Question : 96 Ciera 3100 SFI questions

[Scottyjr]

Howdy folks. Bought a used 96 Ciera for my son about 6 months ago for $750. Recently had it towed home. The oil looked good the next day but after starting it and running it for a while it stalled and now there is definitely water in the oil. Well, we can't afford a replacement car and had nothing to loose in atempting to fix it ourselves since the cost of professional repair would be out of the question.

I (before reading on the net) tore into it suspecting a blown head gasket. Of course I was wrong there. As soon as we can afford a Felpro gasket set (or can find a less expensive alternative gasket set) we'll be putting it back together.

There are some points we are not sure about. I'd appreciate some help on straightening us out.

1. Is a 3.1 the same as a 3100?

2. We have a 3100 SFI with ball rockers. I am aware of gasket sets with the push rod guides and without. On one site I read that the SFI engines require with. Is this correct? I inspected the old gaskets and only saw what looked like formed tunnels in the gasket. Are these the 'guides' ?

3. I've been reading that the common problem is failure of the intake manifold gasket and that there are improved gaskets with inserts to prevent compression. I also read that Felpro has 'Problem Solver' gaskets. Can someone give some guidance about IM gaskets?

4. To remove the heads I removed the rocker arms (yes, I racked them). On the front side the nuts came off the studs. On the back side the studs came out of the heads. On reinstallation, Is there no preadjustment such as turns beyond contact or is it strictly torque plus angle?

5. I'm inclined to use the same head bolts for reassembly. Any thoughts?

6. Is there any place on line to get decent gasket sets at a significantly better price than the $160-170 I'll have to pay locally?

Thanks - Bob

[bszopi]

1. Depends on what its in reference to... The 3100 IS different than the 3.1, but if you go looking for parts, all of them will refer to the engine as a 3.1L.

2. Yes, the little "tunnels" as you put it are the guides that people take about.

3. Unlike some people on here, I can't spout out the PN for the various and recommended gasket sets for these engines. But, if you do a quick search for LIM gasket failures (or wait until someone else responds), you will find the info you need.

4. Torque plus angle is all that is required for the ball and pivot rockers.

5. You will probably be fine with using the existing head bolts, although it is not something we typically recommend. Since this is obviously a budget fix and its just a daily driver, reusing the old ones will probably be just fine. But if you have an extra $20 or so, a new set of bolts is a good investment.

6. Check out rockauto.com and do a search in the forums for a discount code. It'll save you 5%, which typically will cover the shipping cost. They will also be much cheaper than you will typically find locally.

And finally, welcome to the site!

[95Grand-Am]

Good luck with the intake gasket, Hope your luck is better than mine. I have put intake gaskets on three of these engines and with in a week they spun rod beariing. Antifreeze is very bad on bearings.

[Scottyjr]

So what do you think? Were bearing surfaces damaged by antifreeze (corrosion) or were bearings damaged by running with antifreeze on the bearing surfaces where oil was supposed to be? - Bob

[95Grand-Am]

Other people have just changed the intake gasket and have gotten away with it. I am not that lucky and will never try again without checking a few bearings first. It seems to me that the antifreeze causes alot of friction and it wears away the bearings. I'm not trying to scare you I just wanted to give you all the facts so that you can be prepared.

[Scottyjr]

Thank You Gentleman for responding to my post.

95Grand-Am: Any information is valuable. Thanks for your input. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.

bszopi: Thanks for the welcome and for answering the questions I posted. And thanks very much for the reference to Rockauto. I did place an order, got an email it was shipped. Seems like good service, good price and quality parts. Can't ask for more than that!

Thanks - Bob (I'll keep y'all posted; wanna get this done before it gets cold)