Hi everyone, I'm new here and just purchased a 1978 buick Le Sabre Custom 4-door. It has a 350, but I have yet to determine whether it is a Chevy or Buick motor. i know it isn't an Olds motor. The block is blue, the oil fill is on the left valve cover, and the distributor is in the front if that helps. The original owners manual and a Buick collector book i have contradict whether or not it is a buick motor. It may not be the prettiest or most desirable car on the road, especially to people my age (25), but I had a slightly newer (83') one in high school and miss it a lot. That one had an Oldsmobile 307 motor. Gutless but indestructable. Refused to burn oil. I finally sold it with almost 350,000 miles for $400 a few years back and bought/financed a Chrysler LHS. Biggest mistake of my life. Anyway, the body on this buick is in remarkable shape, especially for a Southern Minnesota car. All 4 shocks are totally shot, but for $900 I'm not complaining. I got a quote today for about $230 to replace all four shocks. The floorpans/frame are very solid and still have some coating left on them. The transmission leaks like crazy (probably an input seal), and the engine leaks oil. I'm pretty sure it doesn't have blow-by, there's no purple smoke coming out the exhaust even if i hammer on it. It's running down the back of the motor and leaking/smoking. I know the valve covers leak, but i'm fearing heads and a rear main. the A/c blows cold. Except for some choke/carberator problems, the engine runs like a champ after warming up a few minutes. It's very smooth and still very snappy. The tranny shifts almost unnoticeable, when I test drove it I had to drop it into 2nd at 45 MPH to make sure it was actually shifting. The engine is so quiet I've rolled the window down a few times to make sure it was running. Somewhere it has a slow coolant leak. I can't find it on the water pump, it isn't the heater core either, and it leaves no coolant on the ground. There's no coolant in the oil, or vise-versa. It will pretty much drain the resevoir after a few days of driving. Can anyone tell me does this car have the turbo 350 or 200 tranny? Also what is the correct tire size for this car? The sticker on the door says HR78-15, whatever that translates to today? It has 225/75R15 tires on it now, The steer tires are pretty much shot, so I picked up a pair of 215/75r15's today cheap. I don't think they'll throw things off too much even if they are the wrong size. Just how reliable is the Buick 350? (I'm pretty sure that's what I have) Before you all throw wrenches at me, I'll always have a place in my heart for small block Oldsmobiles. Our Family had a Late 70's Delta 88 with a Rocket 350 when I was little and it was unstoppable. Does anybody have any maintenace hints for me? I'd appreciate any hints/help from experienced Buick owners...
Sounds like a neat car. Is the distributor in the front? If so, its a Buick engine!! Pictures?? o No:
sounds like a buick. If it has 6 bolts per valve cover, its a buick. Another way to tell is the WIDE ass intake on them. Dist. being up front again is a give away lol. You have a buick motor.
:shock: :shock: :shock: $230 FOR SHOCKS?"!!!!! Save your self some money, go to the parts store, tell them what you have and that you need 4 shocks. $230 for some1 to replace your shocks is a total raping. i paid $45 per shock for my car and got them all done in about an hour. Get your self a can of WD-40 and squirt them on the shock bolts and they will come off easier. MAN!! $230 bucks for a shock change! Whats that guy charging per hour? lol If the car isnt smoking.dont worry about the head gaskets, they sound fine. It would smoke like a steam train if they were bad. Youre rear main seal could be shot but do your self a favor. take a few bucks, go to the car wash and pressure wash the motor. wear dirty clothes and get dirty trying to get the motor clean. Try washing the back of the motor and under it and watch for fresh oil. Rear main seal isnt to hard to change out. Just time consuming. Or you could always try a bottle of engine stop leak. I had a small tranny leak, the output shaft seal was leaky. Put in a bottle of tranny stop leak and it worked great. It soften's the seals and lets them expand better.
To answer your transmission question, it probably has a TH-350, I don't know of too many cars that have the turbo 200 trans., I don't know wether it's because I don't do much research on transmissions, or if it's because I don't do enough research on the cars that have turbo 200 trannys, but I would be more than willing to bet it's got a turbo 350 in it. :TU:
About the mysterious disappearing coolant. I have a coolant leak at the thermostat housing... the coolant pools up just in front of it, and burns off when the engine is running. Only leaks after I shut it off and let it cool down, and is just enough that I have to add about a quarter of a gallon weekly. Can't smell it, no signs of it on the ground, and half the time I look there isn't any pooled by the thermostat... I really need to get in there and make a new gasket, I was just hoping to milk it until I can get a stock intake back on the car. Sounds like a cool car :TU:
Landyachts OK, have had MANY 77-79 Buicks, parents bought a 78 LeSabre new and I still have it, just started driving it again recently [ parents had it in a spare garage, sat for 13 years unused after motor swap and paintjob ]. OURS came through with a PONTIAC 301 V8 ...and NO options. I have seen many with 350 Buick engines and a few with Olds V8s ( 350-403 ). Transmissions, a quick way to tell is look at the TAILSTOCK of the trans, if it is a ONE PIECE body ( IE: the tailstock does not come off, is not a seperate assembly ] than its a 200 , if it is REMOVABLE [ held on with 4 bolts ] then its a TH 350. Both have shift cables . :Smarty: My LeSabre has 215's on it, small bolt GM wheels. My 78 now sports a 76 Pontiac 350 with a 2 barrel out of a LeMans, I converted all the smog and vacuum stuff over with the engine, still has NO options yet the thing pulls better mileage than any one of my 3 GM pickups. I had a 78 Electra Limited that was a 350 Buick , I put a buit 69 350 Buick in it, car was full load, LOVED that car !!!! It finally rotted out so I had to park it, a buddy is about to demo derby it this summer {after we pull the Buick drivetrain and stuff a junk 305 Chevy /TH200 combo in it} Those cars ride/handle great, man $230 for shocks....OUCH ! Sounds like rape to me too ! Time to learn to Do It Yourself ! :Smarty: The Electra ran 225's and had BIG BOLT GM Wheels. My Lesabre is a plain jane, have seen some LeSabre CUSTOMS with bigger tires, and have been told of some with BIG BOLT GM rims, so make sure you know which you have. PM me if you need any info, dad bought the 78 Factory chasis service manual, I still have/use it [ used it this weekend to find a short in my blinkers]. Best of luck, enjoy your tank ! :TU:
Buick 350/Catalytic Converter Thanks for you help everyone. Well Define what you mean by "smoking like a steam engine." There is visible smoke sometimes when i stop at a traffic light but usually you have to look hard to see it. There's no trail following me down the road or anything. I think I may have a Catalytic Converter problem too, the thing gets very hot, hotter than it should be anyway. I know usually this is caused by bad timing / incorrect choke, fuel/oil in the exhaust, etc. I'm wondering will this car run without the converter, or i should say run without damaging the motor? It doesn't have a computer that I know of. I think it would sound great with straight pipes or flowmasters.
