This is a 2002 Pontiac Firebird with the GM 3.8l 3800 Series II Engine. This vehicle came in with an large oil leak on the engine and an oily substance in the radiator. The antifreeze was mixing with engine oil. The problem is common with this series of engine. The lower intake manifold gaskets deteriorate and case coolant to leak into the engine oil, oil is also allowed to contaminate the cooling system resulting in the fouled coolant and soft radiator hoses. This is multi part repair and is somewhat difficult in this particular car due the firewall and wiper cowl location. We will remove the intake plenum and lower manifold valve covers, and the engine accessories such as alternator, belt, and the tensioner. In this case the belt tensioner also has a heater core bypass built into it so there is engine coolant in the belt tensioner as well. Part one will be the teardown, part two will be engine assembly and the final part will miscellaneous assembly, fluids, cleaning and final inspection. This video is part one of this series. As mentioned in the video this vehicle was featured before due to catastrophic A/C system failure. See links below for all past videos.
Check out our Website/Merch HERE: https://www.RainmanRaysRepairs.com Look for links to our other channels, appointment and contact info, and our new merch lineup with custom T's fitted hats and MORE!
Wife Unit unveils our custom tumblers and mugs https://youtu.be/5Q2DWBes258 also found at https://www.RainmanRaysRepairs.com
Part 1! About to EXPLODE! Pistons Coming Apart Pontiac Firebird! https://youtu.be/-sR2_tNhY6M
Part 2! Compressor Damage took out the whole System | Pontiac Firebird Camaro S-10 Buick https://youtu.be/4N1UsUrjQAI
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Located in Florida? Need work done? Visit www.RainmanRaysRepairs.com
Check out my Merchandise shop for Men's and Women's Apparel, MUGS and Stickers at http://www.RainmanRaysRepairs.com
Mountain 5-Piece Metric Double Box Universal Spline Reversible Ratcheting Wrench Set; 8 mm - 18mm, 90 Tooth Design, Long, Flexible, Reversible; MTNRM6 https://amzn.to/3OJTRp2
Astro Tools 78450 HD Harmonic Crank Pulley Puller - GM LS, Ford Coyote, GMC, Chrysler, Dodge & Jeep, Black https://amzn.to/3STBrX9
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Also, I personally use or have used the products featured in my links and only recommended them if I feel they are of good quality.
#mechanic #repair #autorepair #restoration #wifeunit #brakecleanmafia
”Intro Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio”
Thanks to Jesse for making the intro and graphic for us to enjoy!!!
ABOUT OUR CHANNEL
Our channel is about general automotive repair and maintenance . We cover a large variety of automotive services and repairs in a privately owned independent shop.
Check out our channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/ @RainmanRaysRepairs
and the Off Duty Channel here: RainmanRay Off Duty https://www.youtube.com/c/RainmanRayOutoftheShop'>https://www.youtube.com/c/RainmanRayOutoftheShop
Don’t forget to subscribe!
Check out our Website/Merch HERE: https://www.RainmanRaysRepairs.com Look for links to our other channels, appointment and contact info, and our new merch lineup with custom T's fitted hats and MORE!
Wife Unit unveils our custom tumblers and mugs https://youtu.be/5Q2DWBes258 also found at https://www.RainmanRaysRepairs.com
Part 1! About to EXPLODE! Pistons Coming Apart Pontiac Firebird! https://youtu.be/-sR2_tNhY6M
Part 2! Compressor Damage took out the whole System | Pontiac Firebird Camaro S-10 Buick https://youtu.be/4N1UsUrjQAI
Support the Channel with a Like and Subscribe!
Become a Channel Member or visit Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/RainmanRaysRepairs
Visit our Second Channel on YouTube, RainmanRay Off Duty https://www.youtube.com/c/RainmanRayOutoftheShop'>https://www.youtube.com/c/RainmanRayOutoftheShop
Follow on Twitter (X): @RainmanRay4Real
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/ @rainman_rays_repairs
Located in Florida? Need work done? Visit www.RainmanRaysRepairs.com
Check out my Merchandise shop for Men's and Women's Apparel, MUGS and Stickers at http://www.RainmanRaysRepairs.com
Mountain 5-Piece Metric Double Box Universal Spline Reversible Ratcheting Wrench Set; 8 mm - 18mm, 90 Tooth Design, Long, Flexible, Reversible; MTNRM6 https://amzn.to/3OJTRp2
Astro Tools 78450 HD Harmonic Crank Pulley Puller - GM LS, Ford Coyote, GMC, Chrysler, Dodge & Jeep, Black https://amzn.to/3STBrX9
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Also, I personally use or have used the products featured in my links and only recommended them if I feel they are of good quality.
#mechanic #repair #autorepair #restoration #wifeunit #brakecleanmafia
”Intro Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio”
Thanks to Jesse for making the intro and graphic for us to enjoy!!!
ABOUT OUR CHANNEL
Our channel is about general automotive repair and maintenance . We cover a large variety of automotive services and repairs in a privately owned independent shop.
Check out our channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/ @RainmanRaysRepairs
and the Off Duty Channel here: RainmanRay Off Duty https://www.youtube.com/c/RainmanRayOutoftheShop'>https://www.youtube.com/c/RainmanRayOutoftheShop
Don’t forget to subscribe!
That bracket loosening was painful to watch. But not as painful as it was to do, I'm sure! It takes a special kind of persistence to be a mechanic. Great job.
Ray, I find these videos so therapeutic. Not being Bill gates, I've always had to drive a lot of P.O.S. vehicles and have a few right now. One 2000 V-8 AWD explorer and a rusted out 99 silverado. Throw a perfect (stored) '87 MR2. I'm always working on something. But being 55 with a 30 year old spinal fusion and a work damaged index finger that won't bend anymore, this is FAR beyond a one day job for me!
