Grand Am off topic thread

Yeah sounds about right to me. All evidence points to it being rides fault. LOL!!! J/k good luck with the repairs Dan.

Hoags: Don't you know not to say everything is good, cuz then it will go bad. J/K Hopefully it's nothing too serious for the G/A...

Unfortunetly i do have some bad news, it seems this maybe the end for my fathers 87 G/A.... He's fed up with it now. He wants to junk it, I'm trying my damndest to convince him to sell it. if anyone is interested shoot me an e-mail i'll see what he thinks. I shall know more by the end of this weekend.

I'm glad Ride has large shoulders so he can carry the load that I'm laying on him, But it's all in fun, Need to put a smile on someones face even if it's my own. I know that he knows that I'm just bustin' on him a bit. I don't think there's a better guy out there doing the MOD's job. And He is a guy I'm glad to call "Friend"... Ok enough mushy shit.

I haven't had a chance to look at the GAGT, the cold and snow started here yesterday and it has grabbed a hold on my foot. It makes it hard to do things especially doing stuff outside. I am hoping for a loose/bad clamp that is not allowing the system to build up pressure. I'm going to try to get a look at it this morning.

I'll post the results when available.

So you said the wrong things too, Hoags? I to just a few days ago, maybe last week, but I was comenting on how my GA has been running kick ass, and trouble free. THen BAM!
This damn cold weather does suck! Sorry to hear about the foot pain Hoags, thats a part of the body everyone takes for granted. I had a spur on my heal once(probley from kickin stuff) and I think it hurt worse after the surgery. But I'm better these days, I dont go around using my body as if it were a Liftime warrantied Tool . Hop you get to feelin better , and maybe the sun will break out for ya.

I wouldnt mind it, if at least there were snow on the ground, enough to play(and probley break stuff) around, do some di doe's(donuts) here and there. See if I cant get a ticket. :)

grfnkl , So your dad got the trans situation fixed? Or is he just junking it? Just curius.. I know about "FED UP WITH IT"
My wife just laughed when my GA overheated this past weekend. She had wanted to trade it in on this damn Toyota Prius Hybrid thingy she bought a while back, the dealer was only going to giv her lik $2000 on the trad-in. That wasnt happening.

Right now my GA is laying in the garage floor, sleeping, in many peices. :lol: Thought the head gaskets were blown, but they werent. The compression test showed all between 110-120psi. And the real funny thing, after examining the gaskets, the lower intake wasnt blown out either, but about a hlf gallon of coolant was in the oil. No water jackets in the heads, so I'm stumped. Hoping i dont find cracks anywhere. That would blow!

And ya, Ride seems like an alright guy. Most people here at AF are ok. But Rides a fellow scandanavian black metal fan, so I might be partial towards him. :lol:

XI: my fathers trans was fixed, just the coolant lines, but now the torque converter is starting to act up, plus he's just complaining about every little thing like the brakes don't work, claiming the trans is slipping etc... So he wants to junk it, I'm trying to convince him to sell it, the dealer doesn't know if they'll take it, so it's an odd situation. He's also fed up since the car is 90% original and things are just starting to break. This is all because he likes driving my moms Saturn Vue. I personally would rather see it being sold to someone then junked. It's a one of kind you'll never find another one like this.... The salemen at the dealer was shocked when i told him the headliner isn't even sagging and it's original... but go figure.

Hopefully i'm not the next one plagued with some type of coolant problem, Just got mine flushed today... tiem will tell, I'm gonna go knock on wood now... ( knock... knock... knock)

All you punks better watch it.... if things get out of hand around here, seeing has everyone's having coolant / LIM problems, I may have to call all 5 GM SPO warehouses in Michigan and pull some strings to discontinue the supply of the new LIM gaskets so you won't have any new ones to fix yours with! :evillol: :icon16: :evillol:

lol I hadn't checked the off-topic thread in a while, and saw the last page, and started seeing y'all talking about me... so I started tracing it back until I found the source :lol: Hoags!! LoL but you were all in on it together. It's alright... I suppose I can find it somewhere in my cold, dark, stone hard, black, icy, Scandanavian black metaler (inspired by XI) heart to forgive you all. LoL

Oh, and it seems that the coolant problems-plague has reached my neck of the woods as well. My external LIM leak seems to be slowly leaking again... damnit :( :banghead: - I'll just have to see what becomes of it. I'm sure our problems aren't helped out by the drastic temperature differences experienced in winter. The constant melting / freezing of the shitty, meltable LIM gasket that occurs in winter isn't exactly good for it's structural integrity. :rofl:

Have a good weekend everyone - and honestly, I appreciate all yours' support :rofl:

You know guys, I'm going to have to reconsider the fact that I was blaming RIde for the coolant issues around here as of late. Whan you really look at things this shit didn't start until I started poking my nose in around here again. Meybe I'm the JINX.

I really think that the GA'S are like a fine lady...Once they get cold they stop putting out and all we get is pissed on. No offense intended to any ladies around.

Just an observation...but this is how it seems to go around here, it is like a cycle with each issue, this time it's coolant/gasket issues, next it may be ignit issues,or interior water leaks, or poor running conditions. Since I first joined a year ago it has sort of been that way, for a while it was plugs/wires then for some reason it was windows.
Maybe there are special forces at work here at work. I think that Ride needs to do a little checking around there at GM, There's a master schedule of when a certian issue will pop up on these cars.
(Sorry guys...I has been a long night and I'm tired That is the only reason I can come up with for that line of B/S I just shoveled out...But there is some thing to the cycles of probs.

Anyway, Gar if pop's is thinking of junking the GA, that's his choice but he may be able to donate it to a local VO-Tec school to use as a training vehicle, I know that alot of the schools are always looking for cars to work on and in alot of cases they repair them and sell them to recover some of their expenses, and someone gets a good working car. that's one way to keep another GA on the road.
Just my 2cents worth.

