I have been having major problems with my 97 RS and I've been looking for solutions. As I was driving around the other day I saw a 2nd gen RS sitting on the lot at a dealership. Now, from my understanding the RS had the 2.2 and the Z24 had the 3.1, but this particular RS had 3.1 badging on it. It isn't a Z24, there's no cladding, it has the standard hood, and hubcaps, and I have no idea if it's a manual or auto yet. Before I go to look at this car, could someone give me some pointers on what to look for? Other than the obvious "I'm going to buy a used car, what should I know" routine.

there has been rs that has had the 3.1 in this case the only difference it would be is obviously the apperence package,wheels, and suspention. (correct me if I'm wrong)


**changes are here**

Check rocker panels, wheel wells for rust.
See how it runs
Look for any water stains in the carpet under the driver side dash board
Check the engine bay for any rust on the firewall
Check sunroof for leaks (if it has one)

Any thing else that seems wrong...

Wonderful. Thanks for the help. II gave the car a quick glance when I drove through the parking lot and it looked pretty clean but I didn't get out because it was friggin cold and I been sick lately. Now I'm guessing the rust on the firewall and water stains on the carpet is an indicator of a bad heater core. Now, what about anything I need to know about the engine? I've heard the 3.1 has some quirks and they can be a bit maintanance hungry. I'm guessing the car will have well over 100K on the odometer, so are there anything like timing belt or chain (not sure which it has), head gaskets, anything like that these engines are known to have problems with? The engine has probably been untouched as far as performance is concerned, it still has the factory exhaust hanging out back, but it does look new and so did the tires so it's been taken care of I'd say.

Whoever told you the 3.1 has quirks and maintanance issues is crazy.. its probably one of the more reliable GM engines of all time. a 3.1 with 100k miles is still being broken in if its had the oil changed regularly.
they have a timing chain so nothing to worry about there, head gaskets only blow if you rag them to death. The only issue i've ever had with a 3.1 personally is the front main seal and the oil pump drive seal leaking oil, but you can fix those in an afternoon for $10.

as for the body, check the bottom of the doors, rocker panels, rear wheel wells for rust.
if the carpet in the interior is wet there are some drain holes clogged in the cowl not neccesarily rust on the firewall.

yes the 3.1 was an option on the RS, (i have one myself!)
the RS has the Z24 quick steering, but the FE2 suspension setup. (that is until you put on some nice eibach springs !)
you can always find the Z24 hood and body kit at a junkyard and swap them onto the RS to make a Z24.

I've got a 3100 in my Lumina and only problems I've had the dealer caused! So yeah oil changing aside it's really a good motor. And "pezed" is right I've seen lots of 2.8 and 3.1 RS Cavaliers, most of the Convertables I've seen are 3.1ltr RS's.



Back In Black '89 RS


"Get In, Sit Down, Shut Up, and Hold On!"

Gentlemen, I thank you. I do believe I have the info I needed. I also had a post on the performance forum and some guys suggested I check out V6Z24.com, and I think I'll head over there and see what I can find for go fast stuff. Thanks again.

Im also glad to hear that the 3.1 is not maintenance hungry. My manager at Autozone told me the same thing yesterday. I told him Ive heard nothing but praises about it on Cavalier forums, and he said to talk to Grand Am, Lumina, Beretta owners

Well, I had heard good things and I had heard bad things. I've heard they're unreliable and they are nothing but trouble. I've heard that the engine isn't any more powerful than the 2.4, only rated at 140hp and a waste of time. I've also heard this engine is tough and can really take a beating if it's well maintained, and that it takes to mods really well and that you can mod the hell out of the top end and make some decent gains for not much green. Apparently the 2.8, 3.1(which is apparently a stroked 2.8), and 3.4 are made on the same block and the 3.4 heads flow way better and bolt right up. So it seems to be a better engine than people give credit for.

yes.. the top end of a newer 3400 engine will bolt to the 3.1 block.. look at domesticcrew.com
this is known has a "hybrid" engine.

Well, I went and talked to the guy that has the car, and he only wants 500 for it, but it has some issues. Once I got close up to the car, I noticed rust on the bottom of the doors, rockers, and wheel arches, and there's no stain on the carpet inside, but the firewall has a bit of rust. Not much, but still there. And it's an automatic, which is sort of a buzz kill since the body rust seems to be not that bad and prolly an easy fix. The engine ran ok but there's a coolant leak somewhere, I could smell it when I was driving the car. I think I'm going to keep looking and possibly end up just fixing the 97 since I finally got it back on the road.

sounds like that may be yoiur best bet. if the rockers are rusted, then its not worth it.

Yeah, I have a friend who is really good with body work, he builds motorcycles so metal is something he jusst knows. I took him out to look at the car and he agreed that it would be a bad idea and a waste of time, especially since it's an automatic. I'm a DIY kind of driver.

yep, my '90 Cav is gonna roll over 379,000km on mine in the next day or two. Only service it has required is a CV joint around 185,000km and a clutch kit around 270,000km. I've owned it since '95 when it had about 140,000km on it, and I've religiously changed the oil every 5000km. Thing's a tank.

Yesterday I had my cowl off to look at the firewall while troubleshooting my water leak(s) and just happened to notice some evergreen needles poking out from the rubber drain plug under my heater blower. So I took the top of that apart and HOLY CRAP that thing was packed full of mud and evergreen needles, etc. The firewall etc looked to be in good shape, so hopefully cleaning all that crap out of there has solved a big part of my water problems!

BTW, my Cav is a CL and has the 3.1, which surprises even Chevy mechanics down at the dealers now and then. So I guess they came in quite a few of the trim levels.

pezed wrote:Whoever told you the 3.1 has quirks and maintanance issues is crazy.. its probably one of the more reliable GM engines of all time. a 3.1 with 100k miles is still being broken in if its had the oil changed regularly.
they have a timing chain so nothing to worry about there, head gaskets only blow if you rag them to death. The only issue i've ever had with a 3.1 personally is the front main seal and the oil pump drive seal leaking oil, but you can fix those in an afternoon for $10.

as for the body, check the bottom of the doors, rocker panels, rear wheel wells for rust.
if the carpet in the interior is wet there are some drain holes clogged in the cowl not neccesarily rust on the firewall.

yes the 3.1 was an option on the RS, (i have one myself!)
the RS has the Z24 quick steering, but the FE2 suspension setup. (that is until you put on some nice eibach springs !)
you can always find the Z24 hood and body kit at a junkyard and swap them onto the RS to make a Z24.