1990s Chevy Lumina

[jake4569]

im tryin to jump start my moms car with the chevy and god damn wa that battery hard to locate, and i failed at jump starting her car

[JourneyRocks81]

WHOA!  your jugg scared me at the begining...

[uxwbill]

@JourneyRocks81 What can I say? I'm a scary looking kind of guy.

[Jeremandre]

Try the alternator



[MelikeVW1]

BUY IT

[suburbanator91]

The shop car I drove when I worked for Buick was a 1990 Olds Cutlass-Supreme (The Olds equivalent of the Lumina). It was an awsome car and I even beat a bimmer with it on the Interstate. I actually wanted to buy it I loved it so much. The only thing to be weary of is the lower intake gaskets, yes, even the older 60 deg V engines had that problem; the 3.1 that is and the 3.4 but I don't know if the 3.4 existed yet in 1990.

[photographermatt]

We had a 92 Chevy Lumina Euro 3.2 finally sold had over 280k+ miles it was a great car parts were available at the junkyards & affordable it's easy to work on - gave us no real issues

[nofgood4live]

100 bucks is a steal :)

i bought one for 1100eu years a go,and drove it with out no problems for 6years strait.

these cars are bomb proof.

[Th3Bu5h]

You don't need a solid connection on the negative post, just hook it up to a ground. I had to jump my Lumina and those batteries are hell to get to so I just hook it up to the positive terminal and put the negative on whatever solid metal I can find.

[BigNasty1994]

it was obviously not going to start after the second attempt

[NJW1973]

Made father had a '93 Euro he ordered new. The two problems he had were the Alternator and the ignition switch. That's it. Last I checked it had over 138K on it and that was in August of this year and he still drives it to the mill to work. Rocker panels are rotting out though. Replace those gaskets and get some seat vovers and you golden.

[storrs19]

I had a 93 4 door Euro with the 3.4 DOHC and it was a great car. I did have a few complaints with the underhood layout. First the battery in that model was underneath the washer fluid container and second the damn terminals were literally right against the air cleaner. This was a stupid design from GM and really made jump starting and battery replacement a chore.

[mattherklotz]

i bought my 95 lumina in perfect condition for 100$

[k0rndog93]

I got a '90 Lumina 3.1L Euro, its nice.

[NotARealUTubeAccount]

Im pretty sure its not that style of 3.1.....Its the newer style not the eurosport type.

[k0rndog93]

It's a euro, it has the spoiler and the rims, just like my euro.

[NotARealUTubeAccount]

Noooo i was talking about the engine not the style. I know this is the eurosprt!

[k0rndog93]

3.1 is also in the euro, or are we on two different pages lol

[NotARealUTubeAccount]

Ok there is a 3.1 MPFI that never really had the LIM gasket problem. The 3100 SFI was the one that had the LIM failures. See?

[k0rndog93]

ahh yeah, the Euros have the MPFI

[sean55719]

3.1 was def notorice for gaskets i know that much. good luck

[k0rndog93]

the third generation 3.1 are notorious for that, these Luminas have the second gen, and they're solid.

[mustangrules]

i got a 91 and no one can figure out whats wrong with it

[uxwbill]

Well, you can always send me a private message with more details...

[ProFessionaI09]

@mustangrules i can tell u wats wrong with it...its so fucked tht they dont wanna tell u lol

[mustangrules]

@ProFessionaI09 yea i fix that all ready....."sent to junk yard!!" lol

[KKFan9]

For 100 dollars, you can't go wrong with ANY kind of car. As long as the motor isn't seized up solid, take it.

[mustangrules]

thats true i bought a 92 dodge stealth for a 100 dollars lady said it was overheating so i got it home and filled it with water and theres a bleed valve that u open to release air in the system and after it filled with water and all the air was out it ran fine.

[Villlaparkmike]

i have a 96 buick century special 3100 motor purchased for $100. was over heating previous owner said possible plenum gasket was bad. replaced gasket later found out the head gasket was blown. soo in total i only spent like 300 dollars getting the car running. i did all the labor myself and its amazing running car!!

[ehsicehockey24]

by it i have a 1993 and i LOVE it well worth the money

[akahappydudes]

those are from what i hear are good cars very reliable i guess there like every other car take care of it and itll last you a long time

[kohl2011]

If it's a Chevy, I'd buy it! =]

[iluvbuickgnx]

You seriously do not want this thing. I had a 95 lumina, first the valve lifters went, $800, then the head gasket went, $2000, then the tranny went, $1700...all between 80k & 120k. I finally trashed it when the engine overheated & was total toast at 145k. If you get it pull the pos 3100 & replace with a supercharged 3800. It'll still be pos, but fast pos stead of slow.

