Buying a 2005 GXP tomorrow... how scared should I be?

[CMNTMXR57]

Mine was a 2004, no issues at ~90k when I sold it.

And while it's packed in there, most just unbolt the sub-frame and lift the car off it to do something like this.

Again, as posted here (or maybe it was one of the other 10 "should I buy a GXP..." threads)

You get the tougher to work on N*, but you get a pretty stout transmission behind. Wheras by comparison, say a Grand Prix GXP or Impala SS with the simpler LS4, you get still a difficult engine to work on IN the car, with a weak trans (the same 4T65E that's in your SSEi), behind a torquey, high revving V8.

It's sorta a "pick your poison" situation.

[ddalder]

I don't do a huge amount of mechanical work, I'm more an electrical/electronics guy. Having said that, I did replace the right (rear) cam cover and the crossover gaskets myself with virtually no difficulty. It was a little time consuming, but there was nothing hard about it. Part of the time is me just being super anal about stuff. I cleaned a bunch of components and engine bay areas during reassembly because, well, I could. Replacing head gaskets isn't something I'd tackle. As mentioned, it's far better (and not that difficult in a shop environment) to separate the engine from the car.

[CMNTMXR57]

I think the back is the easier of the two, factoring out the stupid main harness which has zero slack in it to facilitate room to move the cam cover out.

[ddalder]

Did you mean to say the back is harder? I just had a look through my photos and that's the one where the harness looks like it would be problematic. I just disconnected one harness connector and ground ring terminal bolted to the block and was able to get enough play that I had no problem. I don't see anything much in the way of the front cover. The challenge with it seems to be primarily limited to removal and correct installation of the water pump pulley.

[CMNTMXR57]

Back is easier. Front you have to pull the water pump pulley, seal, and believe it or not, is a tighter space when lifting the cover off due to the radiator core support.

I mean neither is overly simple. It's not like my LS1 where I can have the covers off and checking pushrods, and put back together in 15 minutes tops.

[ddalder]

Okay. I could see that.

[jradke61]

The head gaskets appear to go both with mileage and with age, it is a question of when, not if. There are no proactive actions to prevent the head gasket issue. If you buy a GXP, have 4k in the bank and hope that is enough to perform the repair, and hope you have a qualified person in your area to perform the work.

There is a reason 2005 GXPs are now often selling for less than 2005 SLEs. The GXP is a very, very expensive and high risk to maintain automobile.

Oh please. Don't go passing off 4th hand misinformation as known fact.
I'd be *dang* if you ever got your hands on my GXP cheap because of such nonsense.

[BBamm]

The head gaskets appear to go both with mileage and with age, it is a question of when, not if. There are no proactive actions to prevent the head gasket issue. If you buy a GXP, have 4k in the bank and hope that is enough to perform the repair, and hope you have a qualified person in your area to perform the work.

There is a reason 2005 GXPs are now often selling for less than 2005 SLEs. The GXP is a very, very expensive and high risk to maintain automobile.

Oh please. Don't go passing off 4th hand misinformation as known fact.
I'd be *dang* if you ever got your hands on my GXP cheap because of such nonsense.

140k and NO Head gasket issues here You're going to love that GXP! Find the stock 18s for it and have fun. The worst thing about my car is the 2 times I've replaced the oil cooler line and it still drips... other than that, it's solid.

[ddalder]

Yes, oil and transmission cooler lines are both bad on these. I'm on my fourth set of each. After warranty ran out, I had a set of each custom modified by a specialty shop that builds hydraulic lines. Haven't seen another leak since.

[NashvilleGXP243]

Mine has 168k on it. No head gasket problems whatsoever.

[jradke61]

The head gaskets appear to go both with mileage and with age, it is a question of when, not if. There are no proactive actions to prevent the head gasket issue. If you buy a GXP, have 4k in the bank and hope that is enough to perform the repair, and hope you have a qualified person in your area to perform the work.

There is a reason 2005 GXPs are now often selling for less than 2005 SLEs. The GXP is a very, very expensive and high risk to maintain automobile.

Oh please. Don't go passing off 4th hand misinformation as known fact.
I'd be *dang* if you ever got your hands on my GXP cheap because of such nonsense.

140k and NO Head gasket issues here You're going to love that GXP! Find the stock 18s for it and have fun. The worst thing about my car is the 2 times I've replaced the oil cooler line and it still drips... other than that, it's solid.

I've got the stock 18s. They've got BFG G-Force Sport Comp 2 tires on them that would be totally useless in the snow. These came with the car as well and have all season Firestone tires on them for winter.
Replaced the fog lights and repaired the ground wire on one of them. Left the splash guards off after replacing the bulbs. No issues since.
Other than that, no troubles. I did normal maintenance stuff including Plugs/Coil Packs when I bought it like I do any car/truck/bike I buy just for piece of mind no matter what the seller claims.