Thread: They gave us a free car! New user from South Florida

Hey everyone,

My name's Mike, and I picked up a free 2006 Grand Prix (base) two weeks ago. The cars in great shape. Previous owner didn't want to deal with it anymore due to a coolant leak/overheating issue. So she decided to give it to our family. (I live with my girlfriend Julie, and her family). It was great timing too! Julie's parents were talking about forking out 6000-8000 for a newer car because we all have super busy schedules and are always trying to share cars.

I'm the home mechanic in the family so of course it was on me to find the leak. Literally my 1st Google result after searching "06 grand prix 3.8 coolant leak" taught me all I needed to know about the plastic heater elbows. So for $25 I got the aluminum dorman elbows and replacement AcDelco o-rings, as I heard bad stories about the Dorman o-rings. Car is running now with no leaks. I'm super pleased.

Next on the list is to flush the system of the tap water, replace with conventional coolant, and replace the torque strut mounts, as I can literally rock the engine forward and back by hand due to worn mounts. I will be referring back to this forum in case I need some help figuring anything out with this car.

I will attach photos of it being trailered home, haven't taken any others yet.








Also pictured: My 1990 GMC K2500, we call her The Black Pearl. She did a great job bringing the car home.

Sounds like you're off to a great start! Keep posting updates.

Originally Posted by SgtMarshal

should have changed the lower intake manifold gaskets while you were at it

Why?.. they are already the updated metal gaskets.

While I don't share the o-ring dislike (I've used hundreds of Dorman w/o issue), save your money on the torque mounts aka upper mounts. Look up flipping the upper mounts. With a little lubricant and a couple of tools you flip them from floppy side to solid side and it's a better way to go vs buying them and then ending up flipping them. Check your lower mounts (engine and trans) as they are also common.

Then spend the money you save on a transmission service (fluid and filter) and you'll be ready to go.