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Looking at a 97 3.8l v6

B

brook011

New member
Need to know what to look for and if there are any problems. Its a 4 door 3.6L V6 and I'm getting it for 1100$ Interior and exterior look good and so do maintenance records, but I wanted to hear from you guys on if theres anything specific. Mileage is at 161,000 -- "alot I know, and I don't know what typical mileage is on these engines?"
 


check the rockers for rust, check underneath above the exhaust for rust. Look for wet spots on the engine, mainly underneath on the oil pan and under the valve covers where the exhaust comes out of the engine. That spot is known and recalled for fires. Also its a good idea to have the front end checked out at a shop before you buy it. Most will do it free of charge or for about twenty bucks for a rack fee. These cars go through wheel bearings and that way they can check that, look at the underside better and see what your brakes look like. Even if it costs a few bucks to have it looked over by a mechanic it could save you your 1100 if this thing is a turd and needs 1100 in parts.
 
Alright, it had service records which made me feel a bit more confident about it, I'll have to see it in person. The only rust he said was on the side below the doors, supposedly a problem on grand prixs.
 
Are the bearings a pain in the ass to change on these cars? I know on my VW I had to have a shop press them and go through a bunch of crap to do em.
 


Nice, I would love to have a car that I can work on myself over something I have to take in. The VW was a nightmare, put almost 1400 in new brakes and wires hoses plugs coils etc and it went out on me 4 days later, engine seized.
 
thats a VW for ya, parts for these cars are cheap and easy to find. The wheel bearings do run about 100 per side for the good ones though
 
cheaper than oem vw bearings, i replaced two on that car.. i saw theres a recall that started in may for the exhaust manifold recently for the car, i should probably see if thats been done or not yet as well.
 
Pittman06 said:
thats a VW for ya, parts for these cars are cheap and easy to find. The wheel bearings do run about 100 per side for the good ones though
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i priced timkens for i THINK 140 bucks each, i jus did my driver side with a cheaper aftermarket bearing for 58 bucks shipped. either way they are cheap and easy to fix :) i also had a 97 GT back in the day... i doggeddddddddd that thing out and it lasted to me around 200k miles when i sold it... only major thing i had to replace was a transmission one time..
 


yeah, trans shifts right away fine, and i haven't run into any problems. guess i cant complain for 1000$.. the only thing i noticed was a noise when i brake hard and traction control takes over. oh well its just an in betweener.
 
hey I have a 97 GT(3.8) w/ a swapped engine but I have the original transmission @206K miles, I have heard from many people saying the transmission is crap, but thats not the case in my book(smoooth shifting, NO complaionts). Obivously there are little things that come w/ age that I have issues w/ (paint,interior headliner coming apart at the tip where the sun visors are, dash is starting to separate by the cluster, window motors, etc...) And I have to agree w/ kawaford thats alot of miles for a original engine(I swapped my original engine @160K doing 80mph and blew my head gasket ended up cracking the piston) so beware on the engine... I do MOST of my own work on the car(oil change,brakes, belts, etc...)and for the most part its a VERY low maintance car. Good Luck, and I hope this helps
 
Im picking up a 97 SE w/3.8 for $500 .... Had a mechanic look it over and said that he never seen a car more cleaner... well except the rust under the doors... I have plans for that.

I know they flushed the radiator every other year... the trans was done last summer (flushed) and replaced alot of stuff at the same time ($2300 worth of misc stuff since they were going on a trip... they wanted to make sure nothing would go wrong... I think the dealership took advantage of them though) Heck I get 2 free oil changes with it also
 


brook011 said:
yeah, trans shifts right away fine, and i haven't run into any problems. guess i cant complain for 1000$.. the only thing i noticed was a noise when i brake hard and traction control takes over. oh well its just an in betweener.
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that your ABS, it makes a funny sound. get new pads, or bigger brakes :)
 
KawaFord said:
161k is pretty high for any normal motor.

What kind of car is it?
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161K on a 1997 is normal yearly driving mileage...

As long as it was taken care of, it should go for 200k easily!

Things to look for:

Inspect the oil, trans and coolant levels.
Start it cold and hot, observe how it runs.
Inspect around the intake manifold. Or have someone do it.

Other then that, check all the basicis, any warning lights on and all electrical.
 
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