`97 engine squealing problem

[randy78]

hi all,
we are really stumped on this `97 3800 buick we are working on

we swapped the dead original 3800 engine out for a real low miles junkyard 3800 and its been bad luck ever since, we have had great luck with all the past 3800 engine replacements until this one now..


what it will do is it will have 40 psi oil pressure when cold
runs great
but when it gets all warmed up the front of the engine will start to make wierd squealing noises
if you rev it up it will go away for a second then return by the time the engine returns to idle speed again
we removed the belt and ran it and it still does it
its something in the front of the engine
we cannot figure it out
and being that the oil pressure sits under 40psi when warm and doesnt seem right i suspect possible oil pressure/filter problem ?
it seems ot be starting to develop some bottom end ticking also, and a little bit of a knock almost when you are listening under the hood and rev the throttle by hand

is there any kind of issue with the oil pumps on the later `90's 3800 engines i need to know about

anyone have any ideas on this one ?

we appreciate anything at all !

we dont know what to do now short of pulling oil pan and/or pump cover and replace the pump and inspect the pan

[Loekee75]

Originally Posted by fastr68

hi all,
we are really stumped on this `97 3800 buick we are working on

we swapped the dead original 3800 engine out for a real low miles junkyard 3800 and its been bad luck ever since, we have had great luck with all the past 3800 engine replacements until this one now..


what it will do is it will have 40 psi oil pressure when cold
runs great
but when it gets all warmed up the front of the engine will start to make wierd squealing noises
if you rev it up it will go away for a second then return by the time the engine returns to idle speed again
we removed the belt and ran it and it still does it
its something in the front of the engine
we cannot figure it out
and being that the oil pressure sits under 40psi when warm and doesnt seem right i suspect possible oil pressure/filter problem ?
it seems ot be starting to develop some bottom end ticking also, and a little bit of a knock almost when you are listening under the hood and rev the throttle by hand

is there any kind of issue with the oil pumps on the later `90's 3800 engines i need to know about

anyone have any ideas on this one ?

we appreciate anything at all !

we dont know what to do now short of pulling oil pan and/or pump cover and replace the pump and inspect the pan

When you mention the squealing noise that stops after high RPMs, I was thinking perhaps a bad bearing. I had a Dodge that squealed as described by you, and it turned out to be a worn bearing in the alternator. I ran the car at idle and dribbled small amounts of oil behind every pully until the noise stopped. Maybe that would help you pin point the problem?

[Alibi]

Other than the oil pressure issue, it sounds like your harmonic balancer is bad. Do a search in the forum and you should come up with several results for it.

Basically, the rubber gaskets are disentegrating between the sections of the balancer making it squeal when there isn't a load on it (belt tension from engine revving).

I dont know if this would do anything to your oil pressure though...but it may be worth looking into.