I'm thinking about giving my Malibu to my daughter and buying a 94 SSEi. What should I look for in a Supercharged engine. I have never had one. (Well, we had one for about 2 weeks and took it back) Is the 94 the Series II? The one I found has 134k on it and it is suppose to run good however the tranny will not shift. He said it seems to be "stuck" in 2nd gear. If I buy it I will just plan on it needing a tranny and if it don't that'* all the better.
Thanks guys! If I get it then we will have dueling Bonnie'*
Rob

94 is the Series 1 L67.

You should be able to find a used tranny for about $500. You will need a 4t60e-HD if you want to replace it. It could be an simple fix like a shift solenoid, but that still requires the transmission be dropped to access.

Things to look out for:
Supercharger rattle: take the belt off and spin the pulley by hand. does it spin freely? is there slop and play? if there is slop it is probably the couple that is shot. an easy $50 fix.
Leaks: Sunroof, windshield, door seals, etc...
Rust: near the gas filler, in front of the rear wheels, undercarriage, top of the windshield

you have to remember you are looking at a 14-year-old vehicle, and it is bound to have problems. however, most of them should be fixable with the club

94 is still ser 1. sounds like a trans swap will be needed, idk, may be fixable

how much is he asking?

'94 is the Series I supercharged. 225hp, 275tq. Expected performance is around a 7.0-7.2 0-60 and a 15.0-15.3 1/4 mile.

In all honesty, get the trans rebuilt, do the LIM gaskets and you should be good to go, the Series I has surprising neck-snapping low end power. You will love it.

Moving to General Chat. We try to reserve this section for people who need help with actual mechanical issues.

Opps sorry I should have known to put that in general.
Anyway, he wants $750 for it. It has the headliner and some trim out of it. It looks like a gold or tanish color. I can't find anything on the web that gives me color samples to see what colors were available that year. I don't really like the gold color but it is hard to tell from the pics. It is 3 1/2 hours from me so I'm trying to decide if I want to make the trip to see/get it. I'll check out the SC. He said the AC clutch is noisy but has been for the 1 1/2 years he has owned it. I'm trying to get him to call me so I can't actually talk to him on the phone and get some more info.
Can I do that LIM gasket myself? I had a shop do our current 97 SLE but always wondered if I could do it myself if I could take my time and not be rushed waiting on the car. Thanks for all the help! Almost said guys but I see several girls are Bonnie lovers too!
Rob

The LIM job is definitely a do-it-yourselfer if you have a torque wrench and some time on your hands. It typically takes me about a day to do a LIM gasket change out on 3800s. But, I'm extremely thorough and clean EVERYTHING very well.

Pick up a Chiltons and don't be a stranger here and you'll do just fine on the job.

Does anyone know what kind of gas mileage I would get with this car? I don't know if the SC really reduces the mileage or not. Our 97 gets about 24-26 blended.

I hit 32mpg on the freeway in both of mine. Actually, the more-modded SSEi gets a little better freeway (slightly worse city) mileage than the not-so-modded SLE (supercharged).

Having a SC does not necessarily reduce your MPG unless you keep your foot in it!

You should expect to see the same MPG as your NA car...and maybe even a little better. A well tuned SC 3800 can attain 28-32 MPG easily.