Hello everyone, I'm new to these forums and wish I had found them sooner!

I'm the proud owner of a 2000 SS Pace Car. I'm the original owner, purchased the vehicle NEW July 2000!! My wife keeps telling me to get rid of it, but I just can't... she's a beauty and I've grown very fond of her over the years. She still in VERY good condition cosmetically and people can't believe she's a decade old!! She's been well maintained and garages since day 1. Washed regulary and cared for very well. The only issue with my SS is mechanically she's is getting tired (145,000 miles).



I've just recently started to have some electrical issues such as The fuel gauge not reading correct and going bonkers and now I'm getting "Low Oil Pressure" idiot lights and gauge reading at idle RPM. I just did an oil change and discovered some very fine metal filings on the magnetic oil plug. I've also been experiencing some vibration while under power only... no vibrations while coasting.

Is it wise for me to start looking for a new/re-manufactured engine? If so, where is a good place to look? Should I do the L67 swap? Where can I get an L67 and Transmission?

I love this car and really don't want to get rid of it! I'd much rather put some time and effort into revitalizing it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

L67 swap it and have a real nice, fast car. Check out morad parts company. He should be able to find you a used L67 and 4t65e-HD trans for relatively cheap.

 

Morad's for use motor/trans. ZZP for a re-manufactured motor. triple edge transmissions for a built 4T65HD. Either way you'll pay a bit but the car should keep on rocking. Then again what do I know!

 

The 3800 engines are known to last a hell of a long time, and 145k is just getting broken in
I'd start off getting the low oil pressure light figured out. If the gauge cluster is spazzing out, then there's a chance that it's an electrical gremlin causing it, but you can rule that out pretty easily by hooking a mechanical oil gauge up in place of the sensor (should take a shop all of 5 minutes to do).
The metal on the drain plug would worry me, but engines do wear over time and depending on the amount/size of the shavings and the time between oil changes it might be normal.
If the engine really is toast and/or you really want to upgrade to an L67, there are plenty of resources available with tons of information on that swap.
There's not really any advantage to a rebuilt 3800, as they are so abundant used that they can be had for cheap (something like 6 million 3800's were produced between 95 and 08).
There's a pretty extensive list of cars that had either the L36 (the engine in your car now) or the L67 that just about any local junkyard should have one (if not multiples). Morad parts will have them too, just keep in mind that shipping could run as much as the entire engine depending on where you are located in relation to them.

Best of luck,
-Riggs.

 

WOW guys, thanks so much for the fast response and all the really good information!

I'm hoping it is just a bad pressure sensor! I'll try to get a manual gauge on it ASAP! It's only showing no/low pressure at idle and when the engine is at normal temp. When the engine is cold it's fine... don't know if that changes things?

I just realized that I did recently skip an oil change and was at about 10,000 miles since the last change... I do and always have used Mobile 1 Full Synthetic 10-40 so hopefully the tardy oil change was not damaging? The filings were really small almost like dust.... I have a pic of the filings on the drain plug that I'll try and post to give you all a better idea of what I may be dealing with.

Does anyone know how to disable the audible warning "ding, ding, ding" the low oil pressure warning light makes??? lol!

Thanks again for all your input!!!

 

disconnect your driver side speaker. or amp them and use an rca splitter on the passenger side. my car did that chime amplifide everytime i opened my door or wasnt wearing my seatbelt. either that or buy an aftermarket deck, with a PAC adaptor.

ive heard of many problems with aftermarket decks on the 6th gen though

 

Open your car door, take the headrests off. Trade me for my plain black leather ones, and all your car troubles will magically disappear

 

Hmmm... the shavings could be from a couple of places... the bearings being one of them... you could just take the oil pan down and check the bearings but 145,000 miles should be fine. It may be time to switch to a heavier oil. I'd run about 10W40 too if the oil pressure is low, so I do wonder what that could be. So the oil pressure dummy light is on, what does the oil pressure gauge show? As far as vibrations go... maybe your rubber motor mounts have rotted away? Maybe the wishbones are loose or something like that? Maybe it's something in the transmission?

Since you didn't say you'd be looking for performance, I do think some of my colleagues may be jumping the gun. Are there any lifter ticks when you first start the engine? Does the engine still perform well? The transmissions on these things aren't known for their durability per say... 145,000 miles, it could be giving you some problems.

 

Sounds to me like you have a bad oil pressure sensor.

And the fuel gauge is probably not even the gauge itself. My guess (very common on many GM cars) is that your sending unit is bad. I would bet that a new fuel pump and sending unit will fix the fuel gauge.

 

mike you make me laugh and if the guy wants to swap his engine thats on him. you know as well as i that an engine with that many miles caould probly use a lo of money dumped into it. its up to the owner to decide if he wants to fix or uphrade the drive train.

GL with whatever you choose