PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Hey guys,
I have been reading around here for the last couple weeks, and looking for some advice. I am no mechanic, but I know my way around an engine more than some. I am thinking of purchasing a 02 bonneville sle. The car has 123k, had the tranny rebuilt 02/10, the rebuild has two months left on the warranty and is transferable to me from original owner. When I first saw the car the first thing I noticed was the smell of antifreeze. I popped the hood and seen that the UIM, valve cover gaskets had been replaced, but with a fairly high amount of silicone sticking out between gaskets, (<< Is this okay?) The UIM appeared to still be leaking. I asked the car owner when the work was done and she replied it was repaired last week and had the paperwork to prove it. I am not sure if the LIM was replaced at the same time this work was done, but I'm pretty sure it was (<<is there a way to tell that the LIM has been replaced while looking the top of the hood?) She also had the oil pan gasket repaired totaling $800. I told her to take the car back to the shop that repaired it and have them fix it if it's leaking.

My main question would be, if I take this car to a mechanic prior to purchase and have them run a pressure test will this tell me if the manifold gaskets were repaired properly.

Any other tips I should look at before making the purchase?

The owner wants $4,000 for the car and has some scratches deep in the paint from a kids bike handlebars, and a small hole the size of a golfball on one of the quarter panels. Think this is a good price?

I have fallen in love and have looked at several bonnevilles but this one is the closest to my price range with lower miles than the others. I know that almost all the 3.8's have this problem so as long as it's fixed properly it seems like a good deal to me. Hope to become a real member of this community soon...

The aluminum gaskets will look like the ones in this pic in the first post. Silvery. You can see the gasket between the LIM and the cylinder head, they are kinda thick. If its black between, then its the old plastic style which you dont want.

You can look here and see if it has the new LIM gaskets, between the arrows shows what the new style aluminum framed gaskets look like. The old ones will be black. They could have changed the old ones and used the old design too..



As for the UIM being replaced, It explains in this link how to tell:

http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... =53&t=1061

Thanks very much . It appears this car has the newest versions of both manifold gaskets. However unlike the posted pictures there is a lot of silicone squeezing from between the gaskets in some places the size of a dime.

Is that okay?

There is also a visible leak from the gasket below the elbow on the passenger side of the engine. Which gasket is this ? Thanks again guys

If you have a cell phone or a digital camera, or a friend w/ a camera that you can borrow, that would help tremendously.

It almost sounds like the coolant elbow is leaking, but we need the OP to verify by photo or other.

Yeah, I'm going to go back to look at the car again on Saturday and I will def snap some pics for my own security as well.. The elbow looked new. But straight down and a bit to the right maybe 3 inches was a gasket (head gasket?) and this gasket didn't look right IMO and had LOTS of sealant caked around it. I don't think that much sealant needs to be on gaskets... Pointless w/o pics but maybe someone can picture it in there mind.

Would a coolant pressure test tell me if this work she had done was done correctly?