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it also sounds like the engine is revving high, which means it may not be going into the next gear, which may mean the transmission is going out the door because it continues to rev up as you accelerate, unfortunetly the Buick Century doesn’t have a tachometer, so you can’t see your revs. but it is a very common issue for these transmissions to slip from 1st to 2nd and rev abnormally high as a result until finally shifting into 3rd.
My old buick century custom i owned as my first car did the same thing before the transmission was overhauled.
its kind of hard to hear the noise, but any rough noses can usually be singled out too a exhaust leak on these cars, the exhaust on these cars are known for rusting out really bad and getting really loud.
I would also suggest seeking out what is with all the lights on your dashboard, that may also give you some hints if you scan for codes.
I have to say i envy you and guys like Marty and Moog at MCM, they have a nice set of stuff to work on their cars and a group of friends to do it with, most of my friends hardly change their oil in a decent time frame lol!
If i had the time and money, and the friends to do it with i might start a show on modifying a Pontiac Grand Prix into a sleeper like your fairmont, i am happy for you Eric, in a way i envy you but i am happy you are doing something with your life you find joy in.
if you continue to see what looks like metalica particals inside your oil after a couple of oil changes i would do a oil pressure test to make sure your oil pressure is good and steady… if there is issues with bearings wearing out and flaking off this may be able to be identified by doing a oil pressure test.
In short if it runs smooth, after a few more oil changes if you continue to see metal flakes check oil pressure.
as everyone has stated… yes, common issue with GM W body community, everyone puts drag radials on their souped up 3800, they find themselves twisting drive shafts and busting transmissions and even cracking flex plates!
i would attempt to investigate why you are getting codes for the P-0135 heater malfunction and go from there, its possible you need a new sensor.
you know i very much have to agree with you on that, I love the Buick Regal, the Pontiac Grand Prix, Impala with the 3800, they seem to be cars that run forever if you take good care of them.
but anything with a 3400 engine, its doomed to have a blown head gasket at some point, usually Malibus or Grand ams have crap interiors, yes very much throw away cars, they where intended to be that… “i don’t quite want the Sunfire… but i don’t want to pay extra for the Grand Prix… do you have something for me in the middle?”
Hockeyclark hit the nail right on the head with this one.
If you boost a engine there are several things you need to take into consideration.
1 can the fuel system take it? more air in the system means it needs more fuel, ideally a 14.7-1 air fuel ratio is best for efficiency, for power a 12.7-1 a little on the rich side helps prevent spark knock as the extra evaporating fuel helps decrease internal combustion chamber temps, and as Hockeyclark already stated, when you have a carby engine, that poses a special set of issues because a carburetor works on the principal of using “vacuum.” by drawing fuel out of a bowl through a jet to atomize the fuel. in order for it to work the boost pressure will also have to pressurize the fuel bowl, and as stated if you exceed the pressure of the fuel pump or get close too it via boost pressure, you can run your engine lean at higher revs and watch it go bang!
2 can the cooling system take the extra heat? When you add more power to a engine it is going to create more heat energy as a result, increased dynamic compression results in higher pressures in the combustion chamber meaning more heat, more friction due to harder pressure on moving parts means more heat, and increased combustion makes more heat.
3 can the engines gaskets and seals take the pressure? the whole “blow the welds off your intake.” joke isn’t too far off, can the intake manifold gaskets support boost pressure? and most of all what about the head gaskets? how about the piston rings?
4 is the engine tuned for it? you can run a old mechanical engine off turbo its been done thousands of times before, but you have to tune the engine for it, the ignition, the carburetor, typically a boosted engine requires a little bit more retarded ignition and a bigger set of jets to allow more fuel to pass through the carby. For computerized cars a PCM must be able to recognize boost and make adjustments to ignition timing and air fuel mixture accordingly! if it can’t best case scenario your car runs like crap, worst case scenario your cars engine blows a piston out the side of the engine.
5 can the mechanicals take the extra power? this happens all the time in the 3800 community, guy isn’t happy with the smaller supercharger pulleys anymore, goes with a turbo for more boost! but he has the stock L-26 bottom end rather than a L-32 OR L-67 bottom end with the thicker con rods… throws a connecting rod because it can’t take the increased force of the piston being pushed down… and BLAM or at the very least ends up with a bad case of rod knock which to me is a sound comparable to taking your finger nails and scraping them across a chalk board, what will hurt worse is your wallet afterwards.
sorry for the delayed reply, life has been very busy, may be a computer issue or even a electrical issue, i would have the PCM checked and all wires going to it, check for corrosion and the whole nine yards.
try gravity bleeding it. fill the master cylinder full, open the bleeder valves on the brakes you don’t have fluid going too, and set and wait and see if fluid starts to come out of the bleeder valves.
i would do a Combustion leak test and see if you have a blown head gasket, personally that is what this is sounding like to me, having coolant levels go up and down like that. You can have a blown head gasket and not have coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant.
what color is the coolant? is it the color its supposed to be or is it sort of brown?