I am going to look at a 97 Olds Achieva tomorrow AM. It'* got 151,000 miles on it and has the 3100. Owner says it'* in very good condition and only thing that'* ever gone wrong with it is that he had to change the alternator. Price is nice ($1500 /best). What should I be on the lookout for with the 3100? I know they're prone to the same gasket issues as the L36, but what else?

Teach me!

id run a cylinder compression check, the 3100 and 3400 were notorius for eating intake gaskets. Other than that, they are a fairly efficent engine.

Ya, good point, Matt..

I surfed around on 60degreev6.com and couldn't learn much. :?

I need to get Don in here!!!

its a good motor i this so

Wah'd e say?

..."think" so? lol, someone needs to do a grammer check...

LOL yeah typing to fast

Yeah, intake gasket leaks are about the only problems they get. Most of them have a lifter tick on startup, and that is completely normal, so if you hear this, don't let it scare you away. Other than that, there really aren't any other common problems, so just look at it as you would any other car.

Shawn

Yeah, like they said, gaskets...I have the 3100 and have driven it about 15,000 miles in the 9 months I've had it, sometimes (a lot of the time) I've driven it hard...and have had no problems. Part of that could be becuase the old man who was the only owner babied it for 10 years and only put 48K on it

I would check the tranny out too, flush it, check the oil pump shaft seal under the TB (if that was still a problem in 97...not really sure). If there'* oil on the underside of the TB that will give it away probably. I've heard that the lower engine mount and the water pump were a possible issue too. :?

I'm still learning about the 3100. I like it, it has potential. But I still miss the 3800.

We've got a '94 Grand Am with a 3100 and it has been quite reliable. It has a nasty lifter tick, but never had any major mechanical problems. It has 155,000kms on it.