99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

[dhondagod]

Ok, just bought a 99 camaro with a bad 3.8 V6 in it. What cars in the junkyards are these things in? What year range am I looking at? Im pulling this one next week to autopsy it but Im planning for the worst.

Help anyone?


Chris 8)

[91CCFirebird]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

From wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V6_engine

Series II
Introduced in 1995, the Series II is quite a different engine. Although the stroke for the 3.8L engine remained at 3.4 in (86 mm), and the bore remained at 3.8 in (97 mm), the engine architecture was vastly changed. The deck height is shorter than the Series I, reducing weight and total engine package size. This required that the piston connecting rods be shortened 1 in (25 mm), and the crankshaft was also redesigned. A new intake manifold improved breathing while a redesigned cylinder head featured larger valves and a higher compression ratio. The result was 205 hp (153 kW) and 230 lb?ft (312 N?m), better fuel economy, and 26 lb (12 kg) lighter overall weight (to 392 lb (178 kg)). The 3800 weighs only 22 lb (10.0 kg) more than the High Feature V6, despite being an all cast iron design.

Although the new intake manifold greatly improved breathing, it was made from plastic. To meet emissions standards, an EGR tube was placed in the intake mainfold to reduce combustion temperatures, over time the plastic intake manifold cracks/breaks resulting in expensive repairs. The failure can show up as low intake vacuum (leaks), occasional misfiring (when running), but is usually shows up as unexplained coolant loss. GM is well aware of the issue and even has a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin) 04-06-01-017 which explains the repairs needed that will temporarily resolve the issue. Average mileage when the manifold fails is around 77,000 miles. This TSB affects most 3800 (3.8L) engines from 1995 to present.

In 1999 the 3800 Series II in the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird received a new throttle body with Electronic Throttle Control.

The 3800 Series II was on the Ward's 10 Best Engines list for 1995 through 1997.


[edit] L36 Naturally Aspirated

A variation of the L36 engine in a 1998 Holden VT Commodore
Another variation of the L36 engine in a 1995 Oldsmobile 88This engine is or was used in the following vehicles:

Buick Le Sabre
Buick Park Avenue
Buick Regal LS
Buick Riviera
Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Impala
Chevrolet Lumina LTZ
Chevrolet Monte Carlo
Holden Commodore (VS, VT, VX, VY)
Holden Statesman (VS, WH, WK)
Holden Ute (VU, VY)
Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight
Oldsmobile Intrigue
Oldsmobile LSS
Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight
Pontiac Bonneville
Pontiac Firebird
Pontiac Grand Prix

[fabricatordave]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

im almost positive motor has to be rwd so it needs to come out of a camaro or firebird
check this out http://car-part.com/ there seems to be a split at 98 99????

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

The split is the Throttle by wire in 99. Any L36 or L32 long block will work but you need the F-body specific intake, accessory drive, and exhaust manifolds. The F-body L36 was used mid 95 till 2002, 95-98 are cable throttles, 99-02 were throttle by wire. The L36 FWD was used from mid 95 till 2004 roughly with some overlap in 2004 to the new Series III L32 which has better rods and slightly improved heads but is otherwise totally cross compatable. What's busted on the current 3800?

[dhondagod]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

Engine makes WELL over 120 pounds of oil pressure and blows the oil filter off the engine. Oil pressure sender stuck at 120 which kept the fuel pump from cutting off minimizing damage. Customer drove the car on the freeway with no oil. Has one dead hole and some noise from the bottom end. 114k miles on the clock. Car maintained and not driven hard at all.

I bought the car from the customer and will be pulling it out late next week to autopsy. If it dosent have any spun bearings Ill just pull the crank, have ground and reinstall with new bearings. If it has a damaged rod or main journal, Ill look for a replacement engine used. I dont have the 2400.00 for a new GM replacement.

Going to put my wife in this as a driver for her. I know the FWD cars will have different accessory/intakes etc, but Im wondering if there is any bolt holes or bellhousing differences between them that would keep me from putting a FWD donor into the RWD F-body.

What say ye oh keepers of GM knowledge???

Chris 8)

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

L67 (the supercharged 3800) has different crank balance and pistons but is otherwise identical. The only difference I've heard of between the rest of the motors (excluding what you have mentioned) is the flywheel might be different between the FWD and RWD motors but the crank is the same so it's a direct interchange with what you have already.
I'd try to find the lowest mileage L36 you could and pull the intake immediately to check if its leaked coolant since the FWD plastic intake has a tendency to burn through and leak coolant. Also check the oil filter bracket, I'm 90% sure that they are they same between the FWD and RWD but check and its interchangeable if not. The bypass spring and piston are under the bracket so be careful pulling it off and I'm betting that's the problem on the old engine that caused the high oil pressure. I think the oil pans are also different and the F-bodies got the good aluminum pan. After that just start swapping the stuff over and double checking sensor connections. These are good motors and the F-bodies got the metal intake that gets rid of most of the FWD problems with burning the plastic ones up.

[min301]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

L67 (the supercharged 3800) has different crank balance and pistons but is otherwise identical. The only difference I've heard of between the rest of the motors (excluding what you have mentioned) is the flywheel might be different between the FWD and RWD motors but the crank is the same so it's a direct interchange with what you have already.
I'd try to find the lowest mileage L36 you could and pull the intake immediately to check if its leaked coolant since the FWD plastic intake has a tendency to burn through and leak coolant. Also check the oil filter bracket, I'm 90% sure that they are they same between the FWD and RWD but check and its interchangeable if not. The bypass spring and piston are under the bracket so be careful pulling it off and I'm betting that's the problem on the old engine that caused the high oil pressure. I think the oil pans are also different and the F-bodies got the good aluminum pan. After that just start swapping the stuff over and double checking sensor connections. These are good motors and the F-bodies got the metal intake that gets rid of most of the FWD problems with burning the plastic ones up.

The oil filter adapter is a bolt on item, I believe it interchanges, but don't quote me, I'm not sure.
Make sure that you can use factory locations for the sensors, so you don't have
to bother with wiring changes.

[dhondagod]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

Thanks for the input. (again!) I would strip the donor down to the longblock and transfer everything from the car to it. I just didnt want to get into it and find some odd hole wasent present for a bracket or motor mount bosses moved an inch or somthing like that.


(hmmmm.... I wonder if I could get a supercharger and throttle body to fit under that cowl....) :


Chris 8)

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

Its been done but its hard work since the engine is burried mostly under the cowl and the throttlebody does not have much of a curve to it. You can get an Austrailian L67 blower and it will be easier but still somewhat burried. Then comes the tuning limitations of the L67 having a 2-bar MAP (not changable) and larger injectors in addition to being FWD only so you'd loose your 4L60E controls if you have the auto. If its a T5 car then its possible to revert back to the cable throttle setup and use the FWD computer theoretically though I'm not sure if HPTuners has enabled the switch to get both front O2 sensors working yet on the L67's yet.

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

I think I might have found a difference between the cranks, it looks like the FWD crank flange is 0.500in shorter than the RWD crank so the holes line up but you need to put spacers between the flexplate and the torque converter. This is from a thread on www.turbobuick.com about someone putting an L67 in a Cutlass and a turbocharged L67 in a Grand National. The builder stated he needed a 0.500-0.600in spacer on the torque converter bolts. No personal experience but a heads up.

[dhondagod]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

Thank you!



Chris 8)

[fabricatordave]

Re: 99 camaro 3.8 litre... What else do they come in?

i think i have headers and y pipe for that brand new pacesetter i will ck #ss


yup 95 99 3.8 camaro headers y pipe clamps bolts never installed

part# 70-1209