SAmadei

4T65E is a respectable tranny... I didn't realise GM put them in the Aztek... with the smaller engine, I would have thought 4T60E... but it seems GM phased them out by the time the Aztek came around. I disagree with the 100K being about all you can ask for... for an new, OEM tranny, 150K should be minimum... 200K is all you can ask for. I'm at 199.5K and counting with my improperly maintained copy. For alot of cheesy rebuilds 100K is a lot to ask, however. 100K for a Chrysler... that's cold and I know it was targeted to pull DF's chain, but my friend's '99 300M tranny didn't quite make that. I think its on tranny number 3 now. Concerning your flush... how did they flush it? I ask because I have heard many stories about tranny flushes were the flush is sucked out via the filler tube... yeah, more tranny fluid is changed, but the filter is not. Filter is pretty important to change.

Edit: That was supposed to be 4T60E and 4T65E-HD. I am actually more familiar with the 4L60E, and hence, the fingers prefer typing L's over T's, but didn't mean to confuse anybody with what become a very incorrect bit of info. For some reason, I was unable to edit my post.

Wouldn't it be great if GM was so enthusiastic about the NA market? Oh, that's right, we get 20 year old W-bodies.

Speaking of Maryland plates... a few years ago I noticed that Maryland plates switched from 6 characters (with a Maryland symbol in the center) to 7 characters... but I swear every 7 character Maryland plate I see has an 'M' in it (not counting special or vanity plates). Granted, the position of the M jumps around, but that seems to defeat the purpose of going to 7 characters. NJ plates are just now reaching the end of the current ZZZ 99Z format... I am hoping we don't switch to 7 digit, as that experiment in 1994 or so resulted in some hard to read plates. My main plate will be celebrating its 20th anniversary at the end of next month. Time flies.

I'm sure there will be 'what if' posts about Pontiac for a long time to come... since this forum has been kinda dull, I thought of one. So, I was driving behind a Scion tC with fart pipes and a booming stereo, and once I was able to get around the slowpoke, I was thinking about the positioning of Scion in the Toyota hive. Obviously, Scion isn't doing as well as planned, but with a lot of people viewing Toyota (and Honda) as being somewhat upmarket over Chevy and Ford, I was thinking that perhaps GM needed to shake up the brand ranking. Since Chevy is trying to go eye to eye with Toyota, GM has a vacuum forming at the low end, where the young drivers are. Its been brought up on the forum before that Pontiac could have been GM's Scion, but why stop there... Since Pontiacs have been lambasted as rental car premium wannabes, perhaps GM should have revamped the line so that most Pontiacs undercut Chevy... by a considerable margin... just to ensure that young people started grabbing Pontiacs as the first rung in the GM ladder. The Aveo would be an upmarket G3, the Malibu an upmarket G6... the G8/GTO, well, Pontiac would still have a few cars for those of us who never really grow up. This way, GM could still sell the bulk of cars as Chevys... but now slightly upmarket as a slight upmarket premium, yet still have a channel to bring in new blood... and since the young are a fickle crowd, GM could feel more comfortable trying out the experimental styling on Pontiac. Thoughts? Discuss.

Not necessarily. My Bonne suffered from, uh, "deferred maintenance" for a while and everyone warned not to change the fluid or flush it... the theory being that that tranny clutches are worn and the clutch material suspended in the fluid are whats keeping the tranny shifting properly. Once you change or flush the fluid, there is not enough clutch material in the fluid, and the clutches finally give up the ghost... once the clutch material reaches a certain wear point, it flakes off and gets stuck in the solenoids... the computer detects this and puts the vehicle in 'limp home mode'... forcing the fluid pressure to max and causing hard shifting... the hard shifting is actually easier on the tranny than those long, soft shifts. Reg, its odd that you would have this problem at only 105K... my Bonne has 199K, and went 140K without a flush... I asked for the problem. When it started shifting hard, did you get a 'check engine' light? If so, it will continue to shift hard until the condition passes and the light turns off. Generally, the solenoids get a fleck of crap in them and will work again after a little while, so don't panic yet. I "facilitate" the clearing of the solenoid in my Bonne by doing a little hard acceleration... well, ok... a lot. ;-) Usually two or three full throttle runs to 60~70 will clear my particular solenoid and I can feel the car return a bit to normal... then I do three or four driving cycles to clear the 'check engine'. I'm not sure about the Aztek tranny, but on the 4L60E, I have to basically remove the tranny to get to the solenoids... and apparently if I do replace the solenoid, the new one will just clog... so I am in 'drive (the tranny) until it dies' mode. I am lineing up a prepped 4L65E-HD with a LSD to replace it, as my other mods seem to have upped my horsepower and I'm wearing out my passenger side tire. Hopefully you just have a fluke here and things will settle down.

