Thinking used car-3.1 V6 Q's
 

I'm going to look at and consider buying an 93 Old Cutlass Supreme. Motor has 105,000 miles. Guy bought it brand new from the dealer and has changed oil at the 3,000 mile interval. Are these motors "prone" to do anything I'm un aware of? Cams, valves, or so on???

I did a quick search on Auto Trader-Online and it seems like a lot of these 3.4 motor's I've been looking at have high miles for this year and seem to be going strong.

Thanks for your replies,
Mike

We have a '94 Cutlass Supreme with 111,000 on it as a run-around town car (bought it with 30K on it)....- it has been pretty much trouble-free, except for GM's never-ending use of cheap interior parts and plastic everywhere. The hood release handle broke - there is a small vise-grip on the cable now to get the hood open....the glove box and hinges are falling apart.
We had to have the intake gaskets changed, they have been known to leak, and the injectors were just cleaned at 105K. It uses maybe a quart or so every 3000 miles, and has since we bought it. I have always used Castrol 10W40.

Other than that, it 's a pretty decent engine. The 3.4's are known to have more trouble than the 3.1's, especially the DOHC's.

Thanks for the reply. This car is definitely 3.1

High Mileage
 

The 3.1 is a good engine but at that mileage you should be concerned about fuel injectors. To replace one is a $400 bill because you have to remove the intake.

The real problem with this body style are the rear brakes which wear unevenely because they are discs and not self adjusting (often).

wannabe

You have to watch the rear struts/shocks AND braces on those cars. My father had a 90, 92, 94, and 95. (Company cars, kept trading them in at end of lease). The 92 however, we sold to my cousin. He replaced the rear struts as they wore as normal. As within 5 miles from leaving the the shop after replacement, BOTH, yes BOTH, rear towers sheared off the top plate where the units bolted to. The units were triple checked before and after as correct for the car. Just keep your eyes open, and be aware. This was fixable, but you know, never the same integrity.

Look for worn struts/shocks, by pressing sharply on the rear corners of the bumper, and looking for excessive bounce before car stops rebounding. It should correct itself within 2 rebounds. Also, check for flexing on the towers and such when you do this, might help to have someone else do aply the pressure. you may have to pull trunk carpet/lining back to see. It has been a while since I near one.

The car just had brakes put on IT all around and the struts replaced. Good thought about the fuel injector's-never thought about those.

By the way, this car has overdrive and the guy says he gets about 26-28 MPG on the freeway. Said he swears to it. What do you think and what MPG have you heard with this car?

3.4 dohc had some valve train problems and are noisy motors in general, The 3.1l is a better motor for longevity
my .02

Hey one time;)

How did the boat run? How was the gathering?

Boat ran awsome we made a few really good runs this weekend. The weather was perfect and the water was calm (boring but calm). There was a descent # of people that came, mostly regulars that would be there anyways but It was a good time.

The 3.1s were known to have piston slap when cold. Be sure to listen to the engine when its first started.