Mike Musto gave a big nod last week to the supercharged Buick 3800 V6 engine, that old GM iron horse. Should cars with this motor be on your radar?

By Bill Hayward

1995 Buick Riviera 3800 V6 supercharged egine
Series 1 Buick supercharged 3800 V6 engine. Photo by Bill Hayward.

Mike Musto of The House of Muscle was Matt Farah’s guest last week on an episode of The Smoking Tire podcast that dropped on December 20. Toward the end of the show, Musto gave largely well-deserved props to a powerplant that seldom gets name-dropped anymore in the automotive media: the supercharged Buick 3800 V6 engine, which GM manufactured in some form between 1962 and 2008.

I was glad to hear the 3800 get its props on the show, because it happens to be a motor that, in its Series I (1991-1995) incarnation, I have been living with as a daily driver for nearly four years in my 1995 Buick Riviera.

Here’s how the topic came up on The Smoking Tire. Farah now devotes the last segment of every episode to answering questions that viewers post in the “Superchat” as Farah livestreams video on YouTube while recording the podcast.

Superchat is a relatively new feature on YouTube, enabling livestream viewers support content creators by paying to have their comments pinned to the top. Like many channel owners, Farah adds value for supporters who make Superchat donations by answering their questions in real time during the livestream.

So about an hour and 22 minutes into the episode with Musto as a guest, a viewer posting in the Superchat asked for ideas about a “nice, comfy cruiser” to replace—for no more than $3,000—his current “work car”: “an ’05 Jetta that can’t get out of its own way.”

Musto didn’t miss a beat in responding.

“All right, go out and buy like a 2002 Buick LeSabre with the 3800 supercharged engine,” Musto said. “You can get them for 2,500 bucks from any grandma on Craigslist. They’ve got leather seats, power windows, everything you could ever want, and they’re 300 horsepower. You can bump ‘em to an easy 340 horsepower. Total sleeper.”

Musto is largely right, even though he was a little off on some of the details. The stock 300-horsepower figure he cited is a little higher than reality, and the eighth-generation LeSabre wasn’t one of the models you could get with a stock supercharger on top of the 3800—more on those points later.

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But especially in the Buicks, as opposed to the sportier-looking Pontiacs and Chevrolets that wore Buick 3800 engines (named for their 3.8-liter/3,800 cc displacement) to the party over the years, a lot of 3800-equipped cars are indeed total sleepers. I know that from personal experience, even though mine is the earlier “Series 1” generation that topped out at 225 horsepower in the stock setup.

Nevertheless, even at 225 horsepower, the range of supposedly quick vehicles that these reputed “granny cars” can embarrass at a stoplight or spank when some smartass decides he doesn’t want to let you pass him on an Interstate is staggering (disclaimer: we do NOT endorse illegal street racing or highway racing in any way, shape, or form).

An earlier generation of the 3800, of course, achieved much notoriety due to its use in the legendary turbocharged 1987 Buick Regal Grand National. And today, the Buick 3800 V6 engine in general continues to have what one could at least call a cult following.

Now, let’s put things into perspective. According to the Flint Journal, more than 30 million units of the Buick 3800 V6 engine were built at GM’s Flint Engine North plant before it closed in 2008. So to call the engine “overlooked” would be a big overstatement.

Yet it isn’t a powerplant that gets mentioned frequently in the many podcasts I listen to that are oriented toward car enthusiasts. For example, when Musto offered the “buy a supercharged LeSabre from a grandma” idea to the Superchat commenter, Farah’s producer/co-host/podcasting sidekick Zack Klapman responded that, although he had never heard that suggestion, he liked it.

So when Musto gave Buicks with supercharged 3800s such a glowing recommendation as a great choice for someone looking for an inexpensive, well-powered luxury cruiser that can hold its own as a sleeper on the street, my ears perked up. And since I had been wanting for a while to write a piece about the pros and cons of this motor, Musto’s comment seemed to create an opportune moment.

But, first things first, because some context is necessary when you start to think about a family of engines that spanned nearly 50 years and went through numerous generations of upgrades.

A brief history of the “modern” Buick 3800

When you’re talking about a car that an enthusiast on a limited budget could buy today from a grandma for a bargain-basement price and elevate to over 300 horsepower with a few easy, inexpensive mods, we’re not really looking at the full history back to the 1960s. In fact, we’re not really even looking back to the Regal Grand National Era. Rather, we’re looking back to the mid 90s at the earliest, when the first of the last three generations—called Series I (1991 through 1995), Series II (1996-2003), and Series III (2004-2008)—launched.

