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Venture Engines

26 messages,  Last post on Jan 05, 2009 at 3:26 PM

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What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Venture, Pontiac Montana, Oldsmobile Silhouette, Van


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#1 of 26
Venture Engines by russ23
Sep 01, 2007 (7:19 pm)
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Will soon need to swap out my 98 Venture engine. It runs great, but has metal filings in the oil every time I change oil. This is probably from coolant and oil contamination from an intake manifold leak that was not caught in time.
 
  Does anyone know the interchangeability of Venture engines? I would like to get a newer, lower mileage engine.
#2 of 26
metal filings by melissa_lynn
Sep 02, 2007 (7:12 am)
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We had metal filings in the tranny and it had to be rebuilt.
We had to change the tranny and engine at 114 000 km.
The engine could not even be rebuilt had to buy all new.
Good luck!
#3 of 26
Re: Venture Engines [russ23] by chases
Oct 22, 2007 (2:03 pm)
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Replying to: russ23 (Sep 01, 2007 7:19 pm)

These engines are very common. Look for one in a wrecking yard.
#4 of 26
Venture Engine- Metal Filings by russ23
Oct 22, 2007 (6:02 pm)
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I pulled the engine in my 1998 Venture and tore it down to find the source of metal shavings in the oil. Turned out it was the cam shaft bearings. Probably could have gone a bit further (132k miles), but did not want to take a chance. I am a mechanic (retired) so I was willing to take a chance on it. For those of you brave souls, I querried IATN (largest mechanic group) on how to pull the engine. Everyone (12) said you had to drop the engine by raising the car. Well I do not have access to a lift. I was able to pull the engine the regular way. A bit complex to list here, so if you want to know email me at lloydballardhotmail.com. It turned out to be pretty easy.
#5 of 26
Re: metal filings [melissa_lynn] by writer
Oct 27, 2007 (12:24 pm)
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Replying to: melissa_lynn (Sep 02, 2007 7:12 am)

I am curious: What reason was given why your engine could not be rebuilt?
#6 of 26
Re: Venture Engines [chases] by writer
Oct 27, 2007 (12:36 pm)
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Replying to: chases (Oct 22, 2007 2:03 pm)

Actually, I would not recommend going to a wrecking yard. I priced a rebuild recently and a standard rebuild is about $2,000 (Canadian), including a warranty. Such a rebuild will have all the changes applied (the TSBs), and all the parts should be "as good as new". If you are lucky, a wrecking yard engine might run for years, or it could die after the first trip around the block. We *know* that the earlier (pre-2003) engines had the DexCool issues, and most of the engines in the wrecking yard will still be pre-2003. So what is the point of all that risk? Are you going to change the gaskets before installing? Then why not re-do the heads while you are at it? Then if you are re-doing the heads, then, well, you are just a bit short of a whole rebuild anyway.
 
Also, if you want to go higher than $2,000, you can specify specific changes to the engine, like superior wearing parts, or a performance boost (which I would not recommend unless you also re-build and upgrade the transmission).
#7 of 26
metal shavings in oil filter by jlad31
Nov 22, 2007 (6:12 am)
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I have a 2000 Chevy Venture with 90000 miles on it, it has been making a ticking noise and my husband assumed it was a bad lifter and he put new lifters in and the ticking was still there. He was given the advice to cut the oil filter open and look to see if there were metal shavings in it, well there is, and my question is, is it always doom and gloom and your engine is going bad when there is a lot of metal shavings in the oil filter. This is making me sick, we still owe 3000 dollars on it and now have to deal with possibly having to put a new engine in it. The thing is, it still runs great, just the ticking. Any advice would be appreciated.
#8 of 26
Re: metal shavings in oil filter [jlad31] by russ23
Nov 22, 2007 (9:19 pm)
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Replying to: jlad31 (Nov 22, 2007 6:12 am)

I just finished tearing down the 3.4 V6 engine in my 1998 Chevy Venture. It had the same symptoms: metal shavings in the oil each time I changed oil (twice), ticking lifter sound and high mileage 132,000 miles. Turned out the shavings were the outer coating on the camshaft bearings. The engine could "possibly" have gone a lot more miles, but the 3.4 liter engine is notorious for breaking camshafts so any metal shavings is a warning of things to come and it will not get any better.
 
