• The site migration is complete! Hopefully everything transferred properly from the multiple decades old software we were using before. If you notice any issues please let me know, thanks! Also, I'm still working on things like chatbox, etc so hopefully those will be working in the next week or two.

Motor Replacement

G

g4m3r7ag

New member
I'm looking to buy a 2000 Grand Prix GT with roughly 120k on it that has a bad motor (sounds like a rod knock) for $700. The body is good and clean, interior is pretty clean, so I don't think it's a bad deal. It has a 3800 Series II in it which from what I have read should be an L36 and a 4T65E transmission.

I'm just looking to put another 3800 Series II in it, I'm not trying to change it to a GTP or anything, I just want to get a motor in it the cheapest and easiest way possible so I have a car to drive. I seen one thread where they had to change the PCM and some other things for the transmission to work properly, Will I have to do this as well? From what I read all the 97-02 L36's should be the same, so as long as I get an L36 from 97-02 should everything just swap motor wise and not have to do anything with a PCM?

Is there a certain year motor I should look for that has more power? I think I read the 01's had an upgrade in power? Would a Regal 3800 have more power than a Grand Prix 3800?

Are there any threads here that detail with pictures pulling the motor and dropping a motor?

Are there any places online that I could order a motor that I know will be reliable or has been inspected instead of just going to a junkyard and hoping I get a good one?

Anything I should expect with having to swap the motor?
 


any year 3800 series 2 from like 97-03 will work, they are all the same weather it came out of a grand prix, regal, or olds.

Id say price cabn range from 200-700 depending on location and miles. The lower the miles, the higher the price.

Morad Parts Company sells motors, there are some motor's on ebay too. An last is gunna be a junk yard.

They will be a driect drop in motor.
 
Well Morad is only about 45 minutes away from me, however their cheapest L36 is $900 which is a lot more than I was expecting I was really thinking in the range of $500-$700 for one with roughly 80k on it. Well maybe the junkyard will be my best bet.
 
Check car-part for a 2005 GP. That would be the more available L26 motor. You can change the upper intake with the one off your car (reusable gasket) and drop it in. Recently I told a buddy that and he found a 58K mile motor locally for $300
 
So the L26 from the 04-08's will work the only thing you need to change is the Upper intake manifold and gasket from the L36 to it? What about the alternator and throttle body and stuff like that? Will we have to use a belt for an 04-08 Grand Prix? Will the PCM need changed? Or does it pretty much just drop right in and go?
 
When you swap the upper intake, you'll swap the fuel rail, alternator bracket and throttlble body. Sorry..figured you'd see that when you had the two side by side.

PCM won't know it's a different motor, because it's basically the same.
 


Oh, if I had them sitting side by side I would have probably seen it but I don't have a motor yet. Checking Craigslist but there's not much out there as far as 3800's.

What's car-part?

Is there a DIY thread here for pulling the motor?
 
Oh.. you are about to enjoy this thread.


WWW.car-part.com

Punch in the 05 GP with NA motor in your area and the page number with the asterisk is the lowest cost page. You can sort on distance, price etc. :th_thumbsup-wink:
 
Ok, I found a motor with 43k on it for $600 so that doesn't seem bad. I found e-check papers in the glove box, it had a tail pipe test done cause the OBD wasn't ready and it failed so I'm assuming catalytic converter. The car has sat for 1.5 years so the tires are dry rotted and it needs rotors and pads all the way around. So I'm figuring $700 for the car plus $600 for the motor, $400 for the tires, Rotors, pads, and converter I'm figuring $200, Title and license plate fees another $150. So by the time things are done probably around $2200 - $2300. Motor will have 43k on it and the rest almost 130k. The only other major thing I would have to worry about then is a transmission. This seem like a decent deal?
 
I'd guess a little higher on the rotors pads and converter. Other than that, sounds like you've done your homework. The motor you find an L36 then?
 
Yea the motor is an L36, and I work in a muffler shop that my dad owns so I can get the rotors pads and converter at cost and obviously there won't be any labor charge. The only thing that has me worried is the guy I work with that grew up with my dad has only pulled motors on RWD cars and more specifically, older muscle cars. Neither of us has ever swapped a motor in a new FWD car that has all the wiring and sensors for everything so were not quite sure how smooth it's going to go. I searched this forum for a DIY on pulling a 3800 with pictures of all the steps involved and couldn't find one.
 


Ok, I have figured out that the failed e-check was more than likely because of the converter. I got the car started and pulled it from outback into our muffler shop and raised it up, somebody that owned it prior had cut the converter off knocked the inside of it out and welded it back on.