Catch you guys later.

The cycle of bad things could be some GM 'secret black box', with wi-fi and from a sattilite they beem down the EXE code and everyones cars in that area gets zapped with the latest problems. just my latest conspiracy theroy, call it job security. :lol:

The cycle of bad things could be some GM 'secret black box', with wi-fi and from a sattilite they beem down the EXE code and everyones cars in that area gets zapped with the latest problems. just my latest conspiracy theroy, call it job security. :lol:


Damn you roboticgod! That was my theroy you stole there. :lol: Job security is always nice though. :grinyes:

I begining to think that theory maybe true, My Aunts Caddy Check Engine just came on again... Hmmmm. LMAO

Quick update, I somehow convinced my father to sell on Ebay... Don't know how, but i did it. He made the annoucement at the saturn dealer yesterday to me.

Hoags: As far as to a Vo-tech school donation, The closest and one of the large ones for the area is Lincoln Tech, only about 2 blocks from my house, don't seem to take cars as a donation for the students, I believe you have to pay them to take it...Unless that has changed, due to a large fenced in area with cars in their lot now. Other then that, i do have neighbors that are/were interested in it a year or two back... so other possiblities.

I think i'm gonna go enjoy the snow now.... from my window in my nice warm room. HAHAHAH

Quick update, I somehow convinced my father to sell on Ebay... Don't know how, but i did it. He made the annoucement at the saturn dealer yesterday to me.

Hey Ebay might bring him some descent $cash$. Better than the salvage yard, thats for sure.

... As far as to a Vo-tech school donation, The closest and one of the large ones for the area is Lincoln Tech, only about 2 blocks from my house ...

Lincoln Tech is where I went to school(automotive), from 89-94ish. It was a pretty good school, Other than that, it was the only place in Indiana back then to get a autotech degree.

Hey everyone...been gone for a few days...hooked up with a girl from work and all i can say is daaaaaaaaaaaamn.

My dad calls me at work yesterday and says he has a surprise at home.
I figure...somehow, someway the old man got his mitts on an XBox 360. Of course thats not happening since you cant get one for like a year w/o preorder. Anyways, i get home and dont see the SS in the garage. The bastard bought a 2005 Cadillac CTS. Oh my god. Its fantastic. I drove it earlier...so fast, so pretty, so comfortable. Like driving a pillow. He traded in the 2001 Monte Carlo SS and got 9k for it. The dealer is his friends son. The car didnt even go into the dealerships books yet. He offered him a $38,000 car for 26,300. Do the math...

26,300-9,000=2005 CTS for 17,300. What a sweet deal. My GA was listed at 17,850 or so. (I ended up payin WAY less, [Grandpa retired from Pontiac i get a Class A discount] about 11k). That is a sweet deal if you ask anyone.

Im off to see my lady friend. Hope everyone is well and prepared for/enjoying the snow.

Bobby

Bobby, That deal sounds nice, But who would really like to drive a car like that, sitting in the lap of luxury. I don't see why anyone would want a car that just about dirves itself. You never have to worry about being too hot or too cold (temp controls) the radio probalby sounds too good to really enjoy. The car most likely has too much power and too nice of a suspention that the driver will not even get the least bit uncomfortable. And just the fact that it will draw so much attention that would just become a pain in the ass... I don't know but it seems to be too much hastle to have a Caddt CTS. I'll stick with my blend into the community cars who needs all of that fun and excitement. That is no way to go through life.

Hey Gar, tell Pops good luck on the Bay I hope the GA sells fast and he gets a good buck for it. Let us know when he gets the pics on E-Bay.

Xero and Robo. I think you guys may be going too far with your theory, Don't forget these guys at GM btought us the infamous Chevette and Pontiac T1000(which I had) [All B/S aside the little shit-shaker was not that bad of a little run around car, it was not gonna help you get lucky but it would lat you hace some $ to buy a lady a drink or several drinks so she would not realize what kind of car you were taking her home in] Where was I OH Yeh, Those guys could not develop the tech to handle that. My theory...It is the terrorist...they have come up with a way to get all of the check engine lights to come on so that the american public will swarm to AutoZone to get the codes read ant that is when they'll strike. They will interupt the flow of manufactured parts, we will all be caught unable to drive and thus the economy will go Ka-put.
My theory is no worse than the one that says they have a weather machine that controls the storms that hit the US. Ihat is why it has been a record hurricane season, they want us to use up all of the plywood so we cant build houses which will boost the economy.

What do you guys think?


It's pretty cool to be able to come out here and puke up a bunch of irrelavent bull crap and just have some fun.

Have a great day all...Catch you later,

Dan

Hey bobby, i dont think I would hav traded the SS for the Cady. The cadys to damn nice, though powerful. I'd be afraid some jack ass at the grocery store would slam karts into it or key the heck out of the sides, that happens.(I hate pricks like that).

"infamous Chevette and Pontiac T1000" LMFAO! That they did Dan, both were top notch automobiles when they came out of the show room. Dont see many of those two these days.

Ya my conspiracy theory might sound far fetched, but not impossible. And I think someone has already been screwing with the parts flow. I've had to wait on gaskets(GM&Chrysler) and other suplys this past week. Weather related? May be...