TireRack has some premium pads and shoes and performance rotors, but not much for the Aztek. They are not too expensive, so I would give some of it a try. Someplace else will likely have some performance pads... somewhere there is somebody racing Azteks, no doubt. Granted, my Bonneville had better brakes from the factory, but I was still not happy with fade... especially after a few 80-20 mph freeway slow downs in succession. I also didn't care for the dust on my chrome wheels and I was getting some rotor warpage, which I REALLY hate. So I upgraded to Powerslot rotors and Akebono ceramic pads, and I has very happy with the performance change... however, since I got slotted rotors, the ceramic brakes make some noise once warmed up. The ceramics are great for keeping the dust down, but don't give the best performance. When I redo my pads, I'm going to switch to some performance non-ceramics to try to eliminate the noise and improve the braking. Its a shame that Powerslot doesn't seem to be making rotors for the Aztek or that Hawk is not making pads... this is considered to be a pretty good combo. Likely the Aztek has the really tiny rear brakes, so I doubt they contribute much... on my Bonneville, they don't... in fact, they barely wear... so upgrades won't help as much there.

Yeah, assuming you're not running the cleaner for weeks, I think a short run followed by a flush would work well. I want to know how to stop GM blocks from turning my coolant rust brown. Pisses me off to flush a engine for a couple of hours... top off with antifreeze and the next day it seems like the radiator is full of rusty water again.

I was just at the classic corner of 9th and Passyunk Thursday showing a NYer what a REAL Philly Cheesesteak is. Had a sample from both Pats and Genos. NYC "Philly Cheesesteak" places suck! Granted, I still prefer my steak "provolone wit-out", I still like getting a "whiz wit-out" from time to time... they are good. And fast. As far as Subway and Quiznos... screw 'em... SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SUB/DELI SHOP!!! Years ago, in South Jersey there was a killer sub shop on every corner. Then Wawa came. I liked Wawa... they made a decent sub for a decent price... but they put almost all the sub and deli places out of business. Now that Wawa is the only game in town, the sub prices are through the roof and the ingredients are thin. The also only carry a handful of deli meats to slice because most of there deli meat is resliced from the factory. Ugh. My father used to have a great nose for a good sub shop, and yet, I only know of 3 decent places in all of South Jersey... White House sub shop in AC (always packed to the roof), Crown market in Vineland and Sugar Hill subs in Mays Landing. Don't suffer like the people of South Jersey... save your local sub shops!

100 billion dollars... on a post dated check from "Old GM" the day after the BK is finished.

Yeah, I really like it better when you can put a piece of plywood in the back of the wagon. Anything else is lame.