The other motor I had found fell through so now I'm back to looking and found some L26's that are pretty cheap and low miles compared to the L36. Checked a couple of days ago and there weren't any L26's now there's about 10 of them, go figure.

Now I seen I had to change the upper intake from the L36 to the L26 but from what I have been reading it seems like every L36 that gets a rod knock is caused by the upper intake cracking where the EGR tube comes through dumping coolant into the lower intake which drains to the pan and causes it to spin a bearing. I am assuming that's what happened to this motor so I don't want to change the upper intake onto a nice L26 to have it ruin that one. Is there an easy way to check the upper for the crack? Even if I have to get another L36 upper used I don't think I would want to put it on the L26 and have it crack in 10k miles and ruin the L26?
 
g4m3r7ag said:
Ok, I have figured out that the failed e-check was more than likely because of the converter. I got the car started and pulled it from outback into our muffler shop and raised it up, somebody that owned it prior had cut the converter off knocked the inside of it out and welded it back on.

The other motor I had found fell through so now I'm back to looking and found some L26's that are pretty cheap and low miles compared to the L36. Checked a couple of days ago and there weren't any L26's now there's about 10 of them, go figure.

Now I seen I had to change the upper intake from the L36 to the L26 but from what I have been reading it seems like every L36 that gets a rod knock is caused by the upper intake cracking where the EGR tube comes through dumping coolant into the lower intake which drains to the pan and causes it to spin a bearing. I am assuming that's what happened to this motor so I don't want to change the upper intake onto a nice L26 to have it ruin that one. Is there an easy way to check the upper for the crack? Even if I have to get another L36 upper used I don't think I would want to put it on the L26 and have it crack in 10k miles and ruin the L26?
Click to expand...

I can get a L26 motor for $800 with 18k miles on it
 
you can use the l26 uim you just need to use you l36 tb u can buy an adapter tb spacer from zzp u also need your old l36 fuel rail for the l26
 
I found one on car-part with 38k for $450. I'm still confused about changing the Upper intake though when that's the most likely the reason the motor went bad in the first place?

edit: We posted at the same time, Ok thank you for the info cause I really don't want to use the plastic upper that is prone to cracking on an L26. Ok so if I don't switch the upper intake will I still switch the fuel rail, alternator bracket?

And I would be using the L36 throttle body just with an adapter from zzp so it bolts to the L26?
 


Ok so pull the L36, pull the alternator bracket off, pull the fuel rail off. Put the alternator bracket onto the L26 and bolt the L26 alternator to the L36 bracket. Put the L36 fuel rail onto the L26 and drop the L26 back in and bolt up the L36 throttle body to the L26 intake with said adapter plate.

Seems easy enough in theory. I'm assuming for a used throttle body adapter plate I'll have to check the forum classifieds? Doesn't seem like it would be a common eBay item?
 
g4m3r7ag said:
Ok so pull the L36, pull the alternator bracket off, pull the fuel rail off. Put the alternator bracket onto the L26 and bolt the L26 alternator to the L36 bracket. Put the L36 fuel rail onto the L26 and drop the L26 back in and bolt up the L36 throttle body to the L26 intake with said adapter plate.

Seems easy enough in theory. I'm assuming for a used throttle body adapter plate I'll have to check the forum classifieds? Doesn't seem like it would be a common eBay item?
Click to expand...
no use your l36 alternator l36 tb l36 fuel rail and injectors also now would be a good time to get rid og that u bend or put a dp on since your dad owns and exhaust shop it should be cheap or free
 
also since you are dropping in a l26 why not just drop in a l67 its a straight drop in u just need a retuned pcm for the diff gear ratio in the transmission but its only like 100 bucks
 
No on the L67 cause the the motor would cost more, plus the cost of the re-tune of the pcm, and considering its a car for my girlfriend who is also the one paying for all of this, its not really needed. If I was doing the car for me I'd do an L67 but alas its for her and needs to be done as cheaply as possible but yet be reliable enough to last hence why I would like to keep the Aluminum intake from the L26.

You went right into my next question with the u bend pipe, because I was looking up the converters and we don't have a catco listing for a universal converter for an 05 and its a different direct fit number would the pipe that has the flex unit in it for the l36 that bolts to the manifold and comes down underneath the car bolt to the manifold on the l26? and I'm confused as to how you would eliminate the u pipe because it connects both manifolds? unless I'm thinking about this the wrong way?

edit: the only way I'm thinking of eliminating the u pipe would be to run true duals down off each manifold but then I would need two converters to pass e-check, one each bank.

edit 2: Also, what about the flywheel/flexplate and bolting the L26 to the transmission that came with my L36 car?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top