High mileage

[jdub203]

my car is about to hit the 173K mark...how long do alero's usually last and does anyone have any suggestions as far as engine care

[Ryan from Ohio]

Oil change every 3K like clock work! Dont beat on it.

Should be able to go into the mid 250's mark.

[surreal_awakening]

245k on my 3.4, fairly regular oil changes, Mobil1 for the life of the engine.

[jdub203]

ive definitly been keeping up with the oil changes thanks for the feedback keep it comin

[[ion] C2]

180,700 miles boosted at 7 PSI

[01silveralero]

im almost right behind u at 170k miles on my 2.4............

[Redog]

Rare for the 3400 to go past the 150K mark. The caps on the bearing usually go, then the motor blows up right away. Usually happens when you get on it.

Trust me, I would want it to go longer, but the good news is a brand new long block is only $900 from GM with a warranty

[Onewing91]

lol, are u kidding about the 150k mark? I mean, mine runs like its new, not a problem with the engine at all at 186k, only thing I had to replace was the springs (now I wish I woulda bought lowered.. but oh well) of course I have no idea what was replaced before I bought the car and it could be an exception to the 150k thing, but in my very limited experience, 173k isn't bad with steady oil changes and keeping up on all routine checks and such.

[Ryan from Ohio]

Rare for the 3400 to go past the 150K mark. The caps on the bearing usually go, then the motor blows up right away. Usually happens when you get on it.

Trust me, I would want it to go longer, but the good news is a brand new long block is only $900 from GM with a warranty

Your about to scare me into some new bearings... lol

I can afford bearings and some time to replace.

Cant afford a new motor or car right now... lol

[Redog]

^^ Sorry guys, not trying to scare you, but I've been told by friends and a few mechs that the 60*V6 usually doesn't last much past 150K.

I could be, and hope to be, wrong about this ;)

On the other hand, I was told the Eco's bottom end is bulletproof

[Cliff8928]

I've known plenty of people with the older 60°V6s that have had in excess of 200k

[Redog]

I know the 3400 in the early Camaros were a beastly motor.

My freind roasted 3 or 4 transmissions in his Camaro :eek:

[whiterider00]

dont know about the 2 other engines in these cars, but the 2.4 seems to be well built. mine is going on 160k, and i tend to drive "aggressivley", and there are absolutely no problems with it.

[99-alero]

my ho had 213,000km on it the day i got rid of it and i beat the piss outta that car
and for the eco i've heard nothing but positive things to
happy i got an eco now :D

[GMFWDFAN]

Damn. And I thought my '99 3400 with 114k was getting old. :lol:

I plan on keeping the car for around 4.5-5 more years. So I'll probably hit the 150k mark sooner or later. I tend to not really drive all that much though. It took me around 4-5 months to go 3k miles.

[tw0123]

my 3.4 is at 148km and is still going strong...knock on wood... my buddy on the other hand, had a 02 eco and blew it twice before 140... first time was the upper end, second was the lower end... he now has the upper from the second engine and the lower from the first together and the car is going ok... he doesnt drive it much now though... and his is the 5spd...

[01Alero_Keith]

My 2.4 has about 248km and just blew the head gasket. Took it apart and may getting cylinders checked for warpage, get my head plained down( if possible, its already been done before i bought it) water pump needs to be replaced. Timing chain, tensoner, and guides need replacing as well, but the engine has 250psi in cylinders 1,3,4 and 85psi in #2

[Thewolf]

My alero has 258 km's on it and still going. Just has a small LIM leak. All I need to do for now is a major tune-up.

[Lucalare]

haha, 2 year old thread comes back to life.

[Ttop191]

ready.......


ready.......


ready......?
































THREAD JESUS!!!!!!!!!!
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_aiSzqVSmgpU/ReXwllCbVPI/AAAAAAAAAIs/5unCwak1VRk/s400/buddy+jesus.jpg

[TdotAlero]

Both of you thread Jesus guys... lol
My 3.4 is at 148,500miles. Running great, slight oil leak though.. :/
Edit: Yes, three thread Jesus posts at the same time :D

[guiguilandry]

thread jesus... but while were at it... the ld9 blew twice in the same year...before even 60 00km on my red one(destroyed the exhaust lifter and cam and broke one cam carrier cover...)... that's why I swapped it l67...

But on the other hand I'm now a 190 000km on my black s/c ld9 with 50 000km done since boosted and I still beat it to death... still going strong....haha, 2 year old thread comes back to life.

[sleepyalero]

160,021 on my clock no problems other then getting transmission rebuilt.

