but I seem to keep having to learn about and replace different things in the car. Even with its various acting up, I still push close to 30mpg on the highway, looking at new cars, they don't really do a whole lot better. Here is my issue: I have been trying to get the car in good working order, but I don't know where to cut myself off. Transmission had a few issues, but new vacuum modulator, a flush and filter change, throttle position sensor, and harmonic balancer, seem to be making it shift quite nicely. New struts, and now onto the engine- the dreaded component I fear to touch because I don't want to mess it up.

From my understanding, the noise at cold start until the engine warms up is a lifter tick? I have listened to a lot of youtube, and talked to a few different people and read a lot, and the general consensus is that its a lifter tick. I have tried cleaners, which seemed to help general performance, but still, the lifter tick. I went to mobil 1 high mileage, and put irridium plugs in because they were a good deal, and the lifter tick seems to have gotten worse. I always change my oil early, and after a few light treatments of sea foam and marvel, it is not so dark when I change it.

I think I need to replace my lifters, and I from what I have heard it would be a good idea to replace pushrods as well. I am not sure what all I need to do this, how much of a hassle it will be, and if this is something I should attempt to do on my own. I have a chilton manual I use, but that section seems a bit vague for me. And I learned the hard way that chilton is not always right. (see the crankshaft vibration damper(harmonic balancer) section).

Well, thats a lot to read through. Help me out here, please. What do I need, should I go with factory parts, or is there something better thats a little more cost effective? What gaskets, how should I go about this? anything else worth replacing, since I have to disassemble the engine a little ways? ignition coils. Keep in mind, It didn't take long for me to learn the only part of this car that was maintained was the interior. The lady that used to drive it had dementia.

Thank you, for any bit of help, it is always appreciated.

Well your going to need lifters.pushrods and your gonna have to know how to adjust the rocker arms to.you will also need intake gaskets(get aluminum framed ones) ect ect..But my question is does it only tick when you first start it then it goes away after say 1-2-3-4-5 seconds?? and also keep in mind that the lifters are one of the last parts to receive oil upon startup due to the pump being at the bottom of the engine

Thanks for your reply. The tick used to go away within 30 seconds to a minute, But now it seems to be taking closer to 2 minutes or so. And then yes it calms down. I just have been noticing it getting louder over time as in each month that passes, when I start my car in the morning it sounds ever so slightly worse. I am not sure if using cleaners before I changed my oil (sea foam/marvel) was what made it louder, or the replacement of my copper spark plugs with irridiums, or changing oil to mobil 1 high mileage. When I first bought the thing, I didn't really know I should have stuck to one kind of oil, so I just took it to firestone with a coupon, got new oil and filter for around 22 bucks. Then I realized I can buy mobil 1 and my own filter for 30-35 dollars. So I started using mobil one because I moved to western ND and an oil change can run 80 bucks and it takes a month to get your car into a shop a lot of the time. Then I switched to high mileage the same time I did the spark plugs, and thats when I began to notice it being slightly louder.

Do you think rocker arms are a necessary replacement? I am also wondering about different brands. This is not a project of urgency as of yet, but I would like to learn a lot more before I attempt it, and make sure I have what I need ahead of time.

Okay. Sorry about the long drawn out posts. I think I understand how to adjust the rocker arms now. can I just rotate the crank with my harmonic balancer? let the lifter come up and back down to its bottom seat position. tighten it up till snug and go another half turn. Am I on the right page here? Any recommended tools I should have to get the old lifters out? My lesabre has almost 190k miles on it, and lots of idle time in between.

So...I will be needing lifters, pushrods, valve cover gaskets, intake manifold gaskets, throttle body gasket? Are you allowed to recommend brands for parts on the forum? ACDelco seems to be more than double the price for lifters on rockauto

Thanks

felpro is a good brand for gaskets and pretty much has ny of them you will need and yes you can do it by the crank or plug your fuel lines (or in your case elc pump )pull the fuse or relay for the fuel pump and have someone sit in it and just tap the key to roll it over as needed

When you buy the lifters, make sure you buy the kit that has 16 in it, rather than buying 16 individual lifters. AC Delco lifters when bought individually are around $30 each. I bought a kit of 16 lifters for $109. The kit has a different part number than the lifter. Your engine takes the same valve lifters as mine (p/n 17122490) and the p/n for the kit is 12499225. I bought them on GMpartsdirect.com. By buying the kit you get 16 lifters for a little more than the price of 3 if purchased individually.

Double check everything I am telling you by making sure of the lifter part number for your engine, and making sure the kit is 16 of the right part number.

oh nice, thank you for the tips. I did not realize that they sold lifters in a 16 pack. And from what I hear felpro seems to always be a good choice, So far that is what I have bought for various gaskets and I am pleased with them. Now that I know AC Delco has a 16 pack of lifters I can get to it before the harsh winter hits. I do all my work in a driveway outside my apt. Cannot wait to have a garage! Thanks again

There is no adjustment on the Series 1 and Series 2 3800 rockers.

I just checked and the kit with 16 lifters is available on GMpartsdirect.com for $111. You only need 12 and may be able to sell the other 4 on Ebay. Stick with AC Delco for the lifters.

well at least the 16 pack would give me 4 spares, I can put that towards having to replace them after another 200k miles. =) even the 16 pack is a better deal than buying 12 at 30+ bucks a piece. Thanks again about that. No adjustment on the series I? I really don't have a clue what I am doing, but I manage to get stuff done in the end, so I am just more worried about time consumption, weather, and pure frustration. Does anyone have quality pictures of a 3800 engine, or reading material as far as engine rebuilding 101 for the 3800? I would like to save this car until I have a kid and tell them they can work on it if they want a car. I am a dreamer, but its my first car, fun to drive, love it, don't wanna let go! and I get 29 mpg on the highway driving my couch.