MY CAR DIED......can I sue GM for not recalling the UIM?

[Smith1000]

I had the same issue while on vacation in Colorado in early September. The UIM in my wife's 97 Lesabre went. Had to get another car to get around and then fixed the Lesabre at a friend's farm near Rocky Ford. We bought a '01 Sable while out there and my wife is still driving it. Says she doesn't want to go back to the Lesabre. I shouldn't have let her drive it across Kansas. I would rather sell the Sable and keep the Lesabre.

The Lesabre was hydro-locked as well. After replacement and starting, it steamed out the exhaust for 30 minutes or more and continued to tick for a couple of weeks. It runs great now, although we haven't driven it at all for 3 weeks at least. I keep thinking I'll switch to it and get rid of our other 97 Lesabre, which has over 200,000 on it. Both are running great at the moment though and I don't feel like getting rid of either of them.

[Scrapper]

i'd keep lasaber if you been keeping up the maitnance that 3.8 or 3800 witch are the same. i've seen those go up to 400'000 mls and still running fine.have you to changed the harmotic balancer or timing chain since you had the car? these cars will run fore ever when taken care of.

[Smith1000]

I haven't changed the harmonic balancer or timing chain in either one. The one I drive regularly runs like a champ and has been the best car I have ever had without a doubt. The one that my wife used to drive is every bit as good or better. At the same time, I'm not tired of driving the car yet. Some vehicles I have had I just get tired of driving and want to move them on.

[persuazion]

dealer said that the uim was cracked and leaking into the cylindars causing it not to start...said that a full flush,new gasket,and spark plugs would be 900...also said that since its turning over that there shouldnt be further damage but they wont know until they get it started and running...i want to know what the high pitch clicking sound was when I accelerated....it would go away during driving but it was bad when i first start it in the morning...

[Smith1000]

Sounds familiar. The clicking is proably the same as the ticking I experienced. It's coolant in the engine making the valves click. After repairing mine, it went away gradually. I added some Seafoam (per BNaylor) to the engine oil to get the moisture out. This resolved it fairly quickly. It would do it at start up and then gradually subside. It no longer ticks though and it is running good.

[happydog500]

Originally Posted by Smith1000

This resolved it fairly quickly. It would do it at start up and then gradually subside. It no longer ticks though and it is running good.

Just wanted to make sure I understand what your saying. It no longer ticks, even at start up?
Chris.

[Smith1000]

Right. The ticking went away gradually. Right after repairing it, it would tick loudly at start up for an extended period of time. It would go away though after driving it awhile. It would return at start up, but over a number of days, the "ticking period" shortened. I added Seafoam and that silenced it for good. It can sit for 2 weeks and at start up, there is no longer any ticking. I presume it was residual moisture in the engine. The car was hydro-locked and would not turn over before repairing.

[persuazion]

where do u ad the seafoam at?

[Smith1000]

I added about 8 ounces of Seafoam engine treatment to the engine oil. Run it for a few days and then change the oil.

I have 2 '97 Lesabres and they have both "ticked" with this issue. The UIM gasket failed in the other one about 4 years ago. It did not lock up though. I do recall it ticking shortly after start up before I replaced the gasket. There was coolant in the engine and on the engine as well. After the repair the ticking stopped immediately.

The other gasket failed in the other Buick on vacation this past September and I tried to run it longer than I should have. It never got hot as I was adding coolant and watching the temp. Turned out, it was really sucking coolant into the intake. It finally died in a cloud of exhaust in Walsenburg, Colorado. I almost junked it, but was able to fix it by the end of the week. It had a lot of coolant in the engine though. I pulled the plugs and cranked it over. It really sprayed out the plug holes. It eventually cleared up entirely (the ticking) about 2 or 3 weeks after we were home. My wife hasn't driven the car since because we bought a used 2001 Sable when in Colorado. She seems to want to drive the Sable now.

[Hapynzap]

My 1999 LeSabre that had the UIM fail, I recently did my first oil change since it was fixed and I got a quart of zmax off eBay and put 12 oz in the engine and 6 oz in the transmission. It is really running smooth now. The transmission used to clunk a little when shifting into 3rd while under hard acceleration but now it is just fine.

[persuazion]

ok got my car back and runs fine now....no ticking or stuttering of any kind...actually has more power then Ive felt in a long time....but the bastards dident even top the coolant off to the cold line.....28 dollars worth of coolant and they couldnt even fill it all the way up...so Im gonna ad some.....do i ad the dex cool full coolant or the 50/50 kind?? and the kind they put in is redish pink but the kind I seen at the store is orange......does it matter what color it is?

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by persuazion

.but the bastards dident even top the coolant off to the cold line.....28 dollars worth of coolant and they couldnt even fill it all the way up...so Im gonna ad some.....do i ad the dex cool full coolant or the 50/50 kind?? and the kind they put in is redish pink but the kind I seen at the store is orange......does it matter what color it is?

Depending on where you live you should use a hydrometer to check the coolant mix for proper freeze or boilover protection but I see you live down South. 50/50 protection should be fine. The pure Dex-cool should be mixed with distilled water at 50/50 or you can use the Dex-cool 50/50 premix. GM brand Dex-cool Part # 12346290 (1 gallon) is a solid orange in color when new.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by persuazion

Well my car is sitting in a walmart parkinglot tonight..lonely and cold. No coolant in the resevoir even though it was topped off the day before....on my way to work engine lost all power and sputtered and high pitch clicking sound started.It made it to the lot then I turned it off and heard a horrible gurgling noise...and sure enough,it wont start up.It is turning over but thats it.What have I done and what can I do? Why would GM not do a recall on a part they KNOW is supposed to be metal? I have a 99 with only 55,000 miles on it.I changed the oil when I was supposed to...I took care of it like I was supposed to.Should I even attempt to dump money into it not knowing if sumthing else is screwed up and just waiting to break down also.SHould I just sell it for parts and go about my never buying another GM product car shopping? Car trouble sucks....

this problem on a vehicle of this age is to be expected..coolant systems in warm climates are usually neglected...insuffient coolant ...this causes excessive corrosion..

anytime you continue to operate a vehicle that consumes coolant on a regular basis you are looking for an engine replacement...as the damage increases to total destruction..

GM and the other domestics are bankrupt,,,it will be interesting if they do compensate those many vehicle owners that got the screw job by GM...

remember you want to sue a company that is solvent..when GM declares bankruptcy this and other claims will be as dead as your vehicle..