When I was a kid, I used to find it strange that some towns would have signs at the major roads into town that described their more idiotic local laws. Now that it seems like every town has some stupid laws, those signs are long gone. I which every town has to list there local ordinances in such a public view nowadays... maybe a giant sign full of legalese might scare some people from doing business there. Anyway, that sucks. I hate local ordinances, as some are really obscure. Of course, in NJ, fireworks... even sparklers... are verboten statewide. Fun is outlawed, too. ;-)

LOL... yeah, watching the authorities herd the sheeple to the same old firework display because we aren't entrusted to have our own fireworks, certainly makes me think "independence" and then watching everybody get caught in a 2 hour traffic jam in front of my house just cracks me up. Next year, I might go out and sell sodas and bottled water to them... or rent out some parking. ;-)

The worst thing is GM itself. Mismanagement. Arrogance that GM can build a stylish, powerful car... then we get a new W-body. The lack of interesting future GM product. Inability to reign in dealers who overcharge for the slim good product that GM kicked out. Luckily, you don't have to deal with GM much once the product has been on a used car lot for a few years. Of course, my GM loyalty is disappearing like a dying ember, so take that with a grain of salt. If you like a Cruze for all wallets, I guess GM has your heart.

Let me know... I'll split the gas for a pilgrimage.

Somewhere, at some time, there is a guy posting that GM lost its mojo when they stopped using tillers and moved to steering wheels... or that the last "true GM" product still had a crank and the ability to tear one's arm off. ;-)

Am I reading this right... Pontiac car sales are down the least (at -13%) among GM brands? Cue the comment that the rental companies are stocking up.

Your welcome, any time. Since the cable is likely sheathed, it can hang nearly loose and still function. Of course, it is a good idea to have it secured, but that will probably not fix the problem. You're going to need to get someone to actuate the parking brake while you watch from underneath to see whats moving. Again, I'm not real familiar with Fords, but I'm sure its similar to GM... cable in a cable sheath to just in front of the rear diff, then naked cable to two cables and likely two sheaths. Of course, and break will likely render the brake useless. Since you feel no resistance, I would guess the break is near the front... likely near where the brake line was at its more corroded. In fact, I would probably just pull the brake cable off of the parking brake lever/pedal assembly and pull it out... it will pull out if broken... then you could use that length to determine where it broke. Nonetheless, you will likely need to replace the cable and sheath as an assembly. If its anything like the GM cables, the clips holding it in place will be a bear to get off... rusty, stubborn and/or sharp... along with the actual fastener connecting the front cable to the rear ones. Whenever I had a seat stuck, it was a coin or a soda bottle... but that is with manual seats, I'm sure yours is power. The damn things always seem to stick in the forward position... Have fun. ;-)

The B-17 is high on my list for sheer robustness, but my favorite is the SR-71. It looks sinister. Its loud. Its rare. It requires lots of maintenance. It runs hot. It is good at one thing... going fast in a straight line. It leaks. It's truly the musclecar of the skys.

Pre-bent lines are expensive. Inline Tube sells pre-bent lines, but they are a $150+ affair. They sell 6" of straight tube for less than $20, depending on width. Bending tube by hand is not hard...get a few blocks of wood and lock it in a vice, if you have one... get a old wooden dowel, banister or baseball bat to slowly roll the tube to make the bends... just don't apply too much too quickly, otherwise it will kink. That's what the tubing bender or spring is for... kink prevention. Both are cheap tools, but can be specific to the size of your line. Luckily, in cars, you generally only have to be concerned with 3/8 and 1/4 line. Harbor Freight sell the benders. The hardest trick in bending, IMHO, has little to do with the bending tools. Its about getting an S-bend in a plane. When you first start this, it would seem easy to get them lined up, but something always seems to shift, so double check as you progress. You can twist the tube, to fix this, but the line tends to fight you more... leading to a kink if you suddenly misapply your force. Don't let me discourage you. You will get a pretty good approximation, though it might be harder to get it in the stock clips that an OEM piece. Also, since you will be replacing a long line with two 6" sections, you can work on them independently... don't forget to buy the union. As for the flaring kit. First, I assume its a double flaring kit. Single flaring is easier, but the joint is thinner and more likely to leak. Single flaring is just that, the kit grips the line and flares the tube outward. Double flaring is a two step process. Your kit might be somewhat different, but hopefully, I'll hit the important parts. First you put the line in the vice hole corresponding to your line size (don't forget the nut!) with about some protruding from the cratered side... the kits usually have instructions or a reference for how much should stick out... I don't recall since I haven't double flared anything in a while now... Sometimes the little caps are the gauge for how much should protrude. Tighten this vice GOOD... you don't want to push the line out as you work the end. Next, you get the little cap that corresponds to your line size and put that on the line. The screw part now goes over the cap and you tighten it down... if will smash the end of the line into the crater in the making a ball with a slight ridge around the equator. Now you remove the screw part and take the cap out and use the screw part again with the flare part in the end of the line. This collapses the ball in on itself, making the finished flare shape. As you will note, the metal of the flared part is folded over, and double thick. The final flare is not going to look perfect... but as long as the flare shape is right and you haven't torn the metal or pushed the line out of the vice, you should have a good end. Assemble the line and you are good to go. I doubt anything is wrong with the proportioning valve. Also, keep in mind that there is typically only one leak in a line. Once it leaks, the pressure will not reach a high enough pressure to pop another leak. The leak in your line is likely towards the front, and the fluid is traveling down the line as you drive... so I still think you might get along with a smaller repair. In my experience, the leaks all tend to form from where the line stops travelling downward and follows the frame behind the front wheel to about a foot behind the front wheel. So that's about the extent of my knowledge on that. Let us know if you run into trouble and how you fair.

