1996 LeSabre Questions

[octane23]

hey all, i apologize if i am interupting anyone, i am brand new to this site......well i hope someone can help me out........i have a 1996 buick lesabre 3800 series "k" i just bought it with 79,000 on it from an old woman and it belonged to his husband who past on.....it had sat for a year......k starts right up, runs n drives exc, and i feel a very very slight miss......i know these are common for plenums leaking but i dont know if the lower are too..........as i do see moisture that looks like seepage of dex where the plenum meets the lim.........no check engine light is on, no overheating, my freind who has been a mechanic for 22yrs tells me do a new plenum and gasket as they warp.......leave the lower alone.....i dont want to look like an idiot and do it twice, but i also know he is the best i know......should i trust his experience?........as he never usually throws it out there if hes not sure!

[octane23]

i also wanted to add theres some milky residue in the oil, the coolant is where it needs to be, so i know its very slight leak.........

[auto trainy]

If you trust your friend use his advise but if it were me I would pressure test the system also just to be sure,as far as the oil I would not run it untill you change it and the filter and ask your friend if its Dex in your engine and not regular antifreeze because there was an issue with Dexcool causing gasket failure, good luck and many good miles.

[Blue Bowtie]

Personally, I'd do both at once and have it solved forever. With only 79K on the clock, you could be driving this car for a long, long time. The material cost difference is pretty insignificant. The extra time to do it all could be well worth the investment over the next 10 years.

And I'll second what Mr. Hydromatic advises - Change the oil and filter post haste. Coolant can wreak havoc and doom on bearing shells.