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Compatable motors

10 messages,  Last post on Feb 27, 2013 at 10:17 PM

You are in the Chevy Venture Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chevrolet Venture, Pontiac Montana, Oldsmobile Silhouette, Auto Repair, Engine, Transmission, Van

Messages Page 2 of 2

#2 of 10 suspension by bwaymire

Aug 18, 2010 (7:43 pm)

I know mini vans are not racers, but I'd like a little tighter ride in my Silhouette. Would the struts from a Montana be better, or are there any other suspension options?

#3 of 10 Re: suspension [bwaymire] by 442dude

Aug 21, 2010 (5:33 am)

Replying to: bwaymire (Aug 18, 2010 7:43 pm)
Talk to your local auto parts guy. He can check right in their catalog to see what fits and tell you which ones would be stiffer and would fit your van. There aren't a lot of options but there are likely a couple.

#4 of 10 Pulling The LA1 Chevy 3.4 Engine Out the Top by russ23

Nov 30, 2010 (8:32 pm)

This is let everyone know that you can pull the engine out the top and do not have to drop it from the bottom. I have pulled my 1998 three times out the top so I know what I am talking about. Too long to tell you but if you email me at lloydballardhotmail.com, I will be glad to send you might experience. It is pretty straight forward. Key is to just rope up the hood to protect the windshield (do not remore). Remove the windshield wiper assembly as one piece with the arms (6 screws under the plastic apron). Then remove all the junk like cruise control, battery, upper intake manifold, all exhaust manifolds, etc. You will then see there is plenty of room to pull out. I used a cheap cherry picker. The key is to use a chain stretched tight against the block so you have room to lift with the nose of the cherry picker. Anyway, it is not magic. I have pulled a half dozen different chevy engines and this is the easiest. Astro van is the hardest.

#5 of 10 engine swap by kaz548

Feb 09, 2012 (2:07 pm)

Hello
will try this again new to this site and some how lost first message was posting .. so if it shows up twice my apologies.
I wanted to know what other year of ventures or montanas my 2001 3.4 motor and transmisson will swap into. or just the motor if it fits the other transmissons of other yrs.
thank you for any information I can get on this .
 
Brad

#6 of 10 Re: engine swap [kaz548] by russ23

Feb 09, 2012 (9:20 pm)

Replying to: kaz548 (Feb 09, 2012 2:07 pm)
I installed a 2000 Venture engine in my 1998 Venture. I had to strip the new engine down to the block and heads and reuse most of the original parts such as exhaust manifold, intake manifold w/fuel injection system, all sensors and engine mounts. The vehicles below use the LA1 engine that are probably interchangeable with some exceptions. In the case of the transmission, the same transmission was used in the 1997-98, but it changed in 1999 and I do not think you can interchange a 99 into a 97-98. You can call a transmission shop and they can probably tell you what will work since they order replacement trans.
 
LA1 [taken from Wikipedia]
  
The LA1 3400 ("E-code") was a bored-out version of the 3100. It retained the OHV layout of the previous engine, and was first utilized on the 1996 U platform minivans. Output for the 3400 is 180 hp (134 kW) and 205 lb·ft (278 N·m).
  
Applications:
 1996 Chevrolet Lumina APV
 1997-2005 Chevrolet Venture
 1996-2004 Oldsmobile Silhouette
 1996-1998 Pontiac Trans Sport
 1999-2005 Pontiac Montana
 1999-2005 Oldsmobile Alero
 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am
 2000-2005 Chevrolet Impala
 2000-2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
 2001-2005 Pontiac Aztek
 2002-2005 Buick Rendezvous

#7 of 10 Re: engine swap [russ23] by ben021681

Feb 24, 2013 (4:35 pm)

Replying to: russ23 (Feb 09, 2012 9:20 pm)
Hello and thanks for your post.
I was hoping you can clarify something for me.
 
You indicated that you installed a 2000 Venture engine in your 1998 Venture.
 
But then you say:
 
“In the case of the transmission, the same transmission was used in the 1997-98, but it changed in 1999 and I do not think you can interchange a 99 into a 97-98.”
 
