Thread: Noob Series III Supercharged Question

Hi all, I'm thinking about buying my second Grand Prix. My first was a 92 SE w/3.4L Twin Dual Cam. Great car, made 240,000 miles then stop and go LA traffic killed the tranny. Motor was still strong. My question today is about the 2005 GTP supercharged. I've read that the intake manifold gaskets are prone to failure. I read the WIkipedia page on the 3.8L, and it says only the N/A series III have the improved aluminum gasket - are the Series III Supercharged motor still using the plastic or is Wikipedia misleading? Are they really prone to fail? Thanks!

Thanks, I'm still researching to see if there's anything else I should know before I scratch the check. Misleading probably wasn't the best word, just the way I read it, it sounded like they upgraded the N/A and not the supercharged, which would be weird.

Originally Posted by WarStryker13

It's quite simple to change the gaskets if they are the plastic design, there's a few threads on it in the how to section.

And welcome to GPF.

Thanks for that - I found a video "Intake Gaskets in 33 Minutes". Thinking the obvious, I started the show. 6 minutes in, I stopped, because that was about a day's work for me! That How To section is extensive.

Thanks for all the input, but the GTP didn't make the cut. I fell for Bob (boring old Buick) instead. I got somebody's grampa's 2004 LeSabre Custom with the Series II N/A that really can't get out of it's own way. The upside was the mileage, 35K, and excellent condition. Since I'll probably need to replace those gaskets anyway, would supercharging this be easy?