| Author |
Message |
DaveM
Guest
|
 Posted:
Tue Dec 06, 2005 6:49 am Post subject:
Opinion of 3.5l in Intrigue/ Aurora |
|
|
Are there any known issues with the 3.5l V6 used in the Olds Intrigue /
Aurora?
Stay away from this engine, or ...?
Possibly considering an Aurora in my future and the 2 models come with
either the 3.5l V6 or the 4.0 V8.
Thanks
Dave
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
shiden_kai
Guest
|
| Posted:
Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:25 am Post subject:
Re: Opinion of 3.5l in Intrigue/ Aurora |
|
|
DaveM wrote:
| Quote: | Are there any known issues with the 3.5l V6 used in the Olds Intrigue
/ Aurora?
|
The only problem I've seen is the balance shaft bearing (exactly like
a camshaft bearing in a pushrod engine) starts to spin in the block,
gets spit out and then the balance shaft chews up the block. At this
point, you will be looking at a lot of money to pull the engine and
possibly have the block repaired. We don't do it at the dealership,
we just replace the engine. It's not a common problem, but when
it happens it can be expensive.
| Quote: | Possibly considering an Aurora in my future and the 2 models come with
either the 3.5l V6 or the 4.0 V8.
|
The 4.0 liter engine is simply a smaller displacement version of the
Northstar in the Cadillac vehicles. It has the identical problems that
the Northstar has, water pumps leak, water pumps sieze and throw
the belt and/or melt the plastic pulleys, head bolts pull out of the
block, case half seals leak oil. Many of these repairs are very
costly. And the engine needs to be worked on by someone who
knows the engine and is familiar with repair techniques for
these engines. Otherwise, you might just end up with scrap for
a car.
Ian |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DaveM
Guest
|
| Posted:
Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:15 am Post subject:
Re: Opinion of 3.5l in Intrigue/ Aurora |
|
|
Ouch! That doesn't sound pleasant. How frequent is such a problem? 1 in
1000-ish?
I've heard the 3.5l burns a quart or two of oil between oil changes. Are
there any other interesting characteristics?
Did this engine die with the Olds line, or is it being used elsewhere at GM?
Dave
"shiden_kai" <v-l-m@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:6M5lf.48641$ki.19977@pd7tw2no...
| Quote: | DaveM wrote:
Are there any known issues with the 3.5l V6 used in the Olds Intrigue
/ Aurora?
The only problem I've seen is the balance shaft bearing (exactly like
a camshaft bearing in a pushrod engine) starts to spin in the block,
gets spit out and then the balance shaft chews up the block. At this
point, you will be looking at a lot of money to pull the engine and
possibly have the block repaired. We don't do it at the dealership,
we just replace the engine. It's not a common problem, but when
it happens it can be expensive.
Possibly considering an Aurora in my future and the 2 models come with
either the 3.5l V6 or the 4.0 V8.
The 4.0 liter engine is simply a smaller displacement version of the
Northstar in the Cadillac vehicles. It has the identical problems that
the Northstar has, water pumps leak, water pumps sieze and throw
the belt and/or melt the plastic pulleys, head bolts pull out of the
block, case half seals leak oil. Many of these repairs are very
costly. And the engine needs to be worked on by someone who
knows the engine and is familiar with repair techniques for
these engines. Otherwise, you might just end up with scrap for
a car.
Ian
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
gad
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Dec 09, 2005 7:23 am Post subject:
Re: Opinion of 3.5l in Intrigue/ Aurora |
|
|
Ian,
Not to cause a flame war, but does GM make anything that doesn't have fatal
flaws? It seems to me from reading this group that every engine family that
GM makes has some kind of self-destruct mechanism built in to it.
What's the most reliable GM product on the market today (the Pontiac Vibe
doesn't count)?
"shiden_kai" <v-l-m@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:6M5lf.48641$ki.19977@pd7tw2no...
| Quote: | DaveM wrote:
Are there any known issues with the 3.5l V6 used in the Olds Intrigue
/ Aurora?
The only problem I've seen is the balance shaft bearing (exactly like
a camshaft bearing in a pushrod engine) starts to spin in the block,
gets spit out and then the balance shaft chews up the block. At this
point, you will be looking at a lot of money to pull the engine and
possibly have the block repaired. We don't do it at the dealership,
we just replace the engine. It's not a common problem, but when
it happens it can be expensive.
