im looking at a 1992 camaro rs v6 with about 78,000 miles on it. the car itself is in fairly good shape, with the usual crack in the middle of the dashboard, a few dings, and some other cosmetic things that i would get fixed with no problem. The only thing that worries me is the engine. I know the v8s last a pretty damn long time, but the v6s i cant find as much info on. Also, when i checked the oil dipstick it had a gas/oil mix smell and looked very thin. Does this mean that a gasket is leaking, or is this common to see in a car that has had the oil sit in it for a long time? and has anyone known of any reocurring problems with this engine of this year?

 

if the oil has gas smell,
might be the piston ring is totally out
or valve seal is done.(both expensive fix)

did u test drive the car?
check the oil pressure gauge when ur driving.

btw my v6 has almoast 190k miles on it,
still runs like a champ, never rebuilt or anything.

i do feel the need of upper engine rebuild soon though,
caz I do have a valve noise going on, but yeah
still runs and its my daily driver.

 

if the current owner is on the up and up, he will let you test drive it.

i would test drive it to the nearest jiffylube or somthing. have the oil changed and then put about 30-40 miles on it. extensive test drive i know, but with gasoline in the oil you can't be to carefull. if the seller won't let you do all this i would run.

if the car does not run right now RUN FAST, as it probably needs a complete rebuild. camaros are cool, but not rare enough to justify buying a v6 car with a blown engine, you can find one that works.

 

the seller has a small used car dealership, and my dad and i both test drove it.The engine started right up when he turned the key no problem, purred like a kitty, and was very responsive to a push on the gas. The owner seems like an ok guy so i dont suspect any kind of major fraud, so i guess ill have to change the oil and drive her again. i didnt smell it burning oil, but if it might be a very expensive fix like you said, ill need to step lightly. thanks for the input guys, and do you happen to know the mpg city and highway for the v6?

 

v6 isnt that bad on gas mileage.

maybe u smelled the oil from somewhere else not from the oil, HOPEFULLY that is the case.
i got a v6 too, 12gallon at full tank(I think)
and my car would use about 1/3 gas after hour and maybe 15minutes of freewaydrive(+ little town drive)
but thats me I drive slow like 70 on freeway
with overdrive.. but it aint that bad

 

The 2.8 is notorious for a number of problems including oil issues timing issues and NEVER EVER take that motor of 5500rpm you'll flat out kill it. It's definitely not the most reliable it's the lowest common denominator of 6 cyl chevy motors but its what they felt they had to work with at the time. If you do purchase the car I would definitely start stowing money away for a swap at the very least go to the 3.4 it fixed a lot of the issues if not go straight to the 8 cyl and treat it nice in the meantime...

 

A 92 should have a 3.1 buick in it. I've been beating on mine for almost a year now, almost trying to kill it to motivate me to finish my small block and get it in there.

 

the 3.1 in Fbodys are just stroked 2.8s as far as the block goes. so unless the 2.8 is a BOP motor, which i am almost certain it is NOT, then a 3.1/3.4 are not Buicks ether. i think they are all chevy blocks. a 3.4 is essentialy a bored 3.1, with some block updates as well. not to mention heads that are actualy worth using as more then just a boat anchor.

Buick uses 90*V6s (like the 3.8s they have been using since the early 80s)

Chevy used 60*V6s (like the 2.8 / 3.1 /3.4 ) until 1997? when they switched to a 3.8 90*v6 in the fbodys. which are different then the buick 3.8s. different displacement too. (buy a handfull of cubic inches)

as for reliability i don't think i have ever taken mine above 5K (no need, no more power up there), but other then that i used to beat the everloving hell out of it, she just takes it and asks for more. one of the more reliable cars i have ever had. only one more reliable was a 1991 3.8L Buick Park Avanue my mom had. that car kicked ***.

i treat it prety nice these days, perhaps i have matured a little, probably not though. when it was in it's peak yune it got 23MPG city, now i see around 20MPG city. but the car also has about 40K more miles on it now. needs a new IAC controller and a good TB cleaning i think.

