1996 Oldsmobile Ciera SL

[Andrew1990]

Ok, my mom's boyfriends brother in law offered me a Ciera SL for $250. He owes $150 on the title loan so the $250 will cover that and his asking price of $100.

The body and interior is in very good condition and I believe it is either a 4 cylinder or V6. The problem though is he says that the Anti freeze leaks into the oil which means the block may be cracked.

I was wondering if this is fixable? If I need to replace the entire engine, how much would I be able to find a cheapo 4 cyl. engine? My father knows how to replace a engine so that will safe the mechanic cost.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: Andrew1990
Ok, my mom's boyfriends brother in law offered me a Ciera SL for $250. He owes $150 on the title loan so the $250 will cover that and his asking price of $100.

The body and interior is in very good condition and I believe it is either a 4 cylinder or V6. The problem though is he says that the Anti freeze leaks into the oil which means the block may be cracked.

I was wondering if this is fixable? If I need to replace the entire engine, how much would I be able to find a cheapo 4 cyl. engine? My father knows how to replace a engine so that will safe the mechanic cost.

It could mean a cylinder head is cracked. It could mean a head gasket or gaskets need replacing. It could mean that it has a leaky intake manifold gasket.

You're not going to replace a 6 cyl with a 4 cylinder and I'm not sure what the definition of a cheapo 4 cylinder is. Find out what is has and call a junk yard near you. With the make, model, year and what engine they should be able to give you a price on a used engine within minutes.

You can decide what to do from there. That engine most likely needs to come out from the bottom. Are you sure your dad is equipped to do that?

 

[Andrew1990]

Originally posted by: boomerang

Originally posted by: Andrew1990
Ok, my mom's boyfriends brother in law offered me a Ciera SL for $250. He owes $150 on the title loan so the $250 will cover that and his asking price of $100.

The body and interior is in very good condition and I believe it is either a 4 cylinder or V6. The problem though is he says that the Anti freeze leaks into the oil which means the block may be cracked.

I was wondering if this is fixable? If I need to replace the entire engine, how much would I be able to find a cheapo 4 cyl. engine? My father knows how to replace a engine so that will safe the mechanic cost.

It could mean a cylinder head is cracked. It could mean a head gasket or gaskets need replacing. It could mean that it has a leaky intake manifold gasket.

You're not going to replace a 6 cyl with a 4 cylinder and I'm not sure what the definition of a cheapo 4 cylinder is. Find out what is has and call a junk yard near you. With the make, model, year and what engine they should be able to give you a price on a used engine within minutes.

You can decide what to do from there. That engine most likely needs to come out from the bottom. Are you sure your dad is equipped to do that?

Yep, he has an engine puller and he use to pull out mustang engines to replace them.

After some researching, it seems that it is a V6 engine. I didnt even think of calling the junk yard.

Now, would this car be worth putting $300-500 on a replacement engine?

 

[potato28]

Doesn't seem like it would be worth the trouble unless you can find another car for parts in the junkyard.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Its worth it if you need a nice beater car.

 

[Bignate603]

If you can do the work and get a decent engine for cheap it would be worth it. If that is the only problem you could end up with decent transportation for less than $800. It will need odds and ends like any older vehicle but you should be able to get a few years out of it for very little money.

 

[alkemyst]

srsly....don't try to fix this outside of just having 'dad' drop in another working engine and someone able to get that powerplant to you.

That said it should be good cheap transportation...I'd like to believe that right now not the best choice.

 

[Andrew1990]

Well I just need a first car really. I have no doubt that we couldnt drop an engine into it, its just the time factor that would pose a problem.

It is a nice car. I have not found many wagon type vehicles for this price.

I just now need to shop around for an engine and get a quote.

 

[cheesehead]

Doesn't that car use the GM "3600"/"3800" V6?

There's quite literally millions of those things out there. They made them up until two years ago.

 

[Vette73]

If you do the work yourself then I say go for it.

Take the heads off first as it could just be a head gasket problem. new head set and have the heads machined to make sure they are not damaged/cracked.

 

[bruceb]

I don't think GM made a 3600 engine .... 3100 & 3800 V6, yes and they are plentiful. Depending on the mileage just get a good used motor, as depending on how much the coolant loss is and if it got into the oil, you may have damaged crank bearings. So the whole motor out of a late model year, low miles (under 60K or so) car would be the best bet.

 

[Q]

Wouldn't the scrap metal alone be worth more than $250?

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: Quintox
Wouldn't the scrap metal alone be worth more than $250?

If he parted it out first he could probably make some money. If that drive train is shared among other GM cars people will pay for it. I did that with an old cherokee and made close to $1000.

 

[Andrew1990]

Originally posted by: Bignate603

Originally posted by: Quintox
Wouldn't the scrap metal alone be worth more than $250?

If he parted it out first he could probably make some money. If that drive train is shared among other GM cars people will pay for it. I did that with an old cherokee and made close to $1000.

Hmm, so thinking of it like this, it is a basic win win situation. If I cant get it to run I can part it out and sell it, if it does work with a new engine I get a car.

 

[Bignate603]

Originally posted by: Andrew1990

Originally posted by: Bignate603

Originally posted by: Quintox
Wouldn't the scrap metal alone be worth more than $250?