Possibly considering an Aurora in my future and the 2 models come with
either the 3.5l V6 or the 4.0 V8.
The 4.0 liter engine is simply a smaller displacement version of the
Northstar in the Cadillac vehicles. It has the identical problems that
the Northstar has, water pumps leak, water pumps sieze and throw
the belt and/or melt the plastic pulleys, head bolts pull out of the
block, case half seals leak oil. Many of these repairs are very
costly. And the engine needs to be worked on by someone who
knows the engine and is familiar with repair techniques for
these engines. Otherwise, you might just end up with scrap for
a car.
Ian
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
shiden_kai
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Dec 09, 2005 8:57 am Post subject:
Re: Opinion of 3.5l in Intrigue/ Aurora |
|
|
gad wrote:
| Quote: | Ian,
Not to cause a flame war, but does GM make anything that doesn't have
fatal flaws? It seems to me from reading this group that every
engine family that GM makes has some kind of self-destruct mechanism
built in to it. What's the most reliable GM product on the market today
(the Pontiac
Vibe doesn't count)?
|
Well, it's probably not fair of me to comment too much. I work on
them all day long and see all the bad things that go wrong. Example:
We just had 2 Gen III 3800 engines come in the shop within days of
each other...complaint: no/low oil pressure.....problem: spun camshaft
bearings....identical problem in both engines. Are these one-off's? I
guess we will see.
We have very few problems with the inline all aluminum engines...
except the 5 cylinder. There seems to be some issues with the cylinder
head design on that engine. We've had 2-3 engines with wierd misfires
that ended up needing either all the exhaust valve springs replaced, or
a new updated cylinder head installed. The 6 is pretty much bullet
proof....we do almost nothing to them. I suspect the 4 will be like
that too. The 4 cylinder Ecotec looks good. We have had a number
of them come in with oil leaks....turns out to be porous blocks. Does
GM replace the engines...nooo.....we epoxy the area of the block that
is porous....yay for GM! The new generation small block (came out
in 99) is by far and away the best engine GM has come up with. We
rarely do anything to them. The cold piston noise is about the
only real complaint. I've seen about 3-4 of them replaced since
their inception. One had a crack in the block...some sort of manufacturing
defect....another one, the oil pump cratered and took the motor with
it. And then all the new VVT engines seem to be working quite good.
We just got the first Impala with the 5.3 Displacement on Demand
engine in it. We road tested it.....as far as we can tell, you cannot feel
when the engine goes between the 8 cylinder and 4 cylinder mode.
So there are a lot of good engines out there....and I think they are
getting better. Most of the engines now have gone away from
designs that allow coolant and oil to mix due to gaskets blowing.
Guarantee you that all other manufacturers have the same basic
amount of problems. Ok, maybe not the Japanese ones, but they
are still on a different level from the domestic manufacturers.
Ian |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
gad
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sat Dec 10, 2005 7:05 am Post subject:
Re: Opinion of 3.5l in Intrigue/ Aurora |
|
|
Thanks for the info. What models use the 6 cyl inline and the new gen small
block you mention?
So far my 02 Impala LS (3.8 Gen II) is doing fine - I watch the coolant
level and get the oil analyzed occasionally for peace of mind. Just a shame
that I need to even worry about it.
"shiden_kai" <v-l-m@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Ro6mf.76218$Gd6.431@pd7tw3no...
| Quote: | gad wrote:
Ian,
Not to cause a flame war, but does GM make anything that doesn't have
fatal flaws? It seems to me from reading this group that every
engine family that GM makes has some kind of self-destruct mechanism
built in to it. What's the most reliable GM product on the market today
(the Pontiac
Vibe doesn't count)?
Well, it's probably not fair of me to comment too much. I work on
them all day long and see all the bad things that go wrong. Example:
We just had 2 Gen III 3800 engines come in the shop within days of
each other...complaint: no/low oil pressure.....problem: spun camshaft
bearings....identical problem in both engines. Are these one-off's? I
guess we will see.
We have very few problems with the inline all aluminum engines...
except the 5 cylinder. There seems to be some issues with the cylinder
head design on that engine. We've had 2-3 engines with wierd misfires
that ended up needing either all the exhaust valve springs replaced, or
a new updated cylinder head installed. The 6 is pretty much bullet
proof....we do almost nothing to them. I suspect the 4 will be like
that too. The 4 cylinder Ecotec looks good. We have had a number
of them come in with oil leaks....turns out to be porous blocks. Does
GM replace the engines...nooo.....we epoxy the area of the block that
is porous....yay for GM! The new generation small block (came out
in 99) is by far and away the best engine GM has come up with. We
rarely do anything to them. The cold piston noise is about the
only real complaint. I've seen about 3-4 of them replaced since
their inception. One had a crack in the block...some sort of
manufacturing
defect....another one, the oil pump cratered and took the motor with
it. And then all the new VVT engines seem to be working quite good.