What was most interesting was the engine was almost as clean as the day it was built. I used Mobil 1 synthetic 5x30 oil. I also inspected the crankshaft and rod bearings and they were okay. I did not pull the heads (leave well enough alone).
I did NOT change the lifters as they seemed to be okay. In otherwords there was no obvious wear or damage on them and when I pushed down on them, they held pressure. One of them was a bit suspicious, but after soaking it in oil, it pumped up.
 
The engine now seems to run quieter and I feel confident it should see me for another couple of years.
 
This engine also has what is called "piston slap" which mimics the lifter sound. Chevy says it is not a problem. It is found on several GM engines to include new 454 V8s. A design problem where the skirt of the piston hits the side of the cylinder wall and makes noise. If the noise you hear goes away within a few minutes during warmup it could be the slap, but DO NOT count on it. Chevy may say it is okay, but I would like to see if a Chevy executive drives one with that noise!!! A neighbor of mine had a new 2000 Chevy/GMC big dually truck with the noise and it drove him crazy.
 
So what would I advise? First, if you have high miles (75k++, then you should expect to make some repairs. Second, are you using any coolant? That is a symptom that the intake and/or cylinder head gaskets are leaking. This is almost guaranteed to happen on this engine. Mine went out at 115k (previous owner took the hit). It allows anti-freeze to get into the oil and start to ruin the bearings. It may have ruined my cam bearings. You may have a problem checking the coolant level since it is read at the coolant recovery tank on the driver side of the engine. Most of the tanks are filthy dirty so you can't see the level. It comes off real easy. Clean it out and refill. Mine was filthy and it looked okay from the outside.
 
Next, when was the last time you changed anti-freeze? GM dexcool turns to mud if not cleaned periodically. GM says 5 years. That is a stretch. Take off the radiator cap and look at it. If it looks like it has chocolate on it, it means your anti-freeze is gone and should be flushed out (to include heater cores). In reading the internet, NO ONE likes dexcool. I took the advice of some and went back to good old green anti-freeze. GMC says it will only work for 2 years. There is a lot of data that seems to support that dexcool eats gaskets causing problems. GMC says it is lack of maintenance and not dexcool. It is your guess, but if you see dirty dexcool you will not be impressed. I never had that problem with old green.
 
So do you take your chances with a noise and metal shavings? You are probably looking at $3000 to rebuild the engine (not at GMC dealer) and maybe $2000 to pull the engine, tear it down like I did and fix what can be fixed short of a rebuild. The cost of an engine rebuild parts kit is about $800 and that does not include cams and lifters. So the cost of labor is not that unreasonable.
 
If you run it till it goes. At least use synthetic oil 5 x30, change the anti-freeze NOW (and flush the old), get the coolant system pressure checked.
#9 of 26
3.4 V6 by jagular911
Mar 24, 2008 (5:06 pm)
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Guys - high mileage is not 75k +
 
I have 225,000 miles on a 1999 3.4 V6. I ran 10W-30 during the winter, and straight 30W during the summer, once the mileage hit 150,000
 
You dont need to run synthetic with these engines. Its about viscosity, not the base oil, especially if you change your oil at less than 10,000 mile intervals
 
5W-30 gets you fuel economy, but you lose life.
 
This engine has had a tick since 100,000 miles. It still starts well, and runs about 30,000 miles per year.
 
If you are worried about the noise, run a higher viscosity oil . It will limit the noise and provide a higher level of protection for your engine
 
Jon
#10 of 26
Re: 3.4 V6 [jagular911] by paprius4030
Mar 26, 2008 (3:34 am)
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Replying to: jagular911 (Mar 24, 2008 5:06 pm)

Our 99 Venture just turned 200k and it still runs as good as new. It's always had a very slight tick when first starting when cold but goes away in a min. or so. I've always used 5W-30 since new and it just uses a half a quart between changes (5k).

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