[92greenz34]

3100 in your 95, i agree, junk... but i have over 300k on my original motor on my 93, i recomend the car, you could crush it for that much

[iluvbuickgnx]

That's impressive, did you ever have to replace the gaskets?

my 94 pontiac bonneville 3800 S/C went to 490 k before some idiot pulled out in front of me.

I like old cars, buy 'em cheap & run the wheels off 'em.

[92greenz34]

agreed, and actually no, i never touched the motor at all, through the 300k miles all that has ever been replaced was the fuel pump twice, and the alternator twice, (brakes, air filters, and oil filters as needed) and the rear struts, i recomend cars with the old mpfi 3.1, it is a verry good motor, also cars like your bonneville and other old gms usually a good buy, early fi gms are probably the best bang for the buck as far as reliability and cost goes

[iluvbuickgnx]

Every time they get a motor just right, the emission standard changes & they have to redesign it, usually worse. although the 3800 series 2 seems to be an exception.

[iluvbuickgnx]

oh wait, dammit, i forgot, new CAFE standard forced GM to kill the 3800. seems GM just couldn't make it get 30 mpg in the city.

[kreigsmann]

this is worth $100 and the price it will cost of repairs.

i have a z34 and it was 1400 and had major problems. cost me over 5k to get it running to stock expectations

[athom50]

the car is well worth the $100! lol

the 3.1 engine is a strong one. U must keep the thing from overheating though! The intake manifold gasket is thouroughly shot once the engine overheats. I am an auto technician and see many of these engines in our shop.

[ilovemyboobu]

yes

[stupidplants]

hey man the cars are indisctructable... i stunt drive mine constantly (mostly j turns and off roading)& drive it in the high performance D (later shifts) its got 100,000 miles on it good body and decent paint (scratched a lil bit) the only problem is it leaks a TINY TINY bit of oil (like couple drops after a 15-20 minute drive)and the stock sound system hits perty hard!

[fishe3456]

buy the 3.1 there bullit proof i own a 1999 lumina and my buddy had a 91 from 500 to 380 000 k as a demo car and it never let him down and he shifted the auto at 7500 rpm dialy

[htc4000]

u sound like bubbles from trailer park boys and try pumping the gas before u start the car

[ajmcguinness334]

battery issues FUCK!!

[uxwbill]

I got it straightened out though...it just needed a good thawing out and charging up.

[ajmcguinness334]

ok thats good

[LouisEdmiston]

my dad has a 1992 Lumina Eurosport and it runs and sounds great

[nofgood]

i had one 2doors over 5jrs,.. and driven it with lots of fun,.. for a 100bucks its a give a way,..

if i lived in the usa,i problebly use a lumina for a daylie driver,.. :)

good luck bro,with u chevy ;)

[GMminivans9968]

Nice car.

[BruceCountyFinest]

go for it dude, remember gaskits are 200ish and solid 24hours or 1 week job

still got my 93 at 450,000miles

[Outlet8]

wow thats crazy

[viruspyware]

O hey ...it looks like you already bought it.

[viruspyware]

Also brand new engines for these cars are under $1,000 (with shipping etc. included). I think it is better to have a $1100 car with a new engine than a $5,000 car with a old worn out engine. So even if it REALLY doesnt work Id just get a new engine.

[viruspyware]

BUY IT...I bought a neglected 1991 lumina euro for $200 and fixed it up myself ...i learned a lot about cars and have spent only about $500 total on it and it runs great...i love it.

[racefan815]

I loved mine, but for a hundred bucks you really cant go wrong. The 3.1 is a hard motor to get to stuff on...but the gaskets are easy to do. Even if u cant fix it..u could always blow it up

[uxwbill]

I find it...interesting...where GM elected to put things on this engine. It looks like a fair number of things have to come off to do the intake gaskets, including much of the fuel injection plumbing.

I doubt if I'd decide to blow the engine should I decide not to fix it. I'd either sell the car on or sell parts off of it and make a farm car out of it after all the good stuff has been removed. Plan A is to fix it, though. It seems like it could be a very fast car!

