water everywere

this evening my wife picked me up from work. and told me the car was running hot. so i told her to pull over water was spilling out from behind the alt. from a hose leading into the manifold help i love my car

It's leaking from the bypass hose. Calm down, this is a simple fix!

First, get a new bypass hose from the dealer. It's like $8 I think, but I have dealer discount, so it might be more for you.

-Remove the accessory drive belt.
-Remove the frontmost alternator mounting bolt.
-You should now have access to the bypass hose. It connects the intake to the water pump.
-Undo the hose clamps and remove hose.
-Lubricate the tips of the new hose with a little bit of coolant, and slide on to the male ends located on the engine.
-Tighten hose clamps
-Reinstall alternator, then accessory drive belt. Take care to keep the belt in the same rotational direction throughout this process.

Start the engine and check for leaks. You will want to have a catch pan available to catch the coolant that will leak when you remove the hose.

Good luck!!

I've got the same problem but mine dows not have a rubber hose, it comes out of the intake above the water pump, goes straight out about 3 inches and makes a 90 degree turn going in behind the belt tensioner. It is made of either a metal or hard plastic and is leaking where it goes into the intake. Has anyone seen one like this and how does it come off? It must have an o-ring or something in it.

there are actually 2 hoses if I recall, the one I described above, and the metal one fuzzro just described. You'll need to remove your alternator, and probably the tensioner bracket to see. I just checked mine, and it looks like it's mounted by a bolt to the frontside of it.

I have been asking anyone I come across about this pipe(plastic?) coming out of the lower intake, making a 90 and going in right behind the belt tensioner. I would like to know for sure how to remove this without tearing anything up. Where can I find a good manual for this '96 Buick Lesabre 3.8?

I just did an intake on a 2000, it has the plastic 90 degree pipes. On mine they go into the tensioner casting and come out the other side to the heater hoses, there are two plasitc 90 degree pipes. To get at them you have to take the alternator off and then you can take the tensioner body off. There are three bolts that hold the tensioner on, two are easy to see and one is hidden. I would avoid prying on them as they will probably crack. I just grabed one in each hand and gently wiggled them out. They do have O rings on them, be sure to get your new O rings before you start.
Haynes, have an okay manual for this car.
Good luck.