i just bought a 3.4 off of ebay. its out of a 94 camaro with only 57k miles on it. its going to be my project and will be in around x-mas time (since im in college right now). a bit more than i wanted to spend, but it will be so worth it. im sure ill be posting a lot on here for help from KED85 and Dale and Project as well as others ive missed. ill keep you updated. and if my dreams really come true, ill be be putting a turbo kit on it someday..... someday

 

congrats!!!!

 

Good luck.. I did a 3.4 swap on my Camaro. If you are doing this swap your self make sure you go over everything 2 or 3 times.. I had a few problems but its runs like }{e|| now. Also look up the thread titled "2.8 to 3.4 Compatibility" you'll find a lot of answers on there.

 

Great upgrade....A guy at camaroz28.com with minior stuff I mean minor, just 3.42 disk brake rear, home made CAI and gutted car ran a 15.42 in his 4th gen 3.4 and 4th gens way more......

Now would be a good time to powder coat some parts, trust me... Do the plenum both upper and lower and do the valve covers.. Will add about 100 bucks more but it is so worth it to have those looking sweat.....

 

i wont have time to do powder coating and all that stuff. im going to swap it out in a weekend. and ill be using the intake and all that off the 2.8 thats in the car.
i will be selling some of the parts that came on the 3.4. the guy gave me pretty much everything that bolts onto the engine along with the engine harness and PCM. if anyone needs some parts, email me and ill see what ive got.

 

if you have the harness & ecm w/it, use it. No reason not too. I would have but mine came w/o ecm & harness was cut at the firewall.

 

can i even use that ecm? its out of an automatic. theres a lot that would be different between the two cars. and would i have to switch the proms over?

 

If your just doing the commen block swap, ecm and harness not really needed.

Depending on how soon you recive it, I am looking for a alternator for my full L32 swap.

 

i should have it sometime next week. i can email you and let you know when it shows up if youd like.

 

Dale you *****

We still don't know which flavor swap he's doing:

Vanilla: KED85
Chocolate: Dale
Strawberry: Project

 

i was thinking id go with blue moon with a scoop of superman on top of it.
i think im going to use the 2.8 stuff, but add a couple upgrades like roller rockers, ignition stuff, AIR pump delete, and a few other things here and there. nothing too major yet. any other cheap mods you guys can think of, let me know.
if you know who did the 3.4 swap w/ a manual, i was wondering if theres anything special ill need. i know ill need the 3.4 flywheel, but can i use the 2.8 clutch and flexplate and all that good stuff?

 

just wondering....WHY would you use the intake from your 2.8? i'd think you'd be choking the engine. i mean as much benefit there is in upgrading from stock intake to something better, and you'll actually be downgrading from an already restrictive setup.

 

THis is why










Everything hooks back up. EVERYTHING. If he keeps the SFI then yes, keep the 3.4 intakes otherwiseno. PLus the egr will not hook up.

 

ahh i see. so people keep the 2.8 intake for the sake of conveniance in hooking it back up, but still, wouldn't it horribly choke the engine?

btw, i like the look of the blue intake

 

not really. The main advantage the 3.4 intake has over the 2.8/3.1 is ease to get to the fuel rail/injectors. Still have to remove the upper plenums on both to change valve cover gaskets.

thanks.

 

ive heard from a lot of people on this site that the 2.8 intake flows incredibly well for what it is. it even flows well enough to handle the 3.4 w/o porting and polishing. doesnt mean i wont look into it in the future. but no it doesnt choke off the engine. it actually has a better design for porting than the 3.4 intake does. its easier to access.

 

If this will be your first engine swap...definately plan on more than a weekend. Some things pop up that you didn't expect, and then you're 4 hours behind schedule (i.e. exhaust problems). If I was you I would give myself 4 or 5 days for a buffer just for these kinds of problems.

When I did my swap...it was my cousin and I (both our first, and we're both 17) it took us 3 days straight of ...Eat, work for 16 hours, eat, sleep. Then there was tuning, and the balancer that was crappy, and that kind of stuff that poured over into day 4

You have a whole month off from school right...whats those couple extra days so you're not rushed?

 

or you could be like me & take the better pat of 2-4 mos doing it 3 hrs at a time

 

nah, ive done engine swaps before. ill have the 3.4 all set to go other than switching the 2.8 parts over. the only thing that might hold me back would be stuff breaking............. ok yea ill need a couple weeks, that usually happens with me. but ive done them before so ive got a pretty good idea on what im doing.

 

the biggest pain all of us have had is removing the pipe plug in the rear pass head for the fantemp switch.


BEWARE THE PLUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

im planning on using a torch to get it out. im not even gonna try without it. ive heard all the stories from you guys, not fun.

 

smart man who has done his research

Ok, so your doing the normal block swap.

