New owner of a 2002 Century

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Does anyone have any input on this vehicle as far as issues or reliability?

Congratulations.

How many miles? Best to put it in this post.

Congratulations.

How many miles? Best to put it in this post.

68,000 miles. We took it for a test drive in interstate 80 and it seems to perform well. :smile:

Do you have the maintenance history? Like the previous 3100 V6 VIN "M" the newer VIN "J" 3100 is subject to the LIM gasket issue. GM did not install the revised LIM gaskets until the 2003 model year. Also, as you are aware it has the 4T65E autotransaxle which has its fair share of issues. Other than that like other Buicks it is a fairly reliable car. The GM 3100/3400 engines get excellent gas mileage considering so that should be a plus. Good luck with it.

Do you have the maintenance history? Like the previous 3100 V6 VIN "M" the newer VIN "J" 3100 is subject to the LIM gasket issue. GM did not install the revised LIM gaskets until the 2003 model year. Also, as you are aware it has the 4T65E autotransaxle which has its fair share of issues. Other than that like other Buicks it is a fairly reliable car. The GM 3100/3400 engines get excellent gas mileage considering so that should be a plus. Good luck with it.


It came with a Carfax Report. click here to see it-----> http://www.carfax.com/cfm/ccc_DisplayHistoryRpt.cfm?partner=CBT_4&vin=2G4WS52J521269282

Maintenance history doesn't look bad. Just to be sure you might check to see if the original Dex-cool is still in it. Stuff is only good for 5 years or 150K miles, whichever comes first. No record of it being serviced or replaced on the CarFax report and some service annotations are vague so it is hard to tell.

I had an oil analysis done on my mother's 2001 and it showed an internal gasket leak so she went ahead and had the gasket job done. Best to be proactive in this case instead of reactive, which could lead to major engine damage.
A $22.00 oil analysis will tell you a lot about the engine and possibly save you really big bucks.

I had an oil analysis done on my mother's 2001 and it showed an internal gasket leak so she went ahead and had the gasket job done. Best to be proactive in this case instead of reactive, which could lead to major engine damage.
A $22.00 oil analysis will tell you a lot about the engine and possibly save you really big bucks.


Do you know how much the gasket change costs? Maybe around $300 ?

It was a little over $500 at the dealer. About $300 of that was labor.

Does anyone know if there is a link to the internal gasket leak on this forum?

Does anyone know if there is a link to the internal gasket leak on this forum?

Lots of info over at the Grand Prix forum.

It was a little over $500 at the dealer. About $300 of that was labor.


That's pretty hefty. My mechanic only charges $75 per hour labor so maybe it would be a few bucks cheaper.

Lots of info over at the Grand Prix forum.


Is this gasket leak similar to the lesabre's plastic intake manifold melting and antifreeze getting inside the motor?

That's pretty hefty. My mechanic only charges $75 per hour labor so maybe it would be a few bucks cheaper.

That is only 4 hours worth so you won't be saving much. But you may be able to recoup some on the dexcoolsettlement.

Is this gasket leak similar to the lesabre's plastic intake manifold melting and antifreeze getting inside the motor?

That's the one.

That's the one.


Oh great. Now I have two buicks with that issue :crying:

I thought it only pertained to the 3800 II motor.

The oil analysis we had done at 48,000 miles indicated a potassium level of 122 and a subsequent analysis was up to 184 and the universal avg. was 11.
That is the reason we went ahead and had the gasket job done.

The oil analysis we had done at 48,000 miles indicated a potassium level of 122 and a subsequent analysis was up to 184 and the universal avg. was 11.
That is the reason we went ahead and had the gasket job done.


That's some valuable information and I really appreciate you posting it for me. Can any garage do this oil analysis for me or would I have to go somewhere specific?

My mechanic is very good and very trustworthy and prefer not to go anywhere else.

Oh great. Now I have two buicks with that issue :crying:

I thought it only pertained to the 3800 II motor.

It doesn't mean you have that problem but they are very susceptible and that is why I always recommend an oil analysis.

This is the comment from the second analysis:


Potassium increased in this sample, and copper increased a little too. That tells us that the
antifreeze problem is still there, and while it's not bad yet, you should keep a close eye on it. This kind of
problem can turn serious very quickly. The copper probably shows the problem is developing at the head
gasket or intake manifold gasket. Pressure-checking the cooling system might tell you where the leak is.
For now you might want to start doing shorter oil changes (3000 miles) because that can help limit the
damage to the engine. Check back.

Like I said, $22.00 will tell you what is going on inside and head off potential problems. And $500 is about the cost of 1.5 to 2 car payments so in my opinion, I'd rather pay for the gasket job than trade or panic. At least you know how you've treated your car.

That's some valuable information and I really appreciate you posting it for me. Can any garage do this oil analysis for me or would I have to go somewhere specific?

My mechanic is very good and very trustworthy and prefer not to go anywhere else.

I used Blackstone and you can get a free kit by emailing or calling. You can even get a kit to draw oil through the dipstick tube, but there is a charge for that kit. I just got a sample when changing oil since I do my own.

It doesn't mean you have that problem but they are very susceptible and that is why I always recommend an oil analysis.

This is the comment from the second analysis:


Potassium increased in this sample, and copper increased a little too. That tells us that the
antifreeze problem is still there, and while it's not bad yet, you should keep a close eye on it. This kind of
problem can turn serious very quickly. The copper probably shows the problem is developing at the head
gasket or intake manifold gasket. Pressure-checking the cooling system might tell you where the leak is.
For now you might want to start doing shorter oil changes (3000 miles) because that can help limit the
damage to the engine. Check back.