I hav a differnt theory on the weather, anyone noticed over the years(20+) that every time NASA shuts down, and or stops the launches the weather gets really screwy?
I believe the heat, and the 2 million gallons of water(that turns to steam) they pour on the boosters jet blasts at take off(to keep from exploding the concreate) has something to do with that. They create a high pressure zone with lots of humidity, why do you think the south is so humid.. :lol: Sorry, I did mean to puke all over the place.
JC

I don't know sounds like I valid theory to me. I hadn't had any mechincal problems with my Mits as of yet. So it could be terrorist Dan (unless it's the Japanesse that are doing it). Of course now that I said that when I go to leave work my car probably won't start

I don't know sounds like I valid theory to me. I hadn't had any mechincal problems with my Mits as of yet. So it could be terrorist Dan (unless it's the Japanesse that are doing it). Of course now that I said that when I go to leave work my car probably won't start

you hear about the one weather man guy who got fired? He claimed that the 2 hurricanes this year were from like.. JP or China... I forget ... real funny though

Bobby: so your dad has a new CTS. They are nice and fun to drive. I personally like to drive in luxury, but still wouldn't give up my G/A. That's why I take all the Chances i get to drive my aunt's Caddy, Deville or DTS however you want to put it.

Dan: Chevette and T1000 true class GM automobiles. Another car that i feel ranks up there at least close in styling is the Citation.

My fathers car is on ebay i listed it last night... so if anyone wants to check it out,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pontiac-Grand-Am-1987-Pontiac-Grand-Am-Rare-Custom-built-w-low-miles_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6421QQitemZ459563 0128QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

I hate to see it go, but I know my parents wont let me have it.... plus it's bad enough that i own 2 G/a's and they don't know about the other one.... :uhoh: heehehehhe


i do love the other theory's that everyone is coming up with...

You guys are totally right. I would never drive that car. But my dad is at the point in his life where hes owned his share of muscle. Hes to the point where it just fits his lifestyle. Executive car. And jesus does it have power. And the suspension is fantastic. Otherwise you guys are totally right...I have a feeling ill be driving Pontiac for a looooong time. Hope all is well. Later.

it would be nice to take out the Cady and do some donuts in a parking lot, oh i forgot, traction control(damnit!) :lol:

Ya know what that Caddy really needs is a Plow on the front of it. You might as well get all you can out of it. I think that like Bobby says, dad has reached a stage in life that the Caddy suites him better than an SS. I hope that when I hit that "stage" I am able to be a 2 stage person, I would love to have a lux. ride but at the same time I want to have muscle. I hope that I can afford to support a 2 stage way of life.

One thing that I would love to do would be to find an old muscle car and rebuild it with my son (13 yrs. okd now). I wish my father would have been in to working on cars. He was a GM at a Pontiac Dealership, and he always told me that wishes the had the forethought to buy the Pontiac muscle when it came out new, IE: 69 GTO, 69 Bird (TA blue on white), for the $$ he could have purchased them for there would have been no money issues, except for the fact that he never would have sold. Anyway my son has claimed the GAGT when he turns 16, He is already working on picking a new color, trying to decide what kind of wheels and skins, as well as the new tunes + video. I have informed him that now would be a good time to find that job to save for the changes. There is one particular thing about this school district we are in, when I was in high school there were several muscle cars cruising the parking lot, the H/S here has none of that. If the boy does up the GAGT right he could have the sweetest ride at the school. There aren't even any tuners running around that campus, I just don't get it. Any Ideas Guys?

Jumping back to a previous subject...the theories that have started to bounce around are getting good, I can't wait to see Mr. Ridenours opinions on this, Since he is a GM employee I think he should start investigating this stuff.

As for automotive styling high points, one vehicle that ranks up there would have to be the American Motors gem...The Pacer a fish bowl on wheels. The other that ranks high on my list is the VW Thing. Just my 2 cents.

Gar... I'm going to check out the E-Bay listing as soon as I can. I'll let you know when I've had a chance.

Gotta Run, I want to check out the Forum before I go, see if I can steer someone in the wrong direction, just kidding...I couldn't do that unless they're being a real jerkoff.

Later, Dan

Well guys, we're expecting our first heavy snoe fall here tomarrow afternoon into Friday morn. If anyone else is getting it or is going to get be careful especially if you are going out un the stuff. I may not have a chance to get out here tomarrow since I have two places to take care now.

I hope thoes who are in line for the snow take extra care.

Catch you later.
Dan

Does anyone know what the stars under some of the users names mean???

Wooo Hoooo! Let the snow fly. lol . Ya Dan here in Indy its snowed about 5-6" in the past 4hrs. And its still going.... If i didnt hav a 4x4 I wouldnt dare tread into the abyss of ever white. And everyone should be carefull, already been pulling people outa-da-ditch. People need to be more prepared for winter, thats for sure.

Oh ya, i was kidding about the Caddy doing Donuts in the snow. As much fun as it would be, I'd hate to hear about the light pole it hits, while performing in the white stuff.

AMC had some sweet rides, I wouldnt go so far as to say the Pacer was infamous or anything. Gremlens were fun little donut cutters, the v8's anyway. Dont for get the Vega's! :lol:

lmentzerjr , what stars? You hav stars, where?

Does anyone know what the stars under some of the users names mean???

The stars represent how active you are here in the GREAT Automotive Forums. Its based off of how many posts you have. When i posted #50 i gained a star and a new "title". "AF Regular" i believe. Some people have more stars cuz theyve been around longer and have made many many posts. Goin to play in the snow. Later.
Bobby

the more stars means you just hav alot to say. :lol:

Heres a bad photo shop of my GA with some Racing Stripes.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c242/xeroinfinity/AUTOMOBILES/GaRSbadPS.jpg

bah I want snow :(

All I get is 20F weather and ICEY RAIN and ice all over the roads.... in turn, Sand that the city put out that also has some salt solvent that melts and then pretty much dries up the ice... next to that are people who dont have a clue on how to drive in ice/snow going 5mph in a 55 with their hazards on =p ... Do note, its about 5 or so cars in a row doing this in the dried road with sand... But, w/e .. I guess better safe that sorry In some cases.

