3400
 

I have a 01 alero v6 with 160k miles on it. I have no issues with my engine or trans. My body is in great condition, I want to keep the car as a classic for the future. I'm not sure if I should rebuild the engine and trans or get a new one. What you guys think?

well since these cars are now so out dated persay....you cant buy a NEW motor... only used ones. sure you might find some with low miles. but your gauge cluster where it reads miles on the car. will never match up to the new motors milage. your better off just rebuilding...and writing down at what mileage things were changed or rebuilt.

Just buy a new odo lol

Oh ok. Now is it safe and worth rebuilding the engine trans? How many years you will get off a rebuild motor and trans? Sleepy I heard you install manual trans in 3400 how did you do that? How much did you pay?

If you have to ask you can't affird it

Lets just say ... a good lump sum over 4000 $.


And how? Pull motor. Weld in custom trans mount. Bolt up trans to motor. Other things.. drop it in.

If you have no issues with the engine or transmission, I'd advise against doing anything to them. Don't fall into the trap of "it isn't broke, but I'll fix it anyway". With very few exceptions, a factory-built motor will be much more reliable and durable than an aftermarket or rebuilt motor.

I'm just wondering how much it is, whether I can or cannot is not the question. It's just curiosity of me to know. Thanks for the info anyways guys.

Cannot afford it I meant. Thanks sleepy for the info and mmuffler for the advice my car is running perfect so far and I want to keep it, eventually something will go wrong with this engine or am I wrong? But if it something does go wrong I will fix it it's been such a good car.

Total I spent.... 4900 for the swap. MMS did the trans swap for me. I dont have access to a welder (you have to cut out and weld in a mount for the new trans. You can do it yourself. But thats your decision. I would have done it myself if I had a welder. But milzy is a good guy and did a damn good job on it. So Im happy.

Take care of it you will see good results. Mine has had no major issues (other then stock trans being junk because I stretched the bands inside it and the torque converter was going out) and the car has 199k miles. Trans was the biggest problem I had. Other then that it was an oil pan gasket .. and thats about it really. Other things replaced were normal wear and tear things like sensors and junk.


Honestly if you want to rebuild. .. wait till it shows bad symptoms or blows up. Then worry about tearing it down.

Wow I was thinking of doing that swap also I'm tired of auto trans. I told my girlfriend that I want to convert it to manual she thought I was crazy. I admire those people that have reach 1 million miles on their car, it show how well their cars were made. I believe my car was well made as well, so I want to really take care of it. What you think of marvel mystery oil? Is it good for cleaning?

The most important thing is to keep the oil clean. I don't care if it's $0.99/quart Walmart dino oil or $10/quart Redline Synthetic - dirty oil is death to any engine.
Marvel mystery oil? Never heard of it. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Just follow the manufacturer's maintenance schedule and you'll be golden.
And if I had to do it again (swapping from an auto trans to a manual), I don't know that I would. The performance and driving enjoyment is great, but you'd never mistake it for a factory-installed gearbox.

Cool I'm gonna definitely try to keep my engine oil clean all the time. It is very true, manual trans it's really fun but it is risky to swap an original auto trans to manual trans. Thanks again for the help and info. Trully appreciate it

Matt is all about his factory look mods. ;) which is okay I have nothing agaisnt that. His car does look darn good. Mine does to imo atleast.. lol but motor to motor. His looks like his sits in the garage more then mine does! But that will all change once the build progresses.

You can also do a 5 speed swap. That is less costly. Look into the getrag 282 5 speed transmission.

Me and mfuller are the only aleros with 6 speeds. There used to be one grand am as well. But he tore it down and sold it.

There are other 6 speed grand ams ive seen at MMS but I dont think they are on any forums.

What would I need a part from the tranny? I mean do need to replace instrument cluster from the manual one? That should be easy. But what do I need to install getrag 282? I want to keep the look stock on my car.

Im not to sure. Never investigated on the 282.

Search the site. People have done it. I know you need trans. Clutch. Axles. Shifter. Cables. And the shifter bezel.

You dont need to change the stock cluster. Mine is still stock cluster with the 6 speed manual in. It basically just shows it used to be an auto car.

Damn thats crazy man that you have a 6 speed in a 3400, are you planning on keeping your car forever?

Yes, he is. Him, mfuller, oldsman, oldsnut, redog will have their aleros forever. I too would like to keep mine forever but i can't put myself in their category as i've contemplated selling mine a couple times ;)

Billy is correct for me. I cant speak for the rest on what they will do in the future. But yeah. Im dead set on keeping her forever. Love that bish.