Best Ever Engine in this LeSabre Needs Expensive Repair! 

The video clearly states we will work on Asian/Euro/Exotic. Not just Exotic only. You guys are focusing on only exotic. We will still repair asian vehicles. Lexus, Acura, Toyota, Honda, Subaru. Maybe even film domestic cars. Just not work on Domestic cars. Sorry guys. These exotic-euro / asian cars are what Ive always originally dreamed of repairing. We will address it in the next video. Thanks guys.

"There's a lot of engines out there that wouldn't make it to 50,000 or 100,000 without having these kinds of problems." Like exotics. Now I see the wisdom in your decision.

Sad to hear..I honestly only watched because of a lot of the common affordable cars that you worked on.

He's a shrewed business owner and a celebrity entertainer now. Basically he's saying he can finally focus on making content, domestic (from Hoovie) or exotic, just thst he won't have to rely on the income of working on low end domestic models. And trust me, if you have to deal with people and can choose your clientale, you would understand.

The wizard is 100% correct. I had a 3.8 Buick in my shop with 428,000 miles for an oil change. It ran perfectly. That engine is bulletproof.

I'll miss seeing the domestic cars being repaired.

Hmm…. No more domestic or affordable foreign auto repairs …..I wonder how many subscribers will leave. Personally, I have very limited interest in Maserati, Ferrari etc repairs, I can’t relate to them and I can’t apply what I learn from them, to my own vehicles. Too bad for us common car owners, oh well, I enjoyed the channel while it lasted. Thank you Mr and Mrs Wizard for your past videos, I really enjoyed them and actually learned stuff from them.

That pressure tester reminded me of that scene from Austin Powers... "I'm telling you, baby, that's not mine. I don't even know what this is. This sort of thing isn't my bag, baby."

Too bad about your announcement. Most people drive everyday cars and there are tons of RU-vidrs doing European and exotics.

I'm very happy for the Wizard's success, but... The reason I love channels like this, VGG, JunkyardDigs, etc., is because they're fixing up affordable American cars, and it's inspired me to fix up my own for a lot cheaper. I did my own rescue on a van because of these channels. It's certainly interesting to see how expensive it is to fix up exotics, but most of us won't ever be able to afford one. To me, it's way cooler to be able to save a beater and give it new life. Don't get me wrong, I'll keep watching! Wish you all the best, Wizard.

Man!!! Seeing as I actually own one of these Buick LeSabres and have done tons of my own work... The elbow's should 'pop-in" and it helps to use silicone "LUBRICANT" and NOT silicone "Sealer or caulking" of any sort. Great cars. Thanks for sharing these repairs Wizard.... However.... If you really intend on focusing on foreign "high end" vehicles, then I'm probably going to not be watching very much. I can't identify with those types of cars, nor do I really want to. Keeping my simple older domestic car running is what I'm interested. It's the reason I found and love your channel!😒

thats sad to hear wizard. now these people will have to find another honest mechanic

Im out, i don't care about exotic s. Best of luck!

Huge respect to people that actually maintain their cars

You're leaving us common folk behind....no exotics here.

Flush out the dexcool and use green coolant,Change the intake and head gasket it'll last over 700k miles,a friend of mine did his 03 Regal has 716k miles and still going on that 3.8

Gonna miss you and your crew. Thanks for the years of entertainment

i wonder how many viewers of the car wizard watch for the exotic cars and not the cool domestic cars we all probably can afford? smh.

2 years ago I bought an absolutely mint '03 LeSabre from a neighbor for $300... "It's got a bad head gasket"... I'd never heard of a 3800 needing head gaskets, but I did know the intake manifold gaskets went bad and the plastic intake plenum warped. I replaced everything in the cooling system plus the heater core (easiest heater core job EVER!) minus the radiator, did the intake gaskets and a new manifold, a full tune up, and a front motor mount, all for under $700. Sold it to a younger guy who just had to have it for $3500. $2500 profit on a $1k outlay and a couple weekend afternoons worth of work ain't bad!

Quite recently had an older lady bring one of these in to the shop I work in (I think it was a 2000) that had like 6,800 miles on it. Thing was absolutely mint, she's driven it once or twice a week around my fairly small town since brand new and maintained it pretty meticulously, despite not driving much. When I got a look at it, I felt like I got thrown back in time. It was super cool to see one of these things in such good condition after over 20 years. The vast majority of the things I work on have very high miles and are often neglected pretty badly. Quite refreshing to see something like that.