 

ahhh one thing i cant stand is some one putting down these v6's .,,.of course there not v8's duh! i get it,. but comon for being the engine it is it does out standing,.,.yea maby the car is a lil heavy for it.,but with the decent gear ratio's thay run,.red light take off's can be extreamly fun against the {lil} more popular rids out therei mean it's kick but in its class,.i wouldn't just walk up to some 8ft tall monster like big show and slap in the face,.lol,. so i dont choose on v8 pakaged rides.,,. i do how ever have a friend that has A 305 bird., and im able to kick his *** in my 3.1 from start to finish,.yet i think givin distance who knows.,.,,.,..,.,why you said these cars are not reliable i dont agree with that one bit either.,with the proper care and responsibility's., these 2.8's and 3.1's will last along time.,,.our odometor reads 247k motor/trans rebuilt at 200k just because rings do were out lol,.

oh yea one more thing., how can you say dont take it over 5500rpm? i dont under stand,. our 2.8 manual has been there plenty times and can still hit 100mph mark! of course its never there for more them 30 seconds but its been there,..,perhaps your expirience was do to a chity rebuild!

i will say this though ive seen more problems in the newer malibu's then ive had in my camaro's

 

I agree, I have a 2.8L and its very strong I dont realy like to beat up on it cuse its 23 years old and I think has 198k miles on it but im not sure if mine has been rebuilt or swaped out with another 2.8L with less miles but I can still kinda do things that a V8 can and get good gas mileage while doing it and i am sick of ppl putting down V6's like you said. My friend has a 2.8L in his bird and he always make comments about how crappy they are how they throw rods and such im like BS they only throw rods when ppl dont take care of them if you take care of them they will last along time. But the 92 rs has a 3.1 never been in a car with a 3.1 but should be as good as a 2.8 but has more hp then the 2.8

 

The 2.8 is ok. I feel it's pretty darn reliable but does lack hp for these cars. But they are decent. I know lots of people get to 200K plus miles out of them. 3.1 is vry similar to the 2.8 and should be just as good

 

awsome folks im glad to hear positive feedback.,.,we do have a few v8's here and i enjoy the power thay give,.,.then there are the hotwheeles i love to collect as well yet i dont say oh no throw that one away cause its never gonna be worth anything,.,.it is worth somthing to me.,

Also i wanted to say to the dude that said never take it to 5500rpm!!! bullchit dude some of my shift points are at that rpm durring launch,.then of course the points becomes lower.,,.both my 88 2.8 and my 91 3.1 are very well built,.and the oil stays clean! somthing goes wrong i fix it.....

 

The v6 motors in these cars are very reliable. There are a few members with close to 300,000 miles on them. As long as you change the oil and dont overrev, you'll be treated very well.

 

Anything can break, does not mean there is an inherrent problem with the engine. The LHO (engine code for the RWD 3.1) shares it's basic structure with the FWD variant and those 3.1's were used in a wide variety of GM cars in the 80's and 90's, Luminas, Berettas, Pontiac Grand Ams, 6000's, as well as the Olds Silouhette and such platform minivans.

We have a '91 RS with 205,000 on the clock, there is a slapping sound from mid engine it has had for the last 30,000 miles but the oil pressure is good and it does not burn a noticeable quantity of oil, I have autocrossed the thing leaving the automatic in L2 and winding it at 4000-5000 RPM slinging it into left and right turns 'round the cones, I tend to floor it at every intersection and have since I met my wife (and the RS she "came with", my adopted step child) and I have not killed it yet. The only "mod" is a Mallory Hy-Fire 6a box I put on "because I had it" and it made ZERO difference in how it runs mileagewise or power.

As long as you don't expect to burn up the 1/4 mile they are a good reliable engine, the same tune up type parts and things like timing chains can fail on them just as well as on a V8.