The sand junk sucks... made my car VERY VERY DIRTY :banghead: Its undescribable...

Goin to sleep, later

Like Xero says, the stars mean you have a lot yo say however in this case it is quantity...not quality.

Ya know, the Vega, Astra design wasn't all that bad. My sister had a 72 (if I am remembering correctly) Pontiac Astra wagon, 4 popper with either a 4 or 5 speen manual tranny. I will never forget...The day my father took me to get my drivers liscence (yes I passed 1st attempt) I had to be at work later that day and he said he would not drive me because I had a liscence, I got thrown into that manual tranny with no experience and had to drive it to work, I was a mess because I was driving solo for the 1st time and then to rop it off I'm sriving something I had never driven before. But I made it to work and back, he had more faith in me than I did, go figure.

Snow Up-Date: It started snowing here at about 10:00 pm last night and now at 3:30am we have about 6" on the ground, It seems to be letting up. I can't wait to get my daughter out in an empty parking lot and have her get the Tracer sliding around, (I will assist with the P-Brake) I want her to see how the car is going to react in a slide. Besides I want to get out and have some fun myself!

See ya later,
Dan

Ya Gir some people driv way to slow on paved roads and some are Freakin nut jobs doing 50mph on snow coverd , then down the road you see them in the ditch :lol: I pulled a good 40 cars and trucks out last night, and it was early(still snowing) at the time. Didnt really try to make money, just out having fun in the cold.

The snow stoped about 1:30-2am for me here. Got around 7", but hav seen drifts up and over 3'.
Had the ice crap last week, but the GA didnt see any of that. See Gir, I told you you'd probley see some cold stuff and some snow before winters over.

I dont really remember the Astra Dan, i was like three.. Most of my childhood memories of cars were all Mopars my family had.

At least you had a small car to take your driving test Dan.
At the time I recieved my license, my father had this gigantic 66' olds , dynamic 88 w/425 rocket, we had other vehicles, but he was a prick and made me learn on the Tank x2. I can driv about anything these days. the first time i ever drov i was 13-14 and it was a 80's cobra mustang w/4 spd. I had been riding motorcycles(w/clutch) since i was 10 so the manual shifting wasnt hard to understand.

It was such a great car(the 66' olds) I still hav it. A bit of cancer in the quarters, but not to bad. Still runs w/124k on the odometer. Not been plated for a couple years.

Well Id better get back to workin, keep it safe guys and dont over drive your limits.

bah I want snow :(

All I get is 20F weather and ICEY RAIN and ice all over the roads.... in turn, Sand that the city put out that also has some salt solvent that melts and then pretty much dries up the ice... next to that are people who dont have a clue on how to drive in ice/snow going 5mph in a 55 with their hazards on =p ... Do note, its about 5 or so cars in a row doing this in the dried road with sand... But, w/e .. I guess better safe that sorry In some cases.

The sand junk sucks... made my car VERY VERY DIRTY :banghead: Its undescribable...

Goin to sleep, later


I know what you mean samething here. We had about 6 inches of snow the other day but it had all melted the next day so I really didn't get to enjoy it like I wanted to. I hate the sand that they put down everywhere. Although I like it better than the salt because I don't have to worry about my paint being all ate up.

Got 8 inches of the White stuff over here, which covered the ice from the last snow storm... now needless to say driving will be a bit of a task around here for the next day or so. No hitting telephone poles for me! hahah
Thankfully they don't use much sand around here either, most of it is salt, which is no better.... my car has white stripes all over it as well from the last snow storm, and i haven't taken it out yet today, with no plans as well!

Safe drivin everyone!

I want to look into this HID/LED Stuff. I would def not mind that being the front of my car lit up like that :smokin:

Headlights, blinkers, fog... I want it :D

Have it to where the outside LEDs on the fog lights are lit up automatically with the headlights and the sensor that adjusts the lights as it gets darker... and use the switch for the inside fog lights :D

Creative no?

Google Video - Grand Am HID/LEDs (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6246576051875507124&q=Gir-_-+is+awsome)

Ill pass on the tail lights and underglow... even tho those tail lights are kick ass... it being LEDs and all :D

Sands not bad guys, its that damn salt and calcium chloride, and cheap ass fertalizers.... Thats what will eat piant, and the steal.

You do alot of shopping on the net Gir? :lol: Ya those some bright ass lights. I'd run yu off the road blinding the out and all. Bet driving at night is great, for whos driving. Everyone else is screwd tho. I did notice when the head lamps are on you cant hardly see the turn signals blinking. Nice that they are on a dimer. Be nice if you could aim them, with like a little joystick(like the power mirrors) but both stay aligned and parallel to one another.

Finally got the GA back up and running this evening. I luckily didnt hav any head damage or intake cracks.
What was weird tho, started fine idled fine, got to looking and the vacumm that runs from the pcv over the TB and under the ignition coils was unpluged back there. Well as soon as I pluged it back in, it just died.. It would start but not stay running without being on the gas. So just left it on and drove the shit out of it. Already got it pretty hot(not a good thing) seems to idle fine now though. Maybe the Ecm just had to reprogram/reset its self. Who knows, it runs AOK now, so I'm heading for the road to bust some drifts!!! See if I cant break it again, hahaha. Later guys

Gir: Those lights are kick ass, I like the entire set up, I wouldn't mind having those lights on my car, Especially the HID headlights... I would love to blind other people for once with out resorting to high beams!

XI: glad to hear the G/a is back on the road. Hopefully you are right about the ecm just needing to reprogam itself, and it being nothing else.