Maybe a month. And there'd be a handful of bolts and brackets left over 😂
Every size nut, bolt, stud… all put on the cowl. There is zero chance I’d get this top portion back together. Kudos Ray.
Reminds me of my last car; a 1996 Z28. I always wondered how they got that engine in the car to begin with. I'm amazed by what you accomplish on a daily basis!
I truly believe that automotive designers and engineers laugh themselves silly because we who repair suffer so much because of their … stupidity ?
When we need to drop an engine just to change a spark plug ???
Hi Ray, probably the person is from the UK we just refer to them as Nuts and Bolts you in the USA refer to them as fasteners, same thing.
how on earth does one remember where each bolt goes after amassing a pile of them after tearing down?
Car designed so when there is a problem, customer buys a new car? Really looks like they went all out to make maintenance as difficult as possible.
WWJD on rear brackets:
Jason would put them back on. You can't deny the next guy the pleasure.
I don’t understand these terrible gaskets. They haven’t figured out how to make gaskets that keep working?
What's with the doctors phone on hold music 🎶 😅😅
Ray, you have the patience of a saint. That design on this Thunderchicken would make me lose my religion.
Respect ray working on those engine with little space
I do not know why GM shoves half the engine under the cowl. It is not mechanic friendly at all.
Man, watching you fight with those bracket bolts on the back of the valve covers reminds me of that one meme..
A ratchet "Please come loose."
A bigger ratchet "I hope it comes loose."
An even bigger ratchet "I wasn't asking."
An angle grinder "You should have listened."
An oxy-acetylene torch "It can't be tight if it's a liquid."
Keep it up! Even though I'm not particularly mechanically inclined, and don't even own my own vehicle, I've enjoyed watching every one of the videos you put out.
unbolt the tranny mount and lift the back of the trans to get that bolt out.
now i know what i was doing wrong taking the fuel lines off.
i had a 91 olds cutlass with a 3.4-liter dohc engine I loaned it to a friend and the three back sparkplugs popped out while they were driving. her boyfriend sort of fixed it but the plugs were still loose and the helicoils came out with the plugs. they drove it that way and returned it to me saying this car has no power. took the engine out and almost had it rebuilt then the neighbor caught the town on fire and burned my house and garage down.
Trolls are the folks that got picked last in dodgeball in school because they know for a fact they suck at life. Keep customizing folks. Haters gonna hate. I for one enjoy seeing custom vehicles and the people who drive them.
Screw the trolls! Everybody thinks that they have a “better” way but the trolls don’t understand that sometimes we simply have to deal with what’s in front of us. The trolls probably can’t do 99% of this or haven’t tried. They simply watched Eric O or Ivan the Russians videos and they are now “experts”. Eric O does give a better reach around 😂. I love these videos and wish I could still do this stuff. I broke my back and hip so I watch some of these like my ex watched murder mysteries.
I think the joke about the fasteners is that they dont make things go fast. They keep things from moving so they should be called stoppeners… but that might be beyond a dad joke. More of a dud joke… 😂
🇺🇲👍……………🍆🇨🇳
…This one job looked like one that would have been easier with the ability to utter a few (or more than a few) choice expletives…😂😂😂
Better to take the engine out!
Ray has an astounding memory for putting complex stuff back together.
A Firebird with Ferrari hubcaps…
…does that make it a "Pegasus"?…
I think “Duck” Tape has become an acceptable way of saying “Duct” Tape because saying the 2 – T’s is a little bit daunting where as the “K & T” together flows more easily. That is our English lesson for today, y’all.
Ya know, if you leave the “K” & the “T” off, you still have “Duc Tape (still pronounced Duck Tape”).
I can do these in my sleep, RWD Fbody included xD Use Fel-pro problem solvers and be done with it!
What a PAIN of a teardown, working under that firewall hole !
I love every single video you put out, and I haven’t complained about anything, but I have to ask. What’s up with the meditating / elevator music? I’m not a fan of that. I like it better without the music. I like all the background noises and radio music that gets captured by accident.
I mean unless your going for a “Bob Ross” kinda thing in which case your on the right road. 😅❤
'Firechicken"(ugh)…. GMC's best kept "Secret" Customizations all to one side.. its not my choice of a sports car(thos others do LOVE this style of car) I'm a 70's MOPAR guy…. gimme that old style Distributor with the points gap anytime!(Minus the ballast resistor of course)
What a perfectly timely video, I'm about to start this job on my 1998 Firebird with the 3800 this weekend. Has a rebuilt engine but for some boneheaded reason they installed plastic gaskets on it, and the upper is leaking. Might as well do the lowers too.
I've been waiting for you to zip tie that wiring harness up out of the way and I wonder how many little bits and pieces of debris have fell down into that motor
Wow…. with as much of a pain as this appeared to be, I wonder if it would have made sense just to drop the drive train out the bottom? Or is there sub frame shenanigans that would require an alignment after?
New drinking game, chug anytime he says “penetration”.😂
That bracket would have been lost in a boating accident! 😂
With rear main seal in play maybe drop the front cradle to simplify life
Ray the way you work on a firebird motor is to pull the body off
I enjoyed watching this video since I did the same job and then head gaskets on my 2000 Camaro with the same engine. I put the updated metal coolant elbows on mine as well as replaced the coolant line clips that go onto the housing with a aftermarket kit.
Dear Ray, How much time is saved on the average repair job using your "electron ratchets/impact wrench" vs non electron. Also, has this reduced the official book time on jobs? Thanks.