2000 3.4 v6 LS

[montecarlo2079]

I have a 2000 black monte LS. what the hell can i do to beef this car up any, and is the rumor true that all 2000-2003 chevy's need their head gaskets replaced because they are faulty? any help on getting more out of the small engine would be appreciated!

[montefreak]

I also have a 2000 3.4 LS Monte. What I have found in the past 7yrs of ownership is the intake gaskets are bad from GM (anti freeze leaks). FelPro makes a replacement gasket that fixes this problem. You may notice this issue around 45k miles from the factory gaskets. I haven't had any issues with the head gaskets. The other issues I've had with mine are dashlights for the Gauge cluster are soildered into the circuitboard of the cluster and are starting to burn-out. These can be replaced with bright LED's to fix the issue.
Other than that it's been a really solid car. You can get a chip re-programmer for to bypass the rev limiter and speedo limiter but not much performace gain for the money. Your best bet is to upgrade the exhaust to duals and get an off-road pipe to bypass the Catalytic converter. Good luck

['97ventureowner]

Welcome to AF! As montefreak said the intakes are the real problem with the 3.4l engines. This also affects other GM vehicles with that engine. Keep an eye on your overflow tank for the level of antifreeze and note when you have to start adding some at a more frequent rate. I've seen the problem occur around 60 to 80,000 miles on average, (or just "out of warranty" for most vehicles.) I replaced the ones on my 3.4 at 62,000 miles, and another 3.4 I had it was done around 105,000 miles. GM came out with a revised intake gasket in the summer of 2002, and other aftermarket brands followed suit. The job can be done by a DIYer but the more experience one has, the better the job can go. It is a time consuming job as well, and some people elect to take it to an independent garage to do the work. There I've seen prices range from $450 on up with an average around $600 to $800.

[toddler62]

My 2001 Monte carlo intake started leaking at 70,000. Cost to fix at an independent garage was around $400 dollars