Posted by Samurai its not a valve tick... it's just the way these 60-degree V6's sound. My 3100 sounds like all tickety tickety all the time. you get used to it.

Well I feel a little better then lol. It runs pretty good honestly, just has that damned tick. I figure for $800, I could part it out and scrap the rest and still come out ahead if it blew. But as nice as it is, hell I may be tempted to throw a motor in it. And here with no emissions to worry about, I could swap in a V8 carbed or injected, and enjoy

Posted by jeepdave Well I feel a little better then lol. It runs pretty good honestly, just has that damned tick. I figure for $800, I could part it out and scrap the rest and still come out ahead if it blew. But as nice as it is, hell I may be tempted to throw a motor in it. And here with no emissions to worry about, I could swap in a V8 carbed or injected, and enjoy

are you sure it's not the power steering pump ticking? I had a RWD Buick do that.
it's a convertible... the F-body is flexy enough. Why not compromise? A 90-degree 3800 V6 with a blower hooked to a manual transmission?

Posted by Samurai are you sure it's not the power steering pump ticking? I had a RWD Buick do that. it's a convertible... the F-body is flexy enough. Why not compromise? A 90-degree 3800 V6 with a blower hooked to a manual transmission?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I like your way of thinking. And power steering pump on em tick? That would be nice actually. Easy to fix that. Damn GM and shovin the engine halfway under the cowl and evil plans and such..................bastards.

Posted by jeepdave Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I like your way of thinking. And power steering pump on em tick? That would be nice actually. Easy to fix that. Damn GM and shovin the engine halfway under the cowl and evil plans and such..................bastards.

keep in mind, when these cars were designed, everyone was fawning over the whole cab-forward nonsense. Also, to get that fast raking windshield, it had to start right there. The car was actually not a bad car, especially for the money, but it was just the wrong car at the wrong time. Everyone wanted SUV's and pickups... ponycars were just not selling. But of course, GM in their INFINITE STUPIDITY shitcanned the F-body and basically gave another market to Ford (as if surrendering the full-size sedan market wasn't a HUGE ENOUGH BLUNDER!!!)

Agreed on all points Sam. One thing that bugs me about that generation (the one I now own lol) was that the car FELT huge. I felt more like a big 2 door Caddy than a sports or pony car. They can be fun, but honestly the 3rd gen was more fun. Just not the power that 4th had. Its like the Mustang, I feel like the fun light pony car ended in 93. Maybe I'm just old.

Posted by jeepdave Agreed on all points Sam. One thing that bugs me about that generation (the one I now own lol) was that the car FELT huge. I felt more like a big 2 door Caddy than a sports or pony car. They can be fun, but honestly the 3rd gen was more fun. Just not the power that 4th had. Its like the Mustang, I feel like the fun light pony car ended in 93. Maybe I'm just old.

it IS a big car.

Ok, update the ticking ended up being a lifter/pushrod/cam lobe issue so I swapped the Firebird for a clean 2wd (yes, 2wd) 92 Cherokee. Needs a rear main seal ( "easy" fix ) but otherwise, clean, decent body with good paint, zero rust, cold air, hot heat, and a dirty but good interior. Will be doing a 4wd swap by spring (really simple and cheap on these) and giving it to my wife till her truck is fixed. Got all the original paperwork from when new. Pics comming as soon as I get internet at my new home.

Posted by jeepdave Needs a rear main seal

The first rear main seal I ever did as a mechanic was on a 2WD Commanche

Posted by bandi The first rear main seal I ever did as a mechanic was on a 2WD Commanche

4.0? Those are the 2 piece, don't have to pull anything but the pan. Sooooo sweet. It's like Jeep KNEW they would fail

You got it!

That truck was the shop truck where I used to work. I can't believe the abuse that poor thing took... for the last 50,000 miles it had the worst rod knock I've ever heard, but I don't think that rod ever did see daylight.

The other apprentice tried backing it out of the shop with the driver's door open, too. The back of the door damn near touched the front bumper.

My friend Nick when he was helping me do my rear main seal, he didn't believe me at first when I told him we just drop the oil pan. He's so used to his F350 where everything requires 3 hours and you remove axles to do anything

Posted by Agent Skelly My friend Nick when he was helping me do my rear main seal, he didn't believe me at first when I told him we just drop the oil pan. He's so used to his F350 where everything requires 3 hours and you remove axles to do anything

i had the transmission out of my Pinto in 10 minutes. had the clutch/pressure plate off in 5 minutes. Had the rear main seal out in 3 minutes. Even changed the pilot bearing while I was in there. I miss my Pinto.

If i remember right, my father and I had the engine out of it once in 15 minutes.

I do love simple cars. XJs are just cake to fix, unless you're cleaning up after someone's old mess.

Sam, for a while, I was that quick with my old Honda Accords. I got a lot of practice by not being able to afford to fix something right the first time. Great experience, and my kids will have to go through the same thing for their first cars.

Ok. Changed the valve cover gasket. Rear main ISN'T leaking as much as I thought. The puddle maker is the oil filter adapter. I shall fix that today. So far enjoying it. 2wd is kinda icky but just gonna wait for a sweet deal on a 4wd with a blown engine/totaled body. Pics will come when I get net at the home.

i looked at a 2000 Buick Regal GSE sedan yesterday... 164,000 miles, $1900. Why this gramma sedan caught my eye was the fact that is was a GSE. What's a GSE and why would I care? The Regal GSE was the loaded Regal with the 3800 Supercharge V6 in it. That car would hustle! Also, that engine could be readily stuffed into my Beretta.

the people were kind of odd and $1900 for a car with 164,000 miles seemed a little much... maybe.

DO IT!

Fixed the oil leak. Not a drop so far. $1.49 to stop a 2 quart a day habit. Stoked.

Posted by Samurai i looked at a 2000 Buick Regal GSE sedan yesterday... 164,000 miles, $1900. Why this gramma sedan caught my eye was the fact that is was a GSE. What's a GSE and why would I care? The Regal GSE was the loaded Regal with the 3800 Supercharge V6 in it. That car would hustle! Also, that engine could be readily stuffed into my Beretta. the people were kind of odd and $1900 for a car with 164,000 miles seemed a little much... maybe.

after my lesabre, I want another 3800. And I also want an HF. (40+mpg FTW!)

Posted by jeepdave Fixed the oil leak. Not a drop so far. $1.49 to stop a 2 quart a day habit. Stoked.

2 quart a day... fuck.

Posted by Louie after my lesabre, I want another 3800. And I also want an HF. (40+mpg FTW!)

The car is still there... Clean title and all. It's their sons' car. He took his pickup to school with him and they don't need the Buick. It's not in bad shape at all... and the thing has every damn bell and whistle Buick could stuff into it. From what I could see, all the shit worked.
(it was displaying an ABS warning light, but that is a symptom of where we live rather than something seriously wrong...)