Well i thought i was being smart tonight by NOT taking my car out, and having the G/F pick me up tonight, until i got THE PHONE CALL, from the parental units, informing me that my neighbor backed their honda pilot into the side of my car... HAHAHAH I SERIOUSLY just can't win with this car! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH :rofl::banghead: I'll know more of the extent of damage later on when i get back home. They're gonna stop by tomorrow and talk to me about any repairs that are needed.

thanx grfnkl , It did work out after all. I had shut it off for a bit and when I came back the low coolant light came on, so right off I checked the oil, it was good. I figured an air pocket was traped, and the overflow spuuueed it all over the firewall.
But I did switch back to the evil Dexcool. After setting part of the old gaskets in the green, it appeard to eat the edges of it... cheap gaskets they werent. We'll see how it works out. I dont drive it much in the winter anyway.

Sorry to here about you GA. Hopfully its only scratches, and not ,... well you know. damn people! :lol: keep it safe everyone

Finally got the GA back up and running this evening. I luckily didnt hav any head damage or intake cracks.
What was weird tho, started fine idled fine, got to looking and the vacumm that runs from the pcv over the TB and under the ignition coils was unpluged back there. Well as soon as I pluged it back in, it just died.. It would start but not stay running without being on the gas. So just left it on and drove the shit out of it. Already got it pretty hot(not a good thing) seems to idle fine now though. Maybe the Ecm just had to reprogram/reset its self. Who knows, it runs AOK now, so I'm heading for the road to bust some drifts!!! See if I cant break it again, hahaha. Later guys

Same thing happened to me! lol.. it'd die .. had to gas it to keep it alive... *have to gas it to even start now but its hopefully being fixed next pay check* Umm... yea it'd surge in the idle back and forth.. the mechanic wanted to Diag. it for a minimal fee of $65 =p pssh yea right.. its driveable :D .... so I pretty much did what you did... drove it and it works fine now

btw, whats so bad about the orangey fun of dexcool?

Same thing happened to me! lol.. it'd die .. had to gas it to keep it alive... *have to gas it to even start now but its hopefully being fixed next pay check* Umm... yea it'd surge in the idle back and forth.. the mechanic wanted to Diag. it for a minimal fee of $65 =p pssh yea right.. its driveable :D .... so I pretty much did what you did... drove it and it works fine now

btw, whats so bad about the orangey fun of dexcool?

Well I think mine was associated to the pcv and its line had some clumps of the moisture sucked up there and the end of the line was disconnected. Cleaned the new pcv and blew out the line, but when i hooked it all up the ecm took a few minutes to recalibrate the engine vacum/ventalation.
I'm just sick of messing with it.:banghead: If gas wasnt so high I'd set the damn thing on fire... well maybe after I scavanged all the expensive ass mods. :lol: I guess it hasnt treated me to bad, any other car would hav just gav up and died by now. :bananadie

Orangey fun is almost twice the cost of regular coolant, and I dont really see it being any better of a coolant/antifreeez(Its all glyco based [pretty tasty too]). Just another GM invention to suck your pockets drie.:nutkick:
But at one time, when the car had a warranty, the GM dealer put the green in it, go figure.:shakehead

Orangey fun is almost twice the cost of regular coolant, and I dont really see it being any better of a coolant/antifreeez(Its all glyco based [pretty tasty too]). Just another GM invention to suck your pockets drie.:nutkick:
But at one time, when the car had a warranty, the GM dealer put the green in it, go figure.:shakehead

Twice the cost? huh... I've been getting it free of charge from my local place :) ... Even when they fixed my heater core hoses and the quick release thing made of plastic .. I asked for a gallon *lucky me had a gallon jug in my car* .. to use for later if I had any problems with heating .. running the heater and that sorta thing getting air pockets out

Twice the cost? huh... I've been getting it free of charge from my local place :) ... Even when they fixed my heater core hoses and the quick release thing made of plastic .. I asked for a gallon *lucky me had a gallon jug in my car* .. to use for later if I had any problems with heating .. running the heater and that sorta thing getting air pockets out

For me its alot more than green glyco. Nothings free in this world, oh well except maybe the air we breathe, but the quality of it is crapy. :lol:

Evry since I hav switched back to Dex my ****EN intake keeps leaking into my oil. :screwy: :rolleyes: :mad: :eek: :confused: :redface: Even put on the GM gaskets w/metal rings and still, its leaking a bit.

I really hate to mess with milling the intake or anything, but I just might hav to. Glad I hav other rides, at least I dont hav to fix it right now, let things cool off. Hell I really should just pull the trans/engnie and fix it all at one time, seems the most logical anyway. Since its just going to keep snowing here, I'll probley be better off not driving the GA in the nasty snow. No need to bang it up, sorri grfnkl no pun intended, or the cancerous salts/chems from the roads. ****en mondays, gotta lov them. :loser:

Note to self: Never buy anything APC brand again...

So eh I decided to buy some blue bulbs, figured.. what the hey.. they dont have any blue LEDs... just this amber yellow crap *shrug* $7.53 later .. and put in.. tested it... its like a normal bulb :banghead: with a slight blue tint... but I have yet to see it at night, so Im giving it that chance before I rush back to advanced auto parts with the box and paper and throw it in their face... :D

Note to self: Never buy anything APC brand again...

So eh I decided to buy some blue bulbs, figured.. what the hey.. they dont have any blue LEDs... just this amber yellow crap *shrug* $7.53 later .. and put in.. tested it... its like a normal bulb :banghead: with a slight blue tint... but I have yet to see it at night, so Im giving it that chance before I rush back to advanced auto parts with the box and paper and throw it in their face... :D

Were those the 1194s for under the dash, or what were they? Most of the painted bulbs arent that colourful. I went with the silicone gel covers.
I'll try and get the # for these. They were for the longer bulbs in the mirror and overhead. I just cut one in half for the two under the dash, and several others in the car, lik overhead and the window buttons, shifter panel. I took the window buttons apart, pulled off the orange rubber caps on the bulbs. Cut a small peice of silicone gels and placed it over the bulb in the buttons. works/looks nice and blue.

