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  1. J

    Looking at a '96 Grand Prix (GM W-body)

    I'm a big fan of the Grand Prix of that era. The 3100, once the intake is fixed, normally trucks right along for a long time. The 4T60-E transmission, provided it's maintained and not abused, normally does the same. The engine doesn't sound terrible if you try to open up the exhaust a bit...
  2. J

    General Altimax RT43 User Review

    I had a set of the Altimax RT43 on my 07 Grand Prix. I had a suspension issue that promptly chewed up the front tires, but before that issue, they wore great. The rain didn't bother me and they were pretty respectable on snow. They rode great down the highway, but they felt a bit soft if thrown...
  3. J

    Replacing 2 prong outlets

    It's hard to see for sure, but that looks a lot like standard NM wire. I've seen folks run the neutral to a screw in the box to make it appear grounded. While it tricks the tester, it is not a safe configuration. I would check for that. I've also seen folks splice NM behind the box to cover up...
  4. J

    Opinions on a '04 Grand Prix GTP

    I've got an 2007 Grand Prix about to cross over 204k miles. It's been an great car through the 5 years I've owned it. Around 140k miles the coolant elbows blew out while on the highway. Not great, but the parts are cheap. I purchased new ones at the dealer, since the quality was much higher...
  5. J

    Thin 30 weight oils?

    I wouldn't worry about trying to get the thinnest 30 weight in there, I'd keep doing exactly what you're doing. Pennzoil Ultra is an excellent oil and I doubt any other oil would gain significant engine life. With regular oil changes, I wouldn't have any worries of hitting 200k + on that motor.
  6. J

    My engine is ticking now?

    I would look over for a leaking exhaust manifold, but it's certainly possible you have a sticky lifter on your hands. The easiest way I've found to look for exhaust leaks that are hard to find is use some seafoam. Pull off a vacuum line and slowly let the engine ingest some seafoam. It'll...
  7. J

    2005 GMC PCV Valve 5.3L

    If I remember right, GM has made a revised valve cover with a slightly different PCV/baffle for those engines. You can try cleaning it and see what happens, but if it doesn't fix it, I believe there is still hope.
  8. J

    Federal Tires Any Good? Your Input Is Welcome..

    I don't know anything about the Federal tires, but I agree with the Starfire idea. Those are my go to tire for a budget decent tire. Cuts through the snow/rain without much trouble. Might be a little louder than name brand, but not much louder.
  9. J

    What's your current stash at?

    I've got about 19 quarts of Pennzoil Platinum 5-30 (got for 3.99/qt), 8 quarts of Napa synthetic 5-30(got for 2.99/qt), and a few quarts of various Mobil Super grades around. When Napa had a good sale on it's synthetic a few years back I had 36 quarts of 5-30 and 36 quarts of 10-30.
  10. J

    Engine running-ninivan won't move

    First thought sounds like a broken input shaft. That would leave everything dead in the water like that and I believe also would give you the false overfull reading on the dipstick. Sounds like it's time to pick a transmission shop.
  11. J

    please recommend oil for 2 of my cars! Hemi +1

    I think you've got a good plan with the Challenger right now the way it is. I wouldn't change anything there. You've got a good synthetic in there that offers great protection for the harsh driving conditions the car sees. I doubt Amsoil will reduce consumption considering the conditions and if...
  12. J

    Chevy HHR Stuck Vavle

    This isn't the first time I've heard about something like this...and oddly enough it was also on an HHR. When the head was pulled, it had a burnt exhaust valve. I believe the cause was that cylinder running too lean, likely from a slightly plugged injector.
  13. J

    Oil consumption epidemic

    There's quite a few cars on the road that seem to have more trouble with oil consumption. The GM 3.5s were/are bad about using more oil than they should. Not all of them are too bad...but I can think of several off hand that used 1qt/1000 miles while under 50,000 miles. I remember one customer...
  14. J

    New to me 95 Yota T100 with nasty ATF fluid....?

    If the transmission is still shifting ok, I don't think I would worry about adding anything right now. Just keep doing your drains every 100 miles or so until it cleans up. I'm guessing after 3-5 drains it'll look decent again. At that point, I'd probably leave it alone for awhile and service it...
  15. J

    different oil for "break-in"?

    You shouldn't need to perform much of a break in. I would just drive like normal and not beat on it for a 500 miles or so. My general rule of thumb after doing any internal engine work, head, intake, etc is change the oil 500 miles after doing the work. If there's any coolant or anything left...
  16. J

    Graphics card/driver issues

    I would wonder if when the previous card fried, it might have lightly toasted a few traces on the board. I've seen that happen when cards have fried and even a few fans that have shorted out. It'll toast the board just lightly and it'll still work most of the time.
  17. J

    What Dexron III fluid do you recommed?

    I've used Advance brand Dex III, Supertech, Pennzoil, Valvoline, and I'm sure some others in various cars for people. They all got the job done with no complaints from anyone. In my own stuff, I've mainly used Maxlife and everything is working great. My 96 will cross 220,000 miles tomorrow and...
  18. J

    Your choice for 2011 F-150 Ecoboost for Winter?

    If you can get any of those for about the same price, then I'd pick the Ultra. It's an excellent oil and will do fine in the application, though normally I wouldn't recommend it since you can't really do an extended drain on those engines due to fuel dilution. The Motorcraft would normally be my...
  19. J

    What oil change intervel should I do on this truck

    If every time it's started it gets up to full operating temperature, then the extended time shouldn't be a problem. If it were mine, I'd probably just change it once a year and keep doing what you're doing.
  20. J

    Recnt Revival of '00 Jeep GC 4.7 183k - Best Oil?

    I would think something along the lines of Mobil 1 AFE 0-30 would fit nicely here. Even a 0-20 might work well in this application. If I remember right, those 4.7 have pretty high oil pressure and the future models use 5-20 from the factory, so a 0-20 might work well here. My next choice would...
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