Human Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 So, a few weeks ago, I was driving my '95 Cutlass Supreme convertible over to a friend's house, and the car started running a little hot, not overheating, but hotter than I was comfortable with. When I got back home, I looked under the hood, the overflow jug was empty and things were quite wet down by the water pump. It was right at the end of the spring semester, so I just didn't have time to mess with it, beyond pouring in a gallon of antifreeze until today, when I sent it over to my mechanic's shop, and amazingly, he had a water pump for it sitting on the shelf, had the whole thing done in less than four hours. That just never happens. Even better, it was a comparatively inexpensive repair. He was a little afraid there might have been head gasket damage, but everything checked out okay in the end. The best part was the repair was a bit less expensive than I expected. He ballparked it at around $280-$400, and it came in at $281 and change. I'm stoked that I don't have to miss anymore prime convertible weather. jiggity76 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jiggity76 Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 9 minutes ago, Human said: So, a few weeks ago, I was driving my '95 Cutlass Supreme convertible over to a friend's house, and the car started running a little hot, not overheating, but hotter than I was comfortable with. When I got back home, I looked under the hood, the overflow jug was empty and things were quite wet down by the water pump. It was right at the end of the spring semester, so I just didn't have time to mess with it, beyond pouring in a gallon of antifreeze until today, when I sent it over to my mechanic's shop, and amazingly, he had a water pump for it sitting on the shelf, had the whole thing done in less than four hours. That just never happens. Even better, it was a comparatively inexpensive repair. He was a little afraid there might have been head gasket damage, but everything checked out okay in the end. The best part was the repair was a bit less expensive than I expected. He ballparked it at around $280-$400, and it came in at $281 and change. I'm stoked that I don't have to miss anymore prime convertible weather. I'm probably alone in this but I feel the LQ1 isn't that hard to work on. Granted, they do require special tools but like anything mechanical, the right tools for the job helps tremendously. The water pump is very easy to get at in particular. Right there out in the open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcac Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 9 minutes ago, jiggity76 said: Granted, they do require special tools How many special tools have you had to aquire? I bought a Kent-Moore GM 3.4 DOHC tool kit off of EBay years ago, but haven't looked in a while to see what is available anymore. jiggity76 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Human Posted May 14 Author Report Share Posted May 14 21 minutes ago, jiggity76 said: I'm probably alone in this but I feel the LQ1 isn't that hard to work on. Granted, they do require special tools but like anything mechanical, the right tools for the job helps tremendously. The water pump is very easy to get at in particular. Right there out in the open. That's what the mechanic said. It was a very easy fix because everything was relatively easy to access. I have no idea about special tools; I just knew that repair was above my pay grade. jiggity76 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jiggity76 Posted May 14 Report Share Posted May 14 (edited) 11 hours ago, kcac said: How many special tools have you had to aquire? I bought a Kent-Moore GM 3.4 DOHC tool kit off of EBay years ago, but haven't looked in a while to see what is available anymore. I also have that Kent-Moore kit and it's so handy. For the 91-93 LQ1's, the cam cog puller is a must as well. Starting in 94, GM switched to a lock washer and bolt system that doesn't require this tool. Both of my LQ1's are within that 91-93 year range. This tool right here, this puller, is an absolute blessing! After my local GM dealer said my original motor had a timing issue...and I knew the belt was good and timed correctly, I assumed it was the timing chain. This is a puller for the timing chain and sprockets. The chain and sprockets have to be pulled as one unit due to how they're designed like most timing chain systems. Because of the tight tolerances between the dampener/nose of the crankshaft and right side frame rail, a conventional puller to my knowledge won't fit in that area. I even rented the smallest puller they had a my local parts store and it was still way to big to even try and lock onto the sprockets. I found this bridge puller I think it's called years ago on Ebay. SO GLAD I BOUGHT IT!!!! The GM dealer wanted to either drop the engine cradle on the passenger side or if need be, drop the entire cradle and drivetrain out of my Olds International Cutlass for the repair. Total bill was going to be estimated between $5500-6500. This bridge puller allowed me to do the job myself and only costing me about $100 bucks. This includes the price of the puller, the chain/sprockets, and the guides. This kit also included the tool to drive the crankshaft sprocket and dampener back onto the crankshaft. The repair process and bridge puller being used. You can see the tight tolerances of where this tool needs to work and how beautifully it all fit together. Again, this specialty tool saved me THOUSANDS of dollars! New timing set in place. Edited May 14 by jiggity76 rich_e777 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcac Posted May 26 Report Share Posted May 26 @jiggity76 - that is impressive work. Have you replaced the oil plug gasket/o-ring? When bought my Cutlass in 2007, I told a mechanic that It had the 3.4 DOHC, he advised me to sell the vehicle. He had a Pontiac with the 3.4 and hated working on it due to the tight clearances and the added complexity the DOHC configuration added to the engine. jiggity76 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jiggity76 Posted May 26 Report Share Posted May 26 1 hour ago, kcac said: @jiggity76 - that is impressive work. Have you replaced the oil plug gasket/o-ring? When bought my Cutlass in 2007, I told a mechanic that It had the 3.4 DOHC, he advised me to sell the vehicle. He had a Pontiac with the 3.4 and hated working on it due to the tight clearances and the added complexity the DOHC configuration added to the engine. Thank you. Not in this case actually. This was my car's original motor with 153,000 miles. I couldn't figure out what was causing it to NOT start after years of working on it when I had the time and money. The culprit ended up being a faulty wiring harness due to the previous owners not correctly repairing it...totally not the cars fault. My NOS motor of course has a brand new O ring that you're referring too. I have since put an NOS motor in it and it runs beautifully. I just completed about 1,000 miles on it. Yeah, these motors get a bad rap I feel. I'm not one of those people. I actually prefer the LQ1 over any other motor that was available in these cars. I also own a 93 Grand Prix STE with the same drivetrain and wouldn't want it any other way! I am well versed mechanically now in these motors and have the patience, determination, and like anything mechanical, the correct tools. The specialty tools are very much needed when working on an LQ1. The same goes for any 4 cam 24 valve engine from this era from any manufacturer really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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