[racefan815]

The one i had only had the 4 banger, but my wife just bought the 3.1. I was trying to replace simple spark plugs and had a had time getting to the back ones. They seem to have more issues. For some reason i thought u were trying for the manifold not intake my bad lol. My wifes car always has the low coolant light on...i havent quite figured that out yet..sensor seems to be functioning okay. They are almost bullet proof cars...even with the quirks :D

[uxwbill]

The spark plugs look like "fun" to get at. Well, three of them do. ;-)

I've been letting it sit and run in the yard with the radiator cap on for several hours now (the previous owner left it loose).

From what I've seen, I'm seriously beginning to wonder if the intake manifold gaskets are bad at all. I topped up the coolant (which was low due to evaporation) and have not seen any sign of leakage into oil or white exhaust smoke. Makes me wonder if all I need to do is get the brake lines fixed.

[racefan815]

I learned it makes it easier to do the spark plugs if u take the alternator off, and the little bracket thingy in the middle. Do u hear rushing air when u rev the engine? You would think if the intake was leaking you could hear the air. Maybe vacum lines?

[snerby141989]

Sometimes a slow leak will be undetectable for a while and can be forgotten. Then all of a sudden there is sludgy oil and ruined O2 sensors. Water is not a good lube, so be careful. Have yourself or someone knowledgeable pressure test the system when it's at operating temperature to see if it leaks. No doubt you've made your decision to buy or not buy by now, but I think $100 was a steal. The 3.1 is a noisy, picky engine, but will run a long time with proper maintainance.

[snerby141989]

I had the same problem after I refilled the cooling system after I put a new radiator in. Try hammering the coolant jug with a rubber mallet, sometimes gunk builds under the sensor float and it jams. Worked for me. And no doubt that you've done this, but who knows? You might be as auto dumb as my sister. Just kidding. Just make sure the system is full. Good luck. :)

[ilovemelife]

you should buy it...

[TaurusLX1988]

You look like jeff green, you know jeff garlin in curb your enthusiasm!

[uxwbill]

Nope, I have no idea.

[55chevy426]

I would buy it , you`ll get your money back at a scrapyard even if she dies on you..

[00CherokeeXJ]

its the newer 3.1 v6 that have the intake manifold gasket problems 94-present 3100 sfi V6 its easily identified cuz the upper manifold says 3100 SFI

[JamesRL89]

shit go for it why not

[73GMC1500]

I'd go for it. If all else fails, I bet you could junk it for over $200.

[neversatisfiedlol]

buy it! i enjoy your car videos, make some more

[eeevvviiil]

good luck with the project if you buy it. my project will be a 1994 pontiac bonniville. i am going to put a series 3 engine in it with a matching transmission. it will be my 16th birthday preasent. hopefully it will be done by summer. will have to make a vid before transformation and after. What do you think?

[uxwbill]

I think that will be interesting. And maybe you already know, but I'd also recommend that you take your time...you know, don't force stuff, don't swear too much, that kind of thing. Just take it easy and take a break when you get annoyed with it. And good luck.

[college153]

Just to help eeevvviiil out, seeing as he/she is going to be 16 soon and hasn't picked up on some basic grammar and spelling. It is "present," and you are buying a Pontiac Bonneville. Surely if you are buying it you've seen how the brand name is spelled, but maybe not.

[eeevvviiil]

go get fucked. did I spell that fight?

[college153]

I don't know, did you spell it "fight"??

[uscar17]

and you haven't picked up some politeness notions...

[eeevvviiil]

sorry about that. i just get mad when people think that they need to correct you over a simple mistake

[uscar17]

If this is for me (I don't even know, the comments are not in order youtube bugs) I was talking to college153 ;-) I saw your other answer, well, then good luck for your project, hope it's gonna work great !

[college153]

It wasn't a simple mistake, it was simple english. You are a tool.

[eeevvviiil]

and you are an ass.

[uscar17]

well, interesting idea, but I got a question anyways ? 1994, they're already the SSEi's Bonnevilles isn't it ? Well this has got a supercharged 3.8 V6, kinda good beast, 200+ bhp and one of the most reliable engines ever... A friend of mine's got 6 Bonnevilles, one is his daily drive, with 350'000+ miles on it, with NEVER a problem... Which series 3 engine're you gonna put in it ?

[eeevvviiil]

it is an s.e. car and i am going to put a 3800series 3 that has 260 bhp stock and with the chip it will be over 300 bhp the engine is from a 2006 grand prix with 16k miles.

