Dannar26

Lol @ "de-ricing" Duely blundered from my thunderdolt

Yes, car starts getting shaky over 60 mph. Recently I replaced one of the front tires. The rest are older...2010 and somewhere around 30k miles ago, if I had to guess. Duely blundered from my thunderdolt

'Ello again. I have yet another question for fellow grand am owners. My 01 GA has been working alright, and passed inspection with flying colors, largely in part due to chaos's rock auto parts suggestions. But I think there's something else going on with it, but it's hard to diagnose. When I drive, it almost feels like I'm going over bumps even on a straightaway. It's a rumbly sensation. Everything works, but I fear something somewhere is either grinding or somehow out of sync. In a better world, I'd work this crap out before shit hits the fan. Recently I'm getting the ((ABS)) light accompanied by "trac off" and "service vehicle soon." It doesn't always turn on...but when it does it stays lit for the duration of the drive. When I start the car again, it's gone. More troubling still, yesterday when I was pulling forward after backing out of my parking spot, the tires seemed not to grip. It felt like when you try to accelerate a car on ice or snow, and it sputters a bit before the tires find their grip. The "low trac" light turned on briefly. Rest of the trip (about 12 miles through a light urban area) was fine. Took it to the nissan dealership my wife has connections at. They say everthing seems alright, but I really ought to take it to a GM dealership to make sure. I really don't like the idea of taking my GA to some random dealership...I don't feel like wasting money like I did with that fuel pump incident. I would like to take it to a smaller mechanic, but only if I know what's wrong beforehand. What do you think? Duely blundered from my thunderdolt

What I meant with the shipping is, after you factor it in, is it still "cheaper" than going to a retailer? The base price certainly is, and I'm tempted to go with rockauto based on those cheap 10 bulb packs. The wipers you prefer, do they last any longer than the standard fare? And/Or is it a performance leg up? Duely blundered from my thunderdolt

Well, thanks for weaving some savings as well as chaos! Would you get the bulbs and other small things (wiper blades) from rockauto? Seems like they have badass prices, but you always have to be careful with the shipping. Duely blundered from my thunderdolt

My rear passenger side signal light is out. It's not the bulb; the contact must have gotten wet somehow and is now corroded. I've tried in vain to chip away the worst of it...I think it's beyond repair. The only solution I can concieve of is to replace the tail light assembly. I could go junk yard hunting, but I'm worried that *if* they have one that I wouldn't be able to determine the quality, and I'm unsure of my ability to install it. I suspect there would be soldering involved. The other option is to track down a pontiac dealer, and hope the wallet abuse would be minimal. Either way, this thing needs to pass inspection this month. Are there any other places I can grab this part? I could also use a few knobs for my AC setting and temperature dials... Duely blundered from my thunderdolt

Hm. It was a consolation explanation. Next time I'll be sure to get the parts from somewhere first. Do you guys use the standard retailer shops like AAP, AZ, PB, napa and the like? Duely blundered from my thunderdolt

Yeah, I never thought the price was fair. Old family friend said that if it was the fuel pump (we didnt know for sure) we'd be looking at a 600 dollar job. When I confronted the head mechanic about it, he showed me the invoice for the part he ordered. It was ~780. I guess he opted for the gold plated model. He then went on to give a lecture about how it's cheaper to pay for repairs than have to deal with a car payment, and I told him I disliked his bedside manner and the lack of reach around. My guess is that when a car is towed to a mechanic, they have you by the short hairs. He also said that the ethanol in gas these days tends to be rougher on older cars and, evidently, their fuel pumps. Is there truth to that? Duely blundered from my thunderdolt

Hey, it's fair play. Nobody was rude, and I did jump into a car enthisiast forum saying I didn't know about oil changes. It's like going into a computer tech forum (something else I do) and asking "what the gigabytes are." My wife's GA has 119k miles on it. It came into her possession around 87k miles. Since she's had it, I think the only major thing we've had wrong was the fuel pump dying around 112k miles. It was quite irritating...had to get it towed of course, and got raped for a 1100.00 repair bill for it. Been running fine ever since. She worked for an infiniti service shop, so it's maintenance has been kept up, belts, brakes, rotors, and oil all right where it needed to be. Of course there was the time where it "vapor locked" (term my brother used) when my wife and him were driving around July of last year. It just shut down after she got cut off on a highway, and cruised to the shoulder without power anything. She tried accelerating after getting cut off, and that's when it happened. After that the engine wouldn't turn, and all the warning dashboard lights were all on. Ten minutes later, everything was fine. It was odd, but it only happened once. This was when we bought the sentra. Bobby, it would seem, got all emo jealous on us. This car has a lot of personality. The turnsignal noise randomly clicks frantically here and there. Almost like it's talking...I know that seems odd to say. If we make a 3 point turn down a dark country road, he'll flip shit and click like our lives are in danger. Usually he isn't that noisy. Duely blundered from my thunderdolt

...and his name is "Bobby." Bobby is my wife's 2001 Grand AM 4dr sedan with 2.4 liter engine. He came along with the girl, got married in 2011. Since then we got a newer car, and with a baby on the way, "we" felt that she ought to drive the shiny new car, while I would become Bobby's new principal driver. Folks, I'm about as un-handy as they come. I was under the impression that oil changes were a once a year affair, and only recently learned the self explanitory art of filling one's tires. Yeah. Total tenderfoot here. But I've decided enough is enough, and want to progress a bit more. I build computers, modify phones, and have a deep respect and interest in all things technology. I've found being part of forum groups helps one to gain new understanding about a given subject. So here I am. (The tapatalk support helps a lot too) Bobby's a bit quirky, but I love the fact that he's cheap to insure, and that he incurs no car payment to us. I also enjoy the low to the ground feeling I get (as opposed to our high sitting Sentra) as I drive. I hope that the knowlege I gain here may help me get the most out of my Grand Am. Duely blundered from my thunderdolt