just about motors

[IanSzgatti]

my boss has an olds intrigue on the lot... its like 3,900 bucks... nice car. I went down with the keys while getting another car and started it up... i thought it might have a 3.4, and he said it had like 150 kilometers on it... so i was thinking... maybe i'd buy it... well, it has a 3.5 dohc motor, and that kind killed it for me.


pushrod guys... are you secretly envious of the dohc guys on the other side of the board? sure dohc motors make some power, but as I see it, they are a f#$king pain in the ass, where as the good old pushrod is simple and easy to work with.... opinions?

[Superdave]

Naaa.. Pushrod engines are lighter and make just as much power if not more.. and are WAY easier to work on.

a propperly tuned 3400 makes almost the same power as a 3.4 DOHC.

[IsaacHayes]

DOHC motors too from my experience get bad mileage. Probably because they have to rev so high to be in their powerband and have enough torque to keep the car going on the hwy/etc. Going down the hwy turning 3k or higher is not cool IMO.

[SappySE107]

Mileage is my main concern. The 3.4 DOHC has potential, but no aftermarket. It could be done up to whoop on the pushrods but its way more expensive to work on. Even if there was a market, it wouldn't be as cheap as the pushrods. I only own DOHC cars right now but this year will be my return to owning a pushrod and driving it. Gas milage is about 1/3 to 1/2 of my old 3.1

[Rhedalert]

The Oldsmobile 3.5L Shortstar V6 is actually a pretty good motor. I wouldn't hesitate to own one.

[3100 MPFI]

The shortstar is so far the ONLY DOHC V6 that I would like to have.

I have both engines (3100 and 3.4 DOHC), and right now NEITHER of them run. My perspective of them is from WORKING on them. So far, I could probably get mt 3.4 DOHC running before my 3100, but it is such a pain in the ass to work on (not to mention so much more EXPENSIVE for parts) that I pretty much avoid working on it all together.

If I was looking for just the ENGINE and just as something to tinker with, I would have too first decide what my budget is. If I am not on a budget, then I would probably get a 3.4 DOHC to play with, but that is because I am not as familiar with it as I am with the 3100.