Okay, so my 95 3.4L camaro's headgasket has blown. We have already tried an additive to help it temporarily seal, and that only lasted about 3-4 weeks until the car completely overheated. So we have determined 3 options for what we want to do and i was looking for a little advice/opinions to help with the decision.

The 3 are:

1. Pull the old engine and replace it with a rebuilt one
2. Replace the headgasket on the old engine (engines got about 200k miles)
3. Replace engine with that of a similar or same size from a junkyard with about half the miles on the engine that is currently in it

and for a 4th option. There is currently an I-Roc's engine in a junkyard that i have not seen but have heard about. If i was to go with the V8, what else would have to be done with the trans (auto), driveshaft, ect. to complete the transformation from a V6 to a V8 and would you recommend it for a trans that has around 200k miles on it and hasnt been rebuilt.

Money is a very important factor in this decision, but we do not want to simply just replace the vehicle itself.

Any and all opinions are very welcome =]
Thank you

 

cheapest would be to replace the headgasket im assuming but best option i think would be to rebuild ur engine or swap in a rebuilt...swapping a v8 isnt gonna be cheap by any means as you will need to basically swap a whole car...and replacing the headgasket is cheap but on an engine with 200K might as well do a full rebuild

 

first lose the 4th option. really dont want to go into it. 1 thru 3 are all good options and the right one is depending on what u can afford. the rebuilt option is best but most expensive the low milage motor would be next and last option would be to change gaskets. i would have done 3 from the get go but now that the motor has been run for,,, what about a month with blown gasket. u may want to look into a 3.8 i think u can upgrade to it.

 

I had a rebuilt 3.4L put into my '95 3.4L (actually two of them) all covered under extended warranty -- first one the shop screwed up, 2nd had a rod knock sound.

If I would have done it over again, I would have paid the difference and gone with the 3.8L, and '95 was the first year for the 3.8L... Much better engine.

Also, go buy an extended warranty, if you can find one that covers a car over 200k mi. (doubtful).

 

Thanks for the replies so far. As for the month with the blown. I had to baby the car, and not take it over 3k rpms to keep from it overheating. Also the 3.8L would be very nice, we might actually look into that aswell

 

rebuild the engine you have, and when the time and money comes, rebuild the tranny.

 

The 3.8 is not as simple as it sounds. They have different motor mounts (k-frames) and different transmission bell housings. Also instead of just needing the base engine you will need a complete motor from a 95. The 96 saw a big change in ECM. I am not sure the If the ECM is a plug in 3.4-3.8 either.

Will you be doing the work? Head gaskets can be done in a weekend, two if you want the heads checked for cracks and cost of a coulpe hundred bucks. If that keeps you running for 6 months you could buy the used lower miles motor and freshen it up with new rings and bearings and all new seals. Rebuilding a high miles motor will most likely get into boring out the cylinder to make them round and buying new pistons, machine work on the crank the whole 9 yards.

Edit: Don't get me wrong the 3.8 at 200 HP and 30+ MPG is a great motor for your 95. I just want you to know its not a simple task.

 

I would try to find a low mileage replacement before trying to rebuild a motor with 200k miles on it to be honest with you... Swapping in ANY motor but the one that's in it is going to be a difficult task. It sounds easy in you head, but it's a whole other beast when you get to it...