I have a 1999 Bonneville SE 3800. The plastic drain plug was overtightened some time back and popped out today (with the threads broken off in the plastic drain plug housing. I purchased a new plastic drain plug & housing at autozone but cannot easily access this area of the radiator. Is this a straight forward repair? Should I pull the radiator (having never done this) to try to replace the drain plug assembly or should I have the car towed to a mechanic? I have worked on older cars but nothing after 1990. Please advise... Regards, MH

The motor will fit physically . The Best question is will the computer / PCM recognize and plug in to all connection points . This is why same year is important . Verify at a Auto Parts counter that 3800 series is in same time eg ; 1999 - 2003 all engine parts are same . This will tell you engine swap / versus computer will be OK. If you have PCM from 3800 motor then install it too . pcm talking to pcm is very important ..good luck .

Well Jeff if you think it is flooded I'd start by pulling the spark plugs and see if they are wet with fuel . If they are clean them or replace them. If not wet , I would check for fuel pressure , you can get a fuel pressure gauge at harbor freight fairly cheep. On the fuel rail there is a black cap, un screw it an screw the pressure gauge on to it. Crank the engine over a few times an see what the pressure is, it should be 55 psi. And if you have fuel pressure check for spark, pull off a plug wire and put in a spark test , you can buy one at harbor freight or auto parts store for $5-$10 .If it has spark you would need to do a compression test. You can get one of those for $30 bucks .How many miles does the car have . What engine ? 3800 V-6 this engine should have the timing chain replaced at 150,000 miles . have seen them jump time causing them to die and not restart. Should have 150 to 175 psi compression depending on the ware on the engine. Last one I did when the timing jumped , it bent an exhaust valve .

check each wire to be at good spark plug number with the image

If 3800 engine the timing is 1-6-5-4-3-2
If 2.8L or 3.1L or 3.4L timing is 1-2-3-4-5-6

Coil packs on 3800 are (1 / 4, 5 / 2, 3 / 6)
Coil packs on 2.8L or 3.1L are (1 / 4, 6 / 3, 2 / 5) 1995 earlier across the front from right to left.
Coil packs on 3.4L are (5 / 2, 3 / 6, 4 / 1) 1996 across the back from right to left.

take off the black plastic piece which attaches to the bumper it is about 2.5 foot by 1.5 foot. it has about 6 t-20 torx screws. drain the oil using i think a 17 or 19mm wrench/socket. be sure not to overtighten the drain plug because the pan is aluminum. it only needs to be about 10 foot pounds. the oil filter is on the front of the engine. if your car is a diesel, the oil filter is under the plastic cover on the top of your engine and is a cartridge style.

Here ya go...


Serpentine drive belt routing-GM “C and H” Bodies 3.8L (VIN 1) engine

i am assuming your car has the 3.8 liter v6. on the passenger side of the engine it is below the alternator and behind the power steering pump. it screws into an aluminum housing on the back side if the block.
first disconnect the wire harness connector and find a metric deep well socket or use a pair of channel lock pliers, but be carefull not to overtighten the oil pressure sending unit when use install it or you can
strip the threads in the housing or damage the plastic wire harness connector housing on the sending unit.

8th digit of your vin# needed. Is it an "L", "C" or "K" ?

I would replace the MASTER CYLINDER. BLEED AIR from master cylinder BEFORE INSTALLATION. Hope this helps

Yes you just have to swap all the brackets,and poss oil pan and oil pump,and poss intake,which i would do before installing motor due to the fact they are known to leak oil into the coolant.(the ihtake gaskets).