afb3@hou2d.UUCP (A.BALDWIN) (12/22/84)
[....Bugs....what at they....aaaarrrrrggggggghhhhhh......] This is perhaps an old subject. I am the proud (?) owner of a 1980 Buick LeSabre wagon with a 5.7 L Diesel engine. While the diesel on the whole has been reasonably reliable, I have always had trouble getting it serviced. (I'm from Burlington, Vermont until April of '84, now of Englishtown, N.J.). In the beginning, it gave me considerable trouble, none the least of which was the factory "support" people. As a result I spent over 30 days the first year without my car. Since then it has performed reasonably and been exceptionally good at starting in cold weather (infact better than my Honda Accord). In the summer of 1983 I developed an oil leak which turned out to be a spun rear main seal (not bearing). This little item ended up costing me nearly $300 by the time I was finished. As I had a limited choice of dealers with Diesel experience, I took it to a local Olds dealer (with the most Diesel experience). Main reason for this choice was the difficulties with my original dealer. I was informed that GM had "extended the warrentee" to 5 years or 50,000 miles on the Diesel engine only in the 1980 and before cars (infact the Olds dealer tried to get me to go back to the Buick dealer for this reason). Now comes the first question. Does any one know if this is the case (with perhaps a reference to a factory service bullettin) or not. Now the problem. My interest in this issue stems from the problems that are developing in my Diesel. First the backround. My diesel has approx. 44,000 miles on it and has had the oil changed on a regular basis (ie more often than the 3000 mile recommendation). On average it has gone around 2000 miles between changes (sometimes more or less depending on my ability to get to the job and/or the severity of the driving conditions). I've used straight 30 wt oil whenever practical (ie. when temp. would not dip below freezing for any period of time) and 10W-30 both with SE-SF-CC rating (as called for). The car has always been kept in a garage (unheated). Since about 39000 miles my Diesel has developed several problems. The first is a tendency to burn large amounts of crankcase oil. As much as 1qt per 400-700 miles. This, however, is not always constant. There have been occasions where is has gone almost 1000 miles while burning none. There appears to be signs of considerable blow by. I.E. smoke out the breather, excessive smoke in the air intake system from the crankcase ventalation system, lots of condensed oil in the air intake, signs of oil driping out of the crankcase breather tubes where they meet the valve covers. Excessive roughness and smoke at idle, particularly AFTER a long run (50-100 mile) at highway speeds. Finally, there is a tendency to have excessive noise (like valve noise, could even be that) after several days of driving to the supermarket without highway driving to really heat the thing up (a run on the highway eventually gets rid of this, or changing the oil will right away). Excessive smell of raw diesel fuel particularly after a highway run. I frankly fear the worst, that the engine is going. Also I find that the car is worthless in trade (although comparible gas car is in the $5500-6500 range). The car is in great shape and I really can't afford to trash it. Quite frankly, in ever other respect it's a great car. My second question is.... Has any one out there had the misfortune to have these kinds of experiences. And can any one offer me any advise on getting it fixed up (and possible where for those in the Momoth county NJ area). For the latter I've considered several options. 1) GM is Mr. Nice guy and fixes it on the "extended" warrentee (experience dictates that his is unlikely). 2) GM tells me there's nothing wrong and its "normal" (Experience also dictates that this is likely, in which case ---PANIC). 3) I'm told the engine has to be rebuilt or replaced. Any experience anyone has had (and is willing to share) I would appreiciate. With regards to (3). Has any one tried replacing the 1980 Diesel with an '83 or later. Can I use the same accessories (ie injector pump, etc.)? I'm desparate!!!! Please respond by E-mail. If there is sufficient interest, I'll summarize on the net. Thanks in advance for any help and advice!!! Al Baldwin AT&T-Bell Labs ...!ihnp4!hou2d!afb3 [...These opinions are my own -- Who else would want them!!!]
jlw@ariel.UUCP (J.WOOD) (12/23/84)
This may sound like a joke (!:-)), but I would recommend that you call Olympic Limousine Service used in our area by the Labs. They use GM Diesels almost exclusively. Ask for their service manager; if he doesn't know about the foibles of these beasts, no one does. Joseph L. Wood, III AT&T Information Systems Laboratories, Holmdel (201) 834-3759 ariel!jlw