PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Well after all these weeks struggling from one thing to the next, I have found a problem after getting safety inspected (which I failed.) The front trans mount needs to be replaced. After looking at this post I bookmarked a while back:
http://www.pontiacbonnevilleclub.com/fo ... w=previous
I was wondering if I can do this myself as well. I've been meaning to buy a floor jack so I can lift my car all the way for other work. I would guess it's best advised to do all the mounts while I'm at it? I'm unsure but I know I have no choice and just getting them to do the one mount is already $400. They also told me that after consulting the dealership, they said if the bracket for the mount is shot too, I'm SOL because they're out of production. Hopefully a salvage would be able to help me with that should that be the case.
Regardless, I have the utmost confidence in my capabilities, I just need sound advice. For reiteration, I do have the factory manual to consult for everything torque wise.

However this plays out, I've had a great time with this car and this community. If I face the worst, it was well worth the time and effort.

It is so easy to replace the front mount.
Once you replace it, you'll be glad you did it yourself.
My experience has caused me to avoid the Anchor brand, since I received not 1 but 2 defective Anchor mounts---and they had completely different defects.
The DEA mount that I bought was fine.
None of the aftermarkets are as sturdy as the OEM mounts, as far as I can tell.
Rockauto gives forum members a 5% discount. Grab the code for it from the Vendor's forum.

Btw. I checked recently and I have a leak that seems to be going along the cooler line. It's very slow for now (thank God) but I can't have this. Winter is coming..

The video: https://youtu.be/sndSYn0kJqE

I could swear I had read somewhere about early 90s 3800 engines being recalled because some cooler lines would burst off.
(need to find that post)
I'm supposing this is an easy fix though. Are these the correct parts?

https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/morein ... 481&jpid=4
https://www.rockauto.com/catalog/morein ... 481&jpid=0

Just went through the trans cooler lines on my '89. Definitely looks like you would need to replace both hoses.

So you'd need the 4 part numbers for the cooling system you have (don't know why they split them up into 4, and then expect you to find proper hose clamps...). Do you have the factory external cooler? If not these are what you need:
624041
624027
624030
...Guess what? RA doesn't have a listing for the trans outlet hose. Autozone it's "discontinued". You could try the 624111 from the '89, it should be the same or close enough to make it work.

That leaves you in kind of a pickle. I can't recall off the top of my head, so you may need to do some leg work, but the trans cooler lines remained largely unchanged between 92-99, and between 86-91, the only major difference between those two years is the old ones don't snap into the radiator fan mounts like the newer ones did.

I believe that the threaded ends of the cooler lines never changed - this would need you to verify with parts from a local parts store - Short version you should be able to get hoses from a 1996 and they should bolt right in, worst case needing a zip tie or two to attach the lines to the mounts. The other thing about the '96 lines is they are not split into four parts, so you won't need hose clamps.

That only works though if you do not have the factory auxiliary trans cooler, if you have the aux trans cooler you would have to use the 624043 instead of the 624030, and find a way to make the 624111 work as well as retaining the existing aux cooler lines..

Also if you go with the 4-piece lines, don't use worm clamps. Use a T-bold clamp, they are advertised for use with fuel injection hose. Worm clamps will not hold under pressure and will cause leaks.

Well sorry for going off topic. I got the job done yesterday. It was a pain but ultimately simple. I was shocked to see the correct angle/height of the engine with the mount in its proper place. But while that went over smoothly, changing the front rotors and shoes did not. Long story short, need to replace both wheel hub/bearing assemblies and I'm not sure what to do about the caliper guide pin. The part that screws the caliper to the shock(?) and doubles as a guide pin snapped off on the screw end and is flesh against where it bolts in on both sides. I'll look tomorrow at the manual to see if I can identify what it is precisely. I'm just hoping to God it's not something I'll have to go to salvage to replace. Looking at rock auto right now... otherwise, that job was successful too.

So, I think I already know the answer to my question but please confirm this.



the one on the left is missing entirely because the screw end of the caliper piston snapped off inside the Steering Knuckle ?
So I have to replace that, right? Unless there's some safe way to drill out the broken screw / disintegrate it by drilling through it.

"Auughh" ~Charlie Brown

I wanted to give an update/overview.

After fixing the defected transmission mount, the leak coming from the cooler line was opened wider.
In the process of changing the brake pads and rotors, 2 of the front left wheel hub studs snapped off and one of the caliper mounting bolts snapped off in the right side steering knuckle.
-fast forward two months of bad weather and no work done-
Battery died and replaced.
Left wheel hub/bearing assembly replaced; need to replace one of the three hub mounting bolts as it's almost entirely stripped. (T55 Spline)
Right wheel hub/bearing assembly replaced.
Bolt was successfully extracted with little damage to threading in knuckle.
New problem identified, can't torque the top caliper bolt as it keeps slipping (The one that I thought had no issue, has an issue, hoping to God it's not the thread in the knuckle)
Still need to replace the transmission oil cooler line...

I don't want to make a new thread about this so I hope this ends up being read.

So, in order to access those lines, I think I see a splash guard? But I could swear I moved it before and still couldn't access it. Perhaps this was when I was fixing the mount and really didn't pay attention to what I could see. Weather is bad until next Tuesday so I'll update then with what I find out. Hopefully, by that time, I'll have received the replacement hub mounting bolt so I'm not just wasting my time and energy to hopefully find out if I can access it.

Easiest solution is to replace the steering knuckle/knee assembly and replace the caliper bolts/spacers with new ones.
A decent junkyard should sell you the steering knuckle/knee assembly with the old hub in it so you'll have the bolts you need to secure the new bearing assy.

The problem of the poor threads in the hub for the caliper bolt/slide pin to thread into would also be resolved.

Some SilGlyde applied to the o rings inside the caliper where the tubular caliper pin spacers go AND on the outside of the metal spacers themselves, plus some Antiseize compound on the of the caliper bolt shaft and the caliper should slide nicely, as it's designed to do.
Don't have any info on the trans cooler lines, other than to use flare nut wrenches on any steel line fittings. These wrenches help to loosen the fittings without rounding them.
On my 93 the fittings looked accessible once any splash guards or deflectors were removed.

A decent front end service tool set makes things so much easier to remove without damaging any boots or threads of front end parts.
OTC is generally decent quality without breaking the bank too badly.
http://smile.amazon.com/OTC-6295-Front- ... ervice+set

So everything has been successful in fixing my car. Thank you so much for the info about the flare nut wrench. After tackling it I was surprised just how difficult it was to unseat it and how impossible it'd have been with anything less. Unfortunately, I checked the right steering knuckle and it's entirely stripped on the top piston. I haven't made much of a search for salvage yards in my area but I do know for fact that there are only one or two that are actually salvage yards. The rest are mislabeled and are actually just recycling.
I tried to look online for a brand new one but I don't think I can find it.

http://www.carpartkings.com/dorman-fron ... 7-910.html

This one looks very close to it but bonnevilles are not listed at all and it doesn't go back further than '97.
But I tried. It's been over five months without being able to drive for some reason or another and I'm just tired. It sucks because for a car this age to still be at 171k is amazing and the engine sounds better than it had when I first got it. I feel like a terrible owner for being unable to do work on it consistently and properly.