I always have low mileage 3800's in stock at my lot for sale. I currently have a 2001 and a 2003 Buick lesabre (30,000 miles and 70,000 miles). Best cars to buy and sell cause like Wizard said they are damn near bullet proof with very little mechanical issues.

I believe with this announcement he's telling the common man who made his show what it is good bye. Wouldn't it be best to do the timing chain while there.?God bless the common man 🙏

Gotta love Buicks, always enthused when you feature them on your channel.. They're the BEST of the bad lot in the last 20 years of North American automobiles. .Great daily drivers indeed. Myself and my wife are running the hell out of our 2008 Lucernes and our son is still driving the 2006 Allure like he stole it. Looking forward to your future endeavors.

I think I’m out. That’s trash. No more domestic cars? That’s the entire reason I watched this channel.

Cheaper than one of those Nazi mobiles or other fancy pants cars. My 2001 LeSabre has 325,000 miles, I've done the upper and lower intake gaskets with new elbows, a few years ago, she runs like a top and has always been reliable.

I had a 2001 LeSabre company car I put 244,000 on it. The only problem was the plastic elbow leak that was repaired under warranty and the electric window motors. I had one window motor go out that had only been used a few times. Great car, comfortable ride.

Every Aussie knows those Buick 3.8 V6s can take even the most punishing of bogans doing skids in the Macca's carpark... Powered millions of Commodores to their deaths, which is usually being wrapped around a lamp post. Ya can't kill those engines.

Only a expensive repair if the "Car Wizard" works on it.

these are now 20 to 30 years old and re-gasketing is in order but once done is years worth of care free motoring. Here In Estonia a good La-sabre or Rivera with the 3800series is worth about 5000 to 7000 dollars.

For youtube purposes bad decision to give up on cheap domestic repairs for content because most of us and most people can't relate to high end exotic cars, but it's your channel. Thanks for for the low budget content for us working guys.

What a shame, another great repair shop gone fancy. All that will be left for regular people is scammers and hacks.

Hello from Australia!! The Wizard is right... the Buick 3800 engine was fitted to Holden Commodores in Australia for about 10 years...many of them still around with this beautiful engine. The welch plugs were a known problem and sadly it is an "engine-out" repair...BUT WELL WORTH IT in the long run. Cheers from Australia!!!!

I’ve followed your channel since its inception. To say I’m proud of you is an understatement. While you’ve crushed my dream of owning many old European vehicles, also you certainly save me countless thousands. Wishing nothing but the best for you, the family & Omega. ✌🏽

I hope I don't lose interest in this channel when you start showing vehicles that I don't relate too. 👍

Nothing lasts forever. Nice to see the customer is understanding. After this repair, it probably will run for many more years, and it only cost them a few brand new vehicle payments.

7-8 hours??? Flat rate for the timing cover gasket is 4.2 hours, 4.9 if you get anal and replace the timing chain.

I really don't care about exotics. That's a different class of people than the people that are watching your show

Great! Another RU-vidr fixing cars we can’t afford. Seems that is all I see lately. 😢

Would love a full walk around of this car and maintenance history. If we could all go back to 2004 and buy a Lesabre :).

It was nice knowing you

I’m not interested in Exotic Car Repair and I doubt many other people are either. Good luck keeping your channel viable. Everybody should go over to South Main Auto, he’s a Great Honest guy who puts out content for us average folks.

So you’ll be dumping the Charger, Mustang and Chevelle?

Sorry to see you go, not interested in cars I can't afford. I am a regular guy trying to balance my budget.

The O-rings that come with the Dorman aluminum elbows are trash. They only last a year or two. The trick is to buy the GM o-rings with the aluminum elbows.

My 2004 Chevy Impala LS with the 3.8 Engine was Best Car that we have ever owned-lasted over 18 years almost trouble free until it got T-Boned on Shopping Center Parking Lot...

It's a shame you're dropping domestic cars and trucks, but it's your business and I understand. I live in Oklahoma and wanted to bring you a few because you're very thorough with inspections.

Wizard truly is like the Bob Ross of auto mechanic videos. Just the best.

Might have to go then - best of luck with the exotics / Asian / Euro cars, but I didn't come here for it. Sad day indeed.

Exotic cars r for kids. A man reaches a age where a pickup or a Oldsmobile or even a van impresses them more then exotics..

That announcement is a real bummer

So you basically wanted to open a nightmare factory. To each their own

Wizards announcement bummed me out, I don't enjoy stuff on the fancy pants exotics either.

I will definitely miss the domestic cars I’m hoping you get a few sneak through here and there for content because I know a handful of us love the domestic content

What I can't figure out is, how are there so many exotic cars needing service in a place like Newton, Kansas? Are there lots of Ferraris and Maseratis just tearing up those country gravel roads?😂

I’ll miss the domestic vehicles.

