The GM 3800 V6

[nskitts]

I know it's got a plastic intake that leaks in some cases but otherwise it's bulletproof. The fact is, the wife's old car is a '99 Pontiac Grand Prix with 140,000 miles on it. The motor is still whisper quiet, has 205HP and over 200ft/lb of torque and gets 30MPG on the highway. The starter went out at around 100,000 but other than that I just change the DexCool sludge every so often it's good.

Why do the car companies now brag when their 4 cylinder overhead cam cars get 32MPG when it's so easy to do with old pushrod technology, and also why was the 3800 V6 so much better on gas and bulletproof than other V6s of its time?

Also feel free to give your experience with this motor as I think 60-80% of people have had one of these in their driving career.

Disclaimer: I am a Honda man but honestly in love with this GM engine.

[Photog]

Yep--replaced the intake manifold gasket on mine.



Sweet, sweet engine. Pushed the big ol' Bonneville around just fine and I could get 32 on the highway with it if I didn't horse around too much.



I've had a few cars with neat engines that probably don't make people drool but served me well.

4.0L Jeep I6
Saturn Twincam
Mazda Miata 1.8L DOHC

I really fell in love with that 3800 though.

[yater]

140k is hardly "bullet proof". Get back to us at 300k.

[TALLGUY]

Wife had one that ran 212,000 miles with basic maintenance and a fuel injector (traded in on next car) and now has an SSEI (Supercharged) with 214,000 which just now needs the intake gasket done and the supercharger rebuilt. Both cars got about 30mpg and had power to pass just about any other sedan on the road. She did not baby those cars and they never let her down.

I agree with the original post. If you get that close to perfect why change. Keep in mind those were Pontiac Bonnevilles, which would now be considered full size.

[Photog]

Layoff forced the sale of that car otherwise I'd still have it and had planned to keep it until a meteor hit it or I got too old to drive.

It's not unusual for the 3800 to get to 300K based on the forums devoted to that mill. Given the age of the Series II it'll take a few more years for the fleet to get there but I'm reading about a lot of cars in the mid-200K range doing fine. Most of the gripes I read are about other stuff on the car, but not the engine itself.

The intake manifold gasket is its Achilles heel. Change it out when it needs it (first faint whiff of antifreeze...) or as a pre-emptive strike and they do pretty well.

[yater]

Originally Posted by Photog

Most of the gripes I read are about other stuff on the car, but not the engine itself.

.

This was my point. Those things will nickle and dime you to 300k miles. A rattle here, a transmission there.....

I consider a vehicle "bullet proof" when I hit 250k+ with only routine maintenance....fluids, brakes, tires.

[Photog]

Originally Posted by yater

This was my point. Those things will nickle and dime you to 300k miles. A rattle here, a transmission there.....

Not disagreeing with you there, but my take was the OP was referring to the 3800 itself, and I'm fully agreeing with him that it's a good motor. Given the opportunity I'd buy another L67 car. After living with the car for a number of years, it amazed me that an engine that's been around that long could deliver that sort of performance and gas mileage.

[WoovsHoovs]

Basically the motor was a good unit-the mpg was mostly due to modern aerodynamics and good transmission tuning. Rarely if ever (recently) used in trucks.

Some 3.8's saw marine duty. Used in the fabled grand natl\gnx cars.
Originally cobbled up in the early 60's.

[NICO]

Originally Posted by yater

This was my point. Those things will nickle and dime you to 300k miles. A rattle here, a transmission there.....

I consider a vehicle "bullet proof" when I hit 250k+ with only routine maintenance....fluids, brakes, tires.

Did you give your password to IheartmyNX?

The OP mentions the motor, not the transmission, not the wheel bearings, not the window motors, not the fuel filler door. Only the motor and it's tendency to run and run and run all while getting very good mileage. As noted, mileage that rivals current model cars with smaller motors in smaller bodies.

Try to stay on topic.

[NICO]

Originally Posted by Photog

Yep--replaced the intake manifold gasket on mine.

Tell me that's a pic you took when the car was new. Please.

If not, how the hell do you keep an engine bay looking that good?

[vtwin]

From this...



To this....

[Photog]

Originally Posted by NICO

Tell me that's a pic you took when the car was new. Please.

If not, how the hell do you keep an engine bay looking that good?

3 years old when I took that pic.

I was the second owner. I thought the first owner must've been seriously obsessive and I figured I'd never see it that clean again after I bought it. There wasn't a surface under the hood that you couldn't eat off of.

Several years later it was still pristine and that was just with an occasional once-over of the engine compartment. I don't know how it stayed that clean. I figure it bathed itself at night.

I've got a '96 Saab 900S that's the same way....first owner must've waxed the engine compartment with a q-tip on weekends, and the interior looks new. 139K so it doesn't have a ton of miles, but still...most of the cars I've had over the years have had a nice protective layer of gick and gunk in the engine bay.

[yater]

Originally Posted by NICO

Did you give your password to IheartmyNX?

The OP mentions the motor, not the transmission, not the wheel bearings, not the window motors, not the fuel filler door. Only the motor and it's tendency to run and run and run all while getting very good mileage. As noted, mileage that rivals current model cars with smaller motors in smaller bodies.

Try to stay on topic.

The car doesn't do me any good without the transmission, wheel bearings, steering linkages, et cetera. There are plenty of fine engines in POS vehicles....the dodge/cummins comes to mind.

[Gummee!]

Stick's Camaro has the same engine in it. Engine's fine, but the tranny needs help. There's always been a horrific noise from the ass end. AND I can't get the farging exhaust to seal so the check engine light won't go off.

I'm hoping I don't hafta re-do the cat when I finally get around to doing the tranny.

M

[Photog]

Originally Posted by vtwin

From this...



To this....

Those were the days when you could stand INSIDE the engine compartment!

What year is that?