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the biggest problem these engines have is lower intake manifold gasket failure. this is because gm used nylon gaskets and the anti-freeze eats away at the gasket as the antifreeze gets older. LIM gasket service life can be extended by flushing your cooling system every 2 years and keeping up with cooling system maintenance.
another thing i have heard is they have head gasket problems. now i don't really believe this because my mom's boyfriend has own you Buick Skylarks with this engine and I now own a 95 Chevy Corsica with that engine as well. One Buick had 138,000 miles before we got rid of it and the other had 195,000. Both of those engines had the original head gaskets in them. my corsica only has 44,000 miles on it so i can't say much about it yet. but i can say that head gasket failure can be avoided by maintaining your cooling system as i stated earlier and if the car starts to run hot pull it over before it actually over heats. i replaced the oem 195* thermostat with a 185* thermostat to reduce the engine operating temps in my Corsica.
And one more problem that alot of GM's have is piston slap. there is a website out there called www.pistonslap.com that says that piston slap is this terrible thing and all that, its really not. remember the 195,000 mile Buick I talked about? it had it since it was bought at 60,000 miles and it ran fine at the high miles. piston slap really is harmless, its just a noise.
so if you keep up with the cooling system maintenance and the car your looking to buy has already had the LIM gaskets replaced...the engine is a fantastic engine. i love my Corsica that has it and I loved driving the Buick's too. It really has some get up and go.
Head gaskets and intake gaskets are to of the big problems with the 3100 but their is also the problem of the camshaft breaking
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Why would gm 3100 engine have no spark?
There could be many reasons why the engine has no spark. A few reasons could be that the starter or starter solenoid is going bad, or the battery is drained.
Which side of engine is 1?
Depends on the engine. On Ford V8 it is passenger side front, on GM V8 it is driver's side front.
What problems may occur if you overfill your 1996 Mercury GM gas tank?
FUEL WILL BACK UP INTO THE GAS TANK VENT LINE CAUSING THE COMPUTED TO THINK THERE IS A RICH CONDITION AND TURN ON THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON OR EMISSIONS LITE
Why would the engine have no oil pressure when it is cold?
this is normal, when the car is cold or off. the oil sinks down in to the oil pan.,. If this is a GM engine you may be using an aftermarket oil filter that allows oil to drain back this is not a good thing and can cause engine damage. GM has a TSB on this very problem.
How do you remove a camshaft off a GM 305?
take the front grill support off if the engine is in the car. then remove the plate covering the cam. then remove the cam?. it is alot easier with the engine on a stand.