Most enthusiasts would probably consider these generations—especially the Series I—to be underpowered when naturally aspirated. Putting a blower on top, however, opens up a whole new world for this stout, old-school, cast-iron-block engine architecture. The naturally aspirated Series I 3800 maxed out at 174 horsepower. But one of two generations of Eaton superchargers (1991-1993 and 1994-1995) that were available on stock builds provided boosts to 205 and 225 horsepower, respectively.

By today’s horsepower-inflation standards that might not sound like a whole heck of a lot. But it was a lot for the 90s, and it’s a level of power that at the time exceeded that of many naturally aspirated V8s, especially after fuel consumption and emissions concerns that came to the forefront during the malaise era started a long spell of overall horsepower starvation in the automotive world.

A Series 1 with a blower still feels quick today and still gives you more horsepower than most of what you encounter on the road most of the time. Even with the Series 1, it isn’t unheard of anecdotally to reach 300 horsepower with modifications.

Now, back to some clarifying details, including the fact check on Musto’s recommendation of a “supercharged 2002 LeSabre”:

  • The 2002 LeSabre was not available with a supercharged option and topped out at 205 horsepower. In fact, the last forced-induction LeSabres (turbocharged) were in the fifth-generation (1977-1985).
  • That said, you can find supercharged 3800 engines in the 1996-2005 Buick Park Avenue Ultra, the 1997½-2004 Buick Regal GS, and the 1996-1999 Buick Riviera, as well as various models from Pontiac, Chevrolet, and other makes within the GM family.
  • The highest horsepower that a stock supercharged 3800 produced in Series II was 240, which was the rating of the supercharged 2005 Park Avenue Ultra, according to Edmunds. In Series III, the 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix GT with a supercharged 3800 reached 260 horsepower.

Regardless of these details, though, a 260 horsepower car is still a fast car with more than enough power for most driving situations. And with the ability to reach over 300 horsepower with modifications, you enter a power range that, arguably, most enthusiasts would take seriously. No, it ain’t no Hellephant, but it’s fast.

But is the supercharged Buick 3800 V6 engine for you? Here’s a rundown of the pros and cons, based on my personal experience, as well as information I’ve gleaned from conversations with other owners and other sources such as automotive forums.

Owning a supercharged Buick 3800: the pros

They’re fast and powerful. You hardly have to punch the gas at all in my 1995 Buick Riviera to get it to chirp the front wheels at an intersection. And when it does so, I’m usually not even trying to do that—why burn your tire tread out sooner than you need to? And while I’m against any kind of illegal street racing and don’t track my Riviera, I’ve never felt underpowered in any kind of non-boneheaded street or highway situation.

In terms of the basic, internally lubricated mechanicals, these engines seem pretty bulletproof unless you really abuse them. At nearly 25 years old with almost 130,000 miles, my powertrain still feels nimble and strong and doesn’t exhibit any of the feel of diminished power that you might expect from a motor of this age and mileage. The feel of the engine and transmission inspires a level of confidence in its mechanical soundness that approaches that of the small-block GM V8s I drove back in the day. And although I have invested more than my share in various mechanical repairs (more on that in the next section)—some of which I could frankly have just gotten by without if I didn’t like the car so much—none have been related to the essential engine internals.

They’re relatively low maintenance and reasonably cheap to fix. I change my oil every 3,000 miles and do routine maintenance like plugs, coils, and wires at recommended intervals. Beyond that, the 3800 doesn’t ask a lot of you beyond what you might expect with any car. With the newer GM V6s that succeeded the 3800 after 2008 (such as those in newer Buicks, Caddys, and Chevys), however, it’s a different story. If you have one that’s approaching 100,000 miles, consider proactively getting your timing chains (yes, that’s chains plural) and gears replaced.

Owning a Buick 3800 supercharged V6: The cons

Leaks, leaks, and more leaks. A lot of mechanics love these engines. But among those that don’t love them so much, some of the biggest complaints center on plastic gaskets and seals. Frequent failure items include the intake manifold gasket, oil pan and transmission pan gaskets, valve cover gaskets, and timing gear cover gaskets.

Some of the plastic parts can be refitted with better-quality, more durable aftermarket replacements. The intake manifold gasket is a big one to watch out for, and if a bad one goes unrepaired it can kill your engine from hydrolock if too much coolant intrudes into your combustion chamber. Watch for coolant consumption without any sign of a visible leak from components like your radiator, hoses, water pump, etc., and get your car to a shop pronto for a proper diagnosis if you observe this.

Another common leak point is the oil level sensor in the oil pan. Keep an eye on it and replace it at the first sign of wetness, because if the seal fails you can lose most of your oil very quickly.

