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  • My 3.4L Nightmare !

    While trying to track down an oil leak, (and save my driveway) I decided to go ahead and do all the intake gaskets like TopHatJimmy did and go ahead and do the plugs and wires too. What a nightmare this has turned out to be !

    First off there is, off course, oil everywhere as the valve cover gaskets as well as the oil pump drive gear have leaked for a long time. After the initial disassembly and cleaning years of baked on gasket material (and stabbing that long hex key drive shaft back in the oil pump !), I tried to put the LIM on with a borrowed torque wrench that was obviously out of calibration as I broke a bolt off !:mad: I was fortunate in the fact that it broke in two large pieces and I was able to fish the other piece out without removing the LIM again.

    I started to pull the plugs and found two (3/5) that were literally hand tightened. As I progressed, I found on the other head, two that were cross threaded and didn't want to come out at all. I did manage to get plugs back in there, but not without breaking one and having to go to Autozone for a replacement. And those two plugs probably aren't coming out again.

    I am almost done putting this thing back together, but I really feel like this car doesn't want to be put back together. I haven't even begun to address all the little crap like the intake elbow with the broken and glued on fitting or the oil pressure sending unit that is wrapped in duct tape ? Honestly, I don't know how this thing was even running and if it doesn't fire up for some reason, I will probably just pull the whole motor out and replace it.

  • #2
    Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

    Originally posted by rayosequis View Post
    While trying to track down an oil leak, (and save my driveway) I decided to go ahead and do all the intake gaskets like TopHatJimmy did and go ahead and do the plugs and wires too. What a nightmare this has turned out to be !

    First off there is, off course, oil everywhere as the valve cover gaskets as well as the oil pump drive gear have leaked for a long time. After the initial disassembly and cleaning years of baked on gasket material (and stabbing that long hex key drive shaft back in the oil pump !), I tried to put the LIM on with a borrowed torque wrench that was obviously out of calibration as I broke a bolt off !:mad: I was fortunate in the fact that it broke in two large pieces and I was able to fish the other piece out without removing the LIM again.

    I started to pull the plugs and found two (3/5) that were literally hand tightened. As I progressed, I found on the other head, two that were cross threaded and didn't want to come out at all. I did manage to get plugs back in there, but not without breaking one and having to go to Autozone for a replacement. And those two plugs probably aren't coming out again.

    I am almost done putting this thing back together, but I really feel like this car doesn't want to be put back together. I haven't even begun to address all the little crap like the intake elbow with the broken and glued on fitting or the oil pressure sending unit that is wrapped in duct tape ? Honestly, I don't know how this thing was even running and if it doesn't fire up for some reason, I will probably just pull the whole motor out and replace it.


    the "duct tape" around the oil pressure sensor is standard so don't worry about it :)

    if you need any specific help, feel free to ask. I have taken apart the 3.4 top end a couple times as well as many others here and can help you out a great deal, though it sounds like your 3.4 is putting up quite a fight.

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    • #3
      Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

      Thanks, I have gleaned quite a bit of information here and really appreciate it. I haven't gotten stuck just yet, but I almost made a post about how to get the hex key shaft back in the oil pump, it was a real pain !

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      • #4
        Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

        you took the oil pan off?

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        • #5
          Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

          My hex key came out with the oil pump drive when i pulled it out, but the hex key was too long to come all the way out cuz of the cowl, so it just fell back in. I got a magnet to pull it back out and connected it to where it goes under the oil pump drive, but it just fell back in when i started shoving the oil pump drive in.. hope what im saying makes sense. LOL :) Anyway, I hope I didnt mess that up some how.

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          • #6
            Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

            Originally posted by tkoforpresident View Post
            you took the oil pan off?
            No, I was actually able to use some teflon tape and shove the hex key shaft back into the gear drive to hold it in place. I then carefully lowered it back into place and spun it until I felt it click into the oil pump.

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            • #7
              Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

              no idea what your talkin bout lol

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              • #8
                Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

                LOL, yeah I am probably not calling these parts by their proper names. Basically, I was able to make the "drive shaft" for the oil pump stay in the oil gear drive and lowered it back into the motor from the top. In order to get it to line up with the oil pump, I had to rotate it back and forth until it clicked into place.

                I did get the car all put back together last nite, but I didn't get to try and start it as I happened to check the time and it was 4am ! Needless to say, I can't wait to get back home tonite and see how it runs, considering two of the cylinders were probably lacking a lot by way of compression with the spark plugs not tightened at all.

                Wish me luck !!
                Last edited by rayosequis; 11-13-2008, 02:37 PM.

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                • #9
                  Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

                  Good luck. I hope it fires right up for you. :tup:

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                  • #10
                    Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

                    Well, it ran, but not very well. It has a definite misfire that if it was there before is much worse. :(

                    Would a leaking egr to manifold tube cause a misfire ? It had some sort of tape on it and didn't seem to be leaking before, but I suspect my cleaning out of the egr passage in the manifold may have caused it to get worse.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

                      man, that thing is puttin up a hella fight.

                      i dont think that it would cause it to miss. it would cause it to hesitate and bog kinda.
                      Team NoVa

                      2000 Firebird- Intake, Pacesetters, !cat, full 2.5 to flowcrapster, 1.9 rockers, LS6 springs and Intense modded retainers, WS6 speedlines, T/A bumpers and hatch, 5 spd swapped, SOON TO BE nitrous'd and cammed.

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                      • #12
                        Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

                        That's kind of what I was thinking, it may be a plug wire or coil pack, although I don't see how it would suddenly get worse. No check engine light as of yet, so I'll just have to keep digging.

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                        • #13
                          Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

                          are all of your plug wires right?

                          1998 Chevrolet Camaro SS
                          New Trans Setup:Rebuilt 4L60E, Yank ST2800 Stall, B&M Trans Cooler,
                          TCI Deep Pan, Royal Purple, Trans-go Shift Kit. Should be done in January.

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                          • #14
                            Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

                            I did them one at a time, so they went in exactly the same place that they came off of, however, considering some of the other stuff I've found so far working on this car, it's a definite possibility, it's just didn't seem to miss quite this bad before I started working on it.

                            This car has been such a nightmare, it makes working on my C4 LT1 feel easy !
                            Last edited by rayosequis; 11-14-2008, 02:34 PM.

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                            • #15
                              Re: My 3.4L Nightmare !

                              Quick question for you guys, what's the proper way to route the #1 spark plug wire around the egr ? I wrapped it in plastic flex tubing (thankfully) and after the one test drive the car has made, it was melted, so I need to re-route it.

                              Thanks,
                              Ernie

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