Chasis Lube?

Hi, I'm new to the forum. Just bought a 2000 Intrigue (3.5 L). 54000 miles. So far I love it.

I can't find any grease fittings on the ball joints or stearing arms. Are there any grease fittings anywhere on this car?

How about performance upgrades. From what I have been reading there are few to none. What are people experiences with intake or exhaust upgrades?

Thanks all...

no grease fittings on this car

I made my own fenderwell intake.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=646658&highlight=intake+pics
I went more for the cheap and functional route than the pretty route. I also have added some thick black foam around all the metal that contacts the piping, and the fins on the PCM. I was getting a lot of vibration under WOT, and the foam helped a lot with that. Under load the engine flexes back towards the firewall, so it was causing vibrations to go through the metal of the car. But I did notice a difference, nothing super dramatic, but it seems more responsive, doesnt have to downshift as much on cruise, things like that. It also sounds MUCH better to me than the stock setup, it hisses like a pissed off dirt-devil on cold start, but quiets down when things warm up, but has a nice performance tone to it otherwise.

I also installed a high-flow cat and got rid of the u-bend in the exhaust. Crawl under the car and look behind the cat, youll see a u shaped piece of exhaust piping with an O2 sensor in the middle of it. You can install that sensor sideways in straight pipe, or better yet get an O2 spoof and get rid of it.

As for the actual piping, I dont think you could ever mod a 3.5 intrigue to the point it outflowed the piping, the manifolds are probably the most restrictive thing, followed by the cat. Theres not much you can do with the manfolds though, headers would be 100% custom and $$$$. You could possibly port them, but I dont know if they need it, ive never seen them off the car, or if theres even enough material to work with.

My most noticeable mods have been my brakes and the GMPP kit. I highly recommend both of them, if you have aftermarket wheels, its possible to install twin-piston calipers from an F-body along with 12 inch rotors. I dont think they will fit with stock wheels, but thats never been confirmed to my knowledge.

With your low mileage id be looking at transmission preservation already. A shift kit reduces the time that the clutches slip, reducing clutch wear, as well as providing you with a better performing transmission. Several vendors offer them, at a wide variety of prices.
http://intense-racing.com
http://zzperformance.com
http://wbodystore.com

Youll have to look under the GM Series II/III on Intense's site. Use the Grand Prix on ZZP. If its for the 4T65-E transmission, itll work with yours. 50k is a good time to change transmission fluid, might as well install a shift kit while youre under there.

Since the Intrigue shares a chassis with some cars that actually do have an aftermarket, there are some lowering kits and things like that available as well.

That's great info. thanks a lot!

I guess I am glad there's nothing to grease. The car has a very slight amount of play in the stearing/somewhere in the front end. Nothing I will be able to diagnose I'm afraid.

I was planning to change the tranny fluid very soon. Don't know much about clutch kits nor how much time or expertise is involved in installing. Will do some reading...

Cool intake.

Thanks again.

Edit: Any opinions on quality & cost vs. price of the three shift kits or instructions/shift setup info? Looks like installing is pretty easy(?)

Im not sure about the quality of the wbody store shift kit. But I mean its only 20 bucks plus shipping, so for the price...its hard to go wrong, and they do have instructions on their site in the articles section, but theyre not the greatest in the world.

Ive heard good things about the TransGo kit that Intense offers, as well as the Thrasher kit which I believe ZZP sells, but Im not toooo familiar with their inventory.

It almost looks like the Intense kit, is just a TransGo kit with a few extra options and better instructions, which may or may not be really necessary. I dont personally have one on my car, its got 152,xxx miles on it at the moment, so I figure much of the damage has already been done. But if I did have a low mileage vehicle, Id definitely do it.

I believe the install is pretty easy, but like I said Ive never done it, if youre in doubt, you might get the kit with the best instructions.

Awesome man. I'll do one of them shortly. Thanks again.

Cool, please report back with your experiences!

I hope it firms things up for you, I personally find our transmissions to be a little sloppy at times.

Do these shift kits have a downside other than ride smoothness? Will they shorten the life of my stock '98 Intrigue's tranny? It has 64k miles & I'm getting bored with it. Do you know what model trans I have? I looking at a high flow cat & U-bend delete. Do you have a link for the cat?

I dont really think they shorten the tranny life, during a normal shift the clutches slip and engage slowly, which is why its smooth, but they wear much faster that way. So it actually eliminates some wear.

As for the cat, I picked up a cheap one off Ebay for around 45 bucks. If I could do it over again Id get the Magnaflow/CarSound units that are about 60, theyre a higher quality piece.

Im not positive what size you need for a 3.8, youlll need to measure. The downpipe on the 3.5 is weird, as the pipe that you see is actually just a shield for a smaller pipe within it, I orded a 3 inch in/out unit, and my exhaust guy made it work, but I think it was actually a little too big.
Dont get an oval shaped one as it wont fit in the opening for the cat, youll need a round bodied one with proper measurements.

heres one that would probably work
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MagnaFlow-High-Flow-Converter-2-5-Round-53006_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33629QQihZ012QQit emZ220189842861QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1VQQtrksidZp16 38Q2em118Q2el1247
You would need to measure and make sure the 5 1/8in width will fit in the tunnel shaped area. I think it will though, but id measure first.

Also, all Intrigues from 98-02 came with the 4T65-E transmission.

LittleHoov, I'm not so sure about that last statement. If I recall, the 4T65E was introduced for the 2000 model year. I thought 98-99 had the 4T60E.

Ill bet you 100 dollars:)

The 4T65-E was introduced in a few cars in 97, and had replaced all 60 models by 98.

At least that is my understanding, but I do know all Intrigues have the 65.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FirstDrives/articleId=43961
Would Edmunds lie to you haha? They mention it having the 65, and mention the 65 debuting in the Eighty-Eight in 97.

Yes, all Intrigues came with the 4T65E transmission.