These Pilot LED Accent Lights (#LI001B) at autozone are nice. I installed two on each lower dash panel, so they shine on the floor and not in my face. Bought a small swtch at radioshake, put it in the compartment under the Hvac unit.

Since its just going to keep snowing here, I'll probley be better off not driving the GA in the nasty snow. No need to bang it up, sorri grfnkl no pun intended, or the cancerous salts/chems from the roads. ****en mondays, gotta lov them. :loser:

I see how it is, just because my car has been hit or gotten damage about 7 times in the past 4 years, makes me the likely target.... well actually thinking about it maybe it does or at least it makes my car the target! hahahah.Well more snow is possible this weekend, let see if i/or someone else can finish off the car. LOL, and everyone wonders why NJ insurance is so high, ( besides greed)


oh Coolant fun, with green and red for me so far, I even got a lovely brown mixture due to red and green being mixed! oh yeah. I'm back to a red i think, not sure... but i randomly lose coolant, and have no idea where it goes, no leaks, no mixing in oil, the only other place would be trans, but I can't check that... THANKS GM!:bigthumb:

well you were relevant at the time. :lol: If people would just pay attention to where and how they are gonig things lik that wouldnt happen. Your car must hav a magnetic atraction to other cars.
Ya Indy is suposed to be getting more snow late tonight or early tomarrow, then continue till late thursday.

On the coolant, I try to never mix them. My resivour has a big orange sticker on top, "Dex only" so my better half(the wife) doesnt contaminate anything.

I think my deal is bad/defective LI gaskets. Hell they are becoming harder to come by, someones hording them somewhere, or alot of GA's are blowing gaskets latly.
Most likly if youre not seeing the lost coolant in the oil, its going out the exhaust.
Also those stupid resivours over flow all the time, at least mine does. Esspecially if I hav been driving hard and manually shifting the automatic trans. :lol:
Remember Safty First!

Esspecially if I hav been driving hard and manually shifting the automatic trans. :lol:
Remember Safty First!

Would that be going from the 1st shift up 2-3-D ? lol

yes Gir, depending on if I'm speeding up, or slowing down. I usually let 1st run up to about 45-50mph(@ 5500rpms) then hit 2nd, by the time 2nd's wound out, I'm going way over the speed limit and need to slow down. :lol:

I found this vid to be pretty interesting lol... something that old still kicking :)

1968 Volkswagen Fastback turbocharged (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5017272400115753574&q=intake)

You guys have been busy out here lately, I go away for a day or two and you cover two topics plus. Gar. sorry about the complimentary sheer metal re-work. If it makes you feel any better I had a 1986 GMC 4X4 short bed (Beautiful Truck) any way the truck was less than 2 months on the road when on Christmas Eve I dropped off the G/F (now my wife of 19 years) I pulled in her driveway kind of a steep hill, not too long but it was snowy and icy. I walked her up to the house stepped inside said good night came out of the house and my truck was in a new spot. It slid down the drive and into a phone pole. the only thing that stopped it from sliding in to the road was the rear view mirror. Boy was I pissed, my first real nice new ride with a scratched bed side and a caved in door. It too seemed to be a target for rocks on the windshield and into the front grille but after a while it started to fade as the target. With any luck you will move from the target status and be able to keep a nice ride.

Sorry I have not been around the last couple of days, I have been spending more time with my neighbor, his cancer is getting worse and he's been down lately, so I've been going over for longer periods of time to try to boost his spirit. It seems to help him, so I am going to keep going over. So fi I dissappear soon you will know why.

This has also taken away from getting a chance to look at the GAGT but quick observation is saying that it may have just been one of those unexplained coolant smells. But the SES light is still on, I hope to get it to AZ to get the codes read. The wife has been driving the daughter's 97 merc. Tracer. Like you guys have said in prior posts... it's nice to have other wheels. She started tonight about and asked if I'd "Git 'er done" she want's Her GAGT back. Go figure!

I'm gona run I'll talk at you guys later.
Dan

=Dorothy=! thats a bad ass VW Gir. All mechanical no damn CPu's, just plain mechanica.

Well Dan the GA's go threw snow pretty damn good, and I'm sure the Merc doesnt drive with excitment like the GAGT does. :lol:
By anychance you into Health care Dan? Or are you helping out your neighber? Just wondering. My better half used to do home health care for ST. Vincents in Indy. The only bad part was the excess miles on our GA. 50k in the first year we had it. Sorry if I asked you about this before, my short term memorys shot! :lol:

Hoags: Thanks for the encouraging words, i do hope I'm no longer the target one day, but for now, I just go along with it, take it with stride and laugh. :lol: Unfortunetly I should have realized what lies ahead when within 6 months of having the car i got hit parked, and i got hit by debris from another car from an accident on a side street....

XI: I never intended on mixing coolants, and may not have been truely mixed, it's all that gunk thats left behind from teh red mixed with the green when i had my thermo replaced. then it changed from there with CHUNKS! YUMMY!

Talking about Manual shifting, Every time i attempt to do this on my 02, everything is all fun and games until i put the car back in D and dont manual shift, then my car becomes a beast and not shifting and acting really bad... getting stuck in OD.

Quick FYI for anyone, I did not get any luck on my fathers 87 on ebay, I relisted ( without him knowing)... but I did come to a new conclusion on the car's trans. I think the trans isn't building enough pressure that's why it's having problems shifting at times, plus i can hearing some hissing noise coming from the trans area, when the car is running. what do you guys think? plus the TCC is starting to lock.

