questions before i buy a 93 camaro rs

[3400-95-Modified]

i cant see it being a cracked head or blown head gasket. especially for the heads being made of cast iron. because i always thought iron was stronger than aluminum, and less prone to cracks/warpage. but are more prone to detonation. the car isnt overheating even in the slightest. the temp is well below the half way mark when driving. a cracked head or blown head gasket would make the engine overheat, normally. i believe oil getting into the coolant and not vice versa is being caused by the lower intake gasket being bad. since thats way more common on these engines. i had the same issue with my 93 lumina (oil in coolant) before i tore the upper end down and saw the original rubber LIM gasket thats been there for 230k miles. i figured while i was down there i would replace the head gaskets and have the aluminum heads milled.

He gives you advice and you counter it all after complaining about not getting any...

And how will a bad lower intake allow oil into the coolant when there is no pressurized oil passages anywhere near the lower intake gaskets? When those fail you get coolant into the oil.

[Kipp]

He gives you advice and you counter it all after complaining about not getting any...

And how will a bad lower intake allow oil into the coolant when there is no pressurized oil passages anywhere near the lower intake gaskets? When those fail you get coolant into the oil.

He gives you advice and you counter it all after complaining about not getting any...

And how will a bad lower intake allow oil into the coolant when there is no pressurized oil passages anywhere near the lower intake gaskets? When those fail you get coolant into the oil.

i countered it because i feel like it couldnt be a cracked head or head gasket. sorry i felt like the advice the guy gave me was wrong based from experience. i mean, if it was any of those, wouldnt the car overheat? at least thats what EVERY other car does when it has a cracked head or bad head gasket....is overheat, and not stay at a stable temp, and burn coolant.....

and from what ive been told, and based on experience, LIM gaskets will leak externally, (allowing oil to reach the coolant). and people are able to drive it like that for years, and flushing coolant every so often. until it blows completely and starts allowing the coolant to reach the oil. ive been told, and ive read on numourous forums that almost EVERY gm v6 car is notorious for these problems. when you see that goopy brown shit in your radiator, thats usually the problem. and people get confused and think its a blown head gasket because of the identical symptoms. idk if my engine is in that category, but im hoping it is.

if you take offence because i didnt "agree" to your so called advice, then dont give advice.

[pocket-rocket]

If you know what's wrong with it, why are you here asking for advice instead if going outside and fixing it?

You say don't give advice, yet you complained about not getting any in 16 short hours. Obviously our community here isn't what you are looking for so maybe you should stick to one of your other forums.

Think logically, man. That engine in your Camaro isn't the same engine or design (including the intake) as what was on your Lumina.

All I pick up from your posts is "i read, I read, I read." This tells me you don't have much wrench turning experience on this level, yet you discount others that do that are offering free advice. Maybe you should take it to a professional.

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[Kipp]

If you know what's wrong with it, why are you here asking for advice instead if going outside and fixing it?

well, if you actually read the original post i made, you would see that i asked about other issues than the oil in the coolant, like the intermittent engine light, and the possible vacuum leak being in the pcv system. but obviously since no one read it, i can see where you would think i know exactly what was wrong with it....

You say don't give advice, yet you complained about not getting any in 16 short hours. Obviously our community here isn't what you are looking for so maybe you should stick to one of your other forums.

i think you need to read some more, because not one time did i tell anyone to not give any advice. i said, and you can quote me. if you take offence because i didnt "agree" to your so called advice, then dont give advice. sorry i feel like its not a blown head gasket or cracked head. you ever thought that maybe....just maybe, that two people will have different diagnosis' to a car problem?

Think logically, man. That engine in your Camaro isn't the same engine or design (including the intake) as what was on your Lumina.

yeah your right, and neither is the 3800 series 1, or series 2. and neither is the 3100 engines and whatever else i may be missing. but god forbid every single one of those engines are notorious for LIM gaskets leaking and allowing oil in the coolant.

All I pick up from your posts is "i read, I read, I read." This tells me you don't have much wrench turning experience on this level, yet you discount others that do that are offering free advice. Maybe you should take it to a professional.

i read i read i read, because my chevy lumina was my very first actual teardown. and i googled many symptoms and learned different possibilities that could be wrong with my car. ive done plenty of other work to my cars, as well as my mom and dads, and several friends cars. suspension, body work, and typical maintenance. and i wanted to be sure i knew what i was doing before i starting tearing shit apart. surprisingly enough, the internet is a good place to learn new things. who woulda thought....

[pocket-rocket]

I have another theory, but I already know you don't want to hear it so I'll spare you.

