Opinions on the GM 3800 series 3

You know hat they say, you're never late in a 3.8

No, iron dukes are actually reliable.

I've owned 4 3800's, one boosted and I've never had anything over the top happen to them

Problems I've had with each
>95 Riviera: Water Pump, Fuel Pump, and Intake Manifold
>96 LeSabre: No A/C, wouldn't downshift in over drive, hydroplaned into a curb sideways at 40mphs
>97 GTP: Replaced A/C twice, lumbar support broke on drivers side
>98 Regal: Mystery misfire in cylinder one that wasn't able to be corrected with either a coil pack or spark plugs and wires

>buddy has mint low mileage well maintained SSEi
>spins a rod bearing at 95k

>buys JY L67
>has cracked head
>buys another JY L67
>has a spun rod bearing
>buys another JY L67
>finally gets a good one

>buddy has bone stock L36
>windows the block after one enduro

It's a meme engine at best. I've had better luck with Ford 3.8's if that tells you anything.

>Shredded Belts the motor
meh

pretty sure he means a gen3 4.8

It's a shit, but reliable engine.
Reliability is about the only good thing going for it.
The block and heads are cast iron making it unnecessarily heavy.
Due to the 90* V angle (a result from being a cut down V8), the engine requires a power-robbing balance shaft.
The cylinder heads, even on supercharged models, flow like absolute shit
Although usually offered as an upgrade over GM's 60* V6's, the 3800 was cheaper to make partially due to the 3800's stuck in the 1960's design and partially due to the 60* V6's just being that much more advanced.
The engine was originally very rough, due to being a cut down Buick V8, and so band-aids were applied over the years to smooth things out. As a result, the engine has a very awkward 1-6-5-4-3-2 firing order that makes sure that no matter what is done to the engine, it sounds horrible.
The engine does not make enough power to justify its displacement, especially when there were 3.0L V6's make the same or more power without a blower at the same time frame.

Aside from its legendary reliability, it really is a shit engine design and should've been killed off completely in the 1980's.

why even lie like this

I own two 3800's
> #1 NA 150K chewed through 2 transmissions 0 engine problems

> #2 GTP 250K
>clogged oil filter housing, so the oil wasnt even getting filtered, still ran at 250K
>blown head gasket because previous owner mixed coolants

doesnt sound like a meme to me

I wish I was lying lad

I've had nothing but terrible luck with 3800's
You can even watch my buddies enduro car kill itself. In it's defense, it did complete a 100 lap enduro before this.
youtu.be/OzDIwIEFDY0

As for my others buddy's minty Bonneville, It's been fine since I put the JY special in it. I hope to never see it again.

I'd still rather have a 3100 or 3400 anyday.

I never hear too much about the newer 3.6 V6s. what are the thoughts on that? engines like the LGX. i see people making decent power using turbos or the stock supercharger on the 3800 but what about the newer V6s? could they make lots of power or are they basically un-moddable?

The newer 3.6L is generally pretty reliable, but completely unrelated. They initially had problems with timing chain tensioners, but this issue was fixed around 2009.
They can make a LOT of power. GM's bone stock twin turbo 3.6L makes either 420 HP (example: Cadillac XTS V-Sport) or 464 HP (example: Cadillac ATS-V) depending on the car. But the aftermarket hasn't taken to the 3.6L very well. With the recent turbo models and the noise the fucker makes, I expect that to start changing in the coming years

shit
>eats coolant
>eats oil
>always misfires
>starts when it wants too
>backfires in the cold

>intake manifold gaskets
>5k ignition coil change intervals
>90 degree V6
Fine american turdry

>I've had better luck with Ford 3.8's if that tells you anything
I believed you until that last line. Now I know you're lying. There is no engine worse than an Essex. That's a scientific fact.

You'd think so but this piece of shit has 242k on it and still runs great. It's been overheated countless times, hydrolocked, who knows how old the oil is in it, spends all of it's time at 6k and refuses to die. For some reason my luck with 3.8 vs 3800 is the opposite of what it should be.

That's weird you must have some luck because every essex I seen needs head gaskets, way more than 3800s. And that's saying something

I even had another 3.8 bird and that one ran great too. But it was a low mileage cream puff.

I also has another friend with a 3.8 MN12 that he put a shit ton of miles on, only thing I ever had to do to it was intake gaskets.

Wow all those nigger cars and I guess our new /pol/ outlanders couldn't catch on. Not saying your a kaffir but you sure like your shitboxes

he obviously meant the superior 265 hemi

they're ok, ive owned 2 abused to shit commodores in the past with these engines and the transmissions both fucked out before the engine

Meh, I'm basically Irish & German.

I likes what I likes. Also Niggers have moved on to Nissan and Infiniti from what I've seen. They're over the GTPs and I always see them in Maximas

this, worst sounding engine of all time.

Only idiot rednecks spend money making the FWD shitboxes they come in go fast.

Just get a v6 Camry or accord

GM sucks at V6

all ten of those pulley better be tip top or else youre going to have belt issues

Nice argument supported by valid facts, I'm so glad you contributed

GM doesn't suck at V6's they just suck at V8's with 2 cylinders cut off, which is what the Buick 3800 and Chevy 4.3L V6's are.

GM's engines that were designed as V6's from the start, like the 60* V6 or the High Feature V6's, are all great designs

F I E R O
I
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R
O

oh look. A shit engine with a turbo thrown at it.

Tough motors to kill

Trans usually dies first

Longitudal ones aren't bad for a budget "boost it till it blows" build, but generally shitty 305s can do the same thing with higher potential and easier to work on

A generally servicable and reliable motor that got its good 40+ years of use in various applications

Another example of this would be the gm 2200 4cyl

torquey with virtually no top end, reliable to a fault, in that it runs alright with mounting minor problems that the uninformed wouldn't even know how to look for.