Thread: Misfires after having new spark plugs & cat put in.. *yay* (+ hard starts)

You can pull a clock spring from the JY if you google a video on it. Much cheaper. Or reach out to Morad Parts and see what Ed and the guys have for a price. I know they pull them.

I would flush and refill with Dex coolant. There are valid reasons why GM used it. Like how the amount of aluminum etc corrodes easier with green coolant. Plus dex isn't bad and it wasn't the cause of gasket failures in the intake gasket area. All major car companies had the same issues and didn't use dex. It was a plastic gasket issue.

Junkyard was my idea originally, and I googled videos only to find generic videos not on the GP/similar models, and it looks like I'd need one of those steering wheel pulling tools that maybe can be rented some places. But the junkyard doesn't let customers bring in special tools like that so, like how is anyone supposed to get the job done? Lol.

you need a med size 2 jaw puller to get the wheel off. and good snap ring pliers.

Sams pull a part in worcestor would let you bring it in I realize that'll be a drive but the cost might be worthwhile. Heck.. I'd snag the whole column ~$50 and then do the work at home

Haha, maybe...then I could have other spare parts if necessary. So I forgot to buy some water pump sealer when I ordered the pump (not that I've installed it yet), but I have some grey RTV laying around.. would that technically work OK or should I still get a sealer specified for water pumps?

I have never used any rtv or sealant on a 3.8l waterpump. Take pump off, clean the timing cover well where the gasket sits and bolt/torque on your new pump. That's all it'll take. If you RTV it and have to redo the job in the future, it's about twice as hard to clean the rtv off.

Oh, I thought that was required if you didn't want any new leaks or something...at least the instructions that came with the new water pump also state you should use that, but I agree it would probably make it messier /harder to get off if that needs to be redone.
About Sam's pull a part, my dad actually said he's been there before and they aren't too bad with pricing. He had a '97 Taurus a while back that he got with a damaged door and he went there and picked one up for like $45 haha. Is that the junk yard that is across the street from another one? I feel like dad mentioned that, two yards at the same location somewhere in MA a little farther from us than Henry's in Blackstone, but that they are pretty decent. Maybe we will make the drive there someday for the clockspring. Our closest Pick-N-Pull in Johnston RI only has two GP's. And mind you, one of them has already had the entire engine plucked right out so if we are ever looking for anything in that area we really only have one car to get things from. Well, then again there are other GM's with the same engine but I'd have to figure out which haha.
Do you know if Sam's happens to have an 01-03ish Bonnie SLE (specifically that trim) in the light bronzemist metallic color? That still has the front end intact, too haha. Just wondering because I'd still like to eventually find the front bumper, right fender for mom's car and we can't really afford getting a part in a different color and then having it painted. And then not matching exactly because of the age of the car/paint lmao.

I was there in july and they had a white GXP bonnie. To see their inventory go to Sam's U-Pull-It

Actually.. for prices, inventory you name it.. that's the link. They are owned by Linders across the street and Standard is right down the road maybe 1000 feet or so.

Damn.. that reminds me now that you mention a GXP. I saw a week ago on CL someone nearby was selling an "05 Grand Prix V6" for $1,400. What they had in their photos was a grey Bonnie GXP. A steal even though it had 200k and I'm not familiar with any common problems with the Northstar V8. Supposedly all the car needed was a good bath. I will go ahead and check what they have, thanks!

Besides head gasket issues and the bolts pulling out of the block? When you go to a JY, walk through the caddies. There's only really two reasons cars end up in yards, crashes or bad motor/tranny. The 4T80E was a solid and robust trans with very few issues. I have always found tons of non wrecked n* caddies in the yard due to engine issues.

I probably didn't phrase that properly... I meant I was not familiar with the Northstar's flaws, not that I thought there weren't any haha. Too bad I checked on Row52 and it seems like Sam's doesn't have a single Bonnie (according to the site anyway) . I forgot actually any SLE or SSEi should have the same style bumpers/door trim panels for mom's Bonnie. Actually we do also need that L-shaped trim piece that goes around the outer corner of the rear passenger door. Got ripped off I guess when that loser stole my mom's car and got a hit and run on someone else while driving it

Ok.. so go to car-part.com and search for the part you want. Often the yards list the color as well.

hey, DING....too fuking bad pal.....unsubscribe from the thread instead of being a whinny bishhhhh.

twelve posts, sorry if you are subscribed and maybe should alter your settings. OP has a pretty long thread going here and while yes we are straying a bit from the original topic, it's still his thread.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

twelve posts, sorry if you are subscribed and maybe should alter your settings. OP has a pretty long thread going here and while yes we are straying a bit from the original topic, it's still his thread.

or "her" thread. still unsure.....thinking op might be a female, refers to the car as "him". and thats not a bad thing if it is. nothing a girl can do. wrenching is not gender specific at all.

no offence if your a guy either...... i really dont care who im trying to help. if we keep you out of a shops clutches, we all beat the system.

Thanks for reminding me Scotty. I said that w/o thinking about gender specific and I've wondered the same as well.

Hahaha. I know, I was annoyed a bit when I'd get notified of a new post and it was my own post XD I probably would just unsubscribe though if you don't need to get updates from this thread though, would save you the horror.
I've been going off my original topic here because I feel it is wasteful /annoying to have to create a new thread for every single different problem I run into, big or small. Perhaps I should rename the thread to something more generic XD (if I can even, because I've noticed I can't even edit my last post to correct mistakes or add something I forgot)
Anyways yes, I'm a she, I'm surprised you picked that up from me calling Pumpkin a him lol. I know the previous owner was a woman and she called Pumpkin a she, and my sister calls cars females too...but I dunno, can they ALL really be females? XD
Anyways no worries, I'm not the least bit offended by the minor mistake.
Here's another off-topic question for anyone who can handle it : dad just got the cat replaced a couple of days ago because he has the CEL that won't go away for inspection. We are going to go drive it some more but are unsure if it will go away on its own now, since for my car it only took two days of going to and from work (well driving my boyfriend to work because I've been out of work well before that). If it doesn't go, our next bet would probably be the rear O2 sensor, yes or no? Or is there anything else to be considered? The new cat we got was the entire new direct-fit downpipe, not just the cat.

we would need to know what code is making the cel come on for your dads car. you can buy a cheap code scanner off ebay for less then 20 shipped. or hit a autozone for a free scan.

un hooking the battery for 15 minutes will clear any codes you have as well. then you can drive around and see if the light comes back on. but its nice to see what the code is before clearing it.