1990 Bonneville SSE Bad Engine

[DarkShadow]

i have a 1990 sse and while on the highway the other day the engine started knocking violently so i took it to a shop and they said a rod bearing has failed and the engine has to be rebuilt/replaced.

my question is, what engine should i put in it, the regular 1990 3800 SFI or a 3800 TPI? would the tpi even work? because the local junkyard has the regular engine out of the same car and a tpi out of a 91 toronado

*edit* also would a supercharged 3800 work in it?

[randman1]

I'm not familiar with a TPI option for the 3800 nor is one listed in my Chilton manual which covers 89-92.

I'm currently looking for a 97-99 L67 for my 90 as I've done some research on a swap. It's going to take a lot of work to do it right, but it is possible. I intend on swaping the entire drive train, subframe, PCM, fuel tank and lines, ect. You can't just plop a supercharged motor into what you have without lots of other components.

[DarkShadow]

isnt the 97-99 a series II ?

[randman1]

Originally Posted by DarkShadow

isnt the 97-99 a series II ?

Yep. Since a series II swap would have the same challanges as a series I, might as well install the one that supports more aftermarket performance parts.

[DarkShadow]

Originally Posted by randman1

Yep. Since a series II swap would have the same challanges as a series I, might as well install the one that supports more aftermarket performance parts.

*agrees* i know for a fact that my local junkyard just got a 3800 supercharged series II

but ive decided on swapping a regular 3800 from a 90 olds 98 its been sitting at the other junkyard for a while but it looks sound and its guaranteed for 90 days (engine price $400) now i gotta figure out who to get to install it lol

[randman1]

$400 is not too bad for a complete 3800 depending on the mileage and it will be much easier to install vs another gen motor.

Any FWD motor that I've removed has come out the bottom. This is primarily due to the cars needing more than just a motor swap. Other thigs needed to be replaced or I was dismantling a parts car. But for your purposes, it would probably be easier to lift it out. See if you can borrow an engine hoist from a buddy or rent one from a tool rental place. Maybe Autozone has one in their tool rental program.

I would also recomment getting your hands on a Factory Service Manual. These appear on Ebay for about half of what they cost new ($40-$55 on Ebay vs $90-$110 from www.helminc.com) Personally, I think the Haynes manuals suck so I wouldn't waste your money. Also, you can get a subscription to www.alladtadiy.com. It's $25 for 1 year of the vehicle of your choice. Cheaper but sometimes difficult to have the laptop on the fender while you're working on it or running inside to print stuff out. A FSM will become your best friend for the bigger jobs