The good news is that a lot of these issues improved considerably starting with the Series II and were mostly sorted out by the time the Series III came out. With the older 3800s, it’s more of a double-edged sword. As much as they’re prone to leak, they’re not prone to burning oil as long as you keep the oil fresh. I generally need to add about 1.5 quarts between oil changes, and that’s probably the best of any post-100,000-mile car I’ve owned. But I also get more splotches on my driveway than I have from anything else.

On-board diagnostics. The earliest Series I engines were OBD-1, and from 1996 on they were OBD-2. The former is OK, the latter is preferable. But avoid 1995 if you can. That was a transitional year in which the diagnostic system is nicknamed “OBD-1.5.” These cars have the OBD-2 plug but use OBD-1 codes. Most shops have scanners that can handle them just fine, but a hand-held scanner that can do a good job scanning OBD-1.5 codes—or even interface at all with the ECM—can be hard to come by. A lot of headaches can come with the territory with the 1995s. Go 1996 or preferably later if you can.

Noisy superchargers. Especially for the first two generations of Eaton supercharger that were in the Series 1, the couplers inside the blower could become disturbingly noisy well before 100,000 miles. It’s a bearing-ish sort of noise, maybe like a quieter version of what a bad water pump sometimes sounds like.

There are aftermarket replacement coupler kits available from various performance parts manufacturers that can solve the problem. I have also heard some reports of the superchargers seizing up, but the preponderance of what I’ve heard points to the superchargers generally being good for the life of the engine even if they do get noisy. The newer superchargers started out quieter and better and generally seem to stay that way.

Stumping sensors. Especially in the Series I, cam sensor and especially crank sensor problems can be an issue. In some cases they can create subtle drivability problems for a long time before they’ll actually start throwing codes. Look at these as possible culprits when you experience difficult-to-explain, intermittent phenomena such as bucking on acceleration under load or what feels like rough shifting when you’re driving uphill. What feels like rough shifting probably isn’t your transmission—check for codes like camshaft/crankshaft correlation error.

Some 3800 gurus will actually tell you to go ahead and immediately replace all of your major sensors—like the crank and cam sensor, oxygen sensors, and throttle position sensor—right away at around 100,000 miles, along with the plastic gaskets mentioned above. That may be a bit extreme, but if you’re a good wrench, then why not? Either way, do keep an eye on your dipsticks and watch for visible signs of leaks.

Cooling system. Plastic radiators are a problem area. I know of owners who have gone through two in under 150,000 miles. I changed mine just shy of 100,000 due to a pretty bad leak in the upper tank. Look into an aftermarket aluminum replacement. You can also expect to change out your water pump at around 100,000 or not much past that. These, again, are issues that at seemed to improve in the later years of the 3800’s run.

Non-engine issues. If you’re shopping for a car with a 3800, there are some issues that come with the territory with GMs of a certain era that aren’t related to the powertrain.

Watch for steering column play, especially in the 90s cars with tilt columns. If you do find play, make sure that a reasonably priced rebuilt column is readily available. Otherwise, obtaining a replacement could be a nightmare.

Wobbly columns are almost always caused by sloppy past owners who would use the steering wheel as a bracing bar every time they lifted themselves out of the car. DO NOT DO THIS! Train yourself to get out of a car without so much as touching the steering wheel. Please.

Worn and leaky steering racks are also a frequent problem. Labor to replace the racks can get pretty expensive due to everything you have to dismantle before you can access the rack for removal. Check for noise as you rotate the steering wheel fully in both directions while idling and, if you can, get underneath and eyeball for power steering leaks.

The bottom line: Should you own a car with a supercharged Buick 3800 V6 engine?

So what’s the verdict? Was Mike’s Musto’s call on the supercharged 3800 a good one?

Generally speaking, I would say “Yes.” It’s a great powertrain to experience. When it works, it works well. In the larger scheme of things, it is reasonably reliable. And with a little patience you can find a Buick 3800 V6 engine in a very nice car with great luxury appointments for a bargain. The newer you can go, the better, unless you’re really looking for something different like a last-generation Riviera—which due to age and low production numbers can give you parts availability challenges (though probably not for the powertrain). And, by all means—try to buy one from an original-owner granny who is much less likely to have abused the power that the supercharged versions of these powertrains could pack.

But know what you could be in for in terms of bothersome peripheral maintenance issues that can really nickel and dime you if you don’t do your own wrenching. If do don’t do much of your own work, it pays to form a relationship with a good solo mechanic who will work with parts you buy, and charge a labor rate below what the typical garage will charge.

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