just how good reliable/durable were they? iirc, they are similar to the 3800 with a shorter stroke. i'm considering buying a 1993 century wagon with 77,000 miles on it for a 2nd vehicle. opinions?
Had that in my cutlass ciera, great motor but pinged from localized overheating in the crudded up coolant passages. (Ran perfect on pure water). Junked due to too much needed to pass inspection, while waiting for the tow truck, the crank sensor went out. Hides behind the harmonic balancer pulley IIRC and kind of hard to get at.
FUN motor though, lots of TORQUE esp at 2000 RPM and even less. A wagon will have the 4 speed 4T60E. Expect near 30 MPG highway. Snap it up!!!
the 3300 is a very good engine - much better than the che4vy narrow angle variants (2.8, 3.1, 3.4)
IMHO the best 3 engines that GM made (at least lately) were: 5.7, 3800, 3300
they are reliable and durable.
now, as a 16 year old car with 77,000 miles, the condition and care of it will determine its value.
My father had a 93 Grand Am with the 3300 and it was a very good motor. I believe it is a destroked 3800 which was one of GM's best. I saw a 93 Cutless with the 3300 for sale recently with similar mileage (78K) but I thought $1500 was too high for a 16 y/o car.
I drove one of the last Olds Calais with the 3.3, liked it much better than the 3.0 in my 85 Calais. It was much smoother...felt like it had a balance shaft or was just better balanced naturally.