[uxwbill]

Sounds dangerous enough to be interesting. Proceed at full throttle! :-)

[eeevvviiil]

good luck with the project if you buy it. my project will be a 1994 pontiac bonniville. i am going to put a series 3 engine in it with a matching transmission. it will be my 16th birthday preasent. hopefully it will be done by summer. will have to make a vid before transformation and after. What do you think?

[uscar17]

So ! 'Re you gonna buy it ?

[uxwbill]

I very much think so.

[uscar17]

BUY IT ! BUY IT ! lol but seriously buy it

[uscar17]

BUY IT ! BUY IT ! lol but seriously buy it

[uxwbill]

I wonder why Youtube is duplicating comments? I've seen it on several of my videos and from many different posters. Weird.

[uscar17]

yeah, that's weird and kinda annoying

[Jon3800]

You should get that car. I have the 97 model, good cars, but the earlier 3.1s (the one ur looking for) are much more reliable and nice throaty exhaust too

[eeevvviiil]

for $100 what the hell. the worst thing you have to do is a rebuild. then you will have a good car for many miles to come.

[taurusguy2002]

Hi Bill, you should get the Lumina. I had a couple Euro sports and they were good cars. The ones I had were a 90 and a 92. Intakes are a common problem on the 3.1 but overall they are a good motor. Ive seen a few way over 200,000 miles.

[Vette31991]

I would go for it if I were you. Those are great cars that last! You can't go wrong for $100. Same engine that's in my cutlass. Go for it!

[kjm1983]

Also, I had one of those Euros and they are neat cars. The main thing you should check is whether the oil got much coolant into it..it'll be like a milkshake if it did.

[uxwbill]

The oil looks like it should be changed, but it isn't milky at all.

[kjm1983]

I don't know where Bill lives, but here in the south, junk vehicles bring a MINIMUM of $200 scrap value because of the increase in steel prices.Even if it turns out to be a POS, as long as he doesn't spend more than $100 on it over the asking price, he isn't losing anything.

Besides, I've spent more than $100 to have fun a lot of times. Go for it.

[uscar17]

Well it costs a 100 $. What d'you gotta loose ? If it's a piece of shit you can fix it for very cheap and sell it expensiver than the buying price... So just buy it, and the Luminas ar good cars, and Eurosports looks great

[73GMC1500]

If you have the time and know-how to fix it, go for it. However it doesn't look like it'd be much fun to work on. Looks a little cramped under the hood.

[uxwbill]

I have the time, and I'm willing to learn. I've talked to a lot of people about it, and saw one today that doesn't run (seized engine) being offered for $300.

I've never known a vehicle that was "fun" to work on, except maybe for the Red Reliant Rocket.

[walshmonster2005]

One can never have enough cars or trucks...

[bmtimv]

thats a piece of shit dont buy it

[uxwbill]

Why?

[thebestdayeversong]

I'd like to see you try to fix it up so please buy it!

[college153]

He doesn't need another car, he has a 4 year old truck and 2 other vehicles.

[uscar17]

well if you like cars, you can have lots of them a friend of mine's got 13, I got 2, and some have like 30-40 and more, the Shah of I don't remember where's got 3000 of them yes, TRHEE THOUSAND

[uxwbill]

3,000! Wow! Well, I sure don't have room for that many. I like cars (as well as computers) and enjoy tinkering with both.

There are a total of nine cars here regularly, though I own only three. I'm not worried about it--all but one of them can be demonstrated to run and drive if bothersome people come around to complain. But I doubt they will--the neighbors are in to cars as well and I keep things pretty well cleaned up.

[uxwbill]

I don't *need* it, but I'd like to have it and I'd like to learn from working on it.

You're probably going to be very disappointed, and that's the last I'll say about it here.

[collinsup]

100 bucks is a steal for a car, i'd say its a good idea.

[clubcar98]

Id buy taht in a haertbeat my grandmother has on that is the same year (i thnik) and NVER had any problems

[xScoobyDoo82x]

If you have the time and money, I'd definitely say go for it. Its a Chevy so USUALLY you can depend on them. My neighbor bought a 93 Lumina, brand new and it still running great, of course the Michigan winters took a tool on the body but it still runs good.

[OmegaM41]

My dad used to have a '92 Grand Prix with that 3.1. I liked it, but it had its share of electrical and other problems, and eventually the head gasket went and may have warped the head (at around 135k miles). We sold it for $300. For only $100, this car might be worth it if the repairs aren't that difficult to do. If you can fix it up, $100 is probably worth it, if you need another decent car.

[college153]

Don't do it.

[uxwbill]

You are no fun.