There have been many problems with the 3100/3400... Al lot of those problems were corrected before the 3400 in 96... The 94-95 3100'* had the most issues, with lifter chatter and piston slapp... Still I have seen these motors go 150-200K with no real trouble... A few burned more oil than I liked tho...

By 96 Most all of the 3100'* got better... All of the pistons had a teflon skirt to help the piston slapp issue... The oil squirters for the cylinders was interesting too...

But I do agree with Vital, the 3100-3400 is a solid and reliable engine... But if you ever start to use coolant in a hurry, you better pay close attention... After 80,000 miles I would be tempted to replace the lower intake gaskets as a precaution... But again, next to the 3800 the 3100-3400 are very reliable

and on the 3.5 Chrysler product... I haven't seen a whole world of problems with the 3.5... Most have been with the 2.7<---- This motor is pure junk... If it has a 2.7 its a throwaway car.. By the time you throw it away you still have 2 more years worth of payments... But then again I wouldn't have a 3.5 either..( My opinon )

My suggestion is the Impalla, seems to be a better overall car as opposed to the Malibu... And the 3400 Impalla has a 22cty and 32 hwy rating if memory serves... If you arent flooring it, you might just see 35mpg on the road..

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