So I am a little confused. If the transmissions are different then how did you install a 2000 into a 98?
 
Also is it possible for you to indicate what specifically makes them incompatible with the different transmission? If it is just a matter of the lower end of the engine having a different connection to the tranny and is it possible to use the 98’s during the rebuild?
 
I thank you ahead of time for any help you can offer!
-Ben021681

#8 of 10 Re: engine swap [ben021681] by russ23

Feb 24, 2013 (7:20 pm)

Replying to: ben021681 (Feb 24, 2013 4:35 pm)
The engine is called a LA1 by GM. That engine fits a bunch of front wheel drive vehicles I noted in my post from 1997-05. The transmission for the first Venture/Silhouette/Montana vans were called 4T60E. In 1999 GM went to a 4T65E. The differences were a bigger torque converter (245mm to 258mm), different internal electronics, different final drive gearing and different valve body. None of that changed the configuration of the outer transmission bellhousing which married to the LA1 engine. I recommend you go to WIKIPEDIA and do a search on CHEVROLET VENTURE and you will see everything in gory detail. Click on the engine and transmission to see what I am talking about. In short the engines are interchangeable from 97-05 BUT the transmissions are not. I am not an expert on transmissions, so from what I read there are 12 different final drives in the transmissions so even through the engines are interchangeable, the transmissions are very specific to the car. In installing the 2000 engine into my 1998 I stripped the engine down to just the heads and block and had to reuse all the 98 intake, fuel injection with injectors, exhaust manifolds and old sensors. That really hurt to have to discard newer parts in favor of the old parts, but that is what it took.
 
Since the discussion centers on transmissions I do not have any experience with the newer 4T65E trans. My old 4T60 E is absolutely flawless and shifts like the day it was installed at the factory. I have 176,000 miles on it and it runs circles around the two Fords (F150/Lincoln) my family runs. Those are somewhat clunky on shifting and both those vehicles have had transmissions rebuilt. The F150 at 62k and the Lincoln at 100k. Ford does not know how to build a transmission, but their engines last. In the case of GM the engines seem to be like Ford transmissions. So in the end there are both about the same.

#9 of 10 Re: engine swap [russ23] by ben021681

Feb 27, 2013 (9:24 am)

Replying to: russ23 (Feb 24, 2013 7:20 pm)
Thank you for taking the time to respond. The way I read your original post I misunderstood what you where saying. So in short the LA1will fit a 97-05 chevy venture but not the same for the transmissions.
This leaves me with one last question:
When I go to buy the master rebuild kit do I get one for a 98 or a 2000 engine?
I found a large price difference between the two.
My first thought is to get a 98 kit as you noted all the old parts from your 98 had to be used on the 2000 block.
Is this correct?
 
Thank you again!

#10 of 10 Re: engine swap [ben021681] by russ23

Feb 27, 2013 (10:17 pm)

Replying to: ben021681 (Feb 27, 2013 9:24 am)
I cannot help you on this. If you have a 1998 engine you need to get 1998 parts. Just because the engine fits from 1997 to 2005, does not mean the internals such as rocker arms, cranks, piston rings, bearings will not be different. I did mention in going from a 1998 to a 2000 engine I had to use all the old external parts such as exhaust, fuel rails and injectors, etc. Those old parts bolted on just fine with NO parts left over. I got burned trying to rebuild my 1998 engine. Threw a ton of money at it just to change out the cam bearings and when done it leaked oil horribly. I trashed that engine and got a 2000 Venture engine out of the junkyard and I have been happy every since. Have 40,000 miles on it and it does not use oil and 19 mpg. You would have to look at the parts listing for both engines and compare to see the difference. I strongly recommend NOT rebuild a 1998 engine. Too many things to go wrong and a ton of cost for proper machining. You should be able to get long blocks for under $2000 which is probably cheaper than trying to rebuild it yourself. Since the external parts on the 1998 are different from the 2000 that also meant the gaskets would be different as well.

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