Massive mechanical power is always better over computers anyday! no Check engine lights! hahahah

Talking about Manual shifting, Every time i attempt to do this on my 02, everything is all fun and games until i put the car back in D and dont manual shift, then my car becomes a beast and not shifting and acting really bad... getting stuck in OD.

Dude, same problem here gar :disappoin I just realized after I went up a hill in the 1st gear that its been feelin kinda blehh.. just acting sorta bad

.....Talking about Manual shifting, Every time i attempt to do this on my 02, everything is all fun and games until i put the car back in D and dont manual shift, then my car becomes a beast and not shifting and acting really bad... getting stuck in OD.

Quick FYI for anyone, I did not get any luck on my fathers 87 on ebay, I relisted ( without him knowing)... but I did come to a new conclusion on the car's trans. I think the trans isn't building enough pressure that's why it's having problems shifting at times, plus i can hearing some hissing noise coming from the trans area, when the car is running. what do you guys think? plus the TCC is starting to lock.

Massive mechanical power is always better over computers anyday! no Check engine lights! hahahah

HAHA! Manual shifting, thats what mine does after I stop gearheaden it. After a couple minutes mine will stop acting funny. Probley not goood on the clutches/electronics getting hot and all.

Hissing noise, would it be from to much pressure building? If the passages in the VB are varnished up making the passages smaller..... I really dont know. :lol: I take most my trans stuff else where to get worked on.

Hey I like the old stuff simple, not a bunch of stuff clutering up the engine bay. CEL or SES lights are great to, when they work anyway. They should just put in an LCD screen that shows/says exactly whats wrong. But then you'd need a bigger ecm/pcm , just another damn thing to go wrong. :lol2:

Hey, everyone drive safe now. Its dangerous out there.

Hey everyone,

you'll have to excuse my week-long absence. I've just been busy as shit lately. Good to be back. I was just really tied up in work-stuff and some other crap. I've been having an excessive-social life lately too (if that's even possible) :) lol but I'm kind of back now. I read what I missed in our OT thread, but there's just too much to try to chime in on, so I'm not even gonna try lol. Seems like you guys have kept things running no problem. Hope everyone's been having fun with all this damn snow - we've been getting shitloads in Michigan, and I drive 90 to 100 miles everyday. Well just wanted to let y'all know I'm back and good-to-go. Take it easy everyone - happy pre-holidays :)

Snow=FUN !

Xero, No I'm not in health care, actually I am on disability for a hereditary contition that affects my feet. I've had 5 operations on the right foot and one on the left. It is a degenerative condition, and at this time in my life I am kind of stuck...I can't work because of the chronic pain but yet I can still do many things until I hit that infamous point of pain that puts a halt to things. It used to be that the left foot was OK and I could drive the GAGT and enjoy banging some gears, now the pain is hitting the left foot especially when pushing in the clutch. Traffic is unbearable, I just can't do it. So the wife gets the GT and I get the Suzuki XL-7. The daughter has a Merc. Tracer 97 with 121,000, but it runs like a son of a bitch, and it's still tight. It actually goes pretty good in the snow except for the weight of it.
Any way to finish answering your question, since I am home all day with the exception of running the kids around, I have time to go and sit with my neighbor, his wife works and he would go nuts if he didn't have someone to talk to. He is one hell of a guy, he used to work in a box plant as the matainence mgr. Some how he was able to earn a mechanical engeering liscence with a 9th grade education. I helped him go through some of his tools and equipment this past summer and he showed me many of the special tools and jigs he made to repair the factory equipment. I was mind boggeling the know how and abilities this man had. It is hard to see a man like that go down. Right now they are giving him a couple of months, I don't know if he'll make it that long.
Too Depressing...Subject Change... Ridenour Lives!!!
Social life imagine that, you go booy!!!! Make me proud.

Hey gotta run, I'll catch you later.

Hey Gar, I'm not real familar with the trans set up but the hissing noise could be a Vac issue. If your running around man shifting could you be interupting the vac in the tranny? I don't Know, when it comes to the shifting of the auto I get a little dumbfounded. One other thought...if you are man shifting you may be messing with the fluid flow. Then when you go back to letting it shift on it's own it may be taking a while for the fluid/pressure to build. Like I say I'm clueless to this issue.

Xero...You are right SNOW=FUN, But I do have to say that running the XL-7 in rear wheel drive is more fun that yanking the "E" Brake to get the ass sliding. Either way it is a blast and my son loves when we get a good snow and I tell him I have to run out to get smokes or milk and bread, he knows that chances are the rear end of the Suzuki will be moving. I took my daughter out the other day in the XL-7 to show her what happens in the smow if you get into a slide, now I have to take her out in the Merc, to show her the difference. I'll make it fun!

I'll catch you guys later tonight I gotta go and pick up my daughter and take her to the Ghiropractor.
See Ya,

Ghiropractor Dan? You mean Chiropractor dont you...
Ya I havnt really ever used the E break to slide, I'm affraid the damn thing will get stuck/frozen and really screw up my FUN! :lol: I carry a 40# bag of mortan salt in my trunk, so just a little jerk of the wheel and a little gas, and weee their goes the back, oops here comes the sidewalks!! :lol:

Hey everyone I finally got my GA back together and it runs great. Took forever to set the valve lash. God only knows why they hav these push rods go through the LI gasket. I hate cars!

Cant beleive it was just a tiny piece of old gasket had gotten in the water jacket in the head and kept causing the LI to leak out. If I hadnt borrowed this tiny camera(small as a smoke) and probed inside the head, I'd prob never hav found that little piece. Still not gonna be driving it for a while, sticken to 4x4 for now. Later all!

