Back in the Pontiac World

[redwingsfan34]

Well just got picked up my new ride tonite. 2004 Pontiac Grand Am SE 3400 V6 Auto, 108,000 miles. It's not in perfect condition, there are some cosmetic flaws, but it runs great, and is pretty clean. And i got it for a pretty good price, and below my budget.
It just feels so small after owning the truck

Couple crappy cell pics for now. I am going to spend my free time this week detailing it, couple quick changes in order. Then i'll get some proper pictures.

[PRD2BDF]

Cosmetic flaws such as...?

Small changes such as...?

[J Wikoff]

Looks exactly like my wife's car. Same year even. It's been pretty reliable, especially for the POS people tend to say Grand Ams are. Some are, but only when it looks like someone has beat on it. But it keeps on truckin', gets good mileage, and is cheap to maintain.

[LeSabreUltra]

My cousin has one, 05 with the 3.4. Not much on the go pedal, but it sure is a decent ride for getting somewhere.
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[LeSabre in Buffalo]

Check the intake gaskets for leaks. I bet they're there at this mileage.

[harofreak00]

Hmm... I'm not sure why you went for that after looking at Bonnevilles. No wonder that thing seems cramped compared to your truck, its cramped compared to the Bonneville!

What did you pay?

[J Wikoff]

From what I've read, the LIM gaskets were improved by 04. So far, we haven't had any problems with ours.

[redwingsfan34]

Cosmetic flaws - just some dings and dents (shopping cart ding, door dings etc.) And the rear bumper has a chunk missing right behind the passenger wheel. And it's missing one fog light.

As to why i went with this over a Bonneville. I wasn't looking at just Bonneville's, i was looking at a lot of different cars from Civics to Bonnevilles, to Grand Cherokees.
It's not perfect, but i wasn't expecting to find a perfect vehicle in my price range.
It just has to last me until i have a steady job, and get better gas mileage than my truck, and be reliable.

And actually for how small it is, and for me not being a small guy, it's a not to small inside for me at all. I'm just used to the huge truck, and this is a lot smaller.

I got it for $4000.

How many miles do you have on yours John?

[J Wikoff]

About 140k, I think. We bought it with 12k. The wife has a 100-mile round trip work commute, with summers off since she teaches.

I can give you tips on broken HVAC knobs, randomly clicking turn signals, headlight/foglight bulb replacement, front wheel bearings, water pumps, fuel rail replacement (kind of my own fault...), and figuring out there's an easy to remove splash guard in the way of oil filter changes.

[00Beast]

Isn't the splash guard held on with two wing-bolts, like the Malibu's?

[J Wikoff]

I don't know what the malibu has, but yes.

[Jrs3800]

Improved or not, the gaskets will need to be replaced if they have not been done... If you start to consume coolant and can't find any reason for the consumption then look at the gaskets..

As well keep in mind that the 3400 Grand Am's used the 4T45-E Transmission, a little weak for the 3400 V6... One of the things this trans loves to do is overheat... My suggestion is to change the fluid and filter... But these transmissions have no dipstick from the factory as they are supped to be sealed for life, as in not needing service... Don't believe that... Only way to really fill it is to measure what came out and put that much back in..

I have known people with these cars, and they generally do pretty good and the problems are like that of a Bonneville in a manner of speaking... All of these cars have their issues...

A few years back I went with a Coworker to look at cars.... She wanted another Grand Am.... I drove a Silver one and it was one of the worst N bodies I had ever driven... I told the dealer they should be ashamed to have that car on their lot......... I made them take it back to the service Department....

The we drove a White/Gray Grand Am SE, 3400 V6 3.05 gear ratio iirc... That car drove awesome, rode awesome, ran awsome... Just did everything great.... The 3400 Ran soo good that I said the car was a factory freak... I told her if she didn't buy the car I would and I was serious...

So they are decent cars, and I am glad you got the 3400...

How about some better Pics in the near future?

[BonneMe]

The brakes have downright scared me in any GA i've driven, GT or not.

Hope it goes well!

[redwingsfan34]

thanks for the advice Don!

As for the brakes - have you driven a full size Chevy? The brakes in this are a huge improvement over those things Especially when you add the huge tires, and lift.

[BonneMe]

thanks for the advice Don!

As for the brakes - have you driven a full size Chevy? The brakes in this are a huge improvement over those things Especially when you add the huge tires, and lift.

Yup. They wear out so fast we could almost add it to the oil changes for our 98 Yukon But with the GA you're probably gonna stop quicker if you threw the brake rotors out the doors ties to the chassis and used like a land anchor

I kid... I Kid... Kinda..

[redwingsfan34]

1st Mod:

My brother has a 04 F150, he bought a billet grille package for it, and it came with the fog light hole grilles. His truck has the fog lights so he wasn't using the grilles. I saw them sitting on the shelf and noticed they were just about the size of the openings of my grilles.
He was just going to throw them away, so i saved them, got the dremel out and started to cut.
I'm not done yet, i've only started cutting on one side, and it's not done yet.

And the best part about this project is the cost. So far i'm at $0

Progress Pics:

The billet on the left is the f150 fog light billet insert. The billet on the right is about halfway cut (just the right side done). And the black grille on top is the stock Grand Am insert.


1st test fit:


Almost done, still some trimming to do (i may have to lose the bottom "rung"), and figure out how to mount them.

This pic you can see my ugly front plate (stupid IL ) I'm thinking about something to make it flow better, still not sure if I'm going to go through with it. But i hate the front plate, so it might happen.


I will post more pics as i progress further.

[harofreak00]

Unless you can inset the billet to where the plastic is, its not gonna look good.

[00Beast]

I agree, it's gotta be inset. Wouldn't be hard to make a couple of sheetmetal brackets to hold them.

[redwingsfan34]

that's what I'm planning. I'm going to take the stock inserts out, and mount the billet pieces where the stock inserts go. The pictures are just reference pics...

And I'm not 100% set on them, if i get them done and they don't look good, I'll take them out. It's not like I'll be out any money.