GM 2.8 V6 vs 2.0 4 banger,witch one is more reliable ??

[Alain Toussaint]

> The Iron Duke (called a Tech 4 after awhile) had it's moments just like the
> 2.8L V6 (which wasn't available in the Ciera in 1983. Not until 1985. The
> Olds V6 is the Buick V6 3.0L.)

i remind that whe (mom's and dad) got a ciera 85 a while ago (thinks it's
2 or 3 years ago),and whe got a lot of milleage out of it (not MPG,i dont
care much for it as long as it's not less than 15 MPG),the car died at
about 215 000 KM ( eh......13X 000 milles...it's a guess only,i dont have
my calculator near me),the car died because of a melted catalytic
converter and part of the unburned exhaust made it way into the intake
manifold plugging thing there (and talk about no power then,my mother had
to do WOT on the highway for maintaining the pace and not be too far
behind trafic flow,it's just whe where having no clue at what's going on
then)

> I've seen more Iron Dukes with rods out the side of the block than dead
> 2.8L. By 1983, both had received some changes that made them both
> "reasonable". However, I have put 280,000 miles+ on two 2.8L V6's. I let one
> break the timing chain intentionally. It basically stopped and bent two
> valves. The other got rebuilt because I wanted to do it.

not bad,280 000 milles !!!!! (i'm stunned)

> Now if you've confused the 3.0L Buick that came with the Ciera with the 2.8L
> Chevy, the 3.0L had it's problems. Probably the biggest is cracked blocks
> (in the valley) if they were overheated. They were EXTREMELY unforgiving to
> this problem. Second, any loss of oil pressure destroyed the main bearings.
> 30PSI at idle one moment, 5PSI the next. But other than that, they were and
> still are pretty tough motors.

does these motor share part with the 3.8 motor ??

> All three, if not abused, not overheated (the 2.8L can handle some pretty
> brutal overheating), the oil changed, and maintained were reasonably good by
> 1983.
> 
> Regarding gas mileage, the 2.5L in a Ciera could hit about 28MPG. The 3.0L
> about 26MPH, and the 2.8L about 25-27 MPG.

nice milleage,do you think i'll be able to do at least 20 when doing about
75 to 80 MPH on the highway ??

> I've owned both V6's and have rebuild several.
> 
> With that many miles, hope for the best, but expect the worst.

i'll be able to see that tomorow,also,thanks for the web site.

p.s.is the stock suspension be able to cope with 80 MPH on the highway
(read,if the suspension is in relatively good shape).

thanks a lot.
Alain