If I were the customer I would have made the same decision. It is still a very good vehicle.

I'm sad to hear it will become an import-only shop.

Im going to miss the relatable content. Exotic cars are cool, but I was here for the everyday car content 😢

Add me to the unsubsidized list. No domestics was the last straw.

Doc(CarWizard) You are living my dream. Enjoy.

That's sad to hear, I like seeing what breaks on mainstream vehicles. I understand why you are doing this, and I am sure the customers are better people to work with for higher end vehicles. But most people would expand greatly and double in size, hiring more people, and as owner, when all the expansion payments are complete, you'd get a much bigger payout. But, obviously you need to do more and would be in charge of more, you clearly do not want the stress. And that is completely understandable.

I bought a 2005 LeSabre limited because of you wizard. It's like new with 125000 miles. Kept in a garage by a 87 year old woman. I may do a video review of it just for fun. Thanks wizard have a great day!

The beauty of the 3800 is you could build it to be a performance engine if you wanted to.

In support of your decision, I have a Tacoma, a Boxster, and an Escalade. We have a Toyota and Cadillac dealer, but the Porsche repair is a bit much for the first two garages, so I'm fortunate to have an import specialist garage who welcomes the Boxster. Well done, your problem solving skills are interesting to watch. Count me in!

Just realized the other day when I renewed my tags that I have been driving my 05 LeSabre for 11 years. Yeah I understand and agree with what Mr. Wizard says about these cars. The biggest reason I will hang on to it is because it survives my daily commute to work much better than most of the newer cars - it is half a mile one way to work, the most abusive rough service driving you can give a car without literally beating it up. I am scared of replacing it for that reason.

Well, I'm sorry to see your American cars going bye-bye, but I feel fortunate to see one of your last clunker vids is about the engine in my '98 Olds 88! I know the Series II 3800 had problems with coolant channels leaking in the intake manifold plenum as the cars aged, because it happened to mine, even though it's low mileage. It came within a whisker of hydro-locking. Good to learn that there's another source of leaks I didn't know about. Good luck to you as you realize your dream, Wizard. I suspect Hoovie will do his part to help finance your future!

I had a coolant leak I couldn't find on a 2002 Buick with the 3.3L V6. Ended up being the gasket on timing cover. Replaced gasket and coated it with Permatex red gasket sealer. No more leaks in 7 years.

I just did my 3800 lower intake manifold gaskets and replaced the harmonic balancer in a 2000 gtp in 5 hours. Thank you for showing me how to do the timing gasket! I should have done it while I had the balancer off.

Like most others I come here for the education. No interest in exotics for me.

"Back to basics..." "Basics" for most of us are Toyota, Honda, Chevy, GM, RAM, etc. Exotic European will not interest this viewer. I hate the thought of unsibscribing from your channel, but sounds like that's where this is going. Major bummer.

Car Wizard , you gotta do what you gotta do. I have enjoyed your videos thus far. BUT..... I don't have a need to watch the future videos since I don't own or will buy any of those exotics and European cars you're going to be focused on. I wish you the best. Truly

If we wanted to watch European cars we would go to CarNinja :/

By switching over to only high-end exotic cars, you’re going to lose your connection with people like us. We need to know what’s happening with every day cars. Very sad to hear that you’re leaving us behind.

100% with you. Been here 4 yrs and I'm gonna enjoy this channel in the future too. Greetings from Finland.. You rock.

No domestic cars? You lost a subscriber.

Hi wizard. Of course I have a 3800 puller. I changed my crankshaft position sensor so that is when I bought it. But my no start condition was a result of the ICM failing, which is a piece of cake to replace. I'm not worried about the timing cover gasket failing, as it will take me a long time to get to 280k miles. Plus how many 3800 engines have you see that had this issue? I'm guessing not many. Wizard, were u able to tell if it failed due to the car's age, or its mileage? Funny I just did my coolant elbows with the metal ones. Yes, I clean all the holes out well and I use new coolant on the 4, o-rings. Make sure you use pick tools to get out any plastic parts inside. The plastic ones typically break inside when you pull them out, or they were already broken before u pulled them out. The only one that doesn't seem to break is the big one that is near the left bottom side of water pump. Cheers ! Love my '02 LeSabre !!

I’m English. This is the only channel I like for American domestic cars

The Buick 3800 is a great engine but it seems I remember that they used to have a lot of problems with the harmonic balancer .

