how long will the 3800 series 2 engines last? mine has 187,000 miles on it and i am thinking about a rebuild or replacement.

 

There is really no way to answer that. Even with a lot of testing its tuff to predict how long a motor will last. You have to remember the life of the motor is a factor of how well it went together at the factory, how good the components when it was assembles, how it has been maintained, how it was driven and type of mile driven. I can guarantee you there where many 3800’s that never made it out of warranty and if you look hard enough you will be able to find motors that failed everywhere between 0-250,000 miles
That being said the 3800 is a solid motor but IMO once you break 175K your running on borrowed time. You could possibly push past 200K but again it is going to fail as some point.

For what it cost to pick up a low miles FWD 3800 it worth it

 

Thanks for the input. Ill keep that in mind

 

Most all well maintained engines can last 200k miles or more. I know of a friend with a Riviera with one to the older series I 3800 and ran it to close to 300k. I know he used Mobil 1. Just a thought.

 

I have a 2000 malibu with over 280,000 on the original engine and trans I bought it with 46k in 03. I drove 256 miles a day for 4 years while doing my undergad degree in AZ... its still my daily today

PS I used wal mart 10w-40 in the winter and 15w-40 in the summertime changed the oil and filter about every 5k