Which cars have the 3.4L DOHC motors?

[BMC]

I know that the cars were all FWD and I have heard that they were all in "W" bodies, but what specific models do they go in? What years? (92-96??)

I have a GM crate motor (LQ1 Long block) that i would like to sell, so i need to get the correct info.. I guess that GM discontinued the sales of these motors back in April of 2002, so someone out there will get themselves a fresh in the crate unit............

I use the Camaro 3.4L L32 motors so i really don't need this one.

Thanks!

-BMC.

[SappySE107]

Depends on what engine you have. 91-95 grand prix, cutlass, lumina/monte carlo go the 3.4 DOHC, and the 96/97 Cutlass/Monte and the 96 Grand Prix also got the 3.4 DOHC but its a different setup. 94-95 are MAF based so that is how you tell if its a 91-93, 94-95 or a 96-97 engine.

[BMC]

Was it more then just the intake that was different? How can i tell with this motor?

Thanks.

[SappySE107]

If the exhaust ports are square, its 91-95. If they are oval, its 96/97.

[BMC]

Looking into the bottom halves of the exhaust ports, they look square but have rounded corners, whereas the top halves appear to be a nice oval. (the motor does not have intake or exhaust systems and are still in the crate.)

This bottom half, you could probably say has the same radius to it as that of a nickle. So if you placed a nickle in the bottom corner, you would have the shape follow it, I would say pretty close.

Does this sound like the oval shape of the 96/97?

Are these motors interchangable with each other from early to late as is?

[BMC]

Ok, now i see from more study on this site... Thank you to all those who know there stuff!!! Ask me a cast iron Q and i can probably help. Ask me a L32 Q and i should be able to help, but not much about the DOHC units.

The motor here is a 91-95 unit, so that would be the 91-95 grand prix, cutlass, lumina/monte carlo cars only? Also, since the motors are interchangeable, does it matter what year this one is for from 91 to 95 or can it just be said that this is what it is for?

Thanks,
-BMC.

[SappySE107]

Does the front cam cover have a notch cut out and a sensor in the upper right hand corner? If so, its 94/95. You can't use a 91-93 engine in a 94/95, but you can use a 94/95 in a 91-93. Its all about the SFI/MAF setup.

[BMC]

Can you give me more specifics on where this would be? I looked at the plastic cam cover in front of the valve cover that would be towards the front of the car. I could not see anything like what you are describing.... The motor is still wrapped in plastic, so i did not get any further then this cam cover.

[SappySE107]

The plastic cover is just cosmetic to cover up the fuel rail. Does that say 3.4 Twin Dual Cam, or 3.4 DOHC? The first is 91-93,the latter is 94-95.

[BMC]

There is not any fuel system on this motor, so it does not have that cover. Now thta i have pulled the crate top off, i can see that this has never been out of the crate before. It really is neat how complete these are with alot of the sensors and such..

OK, here is something from the L32 series (93-95 Camaro 3.4L) for example..
The 3.4L Camaro is SFI (Sequential with DIS), not the MPFI (batch fire/distributor)
The Camaro 3.4L has a sensor at the front of the camshaft where the PCM picks up a signal that tells the motor when the cam comes around for cylinder #1 to fire- thus making the block an SFI block whereas the MPFI did not have this as everything was batch, so the ECU did not care.

Under this same thought, would the 3.4L DOHC motor that was built for SFI have this same sensor on the in block cam at the front? (The very early 1980-1985 motors would have used this location for a fuel pump excentric) Correct???

If so, then this would be the MPFI DOHC...... ?
-BMC..

[BMC]

There is not any fuel system on this motor, so it does not have that cover. Now thta i have pulled the crate top off, i can see that this has never been out of the crate before. It really is neat how complete these are with alot of the sensors and such..

OK, here is something from the L32 series (93-95 Camaro 3.4L) for example..
The 3.4L Camaro is SFI (Sequential with DIS), not the MPFI (batch fire/distributor)
The Camaro 3.4L has a sensor at the front of the camshaft where the PCM picks up a signal that tells the motor when the cam comes around for cylinder #1 to fire- thus making the block an SFI block whereas the MPFI did not have this as everything was batch, so the ECU did not care.

Under this same thought, would the 3.4L DOHC motor that was built for SFI have this same sensor on the in block cam at the front? (The very early 1980-1985 motors would have used this location for a fuel pump excentric) Correct???

If so, then this would be the MPFI DOHC...... ?
-BMC..

[SappySE107]

The SFI part is on the driver side of the front bank intake cam. This is the notch/sensor I was asking about.

[BMC]

OK, now i am just confused... My dad would ask me when i was a kid "What, do i need to draw you a picture?"

Well, kind of...


Anyways, starting over... i dont think so, because there are no sensors on the front head except one on the side over the transmission that has one wire coming off it and it is located on the exhaust side over the back of the transmission. There are a few boltholes, or bungs, but nothing on the front head that woud indicate a location for any sensor.

[brian89gp]

http://www.brian89gp.com/images/engine/intake%20gasket/DSCF0026.JPG

That is a 94-95 engine, notice the cutout in the upper right of the cam carrier cover? That is the cam sensor that goes there. If it does not look like that (no cutout) then you have a 91-93 motor. 94-95 motors will also have a couple wires sticking out from behind the crank damper pulley, 91-93 will not.

96-97 motors will have that cutout but the oil cap will be centered in the cover near the middle spark plug.

[BMC]

Ok,
I think this is weird.
My engine has the cutout in the "Valve cover" or what is actually the Cam cover and the bolt hole is drilled, but not the sensor hole. I assume it is because this motor is a Crate motor built for the 91-93, but is a crate motor, therefore the machining was done in such a way as to keep it possible to change very little to go from one ot the other. If thats the case, then it might possibly be able to be drilled in this section of head for that sensor if the factory decided that the later ones were needed and not the early units...
Also, the sensor behind the crankshaft is not there, that would indicate a MPFI motor, not a SFI motor if its anything similar to the 2.8 and 3.1L Iron heads compared to the L32 3.4L which has those with the SFI style system.
Do you have a picture of the older head and cam cover for reference and also do you know the height off the top of the cam cover to the top of the intake manifold? I am interested because it doent look all that high compared to my Cast iron head motors that I have standing next to it with the measuring tape...