Yes I ment Chiropractor, I hate key boards I tend to fat finger once in a while. Hey, if you just pull the "E" brake a little (if adjusted well) you will gat the rears to lock and then the sliding fun begins. I used to use it on my little T1000 (Chevett) on dry pavement, that car was so small that you could get it to whip around on just about any surface.

By the way the Pontiac Astra was the equal to the Chevy Vega. One of the best designs Pontiac had was back in the late 70's the Pontiac SunBird, for a small car it had a great style, and it was rear wheel drive. They dropped it for a while and then brought it back as a front wheel drive and a style change, that was a nice little ride if you got the 2.8L V6 or later you could get the 3.1L. They stopped that when they realized the damn thing was too fast for its size.

I'm glad to hear you got your car back, a little piece of plastic can really mess things up. That camera sounds like a great tool to help pin point problems. What does something like that cost and where can you get one?

Well I'm going to sign off Horsepower TV is coming on Spike TV. See if I can pick up some tips.

Later,
Dan

By the way the Pontiac Astra was the equal to the Chevy Vega. One of the best designs Pontiac had was back in the late 70's the Pontiac SunBird, for a small car it had a great style, and it was rear wheel drive. They dropped it for a while and then brought it back as a front wheel drive and a style change, that was a nice little ride if you got the 2.8L V6 or later you could get the 3.1L. They stopped that when they realized the damn thing was too fast for its size.


You sure are showing your age Dan.. I had a friend who had a Vega with a SB V8, it was a handfull from what I remember. Every damn time we went for a cruise, I'd end up wearing my beverage. :lol:

I'm glad to hear you got your car back, a little piece of plastic can really mess things up. That camera sounds like a great tool to help pin point problems. What does something like that cost and where can you get one?

Well I'm going to sign off Horsepower TV is coming on Spike TV. See if I can pick up some tips.

Later,
Dan

Yes the toy was a life saver. All that was in the journal was a piece of gasket, smaller than 4-5mm. super small! I'm just PO'd because i wasted a set of head bolts, and a LI gask. Oh and about 15hrs :screwy: But now I hav a new oil pan gask, mic'd three mains and two conecting rods(1,4). Mainly I done that because I drove it 200miles with a water'n oil mix. I think the synthetic just might hav saved the engine. And the bearings were like new, which I was surprised.

I beleive the camera cost around $400! I'm not sure where my buddy got it from, their wasnt any writing on it other than a couple #'s and two japanese characters. I'll try and find out why he bought it from, prob on the net somewhere though.

The Nightmare Blower on HP Tv.... Thats a descent episode. Watch and learn.

Later XI

Hey Guys,

I just heard from Knifeblade, He was having some computer access problems. He is tyring to work things out so he will be hitting the forum when he can. That is great news...Knifeblade has a lot of knowledge for the GA'ers and it is going to be great to be working with him again.

You know... all of the regulars around here I think that we have one of if not the strongest forum around.

It is really nice to know that just about any thing that comes up in the way of a problem with a Grand Am that someone on this forum has probably experienced it or one similar enough to be able to help out. And in looking over the postings I would have no reservations in letting my son look through the forum. He is beginning to show more interest in the car and I think he could learn a bunch of helpfull stuff reading through the threads.

Well everyone stay safe in the snow,

Catch you soon,
Dan

Ya Dan theirs alot of GA owners out there, and we all seem to hav the same problems, from years to years. I think a lot of new young drivers end up with GA's(because they are cheapr) and know very little about cars. So where else would anyone go but to AF! :lol: If your sons in to reading, these forums would be a great place to pick up automotive knowledge. Hell I hav even picked up a thing or two.

Looks like you been busy today. I've had this pre xmas dinner at my place today, :banghead: Must hav been close to 80 peoples here! Glad the crowd has thinned out a bit. I had to sneak off and grab a smoke, thought I'd see what was up at AF, and Its ping'n as usual :lol:

Well I'd better get back to being a good host, keep it safe everyone. JC

XI, you are right the GA is a great car for the young buyer, It had been Pontiac's best selling model year after year. The fact that there were so many sold and that a majority are still on the road make it a vehicle that is truely under rated. I think the reason we see the same issues happening in "cycles" is just in the odds. I would love to see a figure of the amount of GA still registered and on the road between the US and Canada I would be willing to say that we would all be astounded. All Bull Sh*t aside it is one hell of a ride, that has endured over a lot of years.

Point #2 where you are again correct...even though I am not a mechanic I have done enough on cars in general to the point that I feel i have a pretty good grasp on things, and I HAVE learned a great deal of things about the Grand Am just by looking at the threads and throwing my 2 cents worth in. I think that for the most part I have been on track with the info I have to offer, but one can never know to much. That is one reason I want the boy to start looking over the threads more often. This way he will have an understanding of how some of the things work and what things to watch for and that which needs to be avoided.

Glad to hear your party is going good, Mw and the wife ended up leaving her families party at about 10:00, I'm glad I had the XL-7, I got blocked in by about 25 to 30 cars and had to use the 4x4 and ride through the yard ( the wife was Sh*tting herself because there was about 8 to 10 inches of snow on the ground. I can say that I had no probs getting out I kind of wish that it would have been more challenging, but I didn't want to turf up their yard. Mr. Nice guy here!

Well it's 3:30am and the damn cat is bugging me to go outside, the little pain in the ass will not use the box he has to go out, It becomes a bitch sometimes, I'll be getting the best sleep in months and the little f**k will come and wake me to ley him out. If it is real cold I have to wait for him to come back. Too cold out and the wife will get pissed to have her car feozen...me I'd shove a stick up it's but and have a Kittysickle (just joking, he's actually a cool cat) No pun intended.

Catch you tomarrow.
Dan