I had a 1980 LeSabre and it did not have a computer. I'm 99% sure yours doesn't either. It should run fine w/o the converter. I wish mine had come with a 350. It was the 231 V-6 two bbl. What a dog in a big car.
I had one of these and I fixed it up and drag raced it. The best time I ran was a 14.6 quarter mile 95.something MPH. Weighed in at 4000 lbs and had to run slicks. I had alot of fun with this car. I ran 235/75/15's for street tires and it only rubbed when you cranked the steering all the way to the left or right. Never ruined the tires and the ride was nice. It rubbed on the frame just a tad on the inside of the tire. Very light rub didn't ruin the tire or nothing. Just a very light scuff is all.
Catalytic converter/Oil Leak uzzled: Well i figured out what my Oil Leak problem is, a rear main definately and either a front cover or manifold gasket in front, I'm knocking on wood that nothing is cracked, also valve covers but this I knew already. What's this about the car having a "rope seal" for a rear main? I never heard of such a thing. A mech looked at it today and told me they are a pain in the ass to get out and they can break of inside the motor, and if you break pieces out you have to pull the motor to get at them. This sound right to anyone? Also the car is getting terrible gas mileage, I managed to burn up a tank in the past three weeks and only averaged 13MPG mixing city and highway. The choke is out of whack when the engine is cold, but other than that it runs smooth. I put new plugs in it a week ago, and the wires are good. the plugs were worn but nothing odd looking. Could my Catalytic Converter be causing this? I want to make sure before cutting the converter off that I won't wreck the motor. I've heard that cutting the coverter off a car can screw up the exhaust valves, not enough back pressure or something...
My understanding is that even without the CC you'll have enough backpressure. Just a stock exhaust system on the 69's is fine. So, I'd say yours will be fine as well.
I wouldn't think to little back pressure would be a problem. Most cars in the 70's and 80 were so choked off you'd be surprised how much you can gain with a more open exhaust.
accesory reserve? :3gears: Thanks for all your help people. I have a few more questions. Did Buick offer an accessory reserve power option in the late 70's, you know that let you operate the radio, power windows, etc after the engine was shut off? I can see an Electra or Riviera maybe having this, but not a bare bones Le Sabre. My car has manual windows (Thank God!) and manual door locks. After shutting the car off, the Radio and wipers will stay running. But say the car hasn't been runing for hours, the radio and wipers won't turn on without the ignition turned on. I thought I had a short at first, but this happens all the time. Also, does anyone know where i can get the little clips that hold plug wires together, the ones that route them correctly an slide onto the valve cover studs? My plug wires are just sort of lying there right on the valve covers/block and the engine starts to miss once it gets hot.
I think your going to be sh*t outta luck on the ratio , unless theres a tag on it I doubt there will be a way of telling the ratio short of pulling the cover, counting teeth and doing the math. ou: DITCH the catalytic converter man , will NOT damage an engine to run without it, really ! I KNOW this as fact ! Trust us ! You want that thing to BREATH as much as possible. Rear main leaks ARE a pain in the ass, last few I dealt with I pulled the engines out and flipped them over to work on em, I hate major oil leaks, they piss me off, so I go overboard to stop them. Not sure where you can get those factory plug clips, if I knew I would be buying them for many of my rides as well. Mines comming along, just scored a nice straight rear bumper for mine, took rear lights and rear panel off and wire brushed and rustoleumed EVERYTHING underneath from the rear end back, detailing my tailights and buffing paint right now. :TU:
Rear axle ratio? OK...first establish if its a Posi or open differential. Jack it up by the center "pumpkin" and put it in neutral. Block the front wheels so you don't drift. Spin a rear wheel and see if the other spins the same direction. Same direction is a Posi, opposite turning is an open. Posi test. Spin the wheel One revolution and counts driveshaft revolutions. Open test. Jack the axle up on one side so the opposite wheel is firmly planted on the ground. Spin the wheel Twice and count driveshaft revolutions. Say the driveshafts spins a hair more than three times. Its likely a 3.08. Say it goes like two and three quarter times. Its likely a 2.78. These are examples. You get the idea. Good Luck!!
