I have just purchased a 1998 Park Ave Ultra which has 63,000 miles.It runs great except at idle in gear, the valves (?) make a little noise. If you increase the rpm from around 800 (about where it idles in gear) to 900 or 1000 it goes away. Oil? I have about 2,000 miles on car since last oil change (dealer change before I purchased it)and before I change it, I thought I'd check to see if anyone knows of best to use (brand, viscosity etc.) Thanks in advance. GTRick

 

I always use Castrol oil 5w30 for my buick. Their new oil for High Mileage car is also really good.

 

Could you better describe the noise?


If its a clicking sound, it might be that the valve lifters are sticking a bit. Maybe it hasn't been driven or serviced regularly. There is also a slight "whirrr.." from the supercharger.


Buick recommends 10W30 for most conditions and only allows 5W30 if ambient temperatures will not exceed 60 degrees. While the use of 5W30 would probably not do significant damage, I don't think its your best choice during this time of the year.


Any oil meeting the current SM standard is very good. If cost is a factor, you can pretty much buy on price. If you feel better buying something special for your baby, I would recommend the new Mobil 7500 Synthetic Blend, which is, I think, a bit over $2/qt. at Walmart. Full Synthetics are usually at least twice that, and frankly, will not provide a noticeableimprovement except maybe in very extreme circumstances over very long periods.


Good luck, Brian ('97 Ultra)Edited by: MrBSS

 

Thanks for the response. I was wrong with the sound. It turns out to be the coupler for the supercharger.


BTW I ended up using Mobil 110W30. I was lookinginto Amsol but could not part with that much money per quart.


I am going to rebuild the supercharger when I have the snout off and replace the original pulley with a 3.4".Since this is the first supercharged engine I have owned, I am a bit skeptical about the extraperformance as well as MPG when driven civil.

 

For what it's worth, I rebuilt the supercharger on my older Ultra ('92). Maybe it's different now, but at that time Buick would not supply rebuild parts ("serviced as a unit").


I got the parts through a Diesel service company from Eaton, who, as you probably know, makes that supercharger.


I would be reluctant to change the pulley size without talking to somebody who has done that. I think the boost is limited elsewhere. The supercharger really doesn't affect MPG if you drive conservatively.


Personally, I'd like to get some intercooling on mine, probably through use of water/alcohol injection. Summit has this in their catalog, and I'd like to find out if it is applicable for my '97.Edited by: MrBSS

 

I checked with several aftermarket modular and press on pulley
suppliers and they all agree that by just changing the puley to no
smaller than 3.4 that no intercooling, exhaust or other changes were
necessary other than the new sized belt. I was very
skeptical about their claims as well so I asked a good friend who is a
mechanic. He said that all he had ever done concerning
problems with the supercharger is to replace either the snout or the
supercharger itself as that is the only to offer any type of
warranty. There are rebuild directions which can be found
and with a pulley puller the only specialized tool, rebuilds should be
possible as long as the directions are followed exactly.



I was able to find rebuild parts for both the snout and supercharger which includes bearings, seals gaskets oil and coupler.

 

Good to know. I guess by now, with the number of supercharged 3800's out there, suppliers have responded.


Let us know how the rebuild goes.

 

The lifters click when they cant completely fill.. ..But in all proubbabilitymaybe you just cant hear it at higher RPMs. Anyway.. could be varnish buildup. For that you might try a cleaner flush (Marvels Mystery Oil) for the recommended time or milleage. If that doesnt work.Low rpm and they click. hmmm sounds like oil pressure ... not good there, maybe a clog or a bad lifter..


Unfortunately.The other end is that the sound isn't lifters..


Bad JuJu .. Mmmm bad JuJu.

 

As far as the Oil is concerned.. get the noise solved first with a cheaper oil if your hellbent on putting high dollar oil into it. Im not much on Synthetics in older engines, wear is done by now. Maybe from the start.

 

Thanks for your response. I determined shortly after the problem surfaced that it was the coupler for the suprercharger. It made a sound I was not familiar with. I have not replaced that yet as I am comtemplating a smaller pulley on the supercharger. Several people I have spoke to claim if you drive normally, you gas mileage as well as power will increase with possibly having to get right temp plugs and maybe a 180 thermostat. Any feedback? As for the oil, I have decided to go back to pennzoil or quaker state 10w-30w.