Hey all,

This is my first post on these forums so glad to be here. I needed a vehicle for my wife about 2 years ago and ended up paying $900 for our 97 monte with a 3.1l v6. The guy who had it before me had replaced quite a bit but I knew when I bought it that it had a faint lifter tick in it. In 2 years all I have had to do is put in a new battery besides regular maintenance. I do not usually drive the car as I have 2 other vehicles it is really my wife's car and she had told me a few weeks ago that the ticking had been getting louder. I started it up and it was definitely a noticeable difference but the engine still ran fine and drove great. I took it for a drive and as I was going up a steep hill I could see the car was having some problems getting going but once it did was fine. Well long story short as I was getting back home the knocking just got horribly bad and car was done. After I got pulled over I popped hood and saw that what I am thinking was a blown rod had actually ripped a small hole in my block behind my starter. Brought my truck back later and towed her home.

Anyway want to get your guys suggestions on what I can do. I really do love this car as it is fully loaded leather and everything. I am pretty happy I got my 2 years out of it for $900 but just dont want to see it go to a junk yard for $150. We do have 2 other vehicles but my 83 camaro is not for winter lol. So I will be looking for another vehicle for my wife but figured if I could get Monte back alive I could drive it as my truck is not great on gas and like I said I loved the car. So my question I guess is It is in fact a thrown rod am I correct and if not I am sure it is nothing worth trying to salvage a motor with 165,000 miles. Anyway if I swap in another engine should I swap in another 3.1 or is there another engine that would be better without any huge modifications as the tranny is fine. Also is there any sites that I could get just a block or something to rebuild myself as I am use to my older 350's and ford engines.

Any input would be appreciated thanks....

 

Hey, welcome to the site. My Z34 just jumped timing and i am about to begin an engine swap for it.

there are 3 options i can give you.

1) find a replacement 3100 engine. Morad Parts Company - 3800 Motors, Transaxles, & Stock Parts they are where i got my replacement engine and trany. got me a great deal on it. they are very knowledgeable about our cars.

2) if you go on to 60DegreeV6.com - Site News you can look into swapping in a 3400 engine... basically it is the same as your 3100 but bigger pistons, intake manifold and TB. you would be able to reuse your current trany.

3) do what im planing swap to a 3800 series engine. this will require a new trany as well, but the aftermarket is much larger. so it is much easier to make lots of power from it.

 

I would just put another 3100 in it. You should be able to find another fairly easy and the swap shouldn't be too bad.
Also welcome to the site.

 

Welcome to the forum

& id just find another 3100 for it

 

Simplicity, stick with a 3100. If you want a little more power, you can go to a 3400 with some research, otherwise, a 3800 is a little more involved.

The 3100s are decent engine. I am driving a '94 Grand Am with a 3100 in it, over 210,000 miles. Worst thing I had to do was head gaskets at 180,000 in October of '09. Car runs like new (just keep up on the maintenance).

FYI - The 3100 and 3400's both have a light valve tick. It's something in the design. My wife had a 3100 that had a nasty tick (not the normal tick) on the front head. We began using a bottle of motor honey for about the next 3-4 oil changes. Not sure what changed, but it got to the point we no longer needed the motor honey, the abnormal tick was gone.

Also, can you see the small hole? Is it actually in the block?

 

The ticking (correct me if i'm wrong) is actually piston slap. The noise should go away when the car warms up, but it's built with loose fitting cylinders so as the car warms up they expand and fit more properly. The design makes for less friction and heat in the engine.

 

x2 on just doing another 3100- drop in, plug in, 0 hassles, and it doesn't sound like you're really doing it to make the car faster- just to get it running again. 3100's are a dime a dozen in junkyards- so it would be cost effective given the value of the car, and if you found one with decently low enough mileage- you could end up with many many more years of life out of her.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. Today I started the process of getting the car torn down to get better look at everything. Could anyone give me a short list of what essentially needs to be disconnected just so I can pull the motor out as I have gotten a good start. Also The_Maniac I can see the hole it is right behind the starter and im pretty sure its in the block but I still will have to get motor out anyway....

 

Coolant hoses (2 to radiator, 2 to heater core at firewall), power steering pump and AC compressor need to come off the engine or have their lines disconnected, upper dogbone engine mounts, both lower mounts need the nuts taken off the bottom (one under the transmission side that can be seen from the drivers wheel well, the other over under the passenger side of the engine- just inboard of the cradle)- axles, trans cooler lines, wire harness, starter power wiring, air intake (at least disconnect the airbox), fuel lines, transmission shift linkage, throttle body linkages, exhaust downpipe.

Thats all I can think of off the top of my head to pull the powertrain together. If you're going to leave the trans in- obviously its a bit different.

 

Well, if there is a hole in the block, a new engine is the way to go. Based on the noise you mentioned it was sounding like that would be the case. I was hoping your noise was something less destructive and that if you saw oil out the front it might just be a bad oil pressure switch (I've seen those go bad and spray a stream of oil on the radiator).

So much for wishful thinking. Bumpin' I believe is on track with what to do for pulling the engine. Best of luck and keep us informed!