i got my 2001 3.4l monte about a year ago and has a few problems with it.
i had to replace the intake manifold gasket and starter as well as some other things such as battery and window motor. despite this i love my monte but now i just want to make my car a nicer more reliable car and especially faster. i considered getting a turbo kit but also thought about just swapping for a 3.8 which should i do? if either. any suggestions? i dont know much about upgrading and im new to this forum so any help is very much appreciated

 

There is no turbo "kit" for the 3400 so unless you want to do it all custom, your best bet would be 3800 swap.

 

thank you. i didnt think there was one but i wasn't sure so i figured this was a good place to find out. any other suggestions or advice?

 

and also i read in another thread (im not sure where ill try to find a link) that a turbo for 3800 should bolt right on as long as its a 00+

 

The 3400 is more popular I think with the Grand Am (N-Body) folks, you may get more info for performance modding it from them. I think I lot of them basically put on a better exhaust and add a cold air intake. Depending on years of the 3100/3400, it think the the throttle body sizes vary (but to change the T-Body, I think you have to swap the upper intake as well to match). Don't quote me on these, as I have not vest much time on the ideas of modding the 3400.

One thing you can do is swap the coils for those from a late model L67 3800 SuperCharged (these are the ones that have a "blue plug" on the bottom). The 3100/3400/3800 N/A share the same coils (I know from '94 to current '05 and probably a larger range then that). The 3800 SC L67 coils are different, produce a slightly hotter spark. Their is little gain (it's just a slight improvement in throttle response). I am running a set of these coils on my '04 Monte 3800 N/A and my '94 Grand Am with the 3100. I noticed a slight (not huge) change. My opinion, if you swap the coils, total investment should not exceed $20-$30 (again, the gain is very small, so it's not worth paying a huge amount for it). I am running them with stock wires and stock plugs (and as an FYI if I recall, the wires on a 3800 SC and 3800 NA are the same type of wire, just some of the lengths might be different).

And somebody always chimes in to tell me I am wrong and the coils are the same, so before that happens, check the part numbers before telling me I'm wrong, they are different coils.

 

thanks for the info. like i said before im new to this so i just want to get as much information and different opinions as possible

 

thinking about swapping for the 3.8 L67 from ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3-8l-...#ht_1344wt_883 would it fit? and what else would i need to buy?

or would it be better to custom a turbo onto it?

 

How To: L67 Swap

Not exact for your car (the thread is specifically for 5th gens), but gives you an idea of what you'd be looking at for an L67 swap.

 

hey thanks! it looks like a hell of alot more work than i thought it would be!

 

Honestly the best bang for your buck is going to be a L67 swap. I have done some serious research on this since I have a 99LS w/ a 3.1 and had the same ideas as you. I got my engine (l36) and trans from the local scrapyard plus l67 top end (no l67's available in small town ia) all for under $1200.. less than a custom turbo kit would probably run for a 3.4...plus there are a ton of aftermarket parts for the l67. Check out zzperformance.com

And really so many people have made the swap that it is laid out pretty well, and we are always here if u have any questions!