I love your channel Wizzard. I have been watching since the beginning. I am sad to hear that you wont be working on domestics anymore. I dont like foreign cars. Unless you are working on a domestic of Hoovies, I wont be watching anymore. This is a truly sad day.

Wizard, that is very hypocritical, that you will work on Hoovie's cars but not the public‼

My better half had a 1998 3.8, and on her way to work, no power steering and started to overheat. She drove 6 more miles to her work. When I came with a new belt, the pulley on the water pump was gone, snap off at the water pump. Believe me, or now the pulley was lying on the cross member. How hot did she get it? I don't know . When I got there, their was a ton of antifreeze on the ground. That was at 180 thousand miles. New water pump and ran perfectly. Sold it at 320 thousand miles on her with no problems! The 3.8 are built tuff!

The prices of parts and labor hours are one thing, but I'd rather spend money on the car I know. The car I have had for many years and know the service. When the choice is to buy a "new" old car that I don't know the history of, I choose to keep my old car. As of today, it has paid off! I have never had a loan or leased cars.

Hells no on exotics, im homeless. I need reviews on hoopties.

Sounds like the end for me. Who cares about crap that's always broken.

My dreams of seeing a Crown Victoria police interceptor on this channel is officially ruined. 😢

I had kia sedona with 240,000 miles and running great when rear end collision totaled it

Congratulations Wizard, on growing your business on your terms. Good for you and your Tech's.

Have to agree with a lot of comments below. I will never own an exotic car, and have no interest in repairing them. I was only here for the vehicles I could relate to. I have no doubt though there are people with great interests in exotic repairs and will continue to do enjoy the great content of the Car Wizard.

Wizards went an made it big on RU-vid and don't need us low budget common folk anymore lol. Hey its the truth, i can't be mad at that. Only watched this vid because i had an 03 LeSabre and loved that car. Peace out everyone ✌️ was fun while it lasted

11:24 - I've owned 2 2006 Sonatas (A 4cyl and a 6 cyl), a 2013 Elantra Limited and now have a 2016 Elantra GT Limited and haven't had a single issue... I also don't thrash on my vehicles and tend to keep the maintenance up to date. I ALSO change my oil on the 2016 at every 2000 miles even with full synthetic oil due to the pressures of the GDI engine (I'm worried about that, honestly). So far, so good. The only big deal on the 2016 was due to a chunk of ice on the highway that fell off a vehicle that cracked my radiator. There was nothing to be done about it. Luckily, it was so cold here in Missouri at that time it couldn't overheat even if it wanted to!

That is really sad to hear wizard. Good for you but I can't be a subscriber anymore. I like to see the American cars too

The repair bill will be about 1 1/4 times the average new car monthly payment. Fix it properly and in 3 months you won't remember exactly what it cost. If the car lasts another 100,000 miles that is six and a half years of average driving. When a vehicle is into the period where it will need occasional repairs, think of the repair cost in new car monthly payments not raw dollars. The average payment is now $750/month. $1,000+ a month is not uncommon for cars over 50k. Take one new car payment: Have the body shop touch up the dings and scratches so it looks ok from 25 feet away. Have the upholstery shop fix the torn drivers seat. Get the car washed and detailed. You will then remember why you liked the car in the first place. Now, smile all the way to the bank.

What a sad announcement not only for the locals that are out of a good mechanic but also for all the average Joe's that helped build your subscriptions and could care less about foreign and exotic vehicles. Best of luck on your new ventures.

Ohhhh Wizard! Man, I love that GM 3800 engine - it really is one of the best engines ever stuck in a car, but oh man...why oh why GM made that water pump/alternator bracket so complicated is beyond me. What on earth were those engineers thinking?! What a pain in the ass. I feel your pain, only I wasn''t getting paid to replace mine. Great video!

I love American cars and I watched your videos for that...

Not gonna lie... This is a tough pill to swallow. As much as i love exotics, i truly look forward most to the used everyday cars like this, the ls400s, etc... Its your business and your channel and you are so deserving of your success, but this is an abrupt change from what your viewers are used to. Ultimately, only time will tell if there will be a negative or positive change to the channel success.

The older 3.8 had a distributor and a twin gear oil pump mounted in the timing cover. Sometimes after a oil change they wouldn't have oil pressure. The parts stores stocked a kit with new gears, a plate and various pressure relief springs. When they came out with the improved engine they were a lot more reliable.

That's too bad. See ya wizard, it's been fun.

Typical intake man. gaskets too. I love my 03 lesabre. 561,000 miles and going strong!

I hate hearing that Wizard, you have such a vast amount of different cars and truck that roll in there.