Lorne Walter

Looking at buying this ciera

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/...rra/1309426338

look at the valve cover, covered in gunk, should I still buy this? Or is it probabkly leaking oil, he says its not, also engine pretty dirty, maybe hasn't been taken care of. was his mothers.
Ive only ever owned the 1991 ciera with the buck 3300, was a great engine, anyone know is this 94 engine is any good? ALso has abs light on

oldcutlass

Not everyone details their engine compt. Make an offer you can live with.

Lorne Walter

yeah especially old ladies i guess XD. I am just unsure about that oil on the valve cover. Is it no issue? or does it mean something bad is wrong.

oldcutlass

It may not be a leak at all but someone really clumsy adding oil. A valve cover leak is not a sign of a bad engine and can be repaired.

Lorne Walter

okay thanks so much, i feel better about it,
only other major concern was the abs light is on, they added abs in 1994, is this an issue? its prob the sensor, can it be left as it is?

oldcutlass

That can either be an inexpensive of very expensive repair.

Lorne Walter

the sensors are in the wheel hub i believe, they're 50-80 on rock auto. Lastly could be the abs relay or control module if it has one, assuming it does, im no abs expert.
Are there ABS sensors in the rear?

scottv442

3100 V6 engines were notorious for bad plastic head gaskets leaking antifreeze into the cylinders. sold our 97 cutlass for this very reason as no dealer would accept it for trade.
this was over 15 years ago now and i rarely see these cars on the road anymore.
just as precaution, i would have a mechanic check it first.

Lorne Walter

no time to take it to a mechanic, i already have to drive all day and night to veiw it. and everything will be closed on sunday. i knew this engine was not as good as the 3300 in the 1993 and lower but this is my only option for a cutlas ciera here in canada right now. What was the symptoms of your blown head gasket?

If i do get it, maybe i should change thehead gaskett as preventative maintance. Never done one before so im not sure how big of a job that is.

scottv442

car will start to smoke white out of the tailpipe if it leaks into the cylinders and/or weep antifreeze outside the block. ours just started weeping when i cut our loss and sold it.
these engines get very hot when running and as a result will cook the head gasket rock hard. just a winters freeze/thaw temperature change can flex the aluminium head enough
to crack the gasket.
look for antifreeze in the oil too.
who knows....if it's lasted this long it might of had the original gasket changed years ago.

Lorne Walter

well its only got 120,000 km on the engine. he said its running good so head must be good currently. i just hate to buy it and have it go only a year later, selling my daily driver to get this, and also repairs to my house that i need.

I could get
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/...ationFlag=true

oldcutlass

Hate to say it, for a DD I'd go for the Lincoln... They are comfortable, get 25 MPG, easier to work on, and its RWD.

Lorne Walter

only thing is ill have 1 foot clearance when i close my garage doors. I know his is off topic, but the guy said his 85 town car is fuel injected but according to all online articles, its supposed to be carburated. any ideas?

oldcutlass

LOL, I don't see that as a problem, it fits.

Lorne Walter

I could remove my shelving at the front lol. But do i want it that badly? I know nothing about that car and the guy selling it is a dick, won't even take a pic of the engine for me, he said google it..

scottv442

1985 canadian lincoln's had the CFI 302 engine, not the 2bbl carb.
similar engine was used in the fuel-injected 86 mustang GT.
winter RWD driving skills required with snow.

Lorne Walter

yeah will have to pass on the lincoln i guess, and the oldsmobile I feel like its over price for the work it needs. SHould be 2400 tops with no work needed not 3000 with work needed. Ill have to keep looking

idk how to read these engines HP

one says 140 hp (104 kW) at 3200 rpm (lincoln)
275 hp (205 kW) at 5750 rpm (caddy)

whats with the rpm? does that mean the lincoln is similar in HP since its showing it only at 3200 rpm's?

CRUZN 66

With 120K miles it will undoubtedly start to need some engine repairs... I have had a lot of these 3.1M engines and I have dealt with head gasket issues as well as broken cam shafts and a few other minor issues such as cam sensors and egr problems... As for the ABS problem, it may be nothing more then the lead wire to one or more of the sensors, an ECM check will tell you which wheel area is possibly the problem... The ABS issue could also be generated at the master cylinder unit...

scottv442

you wish.....lol

this means the lincoln gets its maximum HP at 3200rpm.
you rev higher than 3200rpm the power drops off or stays close/under 140HP.

caddy has a better performance engine making it's max HP at 5750rpm
of 275HP.

in these heavy cars what you need is the max. engine torque numbers to get the land barges moving from rest.