 

Definetly depends on how the car has been treated by previous owners as to how the car will hold up. When I got my car it had 123,000 on it...broke down the next day due to a bad ignition module(it woul shut the car off once it got hot, once it cooled, the car would start fine). Apparently the person before me turned this car in because he couldn't figure that out. A couple months later my car started stalling on me. Took me months to figure out what was wrong, turns out it had 2 bad fuel injectors. Since then I have maintained the car well and have had no problems other than a starter going out. It now has 148,500miles on it and I just drove from Tampa, Florida to Atlanta, GA and then all the way to San Antonio, Texas.

 

I like the 3.1 V6 more than my old 305 LG4. I got 150K on mine and haven't had many problems with it with the 3 years i've owned it.

 

I have to agree with most of you guys...everything around my v6 is falling apart and the motor still shows 60 PSI with 129,000 .I checked my chain and it has little to no play.I took this puppy out for a freway test run ..HOLY Mother of GOD!!! this thing loved it..it purred like a kitten at 75 MPH /2500 RPM's I was very much pleased with its performance.I wanted the v6 cause it was going to be my daily driver to work and back.I couldnt find one here in town and had to get one in another state.Theres a crap load of v8's around here but most of those are beat up and have trans problems or tucked away cause they are special.I think a good set of gears would wake this car up,especially in town driving.

 

I revved my 1984 2.8l today up to 5500rpms if not more to get get the condensation out of the exhaust,( shes been sitting 4 awhile), never hurt it abit, though again shes not completely stock.

 

hahaha my motor sees 7200+ rpms all the time and it has yet to fail,well except fopr that fact i just broke the flywheel,but that wasnt dirctly linked to reving the engine that high

 

I have a 2.8L v6 and she is still goin great... only ~120k miles on her (or so they say), rebuilt trans at 118k. My motor has seen 7000 rpm's a few times, but she see's 5000 rpm everyday, I *try* not to go over 5500 rpm, but I do sometimes if she is going up a steep hill and I'm trying to gas it hard.

The engine is sound, she purrs great and no ticks, clicks, thunks, any of that stuff... A good lil car that I love to death!

ScottieB

Oh yeah, she has seen 115+ MPH (stock odometer stops at 115) a few times on the highway Good ole car!

 

i have just about 90k ORGINAL miles on my 2.8, other then the fan hitting the raidator shroud after i get of the highway which i think is a motor mount (too lazy to check lol) the car is one of the most reliable cars i have ever had, i just wish it had a tad more power

 

My '84 2.8L has just shy of 150K mi and has been virtually bulletproof. (Last year I was an hour late to work once because a (original) heater hose blew.) I get 25-27mpg daily driving to work and I change the oil at around 6500 and I've 'maybe' burned a half qt to 3/4s a qt of oil in the interim. It's not going to win any races but it keeps up w/ traffic. Have had it since ~'86 and no significant mechanical issues except a lot of predetonation ping at times (I'm still working to resolve that).

 

I know of a Camaro 87 V6 MultiPort for sale. it has a cam job and the 700R4 was rebuilt with the 8 pack and holes in the valve bodies or something. Someone who worked for Chevrolet for a long time says its the thing to do to make the trans more reliable. Car seems like a nice one. It is expensive for a V6 though. Was wondering what i should be looking for to either bring the price down or walk away from this one. And what are the differences from this engine type and more reliable ones.
Thanks,
JAson

 

Pick it apart. Any rust (look by the rear tire wells) cracked/worn hoses or vacuum lines, dents, cracked dash pad, any strange noises, nonfunctional A/C system... to name a few.

The v6 in that camaro should be very reliable, provided that you treat it well and don't neglect the maintenence.


What is he asking for it?

 

5000 bucks for a 87 V6 with 120 or 140K miles with redone trans and replaced cam and whatever else was done to the engine. And the rest is set up too. Clean looking car. With polished IROC rims, 15 inch size. The owner has been hot rodding for 46 years. Seems to know his stuff. I need to know more about the car. I am attempting to learn about these cars as well as a few of the engines. The 305 V8 is the biggest I would go. And the V6 is maybe more what I'm looking for. Out here in Southern California the issue seems to be high miles on the motor. Of course that's if everything else has been gone thru. And smogging is a major factor for a street ride.
Sounds like a very high price to me.
Thanks