10-02-2008, 08:23 PM
The overall motor is durable, but the plastic plenum used from '95-on might not be. I'd be more concerned about the rest of those cars, not the venerable (albeit largely redesigned) 3.8 V6.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t272035.html
http://www.automotivehelper.com/topic121846.htm
It's one thing to be doing your homework concerning known-faults of older cars, but don't anybody get wrapped up in it, if what it amounts to is a one-time repair of a few hundred bucks, particularly if the fix is known to be stronger than the original (and therefore not likely to be an issue again.)
Just ask a mechanic familiar with the situation what it would take to fix it --- should it ever need it --- and use that to judge how much of a problem that is.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t272035.html
http://www.automotivehelper.com/topic121846.htm
It's one thing to be doing your homework concerning known-faults of older cars, but don't anybody get wrapped up in it, if what it amounts to is a one-time repair of a few hundred bucks, particularly if the fix is known to be stronger than the original (and therefore not likely to be an issue again.)
Just ask a mechanic familiar with the situation what it would take to fix it --- should it ever need it --- and use that to judge how much of a problem that is.