1997 Pontiac Bonneville: engine failure

Filed Apr 28, 2005 · Engine · 82,000 miles · PA

The intake manifold gasket on my 1997 pontiac bonneville 3800 series engine failed causing coolant to gain access to internal engine parts. This caused the engine to seize and become totally inoperable requiring the engine to be replaced at a cost of $2200.00. This failure also happend in a pontiac grand prix, that I also owned, with the same series of engine. The cost of the repair to the grand prix was approx. $650.00. The engine in the grand prix did not have to be replaced. Looking at and reading the various gm message boards on the internet, this problem seems to be fairly prevalent with the 3800 series of engine. Gm continues to ignore this with no regard to the consumer.

Filed Feb 8, 2005 · Engine · 109,800 miles · CA

The plastic intake manifold on my 1997 bonneville warped causing coolant to leak into the engine which then seized the engine. Replaced intake manifold and rebuilt both engine heads. Total cost was $1,525. My mechanic told me this is a common problem on the gm 3800 series engines because the upper intake manifold is plastic. About 2 weeks later, a rod bearing failed. I was told it failed prematurely because coolant had entered the engine. I do not have a repair estimate yet. I believe all of these problems are related to the defective upper intake manifold.

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Engine · IN

I paid the stated amount to replace a component referred to me as a "plennum". The symptom my car was having was, it was overheating. It is made of plastic and is mounted on the top of the 3800 engine. Little did I know, that the damage had already been done. The failed part had leaked coolant into the engine. A week and a half after having the plennum replaced, my car broke down. I have been advised that the leaking coolant into the engine from the plennum had caused premature failure of a "rod bearing" in the engine. The coolant I'm told ate away the bearing lubricant. I am told my only option at this point is an engine replacement. I am not a car mechanic by any means and suspected nothing, and was told nothing. I understand and accept the fact that man made products wear out and need replacing. This to me seems to be a poor engineering flaw that costs a lot of money to fix. I did not include the $2000.00 engine replacement in my total repair cost above. The plastic plennum part, by the way, was replaced with another plastic part. I told the driver that was returning me home while the plennum was being replaced, that I was intending to trade my bonneville in on a montana minivan this summer. His reply to me was that they are experiencing the same problem with the montana, as well as other vehicles with the 3800 engine. It sems clear to me that there is obviously a problem here that needs to be recalled.

Filed Dec 14, 2001 · Electrical · PA

While my wife was driving home with our children the vehicle suddenly shut off. My wife was able to safely pull off the highway and contacted me. When I arrived I found the positive battery terminal fell off the delco battery, causing acid to leak into the battery tray and front frame section. I replaced battery and had to repair the cable end because the end was seized.

Filed Sep 11, 2001 · Engine, Fuel system · LA

Engine failed due to hole in egr/ inlet in intake manifold which caused engine coolant to enter fuel intake system