jts98z28

iTrader: (18)

hey my friend is looking into buying a 2000 6 cylinder firebird looks like its in pretty good condition i was just wondering if there is anything i should look out for or anything thats known to go wrong with the 6 cylinders?
thanks

fleetmgr

Yeah there's something to look out for, they keep losing the 2 cylinders that would make them into an LT or an LS.

nimrod.sixty9

iTrader: (5)

I would ask over at CamaroV6.com

They could tell you everything that your buddy would ever need to know about the 3800.

eseibel67

iTrader: (10)

3800 V6 is a wonderful engine. Of course it doesn't have the punch of a V8, but it's a stout design. Your buddy will not take out the bottom end, even if he tries.

fullthrottlev6.com is also a good resource.

jts98z28

iTrader: (18)

thanks i appreciate the replies

Chris97z

The 3.8 is a very stout engine and has a good amount of torque. The things to watch out for on them are the intake plenum, lower intake, and head gaskets. Look for dexcool sludge and poor maintenance of the cooling system. The 2000 is much better in some ways than the Pre 98 V6 F bodies. They have much better flowing exhaust manifolds, a straight throttle body, and a 1 piece drive shaft.

My first F body was a 1997 Camaro 3.8 5 speed. I beat this car to death FOR YEARS until it finally spun a bearing with 160k miles. I am sure if I hadn't used seafoam in my oil it would be running today.

fleetmgr

If you had that in your oil all the time, this is probably what ended up killing it. Using something like this as a periodic flushing agent is a good thing but only a short term basis, like for just a few miles. Oil additives outside of this boundary are a very, very bad thing.

ArkBird96

Be on the lookout for a bad intake gasket. Those things go out quite frequently on the 3800s. Also, is it auto or manual? From what I have heard, the those 5-speeds aren't very reliable. Also, as it is a 2000, you don't have to worry about the center bearing in the driveshaft going out. You will also want to watch out for the P1870 (transmission component slipping) code if it is an auto. My first car was a 1996 3800 Firebird with an auto trans. I dealt with that P1870 code for months and it was never really corrected.