Thread: wont turn over after LIM gasket change

alrighty i have a friends 97 grand prix 3.8nsc i did LIMS and UIMs and i changed the throttle pos sensor and checked to see if i got coolant in the oil which i didnt so i started it and it ran good i reved it a few times not very high and it started missing and bucking really hard and ton of white smoke and then stoped and wouldnt start or crank over what happend here

i am a mitsubishi guy lol

So did you change the oil after you changed the LIM?

Because it sounds like it hyrdolocked.

ok guys now heres the stumper i JUST pulled the TB off and i think the coolant got sucked in from there cuz the whole UIM is full of coolant and the back side of the TB is coverd i used the gasket that came with the felpro kit what happend here

did you re-use the UIM?

if so, that was your problem.

it probably warped and was leaking coolant.

i used all brand new gaskets what i think happend was the LIM failed and it went into the exhaust then the egr put it back in the intake

what else can you guys suggest ?

the UIM is warped and leaked coolant...

Did you put RTV in the four corners of the LIM ?

If you don't do that the LIM gasket could have moved.

But it couldnt have failed... it takes tens of thousands of miles for the LIM gasket to fail....

yeah i put silicone in all four corners i dont think the LIM didnt sit right when i torqued it cuz it sucked the rad dry

sucked the rad dry?

Yeah you did something wrong...

So now you get to pull it all apart, pull the spark plugs and turn it over till the coolant comes out.

Then find out what went wrong and try again.

goodluck.

nope i didnt do any thing wrong i found out what it was

on the plenum where the two o ring type things in the gasket on one of them on the plastic plenum it self the hole is all ****ed up so i dont know what material it is its like a cork or something weird i guess so idk if you can replace that or not whats up with it

i pulled it all apart took the plugs out and turned it over till all the coolant came out and the plugs have never been changed idk how this motor was still running all of the wires pulled out of the boots and the boots stuck to the plugs so now it gets new gaskets again plugs and wires and two new oil changes hahhah glad iam not paying for it

I just hope you didn't bend/break anything when it locked. That or wash out the bearings. You'll know for sure once you fire it back up. If it makes an awful knock then theres your answer, and that would be a used 3800 motor as a replacemet. Then you get to do the whole LIM install again, lol...

If you are doing the LIM gaskets again be sure to pour some oil through the lifter valley to wash any remaining coolant out of it. Then drain all that oil out before refilling and firing up the motor. I would run the motor to temp assuming there is no leaks, then change the oil AGAIN.

Good luck.

Couldnt agree more with fordman. My 98 bonneville had a bad UIM and slowly leaked coolant into the oil until i noticed it was running really hot. It eventually got so bad I replaced the UIM gaskets and LIM gaskets thinking that would fix it. So I ran oil through it and drained it. When I fired it up it was making an awful knocking noise and eventually started running like **** again until it died. I tried and tried to start it until it hydrolocked and I broke the starter in doing so. Took it to a shop and they found that the UIM had a hole in it where coolant goes through and was draining into my engine. They drained oil, put a new UIM, and fixed the starter. 800 dollars later I was back on the road for about 3-4 weeks until I started hearing a knocking noise coming from the engine. I couldn't find the noise and all of a sudden the card died on the highway and wouldn't turn over any more. Found out from my mechanic that the rear main bearing was shot (probably from driving with coolant in the oil and not knowing it). So the car was junk. Anyone that has a 3.8 needs to be aware of this problem and keep a close eye on your coolant level. If your losing coolant at all, check the gaskets and the UIM if not, you'll burn out your rear main bearing making your engine a giant paper weight. Hope this helps !

ok i still cant find out what the ef i did i bought new LIMs and changed them put silicone around all four coolant passages and on the UIM put silicone around the two coolant holes and it sucked the rad dry again either the UIM was junk and just wouldnt seal or i efed up bad i pulled the LIM again and when i took the bolts loose it didnt move until i pryed it up so i dont think that it was the LIM leaking i hope that wasnt what it was can any one give me some advice about putting this turd back to gather and also i got a new UIM at oreillys for 130 bucks with new gasket iama just reuse the lowers being there brand new

You're not supposed to put silicone anywhere but in the four corners where the plastic end pieces meet the LIM gaskets.

dude u have hella patients i would of said ef this especially if its not my car lol