I will say, however, is we were all wet behind the ears at one time and part of learning is knowing when to shut your mouth and listen to experience.

Good luck with your car, I'm done.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[3400-95-Modified]

You still didn't explain to me how a pressurized cooling system can take in oil when its leaking externally. You just told me that 3100 and 3400 engines are prone to LIMG failure which causes coolant to get in the oil. It's not the same as your 3.4 in your Camaro though.

Good luck with the Camaro.

[Kipp]

I have another theory, but I already know you don't want to hear it so I'll spare you.

I will say, however, is we were all wet behind the ears at one time and part of learning is knowing when to shut your mouth and listen to experience.

Good luck with your car, I'm done.

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

you guys are all getting butt hurt, and coming at me with attitude because i felt like its not a blown gasket or cracked head. its funny that the two shops i took it to to have it looked it, both said its most likely the LIM gasket. and when my compression test reads good on all cylinders, it kind of gives me the idea that the head gasket it okay. but yet you both still insist and want to argue with me like thats whats wrong with my car. i appreciate the posts people made on here. but when your arguing with me, and questioning me because "i read", is somewhat disrespectful. even more disrespectful when you say "since elementary grade science tells us" in a manner like im stupid. i remember in elementary grade science, i was learning about amphibians, and mammals.

im not saying you guys arent experienced. i never said you wasnt at all. i was just disagreeing with what you felt was wrong with my car. and if that offends you then go kick rocks dude.

You still didn't explain to me how a pressurized cooling system can take in oil when its leaking externally. You just told me that 3100 and 3400 engines are prone to LIMG failure which causes coolant to get in the oil. It's not the same as your 3.4 in your Camaro though.

Good luck with the Camaro.

dude....the LIM gaskets fail so commonly on ALL gm v6 engines from like 1991 to 2002, that theres a class action lawsuit against the place that was allowing these cars to be produced with prematurely failing gaskets. hit up google.

[caffeine]

I'm not going to say it isn't the LIM gaskets, but the iron headed v6s don't have the same reputation for LIM gasket failure as the aluminum headed engines have. Fieros have the same heads as the 3.4 Camaro and I've never even read about common LIM gasket failure with their 2.8s (I used to have a 2.8 in my Fiero as well).

The aluminum headed engines use different gaskets because they have completely different intakes.

[3400-95-Modified]

You asked for advice, we gave it and YOU got but hurt and shot it all down, so if your so all knowing WHY ARE YOU ASKING US? You obviously already have it set in your head its the LIMG, so stop asking for advice your not going to take and go fix your damn car!

[Kipp]

You asked for advice, we gave it and YOU got but hurt and shot it all down, so if your so all knowing WHY ARE YOU ASKING US? You obviously already have it set in your head its the LIMG, so stop asking for advice your not going to take and go fix your damn car!

listen dude, im not trying to argue about it. i wasnt butt hurt because i felt its not a blown head gasket. i just legit felt like it wasnt a blown gasket or cracked head. sorry if that offends you guys. untill i see more signs of a blown gasket or cracked head, then ill tear it down. in the meantime, im going to tear down the intake and see how that pans out. i mean, the car has 163k miles. im sure it could use a replacing.

and yeah, ive been out there trying to fix my car. (the vacuum issue i mentioned in the first post). ive been pulling vacuum lines, checking grommits and i found really bad carbon buildup in the vacuum line that runs from the purge solenoid sensor to the charcoal canister in the back. and it seems like the solenoid is clogged with carbon as well. im sure if it was clogged, it would effect vacuum right? and would that be the cause of the funny idle?

[kookers]

I have a '93 3.4L and it doesn't flash codes either. This despite the fact that even in the factory service manual it says it should. I've heard a number of others where with a '93 where the codes wouldn't flash. Grounding that test pin on the dlc is however useful for troubleshooting a number of things as per the factory manual because it causes signals to be sent to a number of various solenoids.

I ended up getting an Innova Equus 3120 off ebay to read codes. Works great.

My advice on on the car, if you haven't already purchased it, is to skip it. I've owned my 3.4 new since 1993 and have fixed a lot of things... its quite enjoyable, but that oil issue sounds too much like a PIA unless you want to have fun and rebuild the engine.

[Kipp]

I have a '93 3.4L and it doesn't flash codes either. This despite the fact that even in the factory service manual it says it should. I've heard a number of others where with a '93 where the codes wouldn't flash. Grounding that test pin on the dlc is however useful for troubleshooting a number of things as per the factory manual because it causes signals to be sent to a number of various solenoids.

