Skylark Engines

[Tom_SF]

My 1995 Skylark Gran Sport finally gave out. It had 156,000 miles on it and all of a sudden the engine decided to freeze-up when I tried to start it. I have no idea why. The engine ran great for months. No chirping, noise or hesitation.

The mechanic said that he worked with all of the Buick engines for these years (1992 to 1998) and said the 3.1 V6 and 3.4 V6 engines have a problem with water leaking into the engine somehow (I don't recall exactly how he phrased it) and eventually the engine will freeze-up. He said the best Buick engines are the 3800's. They're "bulletproof". Now I find out....

I had this car for 19 years and took care of it.

[Stealthee]

The 3.1 and 3.4 have intake issues, but the 3.8's do too. The 3.8's are not what I'd consider bulletproof, they have their weaknesses too.

[Blue Bowtie]

Agreed. The Chevy 60° V-6 engines commonly develop leaks at the intake-head flanges, and that can be repaired. This can happen with any engine, but they seem a bit more prone than the Buick 90° V-6.

No engine is "bullet-proof" but I would consider the Buick 231 to be "highly-bullet-resistant" compared to most engines produced through its nearly 50 year production history.

[Tom_SF]

Come to think of it, sometimes I would notice the transient smell of coolant but I never saw a leak, nor did I have any overheating. I had the manifold gasket replaced maybe 10 years ago. Do you suppose it could have happened again?