Thread: New Owner of 2000 Grand Prix

I have already posted a noob thread but I thought I would redo mine with pictures and more info on my car.
Ive always wanted a grand prix and I finally got one for a deal that I could not pass up.

Ive owned this car for about 3 weeks and bought it with 135k miles for $1800.

The car is practically rust free and the strut mounts look good too.
Is there anything I can spray or apply to them to prevent or slow further rusting?

Mechanical Issues:

The only thing I have noticed is that one of the pulley's are dry and has kicked out
all of its grease onto the underside of my hood.(I have this pictured below) Is this bad to keep like this? How hard is
it to change? I do not know exactly which one. I havnt had time. I am very busy with full time
work and full time school.

The guy I bought it from replaced only one strut on the front and one on the back so soon I will be replacing
the other two to have even wear.

EDIT/ The guy I bought it from also said that it had an aftermarket exhaust from the cat back
and im not so sure I like it. To me it kind of sounds like theres a small hole
in the exhaust rather than an aftermarket exhaust. I dont know what it is exactly but I guess I do like the
fact that its louder than factory but I just wish it sounded better.

EDIT 2/ About a week ago it started kicking me an engine light. Took it to auto zone and they said it
was an emissions code. The guy said it may be my gas cap. The gasket is a little dry and cracked. Also
doesn't seem like it tightens down too well.

Electrical Issues:

My gas gauge either says full or empty never in between. Ive looked into this and I guess its common
due to the fuel level sensor. For now Ill just have to use my very handy gas consumption gauge which works
fine and is pretty accurate.

The trac control button doesnt work and Trac control will randomly turn on and off while driving. Not sure if
it is actually doing anything though.

Due to the recent cold weather in michigan i found out that the rear defroster doesnt work. It may just be a fuse
but i have not looked into it. It also has tints so maybe they unplugged something while installing and never put it
back?

Another thing I have wondered is why this car doesnt have any grand prix badges on the side or back? I dont really
care i actually kind of like it without. But on my title it doesnt say grand prix either, just 2000 Pontiac. nothing under model.

In all i really love this car. For the last two years i drove a 1990 toyota pick up and its nice having the power to get up
past 50mph before getting on the highway. That truck had no power what so ever. The first week or two i was always on
gas. I really missed going fast! haha

I want to thank anyone in advance for any help or advice given. I plan on being an active user with my new vehicle and
look forward to learning alot from you guys about this awesome car!

clean car for going threw the salty winters

Welcome! Car looks clean for a MI car. Usually these things rot out. The rear defroster check the wires at the back window, the solder likes to crack and those connection get loose and they will not work anymore.

The oil on the hood is there from the belt slinging it up. Not necessarily from the pulleys. Besides the bearings are not filled with a grease that could come out like that. That's from something leaking near the belt. CV boot, oil pressure switch, etc.
I'm not sure if 2000's got the rear wheel well liners or not (to prevent strut tower rust) if not you would want to do something to prevent rust. The right thing to do is remove the strut and clean it up a bit, and apply por15. I'm a fan of gobbing it up with grease and reinstalling the strut. It will never rust out with that there.
You'll have to crawl under the car with it running and see what's leaking in the exhaust system. The guy probably did it himself with clamps and hacked it up.
The gas gauge issue is definitely the sender. Cheap and easy since there's an access door.

I like to oil coat my cars in the winter. I dont drive my GTP in the winter due to salt.

Yeah I was supposed to, but it got cold so quick. Next warmish day I'll do it

your racing stripe is from the water pump leak, or a axle boot has torn, slung grease all over to the likes of the belt and the belt slung the grease on the hood.

My car did that for a while. Turned out the coolant elbows leaked fluid and the belt was tossing it everywhere.

Thanks for the replies guys!

I think I want to try undercoating it for the winter. Wish I would have already because its literally snowing right now

Whats the best product, method of going about doing this?

Is there a way to tell what it is exactly that has broken/torn and leaking the grease onto the belt by the type of grease?
Its thick and not real sticky.

Crappy that winter has come so soon, wish I had some more warm days to work with.
Hopefully this snow doesn't stick and I can get a string of some dry & sunny days to look into these issues.

Or wish I had a garage! haha #Collegelife

EDIT TO OP:
I forgot to mention that it also started kicking me an emissions code about a week ago.

The guy at Autozone said it may be my gas cap. Any ideas?

Also the guy I bought it from said its a GT, but as in the OP my title doesnt have anything under model,
it literally just says 2000 Pontiac. How would I tell? It does give a cute little whine when shifting. (Ive heard GT's do this)

if you deleted the egr theres your code. post the code if you have it, if not, get it scanned and post it up here.

if you got ramps, or a jack and stands, you just need to get under the car and look for the main source of grease, or oil, or coolant.

if its a axle boot under the car will be a real mess, easy to see wtf went wrong there.