I ended up getting an Innova Equus 3120 off ebay to read codes. Works great.

My advice on on the car, if you haven't already purchased it, is to skip it. I've owned my 3.4 new since 1993 and have fixed a lot of things... its quite enjoyable, but that oil issue sounds too much like a PIA unless you want to have fun and rebuild the engine.

I had already picked it up. And had already rebuilt the upper end lol. I really do enjoy rebuilding engines and doing work on cars period. I replaced the LIM gasket, plenum, valve cover, throttle body gaskets, all kinds of new shit man. New o2 sensors and other sensors just because. Cleaned the egr port. Plugs wires and oil, coolant. She runs like a top now. The only thing it needs is the evap system replaced, and some body/interior touch ups. I should've went ahead and pulled the heads and dropped another 200 in head work and parts for the gasket change. But compression is good so I figured when they blow ill replace it then.

[kookers]

Wow.. that all sounds great. I've done tons of stuff to mine but have kept it mostly stock. Its my daily driver and has 180K miles. I find that the hardest part of maintaining the '93 (and keeping it stock) is finding switches and knobs that have the yellow trim (all other years were white).

About as deep as I've had to go into the engine was replacing the lower plenum gasket. I made a home made smoke tester (best thing I ever did) to find all the leaks, and after that it was tight as a drum. Compression is very good, and thing purrs as good as when I first got it in '93.

All new sensors this last year and found some new old-stock injectors. Recently replaced all rubber suspension parts (1LE where possible), 1LE sway bars, bilstein shocks and one piece drive shaft (a must), new front hubs, new quicker steering rack and of course the regular stuff that always goes bad. I must say, in 19 years, I've replaced quite a few components, but honestly in many respects its almost like a new car.

Upcoming projects are to finally get that ABS Inop light to go off... new headliner, sound deadener, new dashpad (will be third one).

Right now I am trying to find a new smog pump. I did check my evap solenoid just yesterday using a vacuum tester and it checked out... not sure if the canister and check valve are good however. What is wrong with yours?

Do you have a smog pump (secondary air injection) on yours?

[Kipp]

Wow.. that all sounds great. I've done tons of stuff to mine but have kept it mostly stock. Its my daily driver and has 180K miles. I find that the hardest part of maintaining the '93 (and keeping it stock) is finding switches and knobs that have the yellow trim (all other years were white).

yeah im definitely trying to keep mine as bone stock as possible. i just dont really see the reason to modify a 3.4 for performance, unless you were to slap a turbo or supercharger on it. and i think its just too much work. i think they are nice cars stock anyways.

About as deep as I've had to go into the engine was replacing the lower plenum gasket. I made a home made smoke tester (best thing I ever did) to find all the leaks, and after that it was tight as a drum. Compression is very good, and thing purrs as good as when I first got it in '93.

thats good to hear man, ive never used a smoke tester lol. but i never got to hear that purr untill i got everything fixed. it felt damn nice to start it up for the first time after the rebuild and it reach a normal stable idle. and getting the rest of the power back and probably a little more mpg is nice too lol.

All new sensors this last year and found some new old-stock injectors. Recently replaced all rubber suspension parts (1LE where possible), 1LE sway bars, bilstein shocks and one piece drive shaft (a must), new front hubs, new quicker steering rack and of course the regular stuff that always goes bad. I must say, in 19 years, I've replaced quite a few components, but honestly in many respects its almost like a new car.

Upcoming projects are to finally get that ABS Inop light to go off... new headliner, sound deadener, new dashpad (will be third one).

the only thing ive ever done suspension wise to it were replacing the rear sway bar links. both were broke and the rear sway bar was just hanging there lol. im sure the rubber bushings and what not could use a replacing. because im sure they are the stock ones lol. and as for the ABS inop light. mine doesnt stay on. it comes on at startup and goes away. i didnt even know those cars has ABS untill i seen the light pop on lol.

Right now I am trying to find a new smog pump. I did check my evap solenoid just yesterday using a vacuum tester and it checked out... not sure if the canister and check valve are good however. What is wrong with yours?

Do you have a smog pump (secondary air injection) on yours?

well, it had a weird idling problem when i first got it, so i started pulling vacuum lines and noticed carbon buildup all in the vac line that ran from my evap purge solenoid. so i knew the evap canister was bad and i decided to tear it off, disconnect the purge solenoid and remove the vac line. put a small filter on the end that went into the tank and left the other one open to vent into the air for now. i dont intend to keep it that way. i definitely am going to replace the evap canister and solenoid and get a new vac line for it for sure.