This car has 11,000 miles on it and is an 06 model. Any thoughts on the durability of this engine? I really dont find much on it. Seems to be a OHV Pushrod engine. Seems smooth. Any known issues?
Malibu LTZ 3.5 liter
- Thread starter 94 saturn sl1 2000 saturn sc2
- Start date
- Status
We had the 3.1 version in a Chevy "dustbuster" minivan years back, and the engine was bulletproof to 150k miles with regular dino OC's when we traded it in. It tended to blow through 5w-30 a bit later in life, but any 10w-30 stopped that cold. Never leaked a drop, never had an engine problem with it of any type except radiator replacement (cheap sh!t rad, thx GM).
This new 3.5L is an *excellent* engine, which will deliver outstanding economy and good performance. GM had a winner with the older 3.1L/3.4L engines; in spite of the piston slap and the failing lower intake manifold gaskets, these engines still easily went to 200K miles.
The 3.5L engine for 2006 no longer has any coolant flowing through the LIM, and thus it cannot leak; and furthermore the piston slapping problems of the past seem to finally be resolved.
With basic maintenance this engine should take you well past 200K miles and provide excellent economy and performance to boot. The new GM 60*V6's are some of my favorite new engines. I have the 3900 engine in my larger Monte Carlo, and on a recent trip of 440 miles I averaged 29.5 mpg which included 90% highway driving and some stop and go city driving as well. I think you will be very happy with a 3500.
The 3.5L engine for 2006 no longer has any coolant flowing through the LIM, and thus it cannot leak; and furthermore the piston slapping problems of the past seem to finally be resolved.
With basic maintenance this engine should take you well past 200K miles and provide excellent economy and performance to boot. The new GM 60*V6's are some of my favorite new engines. I have the 3900 engine in my larger Monte Carlo, and on a recent trip of 440 miles I averaged 29.5 mpg which included 90% highway driving and some stop and go city driving as well. I think you will be very happy with a 3500.
Ok, I am biased against this engines older siblings. This version though is supposed to be much improved.The main problems this engine family has suffered from tradionaly has been intake gasket failure, head gasket failure, and main and rod knock.Now like the previous poster stated they fixed the intake manifold issue by not passing water through it. We do not know though if iti s going to continue to suffer from head gasket failures and rod knock! It is simply to early to tell.
The 3.5L has been on the road since mid 2004 (2005 model year). You don't hear of any issues with them. Great power and economy.
Dang. JTK posted an image of the LX9, which I thought had been discontinued and replaced by the LZ4 at this point in all models. A quick check of GM's media site reveals that they are, indeed, still putting the LX9 in the Malibu, and coolant is still flowing through the LIM in this engine; also, it lacks the VVT system in the LZ4/LZ9. Supposedly, they have fixed the leaking problem as of 2005 in the 60*'s, but there is no doubt that the LZ4 has a much better design.
For comparison, this is a photo of the LZ4:
You can see the external features of the U-flow design of the cooling system (the "upper" and "lower" radiator hoses both connect at the front of the engine) and the VVT system on the LZ4 which aren't on the LX9.
It's still a very good engine and should provide you good economy and reliability, but it's not quite a nice as the newest LZ4/LZ9's.
JohnBrowning, I've worked on, cared for and driven many of these engines, quite a few in the 200K+ range, and only one had suffered catastrophic head gasket failure (a '95 3.1L, with 216K miles); and I've never seen one in my travels with main bearing or rod knock. In my experience, the bottom end of this engine is virtually indestructible.
I'd recommend a 60* 100% over the Ecotec, and personally, I'd have one over the new DOHC engines as well (though my opinion might be biased, I really don't like OHC engines in general).
For comparison, this is a photo of the LZ4:
You can see the external features of the U-flow design of the cooling system (the "upper" and "lower" radiator hoses both connect at the front of the engine) and the VVT system on the LZ4 which aren't on the LX9.
It's still a very good engine and should provide you good economy and reliability, but it's not quite a nice as the newest LZ4/LZ9's.
JohnBrowning, I've worked on, cared for and driven many of these engines, quite a few in the 200K+ range, and only one had suffered catastrophic head gasket failure (a '95 3.1L, with 216K miles); and I've never seen one in my travels with main bearing or rod knock. In my experience, the bottom end of this engine is virtually indestructible.
I'd recommend a 60* 100% over the Ecotec, and personally, I'd have one over the new DOHC engines as well (though my opinion might be biased, I really don't like OHC engines in general).
engine code on this was LZ9 seems nice and smooth while not a tire burner it pulls smoothly and is getting about 29 MPG in mixed driving to this point.
LZ9 is the 3.9L VVT engine. Are you sure you didn't mean LX9?
I do know that the Malibu SS got the LZ9, but didn't think it was an available option for the LTZ. Either way, you got a good engine, and I'm glad you're happy with your car.
I do know that the Malibu SS got the LZ9, but didn't think it was an available option for the LTZ. Either way, you got a good engine, and I'm glad you're happy with your car.
Ok ... now I'm throughly confused
My dad just picked up a malibu maxx (wagon thing) with this engine and I have fallen madly in love with it. It is very torquey, smooth, quiet, and delivers great fuel economy.
So the Malibu 3.5l and Impala 3.5l are the same?
GM has supposedly fixed piston slap and coolant issues since 03. Don't worry I knew a 93 Camaro with 3.4 that went about 10000 miles on dino oci's and driven like it was stolen everyday 24/7 and was running like a top at 200000 while the rest of the car was in bad need of replacement.
Also thanks for putting your money where your mouth is and buying a great AMERICAN car. I think the Malibu is one of the most underated cars one can buy. A superb value.
- Status
