3.8L and 3.8L SC recall

[pgackerman]

For all you folks with a 3800/3800 SC/ or 3800 wanna-be: http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/gm-recalling-14m-cars-oil-leaks-can-cause-engine-fires/ar-BBmtx4z?li=BBgzzfc

Oh, and have a nice day.

[Fierofool]

When my wife had her 2000 Grand Prix, we got notice of a recall for the same reason. Valve cover leaks would allow oil to run down on the exhaust manifold, possible causing a fire. Their solution was to remove the plastic raceway that held the spark plug wires just above the exhaust manifold. It took about 5 minutes to do this. Their claim was that if the oil ignited on the manifold, it would then ignite the plastic raceway and spread to the rest of the engine and vehicle. By removing the raceway, the danger of spread was eliminated. GM AND NTSB were responsible for this weak and lame repair. The required fix should have been to fix the cause of the leak--that being the valve cover gaskets and seals.

[Raydar]

... The required fix should have been to fix the cause of the leak--that being the valve cover gaskets and seals.

Well, of course.
GM has never, yet, missed an opportunity to "cheap out", instead of doing the right thing. And it keeps biting them squarely on the posterior.
As much of a GM fan as I am, I have stopped feeling bad that it's costing them out the wazoo. It needs to. Maybe if they had to pay some fines on top of all this, they'd do it right the first time.

Rant mode on...
GM doesn't care about their customers. It's all about the mighty dollar.
A most glaring example of this is the LY7 3.6 DOHC V6 engine that came in the Cadillac CTS, Buick Rendezvous, GMC Acadia, Chevy Traverse and Malibu, Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura.
There is a known issue with the timing chains in many of these engines. There is an extended warranty repair offered for Buick, Chevy, GMC and Cadillac owners. Pontiac and Saturn owners were left to twist in the wind. So much for loyalty.
So yeah. I have no effing sympathy. (This does not even affect me. I do not have a 3.6. But still...)
/End rant.

[Fierofool]

This repair did save them money.  Lots of those cars are now off the road.  Worn out, wrecked or engines swapped into other vehicles.  So there are less cars to recall.  If an engine from one Grand Prix was swapped into another Grand Prix or GM vehicle on the recall list, would they be covered?  I don't believe they'd cover it if the engine were in a Fiero, though. 

This won't seriously affect GM's bottom line.  They are already considering charging it to the stockholder's dividends.  When Paul posted, I was already posting on PFF and doing a search to find out what engines and ran across that bit of info in one of the recall sites. 

[Raydar]

I suspect if the engine was swapped into another car that came with a 3800, the recall would still be performed. (They probably go by VIN.)

A Fiero? Naaah. But anyone who is going to go to the trouble of swapping a 3800 into a Fiero is probably going to replace gaskets, anyway. At least the valve cover gaskets.

[Roger]

Great/Giant Mess

General Malfunction


I'd walk to Detroit if I had a chance of tanning the hide of the jerk at GM who dumped Pontiac.

I need to get off of my milk crate now.