Like I said, $22.00 will tell you what is going on inside and head off potential problems. And $500 is about the cost of 1.5 to 2 car payments so in my opinion, I'd rather pay for the gasket job than trade or panic. At least you know how you've treated your car.


Actually, we never let our oil go more than 3,000 without being changed. Every two months it gets done. I'm going to talk to my mechanic and ask if he can test the oils for me. I'm not much of a "do it yourself" person when it comes to stuff under the hood.

Even though you change that frequently, which is good, there is always the possibility of a small leak and it getting worse. In this case, an ounce of prevention is worth about 3 pounds of cure.
Any mechanic should be familiar with getting the analysis done. And if he says you don't need to have it done, I'd dump him.
It only takes about 4 oz. for the sample and it can be done by pulling the oil pan plug and catching it in the provided bottle in the kit. Put the sample inside another plastic shipping container and take it to the post office and it costs about $2.00 to mail. Results are usually available in about 10 days to two weeks, although the last two times I had to call twice and they said "it must be lost" but they did finally "find" it.
You can do a google on "oil analysis" and find several different sources.

Even though you change that frequently, which is good, there is always the possibility of a small leak and it getting worse. In this case, an ounce of prevention is worth about 3 pounds of cure.
Any mechanic should be familiar with getting the analysis done. And if he says you don't need to have it done, I'd dump him.
It only takes about 4 oz. for the sample and it can be done by pulling the oil pan plug and catching it in the provided bottle in the kit. Put the sample inside another plastic shipping container and take it to the post office and it costs about $2.00 to mail. Results are usually available in about 10 days to two weeks, although the last two times I had to call twice and they said "it must be lost" but they did finally "find" it.
You can do a google on "oil analysis" and find several different sources.


Ok, I just ordered 2 kits for my car and my wife's.

Thanks again :)

Even though you change that frequently, which is good, there is always the possibility of a small leak and it getting worse. In this case, an ounce of prevention is worth about 3 pounds of cure.
Any mechanic should be familiar with getting the analysis done. And if he says you don't need to have it done, I'd dump him.
It only takes about 4 oz. for the sample and it can be done by pulling the oil pan plug and catching it in the provided bottle in the kit. Put the sample inside another plastic shipping container and take it to the post office and it costs about $2.00 to mail. Results are usually available in about 10 days to two weeks, although the last two times I had to call twice and they said "it must be lost" but they did finally "find" it.
You can do a google on "oil analysis" and find several different sources.


Ok, I just ordered from Blackstone......2 kits . One for my car and one for my wife's.

Thanks again :)

Is this gasket leak similar to the lesabre's plastic intake manifold melting and antifreeze getting inside the motor?

The issue on this engine is strictly the lower intake manifold gaskets which is of a poor design and not the UIM. Same symptoms: unexplained loss of coolant with no visible external leaks (burned in combustion), oil and combustion byproducts in the cooling system, loss of engine vacuum, overheating, or coolant in the crankcase.

A high potassium level will indicate if you have antifreeze leaking into the oil, as we did. If it is really bad, there will be a whitish slime around the inside of the oil filler cap, indicating oil and water are mixing. Not good.

On the positive side, these are good motors, just had some bad gasket designs. If you catch it early, no harm done. Wise decision to have an analysis done. After all, if you had a family history of cancer, you'd certainly have checkups and tests done and have peace of mind.
Hopefully, yours is not leaking.
On my 3.8 GP, the manifold didn't start leaking until around 300,000 miles. And mine looked good around the stovepipe, much unlike pics I've seen of others.

A high potassium level will indicate if you have antifreeze leaking into the oil, as we did. If it is really bad, there will be a whitish slime around the inside of the oil filler cap, indicating oil and water are mixing. Not good.

On the positive side, these are good motors, just had some bad gasket designs. If you catch it early, no harm done. Wise decision to have an analysis done. After all, if you had a family history of cancer, you'd certainly have checkups and tests done and have peace of mind.
Hopefully, yours is not leaking.
On my 3.8 GP, the manifold didn't start leaking until around 300,000 miles. And mine looked good around the stovepipe, much unlike pics I've seen of others.


My 98 Lesabre had the UIM meltdown when I first bought it(no warranty) :crying:

I flooded the engine with antifreeze nd ended up paying $875 to fix it. Going on 50,000 miles lter it's still running strong.

Bad news......Last week wee put a few hundred bucks down for them to hold the car for us. Today we went back to pay the balance and drive it home. The salesman was very quick to finalize the deal and have the plates switched from our old car without even telling me how much they were going to offer me for it. I told him that he should leave the plates on the car until I'm satisfied with the amount that they are willing to give us for it.

Also, I asked for the keys to the Century to take a look at it while i waited for them to appraise the car and lucky I did so. I went to check under the car mats for wetness as some cars have water leaks from rain. Sure enough this one had a saturated carpet on the front passenger side. There was even a brown stain around the outline of where it was when indicating that there is always water there. I walked back inside and said "No Deal"

Anyway, It's lucky I gave the car another check before I wrote another :sly:check.

Pays to do your homework. Did you recoup your hold money?

Pays to do your homework. Did you recoup your hold money?


I had the salesman write on paper that they were to refund my $200 deposit.

It was late Saturday afternoon and there accounting Department was closed. The dealer closes at 6pm.

If I dont get it back they'll be in for a big surprise

Pays to do your homework. Did you recoup your hold money?

P.S. I got that oil test kit in the mail from Blackstone last week. Good to have on hand. Thanks for all of your help.:cool: