Octania

Here's a 3100 V6 M'Carlo cheeeeep

http://lansing.craigslist.org/cto/3976224281.html

Is this one of them engines that needs an intake gasket, every one of them?

I have an NOS 3100 engine tucked away, have never seen a car with one.

This one may not need an engine but I have one anyhow.

Input on plus/minus of this year/ model?

I do have a Saturn engine on the way for the 94 Saturn- it's a '94 DOHC engine- I assumed they are close enough to be a bolt in exchange. Sure hope so.

tru-blue 442

Not sure about the 3.1 needing
an intake gasket, but the 4.3's
are notorious after about 90 K.

But they do run like singers!

pogo69

it is a leaker...i replaced(1996 lumina) the lower manifold gasket twice...coolant leaking into oil... it was a sealant problem i was told from a chev. dealer i remember i purchased some gm special sealer and there might have been a torque change on some of the bolts...it ran ok after the second time

pogo69

i'm trying to remember the exact cause...i'm not sure now what the problem was but ...sealant and torque was involved

ThePackRat

I always thought the 3.1 liked head gaskets ?.

Or is that the 3.4 ?.

Or both ?.

MDchanic

Too new. You should be able to find a dependable car (or small truck) that's older, simpler, and cheaper and easier to work on, but still has the "required" amenities and driveability.

- Eric

oldstata

3.1 and 3.4 basically same engine and yes lower intake do leak. need replaced about every 90k if you drive them and low mileage tends to leak at 25k some blame dexcool but who really knows. I do about one a month they pay well about 5hrs and I can do them in a hr now. Biggest problem I've seen is people cross threading the rocker bolts to pull pushrods. As well they have different size push rods and have seen them mixed up. In five years I've only seen about a dozen have a head gasket issue just my 2cents

Edit: I think that on some cases when they see the coolant mixed with oil they think its a head gasket . I would Own one of these motors. I think over all its a dependable motor if maintained properly I've seen cars come in with well over 200k not missing a beat !

1969w3155

Had the 3.1 in my '98 Lumina, it had the gasket problem, from what I was told, due to the Dexcool, a $500 bill to repair at about 120k, there was a class action lawsuit, but apparently I owned the car at the wrong time to be considered (according to the law firm handling the case). That car never used oil.

joe_padavano

The 3.1 and 3.4 motors are derived from the 60 degree 2.8 Chevy V6. The 4.3 mentioned above is a 90 deg motor derived from the SBC and is completely unrelated to this discussion. The 3.0, 3.3, and 3.8 are 90 deg Bufords (except, of course, the 229 cu in/3.8 Chebby V6, which is related to the 4.3). I don't think the 229 was ever used in an east/west configuration.

kitfoxdave

both of my chevy 2.8 liter V6's had the intake manifold gasket leak at 105,000 miles (within a bout 200 miles of each other!) They went to slightly longer bolts with Bellville washers on them. One got wrecked about 10k miles later and the other got about 50K more before the tranny disintegrated...

Both were 1988 trucks

Octania

Wife thinks we can sign up for a car payment, so we have a 2 day test drive of a thing similar to this

https://usedcars.truecar.com/car/Dod...KA43G78H283592

5.7 Hemi V8
nice car of course at only 6-8 yrs old

One problem, it has NO trouble getting to 100 mph. Speedo goes to 160 so even at 80 you are only halway up, like the Benz. very strong brakes. This sample does nt seem to return the steering wheel to fwd as smoothly as it should. Carfax mentions a a vague "light body damage" from a signpost at some point, and a replaced computer and some other electronic thing.

Input?

Avoid a Charger at all costs?
We are consicering another Caravan also.

I do likes me a zippy little fast V8 car though, and we do not drive far to work so the not so good fuel economy is not that big of a deal. I think it's faster than the 403 '85 442, and it damn sure has more legs for higher speeds. 6-speed trans that you can shift manually with sideways stick actions.

joe_padavano

I'm sorry, but why are we even having this discussion? Hemi Charger with RWD vs. a FWD soccer mom minivan? Seriously?

Wasn't that called a dual -gate?

oldcutlass

The Charger is a great family car. The only thing is when doing an oil change use the factory specified oil, do not deviate as the computer will go ape ****. Also you can look at the Chrysler 300.

copper128

You won't like the fuel (lack of) economy for a 5.7 Hemi around town. Good on the hwy, though.

Octania

Lansing is a whopping 15 miles across. This ain't LA here.
[well, Lansing Area I guess]

I have been driving a K1500 truck and '85 442 with 403, so neither of those are exactly sippers. The old family car is a 99 Caravan, showing age with rust and rattles. It's not bad on gas. I don't think it would do 100 if it had to. The Charger, NO PROBLEM. I have not gone 100 in anything in a LONG time. 1968 Toro parts car I believe, about 10 yrs ago.

And, yes, we are seriously considering a Caravan instead. But, we can keep the old 'van for Beach Runs / medium kid's driver, and mom and dad can have the family Hots Rod for a while. Cost of either is similar. As I said, mileage doesn't matter much if you don't really use it a lot.

I do see ONE or TWO 2006 era chargers for sale with bad trans, rebuilt engine at under 150k miles, etc. Harumph.

I also looked into electric cars, briefly, but with the steeeeep entry cost, and limited range, it's not practical for what we need at this time.

pogo69

with the amount of traffic on the roads going 100 isnt much of a perk for a car...not around here any way

Octania

Interesting, I have not heard the oil thing before.

Anyhow, issue resolved for now.

Here's a photo:



My mom ended up buying the Caravan also... good day for the salesmen