noobie general q's

[khardrunner14]

Well guys, ill start out by saying i have been pretty much a ford guy, and have ford friends. Therefore i know nothing about gm engines (thus the rest of this post). Any informatoin you can give me concerning the 3.1L found in the early 90's firebirds would be awesome. Im looking for general information such as durability, problem areas, general performance (especially ford comparisons), gas milage....the usual newbie stuff. I have heard (and i will assume this is wrong for now) that the gm 6's from the early 90's are junk...please, any info would be greatly appreciated. If you can point me in any direction for help that would be nice. BTW, this post is because im lookin at picking up a 91 firebird with a 3.1L in it. Thanks again.

[pontiac92gp]

Hows it going? I owned a 91 Firebird automatic with the 3.1 . Awesome car. Easy car to drop in the V8 too :P ..

Had a compression ratio of 8.5:1 . Multipoint fuel injection .
Horse: 140@4400 Torque: 185@3600
Came with M5 (manual),A4 (auto) tranny
3.1 V6 ( LH0 )
City 17-18 / Highway 27 MPG regular unleaded

Hope that helps a lil. I didnt have many problems with it, althought it was sold before 150k miles. No backseat room, little trunk space.

There is alot of shit you can do for that 3.1 I believe, but I shall let the other guys talk about that. I know on front wheel drive, people here put in the 3400 or at least top half.

Good luck

[khardrunner14]

My dilemma is that I am a poor college student, and I need something reliable, relatively cheap to own, easy to work on, and looks nice too.

[pontiac92gp]

How many miles? What kind of tranny? Does interior/exterior look "ok"? Were you able to fire it up? Did it sound healthy. Each car is different and I cant tell you if its worth it without details .. Also, do you work on cars or you the type that brings the car to a garage to have someone fix it. How many miles you travel a week? Theres all these factors plus more. So how bout a little background.

Also, call your insurance angency and tell them the VIN and find out about insurancing a college kid with a RWD sports car ...

Jay

[khardrunner14]

sorry i didnt give more info to begin with...i didnt want to make my post too long. Anyway, its a manual tranny, 109000 miles on the car, paint is fading, body is really good, so is the interior, no rust that i could see or leakage ( a little damp around the oil pan seal but nothing major...i have not driven it or even fired it up. That will be done on my spring break. I am mainly looking for general information, as i realize that every car is different (especially if they are not taken care of). I do a lot of my own work unless special tools that are really expensive are needed. I do all the easy stuff like breaks, exhaust, maintnence...and some harder stuff. But like i said, i really know very little about this particular type of car and engine. I know that various brands have junk engines, mediocre engines, and great ones...same with trannys..thats what i am most interested in at this point. I need general informatoin about experience with the 3.1L since i have none. Im not so worried about the insurance part, but more about the reliability of the car/ running costs. Thanks you guys are awesome.

[geoffinbc]

Came with M5 (manual),A4 (auto) tranny
Good luck

Whats an M5 and an A4?

Manual was a Borg Warner T5 5 Speed
Automatic was GM's good old 4L60 (not electronic)

Who ever said GM V6's are junk is stupid. Do they even know which one they are talking about? Because there was 4 (off the top of my head) Variants of the 60degree v6 and 1 of the 4.3L and 1 of the 3.8L. All engnes are good and have no major problems to speak of. Us as 60degree V6 fans do not really like the 3.8L but it all honesty it was, and is reliable as hell. All 60 degrees back in the 90's were good to. It was not until the Gen III came out that we saw the leaking intake gaskets. The good old 4.3L is just as reliable as any motor out there.

[pontiac92gp]

Came with M5 (manual),A4 (auto) tranny
Good luck

Whats an M5 and an A4?

Manual was a Borg Warner T5 5 Speed
Automatic was GM's good old 4L60 (not electronic)

Oh sorry. I thought the manual was a 5speed. So M5 means "manual" and "5" speed. Autos were 4 speed, hence A4. My bad though .. sometimes I like to make up my own terms

Jay

[3dale1]

For what its worth, '88 Regal 2.8 ran awesome for 165K with NO probs whatsoever till ran it into a flooded road in'95; ran another 5K and quit (33+++MPG); Have had a '96 Monte Carlo Z-34 3.4 DOHC since new in '96. Now has 206,000 with no real problems except an alternator at 190,000 and chronic plug wire/misfire issues which are just a PITA . (25 MPG). They're damn good cars brother, you can't go wrong with them if you take care of 'em

[khardrunner14]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the information. If you think of anything else at all, or just want to add stories about the reliablity of early 90's 3.1L's that would be awesome. Also, do most of you guys see around 18 mpg in the city and like 27 mpg on the hwy? Just out of curiosity, what are some things to look for on these engins and trannys when checking a car out. I know most of the normal stuff (noises, hesitation, smoking, leaking...) but anything you can add or specify that would be great. Thanks again.

[jmgtp]

Well since you wanted to hear any stories and I'm in a sharing mood...

I have a 90 beretta 3.1/manual trans (aluminum head, lil different than the iron head rwd 3.1s). Bought it with 99k on the clock, runs just like new - no ticks, leaks, no smoking, etc. Sees 5k rpm a few times a week. Mileage has been pretty steady around 26 mpg, with about ~75% highway, which seems a bit too low to me, but when I get around to installing the new o2 sensor I'm hoping it will pick up a few mpg (the o2 sensor in there now is the original).

[RidgeRunner]

Well, if we're gonna bring up the FWD 3.1's, mine is at 197k miles now and doing good.

[mihela816]

The Buick Regal I used to own had the 3.1, and it ran great until it was totalled last year. It had 217,000 and still ran strong.