3400-3500 Engine Swap

ATownDown · 07-09-2012, 05:06 PM

Hey, I've been researching how people have swapped a 3500 into their oldsmobile.. I was on WOT-Tech pricing out some parts (Intake Manifold, Lower Manifold, and Cylinder Heads) I was wondering will doing this swap give me more horsepower? Is it fairly simple? (For someone who can turn a wrench) Does the transmission work in the same way and will i need to do a shit ton of wiring? Or do these parts basically fit like a 3400?

If my car wasn't torn apart I'd post a picture but seeing I drove it into a pole when i had a few oat sodas the body kit is effed. Help will be much appreciated asap because like i can i pretty much have the engine out of my car.

Shiwnath · 07-09-2012, 05:13 PM

Everything is essentially the same except you'll need the crank trigger kit and for easibility, the 3400 Upper intake manifold should be reused...no need for any extra wiring.. The swap is almost a bolt on IIRC. Doing this swap alone without mods will increase horsepower because of minor design changes they made to the engine to increase air flow... It may run a little rough and will need a proper tune as well to get the best out of the engine.

Also read this:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/534555/3500%...dy%20Swap.docx

ATownDown · 07-09-2012, 07:31 PM

are you saying I should use the 3400 upper intake manifold on the 3500 manifold? or swap absolutely everything? thanks alot for the .doc it definately helped out alot.

jawa · 07-09-2012, 07:36 PM

I've done the swap. use the 3400 upper with the 3500 lower

ATownDown · 07-09-2012, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jawa

I've done the swap. use the 3400 upper with the 3500 lower

Final question... Does it make a difference worth while? Be honest with me.

jawa · 07-09-2012, 07:45 PM

wombatslayer · 10-23-2012, 11:29 PM

sooo... couldn't you say you have a 3450 motor? haha

03glgold · 10-23-2012, 11:39 PM

he fairly recently put the 3500 upper on so now he has a true 3500

jawa · 10-24-2012, 03:47 AM

ibrecind my comment. its worth it. a little better throttle responce. and you can run a 65mm throttle body. I used a intregue 3.5 twin cam one

10-24-2012, 08:40 AM

If you just drop the motor in, you may be disappointed, or you may not.
The flow characteristics of the 3500 heads is much improved, and you really need to tune the PCM accordingly to see maximum benefit.

jawa · 10-24-2012, 12:05 PM

that and the 3500 has much quieter valve train. no rod knock. no piston slap that the 3400 is famous for. and people look at it funny when they don't see the 34 in the bay. oh and you can eff with the parts counter guys a lot. lol

MilzyZ34 · 01-13-2013, 08:55 PM

Without blowing my own horn, I would definately consider myself an expert on this subject. I've put put 3500 engines into a 98 cavalier, a 1988 Beretta 2.8, a 1990 Grand Prix 3.1 mpfi, several W-bodies, and countless numbers of GM late-model N-bodies. I think it's been about 2 years now since I came out with it, but I developed a kit to make the 3500 swap a direct swap into any car that came with a 3100 or 3400. The kits vary in their contents as different cars require different parts, but for a Alero it comes with the TCE crank trigger kit, throttle body adapter to bolt a 3400 throttle body on a 3500 upper intake, coil pack adapters to bolt your coil packs to the 3500 engine and intake, MAP adapter to use the 3500's MAP sensor, ECT extension to make your ECT plug re-route to the 3500's ECT located in the rear cylinder head, a differential bracket to fit the 3500 to the 4t45e transmission, the proper length A/C spacer to bolt the 3400 A/C compressor to the 3500 engine, and an oil evel bypass harness to keep the oil level light from being on when you install a 3500 engine without an oil level sensor. 99 and earlier vehicles also require a cam sensor to make the swap plug and play. 2000-2002 cars use their factory cam sensor out of their old engine, 2003+ cars use the 3500's cam sensor.

Can you use a 3400 upper? Yes, and if you do, you don't need the tb adapter, coil pack adapters, or MAP adapter, saving you about $100. Why use a 3500 upper intake instead of a 3400 one? Simple, it flows better. It also allows you to run a 68mm throttle body with bolt on parts, something which isn't even possible on a 3400 intake, atleast without re-making half of it after you've ported it to oblivion. So these swap kits we offer start at $300 and go from there. They are made to run off the factory pcm and harness even without tuning. That being said, there are many gains to be had by adding our pcm to this swap, a big reason being the current torque limit on most N-body cars is 208 ft-lbs, and the 3500 is rated at more than that. If I had to guess I would say a N-body that did the swap with a 68mm tb, our 2.5" downpipe, and our standard pcm tune would make around 230+ crank hp. Trust me, that 55hp gain really does wake the car up.