Hi all,
I'm new to this forum. I joined up because my 2002 GTP is at the age/mileage where it's really starting to make more sense to perform more of my own maintenance. So I figured I'd join up in case I got in over my head on something.
Anyway, last weekend was my first foray under the hood of the GTP. Mind you, it's not like I never did this before with previous cars, but before the GTP, not only had I never bought a new car, the newest car I ever owned was a 1983 Volvo.
So, I had this intermittent check engine light (more on than off) for the last 6 months or so (I know I shouldn't have waited that long). I've got smog to pass next month, so the state of CA got me over my procrastination. Trouble code indicated MAF sensor reading zero and low coolant temp (i.e. thermostat stuck open) were issues. So I got a new thermostat and MAF sensor (before I read the posts here that you can just clean it with that spray). The MAFS (new) was a little over $200 from a wholesale will-call AC Delco distributor, and I thought it was a good deal compared to what the mechanic was going to charge (double that) to replace it. Didn't realize that I needed a $10 set of tamper-resistant Torx bits too, so had to make a trip to a retail auto parts store. I was pleasantly surprized that it was an under 15-minute job to replace that. Check engine light gone! So now it will pass smog next month.
The ease of MAF sensor replacement made me cocky, because I didn't realize it would take a couple of hours of fussing around to replace the T-stat. What a pain! But now the engine is running at a better temperature, which brings me to my new gripe about the Pontiac instrument cluster: Who was the idiot that designed the temperature gauge? It had to be a graphic artist or someone like that. Certainly no engineers were involved in specification of the temperature gauge. The gauge starts at 160°F, with major ticks every 25°F up to 260. But there are six, yes six, minor divisions within each 25°, making every little tick 4.17°F. So, while driving, it requires way to much brain function to determine what temperature you're running! I have no idea the accuracy of the gauge calibration, so it's probably a meaningless rant in any case, but it just bugs me that they wouldn't make it something normal like one tick every 5°F. But anyway, after trying out every combination of 8 mm socket, ratchet, wobble extension, etc. that I had, I finally got the T-stat replaced and I'm running pretty consistent about 1 tick over 185°F (189.17 to be precise.... lol).
I guess bottom line is that now with actual A/F ratio control by the computer instead of the default rich setting along with hotter running, my emissions and fuel economy will be better. And more importantly to my wallet, I won't be prematurely screwing up my catalytic converter.
Anyway, glad I found this forum. Like I said, I bought this GTP new in 2001, and it's been a great reliable and fun car for me all this time. Mechanically, it's the best car I ever owned. The only annoying problems with it have been bits of body decoration starting to fall off.
