GM 3.1 V6 picture

[JHZR2]

quote:

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Originally posted by FORDNUT:
First off, your Engine looks great!! Secondly in response to (that must be a new record for this engine!) I think that is a typically brainwashed comment. So many people think that only a foreign car can run that long, but that is absolutley not true. I think the main reason foreign cars often last a long time is that they are usually maintained better than American car. Just spend a little time in a couple service depts. At a Toyota dealership you tell a cust that there car needs a new air filter, brake fluid changed, and transmission service they will tell you do whatever it needs. At a Chevy dealership you tell the cust that and they look at you like you have two heads, and then procede to say that you are trying to rip them off. It just seems to be a different mentality. I know quite a few people with American cars and trucks with 2 and 300,000 miles. I know Patman will back me up on this! sorrry, just venting.

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Couldnt have said it better myself!!!
Ive seen a number of berettas, corsicas, and the similar olds and buicks of that era with very high miles on their engines.

I think your pictures discount some of the rumours that go around regarding pennzoil sludging or varnishing up.

Nice job with the engine!

JMH

 

[Johnny]

Patman:

You have to think about what you said for just a minute. His oil change schedule was tought by his dad and grandad. You know, old school. Now figure this. He's a working stiff, drives all day, probably spends one or two nights in a motel somewhere. Just delivering papers so the good folks can get the news. He loves his PENNZOIL because daddy told him so. "Good for his daddy". He has no time to get online and look up BITOG, and that's probably a good thing. Just look at how whacked out we all get about oil. He would have run off the road several times just thinking about oil, much less all the sleepless nights thinking about additives. So I'm glad he did what he did.

Just think of it Patman, you have put over a million miles on your fingures just typing messages on this board.

Oh, for one of the post above, THIS WAS NOT A MARKETING HYPE. THIS WAS FACT.

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Johnny:

Just think of it Patman, you have put over a million miles on your fingures just typing messages on this board.

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Hehe, that's true!

I still wonder why the lube shop owner didn't push this guy into using Pennzoil synthetic and extending his intervals though? He'd still see the guy come in at least once every few weeks so he'd still make money from him.

 

[Lumberg]

quote:

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Originally posted by Last_Z:
my old '88 Trans Am ... Any other than that, no problems.

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Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?

 

[Lumberg]

seriously though I think that this thread is just a re-hash of arguments I've seen all over this board:
when a car finally dies, it's not usually the engine that causes the final failure, or at least not a lubrication-related failure (it could be an overheat caused by a coolant leak or whatever)

which is why dino is fine!

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ron Jeremy:
I talked to a GM mechanic who rattled on for 20 minutes about what garbage the 3.1 is. Also talked to a Nissan dealership owner who told me that his saleman scatter and hide when someone pulls up with a 3.1 trade-in. They don't want to even have them on the lot. I personally have no experience with these engines, but their reputation is not very good.

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I love mentioning how my next door neighbor has a 1990 Sunbird with the 3.1 engine and it's got over 400,000km on it now (he's the original owner too). Original engine, original trans, untouched. Never had any intake leak. He's never even changed his coolant!

He calls that car his tank, it takes a huge beating, he drives the heck out of it he says. (and I've seen him on the road, and believe him!) The only problems he has had is alternators and brakes (the way he drives he's doing a brake job in the driveway every 6 months)

 

[Vuarra]

Since when is an Oshawa (Ontario) built vehicle a "furrin" car? I'm referring to someone who had a problem with a W-body Chevy saying that foreign cars should be avoided.

If that be the case, my wife's Neon was just an American POS (Belvedere, IL), but I should be fine with a 300C, because it's built in Brampton (Ontario)?

Something just does not compute. Wouldn't where the car is designed have something to do with the quality (Like Honda and Toyota)? Trust me, with the fiasco that I've been thru with the wife's Neon, whether the car is made in Canada, USA or Germany, I'll never buy another Daimler-Chrysler again.

Those who know me know that I'm not a big fan of the US political scene (but trust me, most Americans are nice people); but I'm buying a car because of the car, not because of the nationality of the people who made it. Both my 87 Regal and 92 Roadmaster were made in the USA, and they are better quality than my friends' comparable years' Hondas and Nissans, which were made abroad.

 

[kenw]

"Wouldn't where the car is designed have something to do with the quality... "

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careful, you're using logic. We'll have none of that here!!

actually, it's not "where" but "by whom" and their management's priorities. Many of the "Japanese" cars and their components are not only built but designed in the USA/Canada.

 

[Baveux]

If you can leave with the cold piston slap, and lower intake manifold leak you will find the 3.1/3.4 sufficient and long lasting in many application.

 

[T-Keith]

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Originally posted by Baveux:
If you can leave with the cold piston slap, and lower intake manifold leak you will find the 3.1/3.4 sufficient and long lasting in many application.

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Never a problem with any 2.8/3.1/3.4 I've seen. There is some upper valvetrain noise with certain filters, but no "piston slap".

They are good engines, and will last a long time, not as good as a 3800, but better then many other V6 engines.

-T

 

[Ron Jeremy]

I talked to a GM mechanic who rattled on for 20 minutes about what garbage the 3.1 is. Also talked to a Nissan dealership owner who told me that his saleman scatter and hide when someone pulls up with a 3.1 trade-in. They don't want to even have them on the lot. I personally have no experience with these engines, but their reputation is not very good.

 

[G-MAN]

quote:

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Originally posted by T-Keith:

quote:

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Originally posted by Baveux:
If you can leave with the cold piston slap, and lower intake manifold leak you will find the 3.1/3.4 sufficient and long lasting in many application.

