Hi all,
I am looking for some advice from specialists in GM cars.
I have a Pontiac GrandAm 1996, automatic, V6, 3.1L. The car started to have problems in 2002. Sometimes the tachometer went crazy showing huge RPM while the engine was not actually doing anything. Soon after that the engine was losing power and sometimes at low speeds even stalled. I went to the shop and the fix was the wiring to the crankshaft sensor.
100 bucks.For a while everything went well but in a few months (2003) this started again. Once to the point it just died in the middle of the road. I left it there overnight and in the morning I picked it up and it started fine. I went to the shop again and they changed the engine wiring and some other "maintenance" stuff. 700 bucks
In a few day it started again. This time I had to have it towed to the shop. They "discover" it is the crankshaft sensor. One smart guy manages to break the sensor and drop it in the engine or something so they have to take the engine apart. 500 bucks.
A month later the alternator dies. I change it and on the way back from the shop it starts again. I try 2 other shops, they take the money for looking at it and they say they have no idea.
Summer 2004. Big tropical storm reaches here up north. The car is in the parking lot. When I get in I find 2" of water on the right side, under the front seat. Nothing else in the car is wet. In trying to get at home the car dies. Next day I can pick it up, but some lights are on. I go to another shop and somebody tells me GM cars have this kind of problem with the caulking around the wiring. It seems that in a few years it cracks and the water goes on the wires sometimes messing up sensors and the computer. Since the water did damage the an air bag sensor under the right front seat they told me they have to fix that first and it costs 1000 bucks. This time I said no.
The car was in my garage since. Now I want to do something with it. I feel kind of sorry to junk it. It has only 150000 km and when it runs, it runs fine.
My questions are:
- Is there anybody around here that has hands on experience with this kind of behavior in Pontiac or GM cars from around 96.
- Do you have any idea what is the real problem and what is the fix.
- Is this repairable. Is it worth it?
- Should I junk it?
- Should I try to sell it for parts?
By the way, most of the shops I tried are GoodWrench shops.
Thank you for patience in reading all this :-) Daniel