94vertluvr Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 (edited) Been reading this forum ever since I found it over the weekend; what a tremendous amount of information for W body car owners!!! As a newbie here, this is my first post - thank you for this!!! I just bought my 2nd 94 olds vert; one is a 3.1 and this one is a 3.4 DOHC engine. I bought it for a steal considering the body and interior is nearly impeccable for this year but the engine has a burnt valve in a head and the top half of the engine was broke down to assess the problem. The burnt valve is apparent; but I do not know anything else about the engine or tranny other than what Mr. Transmission told me as a customer gave it to them to cover a bill they owed and I bought it. In this situation would you try to rebuild the heads; replace gaskets, seals, etc or would you just slip another used and hopefully low mileage 3400 in? Also do you know if there's any other engine options that would work with this car? Maybe an HO or other? Value the opinions of those on this site who seem so knowledgeable. Thanks in advance!!! Edited July 14, 2010 by 94vertluvr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatTheFehl Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 3400? You mean a 3.4 DOHC? Unless someone top swapped the 3100 that was in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 Welcome to W-body my fellow 'vert owner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94vertluvr Posted July 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 Yes you are right it is the 3.4 DOHC; can't tell I'm a lil green I hope! LOL! 3400? You mean a 3.4 DOHC? Unless someone top swapped the 3100 that was in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94vertluvr Posted July 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 TY! This is a COOL site!!! Can't wait to share pics of my rides as they get their greatly needed improvements! Welcome to W-body my fellow 'vert owner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 feed it pressure, have fun for a few thousand miles until the transaxle blows up, cry, swap in a manual trans and be happy for quite some time. and welcome to the site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted July 14, 2010 Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 burned valve you say? pictures of the car and engine? Personally if it is indeed a bad valve. I'd get a set of good used cyl heads retime it and see what it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94vertluvr Posted July 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2010 I'm attaching a few pics. On the pic where you see the partial head you can see the bad valve in the upper left side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mediabandit Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94vertluvr Posted July 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 Pic of the engine compartment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 Nice Heads Up Display! <---- Jealous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 I'd rebuild. Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 Im gonna give you the short, SHORT version. Welcome, super nice vert, keep the LQ1, performance parts are few, it has a 4t60-e trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted July 15, 2010 Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 wow its torn down pretty far already. are you going to get the heads redone? find a used engine or work with what you have? hopefully whoever tore it down saved you parts. i do not know where you are located but i may have a set of heads from a 93' engine. you'll just need to use your cam carriers. oh and see that circle thing near the trans. change that O ring. you'll be ever so glad you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94vertluvr Posted July 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2010 Thanks for the heads offer; not sure what I'm going to do yet. I have a mechanic friend who is looking into possibly switching the motor out for another 3.4 hopefully with lower miles but we'll see. This one has 124k on the odom. Yea it is torn down pretty far already; probably why I got a good deal on it! I have a trunk full of engine parts, lol so I hope I have it all. I don't know if there's a way like the older engines to build the 3.4 back again for a little more performance or not and if the tranny would be able to keep up. Still trying to absorb all the info on this site about what I have and what can be done, lol a wealth of info here!! I'm in SC; told my mechanic that I want to replace every O ring/gasket he can get to! I definitely want to avoid any down the road issues, lol literally! wow its torn down pretty far already. are you going to get the heads redone? find a used engine or work with what you have? hopefully whoever tore it down saved you parts. i do not know where you are located but i may have a set of heads from a 93' engine. you'll just need to use your cam carriers. oh and see that circle thing near the trans. change that O ring. you'll be ever so glad you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgethis Posted July 16, 2010 Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 I was going to say nice color man, I was loved that color of cutty. I was going to mention ( and this is just my IMO for the record), what would you think swapping out the 3.4 DOHC for a 3400? I don't know how much interchange it would take to swap out the two different blocks "but" I do know just from the reading on here that 3.4 DOHC are a bit of problem child to work on. I figured 3100, or 3400 are easier to work compared to what you have. It might even be cheaper to find a motor at a junk yard, possibly change the LIM on it, and what not. Like a said, just a suggestion. Im not trying to start a flame war for those who like the 3.4 DOHC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted July 16, 2010 Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 I would probably just check out everything you have, replace/repair what's bad, and put it back together. If it runs good, great! If for some reason it doesn't work out, then swap something else in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted July 16, 2010 Report Share Posted July 16, 2010 I'm going with the majority here: Repair the cylinder head(s) you have or get a good used set, throw them on, and drive it. Before doing that work though, I would at least spin the engine over by hand if you haven't already to verify that it's not locked down. Also inspect the oil very closely. PS: Clean that coolant out of that cylinder ASAP and coat every cylinder with some engine oil occasionally while it's torn down like that to prevent rust from forming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94vertluvr Posted July 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 Thanks for all the input! I took it to my mechanic last Thursday; he is going to further break down and assess. He said its a good possibility the engine overheated. He said when the 3.4L overheats that it often will crack the block. I asked him to look into engine options for possible replacement; he found 3 used ones; a 3.4 L specifically out of a cutlass with around 72k miles for $950; a 3.4 with 108k for $850 and an engine with around 160k for $650. I would lean toward the lower mileage engine just because it will hopefully give me less trouble over the long haul. He said he replaces all the fluids; checks the compression and the lower mileage engine comes with a 7 month warranty to boot. So I think this is where I'm leaning. Based on your threads I think I'd have him replace as many gaskets, O rings; timing belt and pulleys while he was doing the install just to short cut any future issues. I guess I'm trying to get this done once without having to revisit another possible engine problem just in case the heads are not the car's only issue. I'd just hate to tear it down again after rebuilding heads on the chance it may have a block or ring issue. The mechanic said rebuilding the top half can be pretty expensive in itself. Any thots on this? Is slipping in another engine with low mileage and a 7 month warranty a safe bet? Thanks again for the comments; you guys are great!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 I'd drop in the "new" engine and forget about your old one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtwmechanic Posted July 18, 2010 Report Share Posted July 18, 2010 series II or III 3800 n/a or not FTW. your chances of finding a low milage LQ1 is nill and a new engine in what ever series you choose is costly. but if your set on the LQ1, which is a great engine, and go used put a timimg belt and lim gaskets on it before the install. and at least a thermostat, waterpump and rear main seal too................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94vertluvr Posted July 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Good advice all! I'm going by to talk to the mechanic tomorrow and look at an engine that he ordered supposedly with around 70k miles. I requested in another thread what the compression reading should be on a healthy 3.4L just to make sure I have a 'lightly used' engine. I don't mind paying a little more for a lower mileage engine just want to make sure I'm getting what I'm paying for! Is $950 too much to pay for such an engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 $950 for a used LQ1 is awfully high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted July 20, 2010 Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 I just sold a running 1994 3.4 with 77,000, evidence of all new timing components and I redid the oil drive seal myself for $500... what is your location? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94vertluvr Posted July 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 I'm in SC - I think the motor came from NC if I'm not mistaken. I just sold a running 1994 3.4 with 77,000, evidence of all new timing components and I redid the oil drive seal myself for $500... what is your location? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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