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Never a problem with any 2.8/3.1/3.4 I've seen. There is some upper valvetrain noise with certain filters, but no "piston slap".

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The 3.1 and 3.4 have had several TSBs issued regarding piston slap and wrist pin tick. Many customers who complained loudly enough have had their pistons replaced at no charge for one or both issues. On my 3.4, it was never bad enough for me to worry, especially since Mobil 1 quieted it down quite a bit over regular oil. But to date, the only oil that has eliminated the piston slap completely is Castrol GTX Start-Up. I posted about it a couple of weeks ago.

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by T-Keith:

Never a problem with any 2.8/3.1/3.4 I've seen. There is some upper valvetrain noise with certain filters, but no "piston slap".

-T

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That's easy to explain. If only one in 200 engines had the piston slap problem, it would indicate a serious quality control problem. At 1 in 200, the average owner would never have the problem or personally know another person who did.

 

[pbm]

I own an 02' 3.1 Buick and I wanted to know which oil/filter combo is best for reducing the occasional start up clatter. Also does anybody have any idea what percent of these have intake
gasket issues?
I have a late model Accord (01'). Both the Buick and Honda are excellent cars. One thing that is surprising is the great gas mileage I get with the 3.1 Buick. On long trips I have gotten as high as 34 mpg (with CC set at 70ish) and average 32mpg. Great car so far and absolutely no problems in 46K miles.

 

[Patman]

quote:

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Originally posted by pbm:
I own an 02' 3.1 Buick and I wanted to know which oil/filter combo is best for reducing the occasional start up clatter.

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As G-Man II said, Castrol Start Up has worked well for eliminating his piston slap noise, so you might want to try this out.

 

[GT Mike]

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Originally posted by tec97:
I'll speak up FOR this engine as I think it's the venerable Pontiac Iron Duke - when normally maintained (and not stuck into a Fiero where it is likely to burn to a cinder), the Iron Duke will provide many years of trouble-free operation.

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This engine is not the Pontiac "Iron Duke". That engine displaces 2.5 liters with bore and stroke of 4.00" x 3.00".
The engine in the Cavalier is a Chevrolet engine that in its simplest form could be considered half a small block V8. It displaces either 1.8, 2.0, or 2.2 liters depending on its model year. The Cavalier was introduced in '81 as an '82 model with the 1.8 liter OHV engine and a 2-barrel carburetor. Shortly thereafter, it grew to 2.0 liters and acquired electonic throttle body injection. In 1987 it was fitted with distributorless ignition (DIS) and a new lightweight "fast burn" aluminum cylinder head. The rocker arms were also redesigned to be non-adjustable with no lifter preload required if disassembled and reassembled. In 1990, its displacement grew to 2.2 liters, and shortly thereafter, in 1992, gained multi-port fuel injection which replaced the archaic TBI system. The engine in this trim is what you see under the hoods of Cavaliers and Sunfires even up in the current model year.

The GM J-body cars did not ever offer the Pontiac 2.5 "Iron Duke" engine in them. This engine was used in larger carlines like the N-body (Grand Am, et al), A-body (Celebrity, et al) and several others including the S-series compact pickups up until 1994 which is when those vehicles, interestingly, picked up a RWD version of the 2.2 liter Chevrolet 4 cylinder originally produced for the Cavalier and other J-body cars.

Whew! My fingers need a nap!

[ November 23, 2004, 02:15 AM: Message edited by: GT Mike ]

 

[pete643]

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Originally posted by motorguy222:
Many of the GM cars that people drive are driven like they are race cars.

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I don't know about that. I see very little fast or hard driving in the U.S. Most people drive their cars in a lazy/slow way. And the slow speeds on U.S. highways, probably averaging around 65-70 mph, do not stress cars at all.

This is in sharp contrast with Europe, where people actually use more of the performance a car has to offer.

Not only are the highway speeds much faster, but city driving is much more aggressive. Not just in acceleration, but braking and cornering also.

 

[T-Keith]

quote:

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Originally posted by pete643:

quote:

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Originally posted by motorguy222:
Many of the GM cars that people drive are driven like they are race cars.

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I don't know about that. I see very little fast or hard driving in the U.S. Most people drive their cars in a lazy/slow way. And the slow speeds on U.S. highways, probably averaging around 65-70 mph, do not stress cars at all.

This is in sharp contrast with Europe, where people actually use more of the performance a car has to offer.

Not only are the highway speeds much faster, but city driving is much more aggressive. Not just in acceleration, but braking and cornering also.

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Most of the people I see driving american cars are practically peeling away from stoplights, and slamming on the brakes. They aren't really racing, that's just how they drive.

-T

 

[brianl703]

quote:

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Originally posted by pete643:
I see very little fast or hard driving in the U.S.

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That's because the best time to do fast or hard driving is when nobody else, including cops, is around

 

[GT Mike]

quote:

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Originally posted by pbm:
I have a late model Accord (01'). Both the Buick and Honda are excellent cars. One thing that is surprising is the great gas mileage I get with the 3.1 Buick. On long trips I have gotten as high as 34 mpg (with CC set at 70ish) and average 32mpg. Great car so far and absolutely no problems in 46K miles.

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By comparison, what does your Honda get for MPG? Everyone seems to have the illusion that American cars are gas hogs, and the Japanese brands run on fumes in the tank.
In my opinion, most of the imports MPG is rather disappointing since many domestic cars can deliver similar numbers with engines twice the size in heavier cars.

My 3.8L '97 Grand Prix can get 30+ MPG consistently on the highway, and it weighs 3650 pounds and will run low 15s in the 1/4 mile.

I don't think I could ask for more out of a car.