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The Volkswagon automatic transmissions are a huge pile of junk too.The automatics go out left and right.Shake your wallet out for parts and repairs for one called very expensive.The computer for a 2001 Beetle is $810.00 brand new from VW.Break a timing belt on a VW,you are pulling the head and VW’s engines are interferance engines bending valves.
Avoid a VW,No diagnostics to go by when checking in the Mitchell online repair program.My cousin Erin has a Volkswagon Jetta and nothing but a money pit.Even try finding a shop that will work on the VW automatic transmissions,you won’t since they are a pos.The 1.8t engine is not any good and has it’s problems.My father has 3 of them and no more,a 2001 Beetle with a transmission problem and is not inside the transmission.Also has a 2001 Passat wagon and a Jetta with a bad 1.8t.With VW,have to get info off the tag on the valve cover for ordering parts.Without that info,you are screwed.
Lucas is another good brand and it works.Chevron is another one too.I agree Seafoam is another,get a DTC for the VVT for a 4.2 inline 6 in a GM product and this works for this instead replacing the cam gear which can get expensive
Another thing is if you don’t have the specialty tool,don’t touch it if the application requires it.With buying cars to resell them,there is junk out there and this is with $500.00 cars if you can find them.Most of the $500.00 cars get sent to the scrap yard sold for crush and get more money out of them this way.
I removed the drain plug from the pan from this car I mentioned,nothing but clumps at first.These two friends of my fathers don’t do it anymore,poured in 4 quarts of convential oil with one quart of synthetic.Synthetic oil is not good for some engines,the GM 4.3 is known for this.Sounds like it is going to fall apart
My nieghbor Ken’s wife Becky had a 1999 or 2000 Chevy S10 with the 4.3.Someone talked her into using synthetic oil in this S10 she had.Sounded like something was falling apart.Drained the synthetic out and poured in convential oil which the noise went away.
I have seen what happens when someone lets a wheelbearing go,drive the vehicle until it stops going.I seen this with a 2000 Ford Explorer once,the driver claimed to not hearing a noise and cooked the axle too.Looked like it was a bad ball joint and was not.Took the wheel bearing out in two pieces and luckily saved the spindle
Had a customer bring in a 2003 Buick in for grinding brakes and their cousin blamed it on a warped hub.Took off the rear wheels and the brake pads were installed backwards,metal to metal by this customer’s cousin.Ended up replacing both rear brake rotors and pads.Same with Bosch spark plugs in Chrysler products including a Ford Taurus.Had this Taurus in for a running bad condition and it was the Bosch spark plugs someone else installed.Get this with Chrysler products too,missfire codes appearing and one cause are Bosch plugs.Diesels don’t run good with gas poured in.An industrial painting place had this happen,an employee poured in gas instead of diesel and it was a diesel powered truck.Ended up pumping the contaminated diesel fuel which had gas in it out changing the fuel filter at the same time.Ran good when diesel fuel was poured in.
The Intake gaskets,Dorman sells the kit with everything with new intake bolts and uses upgraded intake gaskets made out of metal.One warning also,make sure you put the push rods in the right spot when reinstalling them or you will bend valves.The push rods are two different lengths,6 short and 6 long.If the fuel pump is bad,don’t buy an airtex and they have high failure rates.Get a Delphi or AC Delco pump instead.The tank does not have to come out on that one I believe,there is an access hole you remove a plate in the trunk area http://www.dormanproducts.com/p-5335-615-205.aspx?year=2001&make=PONTIAC&model=GRAND%2520PRIX%253A%2520SE&engine=V6%2520%252D%25203%252E1L%2520%2528189%2520CID%2529%253A%2520GAS%253A%2520FI%253A%2520N%253A%2520J&parttype=Intake%2520Manifold%2520Gasket%2520Set
Don’t need a pan gasket on this one,has a reusable pan gasket.Don’t ever get the transmission flushed,huge waste of money and the repair is more than the flush itself.I know a transmission shop that makes money off of repairs because of flushes with the machine.Lines are above the valve body and filter full of dirt and crud.That dirt and crud ends up in the valve body
Don’t ever mix synthetic oil with convential oil and I have seen what it does.Basically they are not compadable and turns to sludge.A couple of my father’s friends,brothers did this and my father warned them not to do it.Pulled the pan out of a 2000ish Pontiac Bonneville,pan was completely full of sludge and luckily did not burn the engine up.Always use the recomended oil that is used and there are engines this way.One is the 5.7 hemi in the Chysler 300s,Dodge Magnums and Charger.Has a MDS system using 5w 20 oil only,the MDS system will not work right if 5w 20 oil is not used gumming up the acuators for the MDS system
Kobalt used to be owned by Snap On,then it was sold to Danaher tools whom owns Matco,Gearwrench,Allen,KD,Armstrong.Danaher sold the Kobalt line,lost money on this tool line.My Matco tool dealer said this.
I have a 1/4 air ratchet from Harbor Freight I use at work,the earthquake model and still works although it is a year old.I have used IR 1/4 air ratchets,the heads wear out quickly.I admit Matco including Armstrong and Craftsman have the best impact swivels,a pin less design first used in 2004 and no failures yet.I have a couple of the Matco sets,a set in metric and one in sae in 1/2 drive.There is one thing that burns me and I hate this.Some leave out 18mm,sometimes 15mm out of their sets.The cheap tool sets are very terrible at this.The commonly used metric sizes on a domestic car are 8mm,10mm,13mm,15mm and 18mm.The Japanese and Korean cars,10mm,12mm,14mm,17mm and 19mm are used a lot.
Have one and never got to use it yet.I went to a class on CAN vehicles last year,a power probe is never used on CAN vehicles,2004 and current for a reason.Can smoke up to 4 computers.There are two wires twisted together that are never probed.
There is one huge problem and I see this a lot,the Japanese don’t give out any diagnostics including the European car makers to Mitchell and Alldata.Had this with a 2001 Eclipse,some was not working in the transmission and there were no diagnostics to go by in the Mitchell program.There is one Toyota car used car dealers don’t want,the Toyota Prius and I know one used car that mainly wholesales lost money on a couple.The batteries are special batteries and are more than the car is worth.I have seen a Honda with GM parts and Honda does have some junk out there.The transmission in the Honda Mini vans are junk,$2,500.00 for an used transmission if it is any good.Same in the newer Honda Accords and I won’t do another one called a pita with the V6 engine.