3.4 iron head pistons in a 3400...

[Superdave]

anyone know if they will work out to have the same compression that 3.1 iron head pistons have in an aluminium head 3.1?

i'm just trying to get prices/ideas for a good build on this '00 3400 i just picked up.

Thanks!

[TurboGTU]

RE: 3.4 iron head pistons in a 3400...

http://www.60degreev6.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=5871&highlight=high+compression

Easy as pie. Why...whats the iron head piston/aluminum head combo have?
What cam you getting?

[3100GAGT]

Why would you want iron heads and where do get iron pistons from?

[RidgeRunner]

Why would you want iron heads and where do get iron pistons from?

Uh, no and no. He's referring to the pistons for the iron head 3.4L engine, not iron pistons, or iron heads on his engine.

[Superdave]

Re: RE: 3.4 iron head pistons in a 3400...

http://www.60degreev6.com/index.php?...gh+compression

Easy as pie. Why...whats the iron head piston/aluminum head combo have?
What cam you getting?

Thanks!

i'm not sure about the cam yet, the choices are pretty limited.. the one i got with the engine is broke in half...lol

i might just go with a re-grind since the milzy cam would cost me my first born son. Either that or (prepares for flame) i'd go back to a standard hyd cam.


the plan is to go all N/A and attempt to push about 250 HP at the crank BUT still keep it driveable since it is my DD.. I have another project car/weekend warrior that has the garage reserved

Why would you want iron heads and where do get iron pistons from?

Uh, no and no. He's referring to the pistons for the iron head 3.4L engine, not iron pistons, or iron heads on his engine.

lol, yah.

[Doubt_Incarnate]

i think you get close to 13:1 cr withthat combo, not the most streetable DD. i think someone, i cant remember the SN, has a white GP with that combo and he runs it on race gas i think. If i remember correctly that is.

[Superdave]

well.. if it turns out that i gotta mill these heads straight then i guess i'll end up using the stock pistons..

i can set them on a flat countertop and see about .010" of warp to them.. i'll probably shave .020" and be done with it.. maybe i'll see about getting some .040" head gaskets to bump it up a bit...

[Doubt_Incarnate]

maybe you can use the iron heads, head gaskets. they are thinner, or at leaste they were for the 2.8 and 3.1 variants.

[RidgeRunner]

I think that's what he was talking about by using .040 gaskets - but is there enough piston to head clearance using that thin of a gasket with the 3400 pistons?

[Doubt_Incarnate]

i had a table of measurements on various pistons i got from surfing, but i lost it. if i recal there was room for this on the 3400, but not the 3100. i think i remember the 3400 pistons being slightly shorther than the 3100 pistons. let me do a check and i'll come back to that.

edit: just checked, i looked breifly at what i could find on links from the home page.

3.4 camaro pistons i saw two heights, 1.450, and 1.457
3400 i saw 1.470
and for the 3100 i saw 1.480

so it looks like there is a hair more space for the 3400, maybe enough for the .40" gaskets.

[Superdave]

the 3400 pistons do pop up out of the block ever so slightly...

[Doubt_Incarnate]

the camaro 3.1 the pistons are 1.442" tall, and sit .022" down the bore (so i was told). so add the .022 and you get zero deck with a height of 1.464", that would mean the 3400 piston being 1.47" protrudes about .006", i think with the iron heads gasket you have somthing like .032" of clearance left, and i'm not sure of what the minimum safe recomendation is.

[v6h.o.]

Dave DO NOT use Iron head 3.4L .040 inch gaskets with the Alumheaded 3400 Pistons. The pistons protrude from the block deck surface .020-.022 inch. Which leaves .018-.020 inch clearance between Piston to head. Which is waaay to little.
You will have Pistons hitting heads at this amount of clearance. Rule of thumb for P to H clearance is .030 inch.

[Superdave]

Dave DO NOT use Iron head 3.4L .040 inch gaskets with the Alumheaded 3400 Pistons. The pistons protrude from the block deck surface .020-.022 inch. Which leaves .018-.020 inch clearance between Piston to head. Which is waaay to little.
You will have Pistons hitting heads at this amount of clearance. Rule of thumb for P to H clearance is .030 inch.

hehe.. but i like it when my valves hit the pistons didn't you ever see my pushrods from the 355 when i got owned by valve float ?

yah, i'll probably end up shaving these heads so i might be stuck reusing the old ones... with stock gaskets.

thanks for the help guys!

[Doubt_Incarnate]

we need a real table of piston measurements... i got those numbers from links off the "performance" sections of the pusrod and tdc (the 3400 pistons are here not with the 2.8/3.1/3100) links, and math isnt that hard. looks like another case of reality vs. science. if i had one each of the various different pistons i'd sit here on my day off and write up a table. heights, deck clearance, and cc's of dishes, blah blah blah.