GM 3800 V6: 1990 LN3 swap for 2000 L36?
The mileage on my 1990 Bonneville is getting up there a ways, and my 2000 Bonneville is having electrical issues. How hard would it be to swap the L36 in the 2000 into the 1990? I know that L36 is not as tall (built for smaller spaces), but other than that, I don’t know how different the two engines really are. I also know that the LN3 has a 8.5:1 compression ratio, while the L36 has 94.1. The picture is of the LN3 currently in the 1990. Also, I would like to take the transmission from the 2000 and put it in the 1990 if possible.
Comments
With some hard work you could totally do it. I used to have a 97 bonneville and hated the thing (more rust than is believable) but I did lots of work on it as it was my first car. If I’m not mistaken the 90 and the 97 aren’t too different in dimensions, and since the 97 and 00 share the same everything in terms of engine and transmission I don’t see why you couldn’t swap your 90 and 00. The transmission attatched to the series 2 and 3 3800 are awful in reliability though, so I’d search for a manual fit or a different automatic all together for the future. Hell, get the super charger for it too while you’re at it, they’re super cheap at a junk yard. Bonneville SSEi, SSE, the Buick park avenue ultra, for the super.
Thanks! I didn’t know that about the series 2-3 transmissions… This one still goes well with 158k miles. Of course, the ‘90 has about 228k miles, and it still runs great.