[That01Olds]

Last I saw there was 196k miles on my old Alero with the 2.4L LD9 and its still going strong.

[robalero]

230k km's just rolled over it earlier and no issues with my engine, I have a lower coolant intake that needs replaced because it is seeping but no other issues with the car ( other then a po440 light )

[whiterider00]

190k+, and only issue is a wheel bearing sensor.

[JLw7123]

my car has 137,000 and it is a LA1. I have piston slap and lifter tick. I need to fix both very soon because i do not want to destroy the engine.

[XanderWiFi]

what is a piston slap and a lifter tick? Soon there will be bearing tickles...lol.

My LA1 has 112,000 and the engine and transmission are gravy. Only issue I've had is wheel bearings because I used to drive some really cruddy roads back in Ohio.

When my engine is cold and idling it seems to have a knock. I have heard this called the GM engine knock-like it is a normal thing. Diminishes as the engine warms up. Anyone have something similar?

As far as maintenance: seafoam in the oil, gas and engine prior to every oil change which I do at approximately every 5k miles. Clean my air filter every 10k miles and change my fuel filter at the recommended times.

Always wonder about advanced tune up things though like timing belt changes and such. That belt looks so damn complicated...

[JLw7123]

i think that is piston slap it goes away when the piston expands when the engine gets warm. if i am wrong someone please correct me.

[Chris2000]

2000 2.4 with 99,300 miles. :( 100k is coming

[whiterider00]

boo-fucking-hoo. hahaha

[Alerojester]

2000 2.4 with 99,300 miles. :( 100k is coming

2001 with 94k and siezed engine:cry:

[cherrington17]

As far as maintenance: seafoam in the oil, gas and engine prior to every oil change which I do at approximately every 5k miles. Clean my air filter every 10k miles and change my fuel filter at the recommended times.


seafoam can and will dry out gaskets and o-rings if used too much. I'd back off a bit...

I'm going to start using 10w30 in the summers, just cuz my oil pan gasket seems to be weeping a bit. (it might have stopped) but the engine is getting a tad noisier in its old age.

89k now. Got at least 3-4 years to go still.

[XanderWiFi]

seafoam can and will dry out gaskets and o-rings if used too much. I'd back off a bit...

I'm going to start using 10w30 in the summers, just cuz my oil pan gasket seems to be weeping a bit. (it might have stopped) but the engine is getting a tad noisier in its old age.

89k now. Got at least 3-4 years to go still.

I'm not saying it doesn't. I'm just curious about what chemical component in the seafoam that would do such things to my poor engine.

[robalero]

Xander while we have you here I got a question to ask. when you installed your HID high beams got any issue with the DRL?

[cherrington17]

I'm not saying it doesn't. I'm just curious about what chemical component in the seafoam that would do such things to my poor engine.

probably the powerful cleaning solvent? if its etching oil funk off of metal... what is it doing to rubber?

[Thewolf]

i think that is piston slap it goes away when the piston expands when the engine gets warm. if i am wrong someone please correct me.

Yes that is correct, my 3100 does the same thing too.

[clutch1]

Btw it's cuz the piston can rotate a little in the bore when it's smaller.

Never looked into fixing it though.. what does it need, just new rings? Or new pistons, too?

[XanderWiFi]

probably the powerful cleaning solvent? if its etching oil funk off of metal... what is it doing to rubber?

It isn't for dissolving oil funk. It just loosens carbon deposits-essentially "soot" from the inside of your engine with a chemical makeup that will not damage your engine because it really isn't practical to flush your engine with water...I will say that too much of anything is a bad thing, but they would have a hard time staying in the market if it damaged engine components regularly.

Clutch, I think it is just a law of physics and nothing that can really be fixed. Unless someone is aware of a particular method.

[Gr1m]

well i can say i did seafoam twice and ruined an o2 sensor, which leads me to believe seafoam was the culprit, the sensor was not even a year old.

[XanderWiFi]

Maybe and maybe not. Sensors are finicky things afterall...I'm not saying that seafoam is failproof. Just that products that damage the target it is intended to aid, don't last long on the market. Just like doctors and nurses-kill a couple patients and watch what happens to your business because word spreads quick. It is one of the beautiful things of a capitalistic consumeristic market.

Many things can be the cause of damages-especially to sensors. But I have yet to see a pattern or regular occurence of seafoam consistently and continuously damaging the same thing-emphasis on "when used properly."

All in all, I think it does more good than harm if utilized in the proper manner. Just my opinion because I have had good experiences with it for the couple years I have been using it.

[cherrington17]

I agree... I just think there is a "too often" point of use with it.

[Amun Ra]

179K and it's time for an oil pump