Hi guys, I visit this forum from time to time for a good read. I dont have a Fiero but perhaps one day. I do have a handful of 3.8 powered 80's Buicks and 90's Oldsmobiles. I know there are some here that have done the L67 transplant and other motor heads that may have had experience or know of experience with L67 in cars.

On another forum a topic was brought up regarding the legacy of the 3.8. Well as usually happens a few had to start bashing the 3.8, no surprise there, but then it was said that the SC L67 was know for lower end failure. In all fareness I decided to look into it because i have never heard of this and I visit quiet a few forums that cater to 3.8 powered cars. So Im just doing an honest survey of known L67 or even any 3.8 failures. We all know about the provblems associated with the use of plastic intake manifolds in the L36 and even some of the 3400 and such. Well any incidences know of I would like to hear about. Or other input as well.

my cars - 86 LeSabre Limited Coupe LN7 3.0, 86 Riviera LG2-B 3.8, 90 Regency winter car LN3-C 3800, 90 Ciera wagon winter car 3.3, 97 Olds LSS L67, 99 Olds Eighty Eight 50th Anniversary L36

thanks for any and all honest input

Welcome to the forum. This may not exactly apply to your question, but may be of some help. I did an L27 swap (S1 N/A) and got 2 weeks out of it before a #3 or #4 rod bearing failure. It was a used engine and I suspect a lot of the problem was due to a starting problem that may have washed fuel down the cylinder walls, thinning the oil. I changed the oil when I first installed the engine, but spent a few months chasing down a no-start problem. A mechanic friend I spoke to at the time told me that rod bearing failure on the middle two cylinders was common in the 3800. The mechanic works at the VW dealership and is also a tech inspector at the local track so take it with whatever grain of salt you like. I have also heard that these 3800 engines run forever with proper maintenance. I chose the 3800 because of it's purported reliability and I think I'll be happy with this engine for years to come. But you'd better believe I got a lot more attentive to regular oil changes since then.

The only "weakness" is sometimes the L67 is prone to developing a gasket failure between the blower and the intake manifold.

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SC3800

ditto on the supergasket.
ditto on the plastic intake.
ive worked as a tech in a buick dealer for 8 years. i have seen one sc failure where a ring expanded too much and popped the ring land off of a piston.
i have seen several non sc engines spin bearings after the plastic intake leaked coolant into the oil.
sometimes the lower intake gaskets leak coolant too.
i have a friend that had 450,000 (and four tranies) before he wrecked the car.

hard engine to kill. i will hypothosize that it is largely due to the gerotor oil pump.

I work in the 3800 plant in Flint, Mi and have been active in the developement of the engine since 1988 when it was introduced. There have been some issues affecting quality over the years but they have always been addressed promptly. I'll list some of them;
Early superchargers experienced front bearing failure...I think in 93 or 94 the size of the bearing was increased and the problem went away.
In 95 the SeriesII was introduced and we had many failures of the rear seal plate gasket that happened usually around 6-18 K miles. This was addressed with a change in the assembly process and also a minor redesign of the plate.
Rod failuers popped up caused by problems in the casting process.....we addressed that by 100 % x raying of the rods and finally in 04 going to powdered metal rods with cracked caps.

Long term I think the biggest problem with the engine is the cylinder heads which will not tolerate overheating. Many junkyard heads are cracked or warped. In order to replace a head on my own 3800 I had to reject 1/2 a dozen that would not pressure test.

Engineers have told me that the bottom end of the engine is good for a solid 300 hp...remember now they are talking about selling that engine to a wide cross section of people who will expect it to last for 100-200 k miles. I'm sure it will hold up to more but not last as long.

I have owned several of them and have seen many torn down and measured after 200k miles and they were still in print. Not bad for low tech domestic stuff eh?

David Devoe - You could answer another question for me then if you worked there. When did the 3.8 go from being a Buick engine to GM Drivetrain ? Also I thought the series II or any off them in there day could have been considered high tech push rod engines. I understand your post but other non mechanical unknowing people would interpret that as a problematic engine. I would imagine the percentage of problems was low for the volumn produced and typical? Excluding that darn composite EGR L36 intake. That was a big mistake.

Yes, you're right......I should qualify my remarks. Warranty costs associated with the 3800 have been very low and mostly concerned leaks which have given us fits over the years. The problems I mentioned were indeed very slight when compared to our tremendous volume. At times we built 2000 engines per shift at 2 shifts per day. Our present volume is about 1750 but we are down to 1 shift. When I called the 3800 a low tech engine I really meant pushrods and single cam..actually something that engineers consider rock solid and stone reliable. All these newer engine designs with multiple cams and or variable valve timing will prove problematic. In fact right now we are building extra 38's to go into the Lacrosse because the so called premium V6, a 3500 I think, is proving difficult to produce in sufficient numbers. I probably don't need to mention that any engine swap I do will involve a Fiero and a 3800

Well if this thread isn't a ringing endorsement for the 3800, I've never heard one.

I have heard from several people that the 3800 is the most reliable engine that GM has ever produced. (The old school guys usta say it was a 283, but there aren't that many of them around any more.)
I have never heard of any common 3800 failures, other than the leaky intake gasket thing.

My next swap will very likely be a 3800SC.