Hi. So i'm going back to school and can't afford my current car. My dealership has a 2004 M/C LS. 3.4. Pretty basic. Body is not too bad but a couple dings/small dent in trunk lid. I'm more concerned about rust on rear fender and some on each rocker behind front wheels. Do these things normally rust badly? I have not heard it run yet but is the 3.4 a decent engine? I need this car to be fairly reliable for the next 2 years and I sadly don't know much about them but I love big coupes. I just wish I could find a 2006 or 07 quickly cause I like the styling tweaks better. ANY advice would be appreciated because I need to make a decision by this w/e.

Thanks. Rod.

 

My 03 rusted out around the rear wheel wells. i think it is a very common problem especially if the car is driven in the snow/salt.

The 3.4 is a decent engine. it is known for intake leaks but once they are sealed up correctly it is very reliable and get great MPG. I always averaged about 32-34 mpg in mine.

 

the rust depends on wat area its from more harsh the winters the more any vehicle will rust & the motor is like any other it has its flaws but if u do regular maintance to em theyll last for along time but the 3.4 is a good lil motor, how many miles are on the car?

 

I agree with what everyone else has said here.

The rust depends on where the car is at, I have had more issues behind my fuel door and on the bottom of my doors personally.

You also can't go wrong with the fuel mileage, I've gotten 32 easy on a poor tune!

 

Wow, sounds like these get good fuel mileage which is unexpected but awesome! I guess I won't worry too much about rust but I'll try to fix the surface rust b4 winter if I do get the car, just hate driving a rusty car lol. The car has 169,000 kms so that's not too bad. Good to hear it's a decent engine overall. Thanks everyone. I may stop by my dealer later today to drive it so I'll post back.

 

I agree!
I've never had much of an issue with rust (except for the exhaust), but I do sometimes have issues with the bottom front portions of both doors sometimes rubbing against the front fenders. Both doors open and close smoothly, but I have to touch up those areas with paint so they don't rust..

One thing though, the 3.4 (and the 3.8 too, I think) are known for making subtle "ticking" sounds when cold. The sound goes away after about 2 minutes of running or so. As long as the engine is treated with care until it warms up, you'll be fine.

Also, turn on the headlights and check the dash, A/C and radio for burnt-out bulbs. As any owner of a 6th Gen Monte will tell you- the bulbs are "Non-Removable" (soldered in) and the whole Instrument Cluster or A/C Cluster would have either have to be swapped, or if you're good with a soldering iron, either LEDs can be put in they're place or more bulbs.


Check this out for more info. on that:
http://https://montecarloforum.com/forum/sixth-generation-monte-carlos-39/changing-your-dash-lights-l-e-d-s-how-article-2120/

 

My 05 is just starting to rust in the rear wheel wells. It's just bubbling now and hasn't broken though the paint yet. Also at the bottom of my passenger's side door the inside seam is rusting

 

My car is a 2000 that was driven through winter and is just now starting to rust, the previous owner must of taken pretty good care of it! It's in my front wheel wells

 

My dad's 2002 LS with the 3.4 "only" does 25-27 mpg, but I still thought that was pretty good for the size of the car.

 

The 3.4 is a good/reliable engine, but like any engine, ONLY if you take car of it. The most common engine issue is the lower intake gaskets brake because they are nylon and the nylon can't handle the job (Fel Pro now make aluminum lower intake gaskets, an absolute MUST have if you even have to replace yours).

If it means anything, I have wrenched on about 4-5 mid 90's Grand Ams with the 3100 v6 (basically, the same as your 3400, minor differences, like smaller cylinders and throttle body to name a couple). The ones no longer around I think all had over 150,000 before being "retired", one had 170,000, still ran great and was SOLD this past January (was my wife's). I am still driving the last of those Grand Ams that my hands worked on. It has over 210,000 miles. Most intense repair was the head gaskets in October of '09 with 180,000 on the car!

I believe in these engines well enough, in January we sold my wife's '94 Grand Am with 170,000 on it to get an '05 Impala with 150,000 on a 3400. We got the Impala for a SONG since it had a bad trans. So far, that Impala is NOT letting me down and runs great after I gave it some TLC.

I prefer the 3800, but the 3100/3400 engines are not bad at all.