Heya,

If any of you remember I'm the guy that destroyed his engine cradle
last time I was here. Now at this point its a milage problem. It seems
my transmission on my 3.8L 95' Buick Regal (Custom) is or has gone. It
all happened when I was driving my girl friend home last night

I was going down a main road and the speed limit is about 50. I was
getting on the accelerator to get it up to speed. It went through 1st
gear, then 2nd, then when it tried to go to third it fell out of gear
and the engine relined for a second until I realized what happened...

So I coasted to a red light then put in park then shifted it into
drive again. It made it up to about 30 and went on momentum up 40
while my car jumped to redline again. I pulled it into a gas station
and heard this clacking noise from inbetween the engine block and the
windsheild side of the engine bay. I learned that the more I
acclerated the fasted the clacking noise got until it just fell out of
gear. I drove it home and pulled it into my driveway tried to shift it
into reverse and reverse would not even grab so I just put it in
neutral and let it roll down.

That the end of my story I geuss. I just want a few suggestions on
what to do and if it even worth keeping. For anything I've taken
wonderful care of the engine and it has a good life ahead of it seeing
as I follow my oil changes and it is the 3800 after all.

Thanks a ton all,

Joe W.

<jrw1989 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

As to whether the car is worth keeping, that is totally up to you. If I were
you, I would price out getting the trans fixed, and go from there. I had a
transmission go in a '91 Bonneville. It had the 3.8L as well. I paid around
$500 (Canadian) for a used transmission, and installation. It was at a
trusted scrap yard. The transmission ran like a champ for the rest of the
time I owned the car. As for your Regal, like I said, it depends on what
it's going to cost, the condition of the rest of the car, and how much you
like it. Like you said, the 3800's are virtually bullet-proof, so it's up to
the rest of the car. If the KM's are low, and it's in good shape, it may be
worth repairing the transmission. That's a call only you can make.

Well the car is definetly worth keeping. I'm a Senior in high school
in my last semester so I'm working on some minor exterior things
(Spots of rust, Scratches). As for the interior its immaculate
surprisingly seeing as the previous owner was a smoker. Back seat is
still as comfotable as it was new. The main concerns as of right now
are One, Fixing the transmission (Obviously); Two, Getting the A/C
leak fixed; and Three, Finishing the exterior (Because I'm trading it
in for some spare cash for something worth sinking money into).

I appreciate your information quite a bit Knight but please, Keep the
advice coming! I was esstatic that I got a response in about 3 hours
and would give back to this community if I had a way how.

Thanks a ton,

Joe W.

<jrw1989 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

Depending on what is wrong with the A/C system, that can be very costly.
However, if it's just a line or something, that won't be as bad as the
compressor or some such.

The regular's on this board are more knowledgeable about cars then myself,
but I have learned quite a bit from both working on them (since childhood),
and being here. Not to mention uncles who are GM mechanics ;-) However, I
have had a couple of "should I spend the money to fix, or scrap it" cars in
my day, and to tell you the truth, your Regal sounds like a pretty good car.
As long as you are content with it, and know it's problems, I think it's
better to keep it then to go buy someone else's problems.

On Apr 1, 6:46 pm, "80 Knight" <nos... (AT) nospam (DOT) com> wrote:

Its just a leaky line. Were going to going to get some R134 with a
leak stopper in it tommmorow. I know it works because we charged it
before and the compressor kicked on just like that. Unfortunatly it
was all for not because it leaked out same day but god dammit we had
cold air! And as for the transmission me and my father figure it would
be a very cost effective move for us. The car has 170k on it and still
runs like a champ engine-wise. Never had a leak, misfire, stutter or
anything. Accelerates off the line like it does everytime the same
way. The trans unfortunatly wasn't built to be near as durable as the
3800 I geuss.

Keep the advice going everyone I like where this is going!

Joe W.

<jrw1989 (AT) gmail (DOT) com> wrote

I agree with 80Knight about the wrecking yard tranny. You can often find a
good one at
a wrecking yard at a price that is well below what you would pay for an
overhaul.

Lots of the 3800 engines lasted a long time. I am not as impressed with
some of GMs
trannies. If they last 100-150K miles, that is pretty normal for some of
them.

There is a certain amount of risk in buying a used tranny, but for the most
part, if you
go to a reputable yard, you can come out okay.

As far as AC, it is not unusual for GM cars to leak around the front seal of
the
compressor, at least on some of the models. This is a classic complaint
anyway.
And there are lots of other possibilities for leaks at connections, hoses,
evaporator,
etc....A few bucks spent having someone with good equipment find the leaks
can
be money well spent.