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Remanufactured Buick 3.1L V6 Engine - Century
3.1L · V6 · Part DCW9
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We'll confirm availability and your price on this remanufactured engine — warrantied, with a refundable core.
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4-year no-fault nationwide warranty — includedOn gas engines in non-commercial use, at no extra charge. The builder’s standard cover is 3 years, parts only. Every gas engine we sell includes the 4-year no-fault warranty with labour, at no extra charge.
- “No fault” means we do not investigate why it failed — if a covered engine fails inside the term, it is covered.
- Labour is paid up to CAD $95.00 per hour — a cap on the rate, not a flat payout — and only for the remove-and-replace hours in the Mitchell labour guide. Diagnostic time is covered up to 2 hours, and fluids up to CAD $200.00. Towing and a rental car are not covered. Anything not listed here needs to be agreed with us before the work starts.
- The 4 years start the day the engine is installed, and a claim needs proof that a professional shop installed it.
- Unlimited kilometres, and no deductible.
- Call us before any warranty work starts, so we can authorise it. Labour paid on a repair we were not asked about first is not covered.
- A claim starts with a call to us. We file it with the manufacturer, and the manufacturer pays it.
Diesel engines, and engines put into commercial service, are not covered by this 4-year warranty — the terms vary by engine, so call us for the terms on the unit you’re pricing.
Fits
- Buick Century 2004–2005 · 3.1L V6
Not sure it fits? Call (780) 473-2424 with your VIN and we'll confirm.
4-year warranty included
Refundable core
Ships Canada-wide
Engine guide
GM 60-Degree V6 (2.8 / 3.1 / 3.4)
Also known as: 60° V6, Chevy 2.8 V6, GM 3100, GM 3400, Twin Dual Cam (LQ1)
Overview & history
When GM launched its front-wheel-drive X-cars for 1980, it needed a compact V6 that wasn't just a V8 with two cylinders lopped off. The answer was the 60-degree V6 — a clean-sheet design whose narrow 60° bank angle ran even-fire smooth off a common-pin crank and fit sideways under the hood of a Chevrolet Citation. It started life as a 2.8L with a two-barrel carburetor and about 115 horsepower, and over the next quarter-century it became one of the most widely used engine families GM ever built. A longer-stroke 3.1L arrived in the late 1980s and a big-bore 3.4L followed in the 1990s, while three generations of updates carried it from iron-head, carbureted beginnings through aluminum heads, roller lifters and sequential fuel injection. Along the way it powered everything from S-10 pickups and the mid-engine Pontiac Fiero to Camaros, Luminas, Grand Ams and a fleet of GM minivans. U.S. production ended in 2005, but SAIC-GM built the family in China until 2010, with Chinese-built 3.4s returning in the Equinox and Torrent — which is why applications in this catalog stretch from 1980 to 2009.
Specs & engineering
- •Cast-iron block on every variant; Gen I used iron heads, Gen II and III moved to aluminum heads.
- •60° bank angle and a common-pin crank make it a true even-fire V6, narrow enough to mount sideways in a FWD engine bay — with longitudinal RWD versions for trucks and F-bodies too.
- •Pushrod OHV, two valves per cylinder, on every engine in this catalog; Gen III (1993-on) added roller lifters and stiffer blocks.
- •One architecture, three sizes: 2.8L = 89 mm bore x 76 mm stroke; 3.1L stroked to 84 mm; 3.4L opened the bore to 92 mm.
- •Connecting rods are 5.7 inches — same length as a small-block Chevy V8 — on an 8.82-inch deck.
- •Fueling went from a 2-barrel carb (1980) to multi-port injection (mid-'80s) to sequential injection on Gen III 3100/3400 engines.
- •Output ran from about 112 hp (early 2.8) to 215 hp (DOHC LQ1); the 3100 made 160-175 hp, the 3400 LA1 170-185 hp.
- •Firing order is as simple as it gets: 1-2-3-4-5-6.
Generations & variants
- •Gen I (1980-1995): iron-head 2.8s — carbureted LE2 and high-output LH7, then port-injected L44 (Fiero) and LB6, plus longitudinal truck versions for the S-10/Blazer.
- •Gen II (1987-1994): aluminum splayed-valve heads; 3.1L MPFI (LH0), the turbocharged LG5 3.1 (1989-90 Grand Prix Turbo, 205 hp), and the DOHC 3.4L LQ1 'Twin Dual Cam' (1991-97 W-body, 200-215 hp).
- •Gen III (1993-2005): sequential injection and roller cams; 3100 SFI L82 (1993-99) then LG8 (2000-05); 3.4L L32 for the 1993-95 RWD Camaro/Firebird; 3400 SFI LA1 (1996-2005) in minivans, Grand Am, Alero, Impala, Monte Carlo, Aztek and Rendezvous.
- •Overseas coda: SAIC-GM built 60° V6s in China through 2010; the Chinese-built LNJ 3.4 powered 2005-09 Equinox and Torrent.
Vehicles it powered
- •Chevrolet Citation (1980-1985)
- •Chevrolet S-10 / S-10 Blazer (1983-1993)
- •Pontiac Fiero (1985-1988)
- •Chevrolet Camaro / Pontiac Firebird (1985-1995)
- •Chevrolet Lumina (1990-2001)
- •Pontiac Grand Prix (1988-2003)
- •Pontiac Grand Am (1994-2005)
- •Buick Century (1994-2005)
- •Chevrolet Malibu (1997-2005)
- •Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme (1988-1997) / Alero (1999-2004)
- •Chevrolet Venture (1997-2005)
- •Pontiac Trans Sport / Montana (1996-2005)
- •Chevrolet Impala / Monte Carlo (2000-2005)
- •Pontiac Aztek (2001-2005) / Buick Rendezvous (2002-2005)
- •Chevrolet Equinox / Pontiac Torrent (2005-2009)
Casting numbers
| 10118608 | 3.4L (L32) block, 1993-1995 RWD Chevrolet Camaro / Pontiac Firebird |
| 10065459 | 3.1L FWD block used in some 1988-90 cars and minivans — known problem casting, prone to cracking near the center cylinders |
Known issues & fixes
Lower intake manifold gasket leaks (3100 / 3400 engines)
What to watch for: Slow, unexplained coolant loss, a low-coolant light, or oil that looks like chocolate milk on the dipstick.
The fix: Install the updated metal-carrier gasket design with fresh coolant — it cures the original nylon-carrier weakness, and a properly built reman engine comes with it already fitted.
Coolant neglect leading to overheating and head-gasket damage
What to watch for: Rusty-brown coolant or sludge in the overflow reservoir — long-life coolant left in too long is the usual culprit.
The fix: Flush and refill on schedule, fit a good radiator cap, and never ignore a low-coolant light; most head-gasket failures start as a small leak left alone.
Cracking on one early 3.1L block casting
What to watch for: 1988-90 FWD cars and minivans with block casting 10065459 — cracks near the center cylinders show up as coolant loss or misfires.
The fix: Replace the engine or block rather than attempt a crack repair; later castings don't share the problem.
Did you know?
- ★GM teamed up with McLaren for the 1989-90 Grand Prix Turbo — a turbocharged 3.1 making 205 hp, only about 3,700 built per year.
- ★The mid-engine Pontiac Fiero used the 2.8L V6 — a genuine sports-car layout from GM's economy V6.
- ★A flex-fuel L64 version (1991-93) could run M85 — 85% methanol — decades before flex-fuel badges were common.
- ★The family outlived its U.S. retirement: Chinese-built 3.4s powered 2005-09 Equinox and Torrent models sold here in Canada.