Thread: Sons First Car

Whats the deal with the coolant elbows? I see several people talking about upgrading them. Just wondering whats wrong with the factory coolant hoses and or elbows? Not against doing the upgrade just curious as to the advantages.

I have a few questions and concerns as when we got the car home and on further inspection have found several small issues. I see that the engine is kinda gunked up with dark brown oil residue. I plan to add some sea foam to the crankcase to break up the sludge and then change the oil, the dic says it has 26% life left on the oil. I have never had a vehicle that gave this type of information before and I place little confidence in such information as I prefer to change oil on a regular bases based on mileage. Most of my vehicles, MOPAR in particular calls for a 7500 mile oil change. I typically use Lucas oil additive and Rotella oil. I am open to suggestions on what is best oil for the Pontiac however. I see that the LIM is original and will replace as soon as the funds become available but it wont get done before the engine flush and initial oil change. I also see that the valve cover gaskets are leaking and will replace them at same time as the LIM gasket. I hate a leaking engine. I plan to do the supercharger oil change as well with the initial oil change as a precautionary measure. The left headlight seems to have been changed at one point as the housing under the hood is black and not colored as the passenger side is. That light is loose and shakes when the car is on a bumpy road. Will have to tighten, I hope all bolts and screws are in place? The car definately needs tires as current one are dry rotted and hardened. It also feels as though it may need new struts but will wait to see how new tires makes the ride feel. It feels like it bottoms out on hard bumps. One annoying observation is that the buzzer goes off when you open the driver side doot even with lights off and key removed. The key will not go back a notch to the ACC position even if I try to push the key in as I attempt to turn the key back. I suspect that the ignition switch is not original. The reason being that I found an additional trunk release part in the trunk just laying in there as if it were left over from a swap? Also the plastic piece under the sterring column is loose, and there is no FOB with the car. Other than the windshield apparently having a leak in the left corner (driverside) everything else seems ok. Well except that the HUD is not currently working. Im not worried about this feature at the moment but will change out the fuse. I inspected the fuse and it seemed to be good but had some darkening on the feet of the fuse. If this doesnt fix it I will look further at a later date.

Originally Posted by mystic231

They rot out as they age because they are made of rubber and there is no way to change them without pulling the intake.

You can swap these out without pulling your intake. Just take the alt bracket/tensioner off and swap them that way.

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Originally Posted by mystic231

Drop by a GM dealer on this one. There is a recall out for this issue (engine fire) and if your car hasn't been done yet they will change them for free. One of mine has been done and the other two are going in some time in April. Recall number is 09047, Engine Compartment Fire.


They rot out as they age because they are made of rubber and there is no way to change them without pulling the intake. If they are original they will eventually leak. My 1998's went last summer so that was 12-13 years on them.[/FONT][/COLOR]

The GM recall sucks.

They only change the front cover seal and no grommets.

Thanks guys. I will be leaning on your expertise on this car. I am not a mechanic by any sense of the word but forced to do much of the work as I have limited funds not because I enjoy doing it so much. Will be a good learning experience for son as well. My biggest worries are the key issue and tires at this time. I hope to get to the gaskets ASAP though.

On a different note, how hard is it to change plugs, especially on the back side? Any suggestions or tips, special tools?

Never thought of doing that but heck it makes sense to me. Thank you. A very wise man told me once to ask stupid questions because sometimes you get good answers. He also said there was only 2 things worth investing good money in... 1) a good bed 2) a good pair of shoes... because you gonna spend half your life in one and the other half in the other.

Originally Posted by TLSheff

This is going to sound funny. But I AM serious.

Roll the motor forward. lots of room then.

Unbolt the 2 top mounts from the radiator side support, just 1 nut/1 bolt per mount, and swing it up and over. Then use a ratchet strap across the alternator on the support bar and then hook to the radiator support and ratchet a couple times. Motor will roll forward (won't fall tho, lower mounts will hold it in place) and give you plenty of room.