bward

I'm looking at a 93, for my daughter. Are the 3.4L's in these cars the same as the later model Grand Am's ? and are they prone to head gaskets leaking ?
Also the guy who owns it says the bearing in the 2 piece drive shaft is bad,
are these replacable or is it a whole drive shaft ?
Anything else I should look at or be aware of ?
Thanks Bruce

smithtim

How many miles / what $$ ?

I drove a 1995 3.4 upto about 140K and didn't have any real problem other than the plug wires tend to wear out. I have heard people say they start to loose oil pressure when you get up into the higher mileage and mine was starting to drop a little on the gauge when I traded it in. But, it ran fine and who knows it could have just been the gauge acting up. Also, pretty sure mine had a two part drive shaft from looking underneath, but sorry I can't say anything about replacing the bearing as I never had to mess with it

EDIT: I just looked on edmunds and it looks like the grand am is listing the 3.4 for 2001 newer.. so sicne it's GM I'm pretty sure it'll be the same as least the block and heads. Probably the same as how GM puts the same 3.8 in the newer grand prix as it put in the fbird: just tured sideways and different intake
Also, here's a couple of threads discussing how the drive shaft http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...ht=drive+shaft

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...ht=drive+shaft




Personally I'd search around for a 3.8 model as that motor has a really good reputation and if you get something 96 or newer it'll have the OBDII which is really helpful but that’s just my 0.2

BC94Formula

first the 3.4 in your 93 will be a L32 engine while the grand ams you are refering to will probably be a LA1...same bore and stroke with the LA1 having a half point higher compression at 9.5...as far as i know the only differences are in the intake and accessory placement...feel free to correct me if im wrong. as far as head gasket leaks...i dunno...

the two piece drive shaft can be replaced with a one piece shaft in order to not spend the rediculous price of the two piece...i had mine die on my 3.8 a few months ago...scoggin dickey quoted a price that nearly made me mess my pants and i picked up a one piece from a TA for about 75 bucks...no problems with that since...

other than that i dont know much about the 3.4...hope any of that helps

95camaroinok

I have a 95 3.4L with 175,000 on the clock. Will still kill a set of tires on command. Do have to add I put a transmission in it last year, but as far as the motor, pretty decent if you keep it tuned up and keep the fluids changed. I still have the 2 piece drive shaft in mine but its starting to make a little noise so I'll probably be goin with a one peice soon too. As far as head gaskets, I havnt heard a whole lot of people having to replace them more than any other car but I would suggest reading through all the posts in here or doing a search and make your own opinion. I Can however tell you to watch for intake leaks. Mines leaking some right now, but not to the point you cant drive it, but I have seen a lot of posts on that issue. I can tell you I drive this thing kinda hard, especially for a 6, not even counting the mileage or the fact its stock. All I can say is if I can take this thing with 175K miles on it and set it sideways almost always on command, or burry it and the next block down in tire smoke then cruise 20 miles home with the air on, then its not that bad of engine. Just look at the oil and antifreeze, and of course trans fluid. Start it an let it idle and warm up all the way and see what the temperature does. If alls good, take it for a quick cruise, get in it a little. If the air works, do all that with it on. If the temp gauge stays good then you should have a good car for your kid.

FunkZ

No the 3.4 RWD is not the same as 3100/3400 FWD engines. FWD motors have the Gen II or III aluminum heads and different intake. Yes there was a lot of problems with FWD intake gaskets but this wasn't much of an issue with the RWD engines.

You can replace the 2-piece driveshaft with a V8 1-piece steel or aluminum driveshaft from another 82-02 Fbody.

Garcia95

well my 3.4 is a 95 and it has given me no major problems other that a transmission overhaule a few weeks ago.

2000GTP

The 3.4s were good motors IMO and will last many years and miles like any GM V6 motor if taken care of properly. If money permits, I would try to get a newer Camaro with the 3.8L as it has some more refinements and a modest power increase over the 3.4L engine. If you do go with the car in question, I would probably just replace the two piece driveshaft with a one piece from the LT1 cars. Those things usually go for 15 bucks a piece on the used market.