Malibu 3100 Engine Swap In Cutlass NIGHTMARE

[DEEmon88]

So my friend's 3100 in his 99 Oldsmobile Cutlass took a crap due to excessive water in the oil and cylinders so we replaced it with a 3100 from a Malibu at a "Pick N Pull" and now this one has water in the oil less than 100 miles down the road so I'm gonna try fixing this one. But I'm not sure what year the new engine and the VIN is blocked from view, SO is there a way i can tell what year the engine is and which specific 3100 (to swap parts)? And idk where the water is coming from but i looked at the LIM gaskets (metal framed) and they look good to me so maybe its the head? The intakes are different. Also the water in the overflow bubbles after it warms up but gauge doesn't show overheating. Any help would be much appreciated! I want this lemon off my hands and off down the road.

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[DEEmon88]

Btw it had metal felpro LIMG gasket when I took it apart.

Auto/Diesel Tech

[pocket-rocket]

There might be a year stamp on the LIM in the valley on the TB end.

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[DEEmon88]

Okay I'll look, thank you.

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[SappySE107]

99 is small port so basically 94-99 are the same for parts though the 94-95 heads won't have roller rockers. Pretty obvious on that to not swap. Timing covers may be different between platforms for mounts and belt routing. It could be that the lower intake bolts didn't have thread locker or weren't torqued in the proper order and torque spec. 99 and older all use the same fuel rail and injectors and the EGR is the same 96-99. 2000 and newer are large port and will have 00 or 03 on the lower intake. Since you aren't looking for performance, its easiest to stick with your small port stuff.

Bubbles sounds like a head gasket to me.

[DEEmon88]

That should be useful info when I'm rebuilding the motor, thanks. I took the heads off and the head gaskets were falling apart all over and look to have melted an imprint into the block and head. Maybe just cuz they were too old, but I'm gonna put new gaskets on, torque it, use some thread locker on the intake and see how that works out.

Auto/Diesel Tech

[SappySE107]

They are graphite gaskets, so that is just how they work.

[DEEmon88]

Oh okay

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