3.4 ecm, no need
3.4 wire harness, no need
3.4 intake, no need
any belt accessorys, no need
3.4 oil pan, no need

 

ive been looking the 3.4 swap over since early summer, lol. and ive decided that between my bad luck w/ previous cars (66 mustang) and the bad luck i had w/ the camaro over the summer, ill keep it simple and do more complicated mods later on. im just going to do the "stealth swap" for now. i was wondering about the AIR pump delete though. i heard i have to remove the cat convertor. is this true? i just bought a high flow cat less than a year ago. if i have to, ill cut it out, but id rather not.

 

Redraif and I just finished a 3.4 swap (still doing incidentals), and the 3.4 intake doesn't appear to have any advantage over the 2.8 piece. Its actually worse in a way, because it doesn't have three pieces like a 2.8 so you can't get inside to port it as well. I didn't verify it, but distributor clearance looks like it could be a problem, too (the 3.4 uses coilpacks).

Our swap was a little more complex, since we used the ported heads from her 2.8 (could tell no difference in the castings) and the custom grind Reed cam. Not recommended to do in one weekend, esp when you consider we painted the motor and trans too (with a gun, not spray cans)!

 

If you're doing the stealth swap, sell/e-bay everything you don't need. UNles you want to upgrade later.

Yeah, forgot about the 3.4 & distributor clearence . It will not fit unless you cut the rear crossover, & patch it. Also need to deal w/the egr hookup, as it's in a different location.

As far as the oil pan goes........keep it. I have no (ZERO) clearance issues w/the 3.4 pan, and it was in a heluvalot better condition than the rusted, crappy POS 2.8 pan I had.

 

thanks for the info on the 3.4 intake, ill just stick w/ the 2.8 then.
project, im planning on selling just about all of it on ebay. i heard the power steering pumps switch over so im going to use the 3.4 and swap the pulleys, its kinda leaking. ill take any other advise on what you guys think, keep em coming.

 

Most of it interchanges. Redraif's 3.4 has the 2.8 heads and intake (no sense in changing the heads though, unless they're already ported like hers), the 2.8 oil filter adapter, the distributor (rebuild it while its out, if you havent already), and all the accessories from the 2.8. We also used the 2.8 timing cover, since the 3.4 one has no provision for a timing tab. We used her existing injectors (Ford 19lb), but otherwise I'd use the 3.4 injectors on the 2.8 rail. Use the 3.4 flywheel and harmonic balancer too; they look similar, but there are weights on both not present on the 2.8 parts. Ked says the 3.4 exhaust manifolds will work, too, but I didn't see any advantage to them either (cast iron with heat shields), esp since we already coated the stockers and are switching to headers soon anyway. The 3.4 PS pump is the same BTW, except for the pulley...we just didn't use it because hers was new. We'll probably put the 3.4 heads, cam and lifters, intake, exhaust, accessories, etc on Ebay soon.

 

can you give us some pics of the 3.4 exhust manifolds next to the 2.8s? My t-pipe seems to be lower towards the ground than what I'd like it to be. Don't know if it's from the motor, manifolds, or what. just looks weird (to me).

 

The 3.4 manifolds are in my storage unit, the 2.8 ones are on the car. I don't recall any real difference though...seems Ked said the stock y-pipe would bolt up to them, so I don't think anything would change.

 

they bolted up fine, after the leak/fire , just that it seems to sit lower than it should. maybe a pic will help.

edit:

PIC

 

Heheh,
Looks close to about how low mine is... maybe a little lower than mine, but I still get the cat clamp scraping on those stupid speed bumps in parking lots occasionally.

-Dan

 

mine already sits low to the ground. i have dropzones on it. thats just what i need is something even lower to the ground on my car, lol. i know enough people who do exhaust work, i think i could get it "adjusted". im heading home from school tonight, hopefully the engines there today or tomorrow.

 

I put my intake over the radiator hose, but I also moved the battery to the trunk...


Port the heck out of your 2.8 itake that will help..

 

You seem to have everything right & have definetly researched what ya need to "do" for your swap.
GREAT will make it so easy.
Send an email if I can offer tips encouragement
It's only a VERY detailed simple swap.
Get the "Y" pipe & AC Delco CC & 94 F Body FRAME motor mounts (different from "engine" motor mounts).
Except "Y" Pipe all will fit your 3rd gen, it's newer & great high quality spare stuff.
I wish I scored the 4th Gen F Body frame motor mounts when I did my Firebird 3.4 swap.
I did use the 95 Camaro motor mounts on my 85 Blazer swap & fit perfect.

 

as far as i know, this one comes with mounts too. im hoping it does since mine have almost 140k on them. oh Dale, if you read this again, the engine just got shipped out today. i wont have a chance to see it till next weekend. but if youre still interested in the alternator for it, ill probably be willing to sell it. my email is phatoe22@hotmail.com . email me if you are still interested in it and anything else. i can find out just about anything you need to know through someone back home, till i get there.

 

dave, thanks for the offer. Found one locally I got fairy cheap. Thanks anyway.