If he parted it out first he could probably make some money. If that drive train is shared among other GM cars people will pay for it. I did that with an old cherokee and made close to $1000.

Hmm, so thinking of it like this, it is a basic win win situation. If I cant get it to run I can part it out and sell it, if it does work with a new engine I get a car.

Only if you can get a dirt cheap engine. The cherokee I parted out was a 4x4 and I live in AZ where 4x4s are popular. People needed parts to repair their trail rigs. Cherokees are popular for trail driving so there was a decent amount of demand. Parting out an old grocery getter would take more time and would get you less money. You could probably cover the $250 for buying the car but if you pay $500 for an engine I don't think you'd be able to get all your money back.

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: Andrew1990

Originally posted by: Bignate603

Originally posted by: Quintox
Wouldn't the scrap metal alone be worth more than $250?

If he parted it out first he could probably make some money. If that drive train is shared among other GM cars people will pay for it. I did that with an old cherokee and made close to $1000.

Hmm, so thinking of it like this, it is a basic win win situation. If I cant get it to run I can part it out and sell it, if it does work with a new engine I get a car.

My advice to you would be to go for it. You're never going to get a consensus here and it doesn't matter anyway, you have to do what's right for you.

Now after giving this advice, I want you to please listen to me this time. I've told you this once before and you glossed over it telling me your Dad can handle the swap. This car is FWD.

Why is this important? Because it has to come out from the bottom with the transmission attached. No problem you think. Well, how do intend to raise the body up high enough to perform the actual swap? Does your Dad have a hoist at his disposal? If so, go for it.

Now, there are a very, very few GM FWD cars in which the engine can come out the top. Is this one of those?

 

[Andrew1990]

Originally posted by: boomerang

Originally posted by: Andrew1990

Originally posted by: Bignate603

Originally posted by: Quintox
Wouldn't the scrap metal alone be worth more than $250?

If he parted it out first he could probably make some money. If that drive train is shared among other GM cars people will pay for it. I did that with an old cherokee and made close to $1000.

Hmm, so thinking of it like this, it is a basic win win situation. If I cant get it to run I can part it out and sell it, if it does work with a new engine I get a car.

My advice to you would be to go for it. You're never going to get a consensus here and it doesn't matter anyway, you have to do what's right for you.

Now after giving this advice, I want you to please listen to me this time. I've told you this once before and you glossed over it telling me your Dad can handle the swap. This car is FWD.

Why is this important? Because it has to come out from the bottom with the transmission attached. No problem you think. Well, how do intend to raise the body up high enough to perform the actual swap? Does your Dad have a hoist at his disposal? If so, go for it.

Now, there are a very, very few GM FWD cars in which the engine can come out the top. Is this one of those?

We got a couple hoist in his garage if it has to be lifted that should be able to handle a car of this size. It was able to handle a F150 in the air.

 

[sjwaste]

This reminds me of when I was 17 and a guy was selling an '86 Yugo GV with 40k miles for $100. I called and offered him $50 and got no response.

Apparently it "only needed a clutch cable" but my knowledge of Yugos said it would've been a fun project, but that 40k miles was pretty high mileage on those 🙂 Actually, I was mostly curious because it didn't have a hydraulic clutch.

I don't know why, but I want to tell the OP to run from this money pit. The projected repair budget can easily be overrun, and at the same time, can buy a higher mileage but mechanically sound car. If you're on a budget, it's best to focus your dollars on good mechanics and settle on a bad body or interior. Nobody ever got stuck on the side of the road because the radio didn't work.

 

[CurseTheSky]

According to wikipedia, it has a 2.2L I4: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciera

If that was the same engine used in the third generation Cavalier, it should be easy enough to find. Around here there tons of those banged up and left for dead. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Cavalier

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: boomerang
Now after giving this advice, I want you to please listen to me this time. I've told you this once before and you glossed over it telling me your Dad can handle the swap. This car is FWD.

Why is this important? Because it has to come out from the bottom with the transmission attached. No problem you think. Well, how do intend to raise the body up high enough to perform the actual swap? Does your Dad have a hoist at his disposal? If so, go for it.

Now, there are a very, very few GM FWD cars in which the engine can come out the top. Is this one of those?

Get the facts straight. There is no hard and fast rule that says FWD means engine out the bottom. Unless we're talking about a mini-van where half the engine is buried under the cowl I'd say its up to the guy doing the work to decide top or bottom.

And of course, just because his dad does Mustangs doesn't mean much either since most late model muscle cars need the engine to drop out of the bottom anyway, including Mustangs and Camaros. Well, maybe "need" is a strong word, but many people pull the whole subframe cradle assembly with suspension attached from the bottom.

 

[bruceb]

i agree, not all fwd cars need to come out the bottom. Some folks on clubgp.com have pulled the 3800 V6 out of a Grand Prix from the TOP, but it is harder to seperate engine and transmission that way. If I was doing it and had access to a 2 post lift, like in a shop, I would take the entire cradle / suspension out from the bottom. Much faster, as all you do is disconnect cooling hoses and electrical and some mechanical, like throttle, cruise and trans gear cable. Unbolt the struts from the inner fenders, remove the cradle bolts and lower it down.