2001 olds alero 3.4 project

[dream on mcss]

well, heres my newest project. its my moms bfs car, needs quite a bit of work but shes in good shape for her age. the 3.4 runs pretty damn good and still has lots of power, shes just hard to start sometimes lol. but anyways, like i said it needs a few things fixed. the right side cv joint boot slipped out of its retainer somehow, it leaks trans fluid like a b*tch, and the rr strut rattles like hell over the slightest bump lol. but what do you expect for a car with 189k miles lol? so heres my fixit list in order of most urgent down then some pics:

-fix hardcore trans leak (bad cooler lines)
-cv joint boot
-fix annoying strut rattle (maybe a bad isolator???)
-alignment is off
-idiot lights abs, ses, oil change, and trac off (traction control?)
-wheels need to be balanced
-front passenger door doesnt open from outside like wtf lol
-and finally do some obnoxious fwd drifts yo

what'd'y'all think?

 

[fraido2002]

Your service vehicle light, abs light, and trac off light are all due to a bad Wheel speed sensor. You will need to change out the whole hub to fix it. They built the sensor into the hub bearing. I had to do both twice on my alero.

 

[maliburacinfreak]

Your service vehicle light, abs light, and trac off light are all due to a bad Wheel speed sensor. You will need to change out the whole hub to fix it. They built the sensor into the hub bearing. I had to do both twice on my alero.

i was gonna say the same thing. also, it looks like the tires need replaced, not balanced. you shouldnt have any trouble getting the car in line, theyre pretty easy to work on.

 

[dream on mcss]

Your service vehicle light, abs light, and trac off light are all due to a bad Wheel speed sensor. You will need to change out the whole hub to fix it. They built the sensor into the hub bearing. I had to do both twice on my alero.

i was gonna say the same thing. also, it looks like the tires need replaced, not balanced. you shouldnt have any trouble getting the car in line, theyre pretty easy to work on.

That's just because of the picture, the tread is actually pretty deep. Thanks for letting me know about the hub assembly. I'll get that done after I fix the trans leak and such.

 

[fraido2002]

No problem. My alero has been my daily driver since 2004. I love it. I am going to do my struts soon myself, and maybe a little rust repair....

 

[dream on mcss]

No problem. My alero has been my daily driver since 2004. I love it. I am going to do my struts soon myself, and maybe a little rust repair....

Yeah this one was just retired from family car status a year ago. The interior is near mint, and the motor runs like it's brand new. For a car with 190k miles I'm pretty impressed. Let me know how it goes with your struts. I think the one on this car just has a bad isolator. It rattles like noones business lol.

 

[axisg]

thats a great little DD to get running for cheap !
The 3.4 is decent on fuel and has plenty of power ( for a DD ). Parts should be cheap as the platform was used for the Cutlass, Grand AM and Malibu of the same vintage. The cars are so cheap and plentiful there is no need to spend a bunch of money on this one, just run it until the wheels fall off then pick up another ( kinda like the gbody was 20 years ago ).

 

[dream on mcss]

thats a great little DD to get running for cheap !
The 3.4 is decent on fuel and has plenty of power ( for a DD ). Parts should be cheap as the platform was used for the Cutlass, Grand AM and Malibu of the same vintage. The cars are so cheap and plentiful there is no need to spend a bunch of money on this one, just run it until the wheels fall off then pick up another ( kinda like the gbody was 20 years ago ).

Yeah that's what I want to do but it's my moms boyfriends car. I wanna buy it off him tho cuz I do need a car lol but if I get it that's what imma do.

 

[dream on mcss]

UPDATE

Well, had a little fiasco today with gms pain in the *ss auto locking doors. I have the front end on jackstands because I'm trying to find a trans leak, so I started the car, put it in drive and not thinking, shut the door. Well I found where exactly the leak was coming from so I got out from under to shut the car off and BAM! The damn doors locked!! Uh oh! So now it's running with over a half tank of gas and I dont have the spares . So naturally I start to freak out for a while, and let's just say I got lucky. I unplugged the coil pack power wire and she shut down, I then removed the negative battery cable an I'm thinking well great everythings off and I can just wait till tomorrow until my moms bf comes with the spares. Then I start thinking "wait a minute, the keys are on!" So I plugged the battery back in, pryed the top of the door open and luckily I was able to get in there with a coat hanger and roll down the window. So yay I got my keys back and everything is all in good working order so I'm glad about that. Really didn't get anything done other than order the new trans lines off rockauto. Well that's my crazy story lol, g'night y'all!

 

[fraido2002]

That has definately happened to me with my alero more than once. I learned my lesson one winter day I started it and let it warm up. Forgot about the auto lock and shut the door to talk to someone. Needless to say my car just sat and ran for a few hours while I waited for someone to come get me so I could go get my spare key, then come back and unlock it. Definately was warmed up. I never leave the keys in my car any more at all.