Hello All,

I'm new here and I'm looking for repair advice on a 1998 Park Avenue Ultra. It is a really sweet car, I inherited it when my stepfather passed away and I use it for commuting, I'm averaging about 25 mpg. It has 130k miles, but it feels new. I have only got a few hundred bucks in the car for a battery and tires and I don't mind spending some money fixing it up.

I've got one major and several minor problems with it.

The major problem is I believe a leaking rear main seal, I lose somtimes a quart a week out into kitty littler on my garage floor

How can I verify that the rear main seal is the problem? And how much should the repair cost?

My other problem is the up and down seat motors all went out, I managed to get the seats down by removing them. The dealers I've checked with want an insane amount of money for new replacements.

Can anybody steer me to a lower cost motor solution, maybe from other GM models that are the same? Or recommend alternative sources for the parts.

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give.

Regards

 

I had to remove my seats and clean the gears up.. not the motor.

Rear seal? Passenger or driver side? OR Perhaps you have a leak not a bad seal. I frequent automotiveforums.com and never heard of such a leak.. Its not impossible but perhaps you could also find help in automotiveforums.com.
I hear the transmission is removable but a job. The engine is really worth keeping... These buick 3800 cars are great, long running and dependable. Try to keep it. I love my 2 buicks.

Good luck.

 

Regarding the oil leak; I had a similar problem with my '97 Ultra. Are you also losing coolant and/or is there oil in your overflow bottle? If so, it might be a plastic elbow on the front of the engine. (Because the engine is transverse, this is on the pass side.) Don't know if there is an internal oil passage there or what, but it seemed to suck in oil under certain conditions. And it did also drip below. I might have had a bit of leakage from the valve covers, and it gets blown around, so its hard to tell exactly where it's coming from.


Suggest you check directly below the supercharger nose when the engine is runningand up to operating temperature. After I replaced that elbow and put some 'stop leak' (swells the seals) in the oil, the problem is gone.


I also have a problem with my driver seat in which the front will not go up. But I can hear the motor, so I assume something has come apart or is jammed. Obviously, if you get no sound anywhere, you would want to check that power is getting to the motor.


I, too, got those ridiculous estimates! If I can't fix it, I'll get parts from a junk yard, and I would recommend that to you. I'm fairly sure that many GM cars will have the same mechanism, and any differences should be obvious. Also, many yards now have access to data bases that tell what fits.


130k is nothing! A year ago, I sold my '92 Ultra which had double that, and I see it around town all the time!


Edited by: MrBSS

 

did u figure out where ur car is leaking?

 

Oh, hello bassassin and samueljackson. Thanks for getting back to me, I'm a programmer with lots of deadlines


Still haven't figured out the leak, we need to check samueljacksons suggestions. I'll corral my friendly shadetree mechanic this weekend to help me. He really thinks it it is the rear seal between the engine and tranny.


We barter services, tech for automotive, he's not up for pulling engines and such though. We can probably figure out if it is the hose problem.


The seatmotors have been a pain to find. I've emaileda half dozenonline salvage databases with no luck. The 'blue-green' plastic gears on my motors were all chewed up and cracked when we remove the passenger side.


I emailed some more online shops this weekend with no replies yet.


As for the mileage on these cars I agree, 130K on this car is nothing, I keep telling my friends it is like an old superfortress bomber. Long and stout, with amazing range [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]


Thanks for your replies and I'll let you know if I find any good sources of parts.

 

And hello/thanks to MrBSS too, I missed your handle there

 

You're welcome! I find that often you have to visit or at least phone the yards. Apparently they're too busy to reply to e-mails especially for cheap items.

 

OK, that makes sense, squeakiest wheel and all.


Thanks again,


Tom

 

I have a 2 or 3 yards I can pullfrom.They let anyone pullfor parts really cheap.. the seat thing is a bit unusual so you should find some good parts.


Helps when troubleshooting.. and I pick up some new parts sometimes like a new alternator or spareIgnition module I didnt need but was too cheap to pass up.. .. got a good armrest that the leather matched and was very nice and such.. cup holders,electric antenna.. .. etc.





Good luck.. thanks for the recognition.


Bass.. in Omaha





Edited by: bassasasin