We just got the first Impala with the 5.3 Displacement on Demand
engine in it. We road tested it.....as far as we can tell, you cannot
feel
when the engine goes between the 8 cylinder and 4 cylinder mode.
So there are a lot of good engines out there....and I think they are
getting better. Most of the engines now have gone away from
designs that allow coolant and oil to mix due to gaskets blowing.
Guarantee you that all other manufacturers have the same basic
amount of problems. Ok, maybe not the Japanese ones, but they
are still on a different level from the domestic manufacturers.
Ian
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
shiden_kai
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sun Dec 11, 2005 3:59 am Post subject:
Re: Opinion of 3.5l in Intrigue/ Aurora |
|
|
gad wrote:
| Quote: | Thanks for the info. What models use the 6 cyl inline and the new
gen small block you mention?
|
The Trailblazers use the inline 6, the small block v-8 is used in
the full size trucks, Corvettes, Cadillac CTS-V, and now it's
starting to be used in full size front wheel drive cars.
| Quote: | So far my 02 Impala LS (3.8 Gen II) is doing fine - I watch the
coolant level and get the oil analyzed occasionally for peace of
mind. Just a shame that I need to even worry about it.
|
Your car should have the updated lower manifold. They still
can leak from the plastic upper plenum, but I haven't seen many
of them do this.
Ian |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
gad
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sun Dec 11, 2005 10:08 pm Post subject:
Re: Opinion of 3.5l in Intrigue/ Aurora |
|
|
"shiden_kai" <v-l-m@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:mdImf.82176$ki.6489@pd7tw2no...
| Quote: | gad wrote:
Thanks for the info. What models use the 6 cyl inline and the new
gen small block you mention?
The Trailblazers use the inline 6, the small block v-8 is used in
the full size trucks, Corvettes, Cadillac CTS-V, and now it's
starting to be used in full size front wheel drive cars.
|
Like the Impala SS, maybe?
| Quote: |
So far my 02 Impala LS (3.8 Gen II) is doing fine - I watch the
coolant level and get the oil analyzed occasionally for peace of
mind. Just a shame that I need to even worry about it.
Your car should have the updated lower manifold. They still
can leak from the plastic upper plenum, but I haven't seen many
of them do this.
Ian
|
Good to know. I had the recall work done (new fasteners and sealant). How
about the EGR tube problem? Was that addressed at some point as well? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
shiden_kai
Guest
|
| Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 12:37 am Post subject:
Re: Opinion of 3.5l in Intrigue/ Aurora |
|
|
gad wrote:
| Quote: | Like the Impala SS, maybe?
|
Yes, we just had one in the other day with the 5.3
Displacement on Demand engine.
| Quote: | Your car should have the updated lower manifold. They still
can leak from the plastic upper plenum, but I haven't seen many
of them do this.
Good to know. I had the recall work done (new fasteners and
sealant). How about the EGR tube problem? Was that addressed at
some point as well?
|
Yes, the updated manifold that was available simply went right into
the production engines. I think in 2001 it happened.
Ian |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
gad
Guest
|
| Posted:
Mon Dec 12, 2005 5:33 am Post subject:
Re: Opinion of 3.5l in Intrigue/ Aurora |
|
|
Thanks. I'll still keep an eye on it, but maybe not worry quite so much!
Please let the group know how the new small block does over the next year or
so. Maybe there's an SS in my future.
Glenn
"shiden_kai" <v-l-m@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Ql_mf.94117$Gd6.72326@pd7tw3no...
| Quote: | gad wrote:
Like the Impala SS, maybe?
Yes, we just had one in the other day with the 5.3
Displacement on Demand engine.
Your car should have the updated lower manifold. They still
can leak from the plastic upper plenum, but I haven't seen many
of them do this.
Good to know. I had the recall work done (new fasteners and
sealant). How about the EGR tube problem? Was that addressed at
some point as well?
Yes, the updated manifold that was available simply went right into
the production engines. I think in 2001 it happened.
Ian
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
Memberlist
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in