 

ok, its been a long semester at school, but i finally get to start working on my engine. ive gotten everything apart w/ the exception of the heads. ive found its got two broken two exhaust manifold bolts, and then that plug in the back of the head to remove. everytime ive used EZ outs, ive broken them off in the bolt. anyone know of an easier way to get the bolt out? its broken off inside the hole so a vise-grip is out of the question. im planning on pulling the heads anyways, so if i have to send the head in, i can, but id rather save the $$.

 

I ended up drilling a hole in the damn plug & allthe easy outs did was make the hole bigger. I used permatex liquid metal to plug it (no leaks ) And did the remote fan relay/switch.

Might just want to havve head sent out & remove that plug along w/the broken exhaust bolts.

 

It'll take a machine shop five seconds to remove your previous effort @no real cost to yourself.
Let the machine shop continue the other "stuff" for you.

 

i think i will just take it to a machine shop. i have not had good luck removing broken bolts in the past.

 

ok im finally ready to pull the 2.8 tomorrow. ive got a manual. which would be easier? pull the engine and trans together separate it on the ground or get under the freakin thing and try and separate it in the car? ive heard both ways. what do you all think?

 

Never messed with a manual trans 3rd gen, but as much room as there is you should be able to pull it as a unit with no problem. You'll probably want to remove the shifter for clearance though.

 

Both my swaps were performed by leaving tranny inplace.
I have autos
PLUS it's way easier to manuver engine without extra tail end!
Manual?
NO TRUE NEED, until reassembly!
MAJORITY of the stuff/nuts bolts, I literally just tossed into one large coffee can! & that option works very well for reassembly, too.
Just keep pulling out the proper nut for reasembly.
Serious, strip 2.8 engine out car (I laid my 2.8 on a LARGE dead tire & just went to work).
For reassembly of 3.4, I reversed that option (I laid the 3.4 on the tire & started reassembly of TOP & SIDES of engine, ONE PART of engine at a time!
When the engine is up in air due to engine hoist, You then assembled bottom end (oil pan & such).
NEVER NEVER NEVER REMOVE the exhaust manifolds from the 3.4!
NO NEED TO AT ALL!!!!!!!
3.4 manifolds BOLT RIGHT BACK UP TO THE 2.8 exhaust still in car!
Separate the 3.4 reassembly project to, again, top, and the sides & the bottom end.
Also made an engine stand from a shopping cart & some wood. Works perfect!

PS MAKE DAMN SURE YOU MAKE THAT OIL FILTER HOUSING LEAK FREE!!!!!!!
From personal experience that oil filter housing is NO FUN AT ALL to "fix" while engine is in car!

Wrenches/sockets are 10mm, 11,mm, 12mm, 13mm, 15mm, 17mm, & 19mm.
Star socket (water pump area) is a 55 I believe.
As reference that star socket is exact same size as the bolts used for bolting in seat belts in your car!

 

i decided im going to remove the trans w/ the engine, it doesnt look fun trying to line it back up by trying to lift over the motor mounts and get the input shaft lined right up and all that crap. much easier on the ground and not a whole lot more work. plus, with the shifter out, i can shorten it up a bit.
KED, i had to take the 3.4 manifolds off, there were broken bolts in the head to get out. not a big deal though, no more broke off and it will seal up now. vacuum lines are breaking off just by trying to disconnect them, theyre so brittle. hello windshield washer hose, lol. should be ready to start swapping parts tonight, maybe tomorrow if i get the rest of the ordered parts today.

 

On my Firebird swap, I removed hood.
On my Blazer swap, I left hood on car during the swap.
You will need lots of ground clearence on your engine/tranny same time pull for the F Body.
Upon reinstall it may be wiser to break apart engine & tranny.
For hood removal,
SO EASY
See those hood hinges? Unbolt hood at the hinge & body fender point (10mm bolts, I believe or 13mm), THEN NO NEED to realign the hood upon reattachment!
Really this swap is so worhtwhile you enjoy this mission!
I believe you will be the second person who does the 3.4 swap with a stick!
PS new clutch & resurface flywheel! & we already went over the necessary 3.4 flywheel detail!

 

flywheel is getting resurfaced as we speak. i already have the hood off. i did notice i cannot reuse the smog pump. the 3.4 manifolds do not have the pipe fittings for it. no problem, less to reassemble off to the parts store and then the dealer for that little circular/triangle cam plate seal thing on the back of the block. (memories of replacing that over summer, grrrrrrr)

 

Yep BEEN THERE!!!
It's all worthwhile effort!
Enjoy the mission!

 

I think he will be 3rd, unless my truck doesnt count

I noticed on mine, the 3.4 manifolds wont swap either. The smog pump hole is in different location. Plus would have to plug 02 sensor hole on left side.

 

i wont be using the smog pump or the 02 sensors there. im going to get a plug for those, or just put the 02 sensors in and cut the wires off.

 

Plug on driver side SO SIMPLE
Com'n!
LEAVE THE OX2 Sensor in place!
Even SoCal Smog guys don't care on that detail.
Serious, I've been runnning mine like that for two tests & no complaints at all (noise or leaks or smog)