Gm 3.4l -- I Hate You!!

[FestYboy]

I work at a Chevy dealer and have been told it is the 100K antifreeze that eats the gaskets...Dexron's fault! It affects all gm cars. The worst engine GM built was the 3400 double overhead cam used in the Lumina Z34...no warranty company will touch it!

actually, aside from the goofy timing belt design, the TDC is a great engine: powerful, efficient, easy to tune/mod. the problem with those engine wasn't the design, it was the lack of regular maintenance. high performance engines require diligent maintenance.

as for the 3x00 engines, those intake jobs take less than 4 hours in our shop (we do them fairly often).

and the pontiac grand prix and like chassis use a simple tool that you can easily make youreself that tilts the engine forward once the front dogbones have been removed (5 min job) and that gives plenty of room to do the plugs.

[Britstiva]

That is completely awesome of you to do that for her. If we lived closer to each other, I'd definitely chip in to help!!

[Pu241]

That is completely awesome of you to do that for her. If we lived closer to each other, I'd definitely chip in to help!!

I think she needs the vehicle sooner than a year it took to do a clutch replacement.

However, I suspect he has a paypal account and perhaps we can all put a few dollars toward a worthy cause and at least cover the cost of parts for the repair and maybe something for the "while I'm in there I better replace X."
So jermnc77, want to put your money were your mouth is?

So Gdawgs you got a paypal account for us to use?
I'd feel better about donating to this cause than one I'm never likely to know if someone was really helped or if most of the money was wasted on overhead for the "charities" business operations!

[Tim]

I work at a Chevy dealer and have been told it is the 100K antifreeze that eats the gaskets...Dexron's fault! It affects all gm cars. The worst engine GM built was the 3400 double overhead cam used in the Lumina Z34...no warranty company will touch it!

That antifreeze is nasty stuff. I worked on a low mileage, relatively new GM car that had a problem with overheating.

The orange antifreeze had turned into some sort of gunk and clogged up the cooling system.

I ended up flushing it all out and replacing the coolant with the regular green kind.

[hytekredneck]

Believe in Karma? Good will come back at you, it always does in some sort of way you just have to recognize when it does.

[gdawgs]

Wow, thanks for all the kind words and thoughts. I can't believe you guys would be willing to help pay for parts! You guys are great. I do have a Paypal account but I'm not sure how I'd feel about receiving money from you guys. I'll have to think about that.

Anyway, great news. Tearing it down to get to the fuel rail took much less time than I originally thought, just because I now know the tricks and the hidden bolts, etc. Only took about 45 minutes to get it apart. Took the line out, and the O-ring was cut, so I did something wrong when I put it together. Put in the new O-ring and this time I tested it before I put it together. No more leaks. Put it all back together, and it started right up. Ran a little rough for a couple minutes(which is normal according to the procedure) now it is purring like a kitten. I flushed the cooling system really well, and converted it over to regular anti-freeze. I still have to do that wheel bearing though. Didn't get to that last night. Today is our sons 5th birthday, so no working on the van tonight. I hope to get it done tomorrow so I can get it back to her. My wife cleaned up the inside of the van really nice, so I think this will be a good Christmas present for her and her kids.

Thanks again everyone!

[Levitan]

"All you have done for her and her family will be returned to you ten-fold."
"Believe in Karma? Good will come back at you, it always does in some sort of way you just have to recognize when it does."

I believe in this more and more, the older I get.

"I think she needs the vehicle sooner than a year it took to do a clutch replacement."

Damn John, when somebody gets under your hide, you get primitive laserbeam focus and lock on....LOL!!!!!! That was hiliarious!!!

[Pu241]

gdawgs,
It's not like your taking money from us so much as we are giving it to the woman in need of getting her van fixed.
You just happen to facilitate the transaction, when no one else would or could.
Speaking for myself, it won't be a lot, I still need to find a job, but I'm better off than a mother with 6 kids and no vehicle!
So I do what I can.
Think about it, just trying to help you help her!

[MJD]

Wow, thanks for all the kind words and thoughts. I can't believe you guys would be willing to help pay for parts! You guys are great. I do have a Paypal account but I'm not sure how I'd feel about receiving money from you guys. I'll have to think about that.

Anyway, great news. Tearing it down to get to the fuel rail took much less time than I originally thought, just because I now know the tricks and the hidden bolts, etc. Only took about 45 minutes to get it apart. Took the line out, and the O-ring was cut, so I did something wrong when I put it together. Put in the new O-ring and this time I tested it before I put it together. No more leaks. Put it all back together, and it started right up. Ran a little rough for a couple minutes(which is normal according to the procedure) now it is purring like a kitten. I flushed the cooling system really well, and converted it over to regular anti-freeze. I still have to do that wheel bearing though. Didn't get to that last night. Today is our sons 5th birthday, so no working on the van tonight. I hope to get it done tomorrow so I can get it back to her. My wife cleaned up the inside of the van really nice, so I think this will be a good Christmas present for her and her kids.

Thanks again everyone!

That is a great story...right on for Christmas ! That is terrific to help a needy family like that.
But, stories about this GM engine just seems to get some folks riled up about the quality of the Big 3 auto makers. We all want dependability, and some question that coming from our USA cars, just a sad story it seems. Then we point fingers at auto companies because of the huge problems that come along with certain engines in question. What's a guy to do ?

[neanderpaul]

congrats on finishing the job Gdawgs!

[gdawgs]

Well I finished off the van today. Spent an hour or two replacing that bad (really really bad!) wheel bearing. Like I said I have never heard a wheel bearing sound as bad as this one. I could feel it vibrating and grinding.

I am very glad to be done with this project. It was a lot of work, time, and money invested, but it was very rewarding. The family was very appreciative. Thanks again for all your encouragement.

[Pu241]

You ever decide to let us contribute to this Xmas project?

[freshtiva]

You're a good man gdawgs !

[gdawgs]

You ever decide to let us contribute to this Xmas project?

Well I suppose if people want to, that would be great. But don't feel obligated. I went into this not expecting to be paid back, even though things are a bit tight on our end as well. But like you mentioned earlier, we're still way better off than this family. So I am very grateful for my situation.

I'm not sure how to setup a Paypal thing though.

[Pu241]

Just need to send us the email address to which your pay-pal account is linked, I think!