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Anyone familiar with the 3.5 V6 GM engine in a 99 intrigue?

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DarkManX

Diamond Member
I found a couple good deals on 99 intrigues, which come with the 3.5L engine, which is DOHC, rather then the popular 3800 Series II engine in most GM sedans. acording to edmuds the 3.5 is more powerful, is this true? and hows the reliability?
 
The 3.5 is based off of the Aurora V8. It was devoloped for the sole reason that people weren't buying the Intruigue because it lacked four letters: DOHC.
 
The 3.5L is a baby northstar. It didn't make the power that GM was hoping for so i don't think they are going to use it again, but it is a good engine, as long as it is taken care of.
 
They're generally as quick or quicker than a similar 3800 equipped car. It's a great engine, and I believe it made the 10-best list once. It was cancelled because it was so much more expensive to produce compared to the 3800 and they both made similar power. The 3.5 DOHC was also a packaging nightmare and less reliable when compared to the 3800. Still a great engine though.
 
Originally posted by: DougK62
They're generally as quick or quicker than a similar 3800 equipped car. It's a great engine, and I believe it made the 10-best list once. It was cancelled because it was so much more expensive to produce compared to the 3800 and they both made similar power. The 3.5 DOHC was also a packaging nightmare and less reliable when compared to the 3800. Still a great engine though.
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Sure you aren't confusing the 3400 DOHC? It was discontinued for the same reasons. Expensive to build, difficult and expensive to repair, less reliable, and consumed more gas. Why complicate and make things more expensive when the venerable 3800 series still does the job just as well, if not better.
 
Nope - I wasn't referring to the 3.4 DOHC motor, although most everyting I said applies to it, too. The 3.4 DOHC is one of my favorite GM V6's - it's very rewarding to own, but it's very fussy and requires that you keep up on regular maintenance. Most casual drivers just get pissed off at it, and usually rightly so.

Why complicate and make things more expensive when the venerable 3800 series still does the job just as well, if not better.
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Cars would be cheaper if more people thought this way. Unfortunately, people buy into marketing hype too much and are convinced that anything that doesn't have the newest gadgets is inferior. A good example of this is the OHC craze. It's not needed - it's just a marketing gimic and jacks up the prices of cars, but the manufacturers say it's great and you need it so now the public demands it.
 
Originally posted by: DarkManX
the intrigue does have a 3.5, there was also a 3.4 engine, I think the alero had it.
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That's kinda correct. The Intrigue was the only car to get the 3.5 DOHC engine. Mostly to seperate it from the lower cost 3800 cars so the Intrigue will look more "premium". With the 3.4 you have 2 flavors - the 3400 OHV and the 3.4 DOHC "Twin Dual Cam". The 3.4 DOHC came out in 1991 as the premium engine in GM's big W-body cars - the Grand Prix, Lumina, Cutlass, etc. It died in the late 90's somewhere in favor of the 3800. The 3400 OHV engine is an update of GM's old 2.8/3.1/3100 line of engines. It's used in TONS of vehicles like the Alero, Grand Am, Monte Carlo, Impala, Aztek, Minivans, etc. The 3400 is my favorite GM small car engine because it's very compact and torquey and is a hoot to drive in a small car with a 5spd.
 
GM made two 3400's. One was a very expensive, very pita to work on DOHC V6. The other is a cheap pushrod V6. The cheap one is still being used.


I agree with you on the complication deal. When I ordered my Dakota, I looked at what I DIDN'T need. Front ABS? None of my cars had it, and locking up the brakes was never an issue. Didn't get it. Cruise control? Had it, never used it. Power door locks? It's a two door truck, and I'm the only one ever in it. Don't need them. Power windows? I kinda like not having to insert the key to roll the windows down, didn't get them. Sliding rear window? Don't need it, it's easier to see in the back without it. Fog lights? They never seemed to help. Then I looked at what goes wrong on cars after a few years most often (nusience wise): Power windows, power door locks, cruise control units...

I thinK I saved myself alot of headaches. Although it may sounds like I ordered a stripped down model (esp. w/ a manual tranny), someone poking thier head under it wouldn't be able to tell. Tire+handling package, heavy duty service, limited slip diff, V8. I got the stuff I'd use. Most people just want everything without considering that they have to maintain it all.
 
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
GM made two 3400's. One was a very expensive, very pita to work on DOHC V6. The other is a cheap pushrod V6. The cheap one is still being used.


I agree with you on the complication deal. When I ordered my Dakota, I looked at what I DIDN'T need. Front ABS? None of my cars had it, and locking up the brakes was never an issue. Didn't get it. Cruise control? Had it, never used it. Power door locks? It's a two door truck, and I'm the only one ever in it. Don't need them. Power windows? I kinda like not having to insert the key to roll the windows down, didn't get them. Sliding rear window? Don't need it, it's easier to see in the back without it. Fog lights? They never seemed to help. Then I looked at what goes wrong on cars after a few years most often (nusience wise): Power windows, power door locks, cruise control units...

I thinK I saved myself alot of headaches. Although it may sounds like I ordered a stripped down model (esp. w/ a manual tranny), someone poking thier head under it wouldn't be able to tell. Tire+handling package, heavy duty service, limited slip diff, V8. I got the stuff I'd use. Most people just want everything without considering that they have to maintain it all.
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Excellent points you made. That's also one of the reasons I got the car I did. It's not the most reliable car in the world, but it has what I want and it does what I want, so to me it's the best choice. RWD, locked diff, V8, nice wide tires, no power windows, yes power brakes, no head unit or speakers (got them later)... basically less gimmicky stuff, but the guts are there. Oh and it's an 85 iroc 😛 I had all this choice because I shopped for months on end, so I didn't settle until I found something I liked in enough ways to satisfy me.
 
The only GM cars and trucks I would currently consider buying would have the 3800, or the 350 V8 (or its newer, larger 6.0L variant).

The 3.5 still needs time to prove itself in my mind.

Even Marlin seems a little bit iffy on the 3.5, and I respect his opinions, so yep, I still wouldn't buy it, unless the car was an insane deal.
 
Well my dad has a 99 intrigue with the 3.5L DOHC engine and my mom has a 2002 monte carlo ss (3800 series II). The DOHC cam engine in the intrigue feels better overall through the powerband. It has a much better midrange and top end than the 3800 series II engine obviously because pushrod engines are low end monsters. The two cars never had any real big problem with the engine. Something in my dad's transmission got screwed up (i believe it was the solenoid). Well thats my opinion.
 
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