Two words... automatic litterbox. Preferably one plumbed into the septic. I learned that looking for a proper cat muzzle might be difficult.

Yeah, find out and let us know a better description. Since a shop came up with this, I wonder if it really needs brake lines. Every car over 5 years old has some crusty looking brake lines and some shops fishing for business could try to (literally) scare up some business. Brake lines can look pretty scary and still function fine for decades.

Brake lines can be a handful, but its one of those things that gets easier as you get the experience under your belt, so to say. First, you need to assess exactly how much brake line you are replacing and what type. I assume we are not talking about the rubber lines, as they are generally a bolt in deal... usually a fused, stripped, ground off bolt in deal, but a bolt in deal nonetheless. GM stuff uses a banjo bolt on the calipers and a line nut on the other end and a clip... Fords are likely similar. Loosen the line nut before removing the clip. When reinstalling, be sure to get the line oriented right, as the clip won't go on right otherwise... the orientation in conjunction with the crimping helps hold the lines from rubbing on stuff. Steel lines in some cases can be replaced complete, like the front lines... or need to be patched... usually rear lines are installed before the body and drivetrain is dropped in, so you can't really get them in or out without destroying them, unless you are doing a frame-off. Since we are then likely talking about replacing a section of line which is rusty or leaking, because one may by on a budget and model specific lines might be hard to get or too expensive. A lot of people will just get a compression fitting and replace the smallest bit of line they can. I prefer to replace more line, because steel line is cheap, and rusted lines are brittle and tend to break more as you work on them, so I like to replace enough to ensure I'm not refixing the problem a year later... so I'll poke at the rest of the line and make sure any nearby fixings aren't stripped or seized. If so, I'll replace up to the fitting, knowing it will be a good repair. Get yourself a bending tool or bending spring. Otherwise, you had better learn just how much bend you can put in a piece of line before it kinks. Get yourself a good flare tool and practice on the patch piece... it _will_ get shorter as you screw up the flare a few times. Bending line is not a perfect science... just try to approximate the original path of the missing piece without rubbing on stuff. However, my NUMBER ONE TIP for fixing brake lines... PUT THE NUT ON THE LINE BEFORE YOU FLARE IT!!!! It sounds simple, but I have cut off too many perfect flares because I wasn't thinking. Also put the nut on in the right direction. As far as Master Cylinder Seal... that, to me sounds like time to get a new master cylinder... Unless the Grand Mark has some weird master cylinder. Sure, you can rebuild them, but its not worth it. Otherwise, they may be referring to the Master cylinder seal as the rubber diaphragm that seals the interior opening behind the master cylinder... but that only would leak water and/or exhaust. If its leaking brake fluid, its time for a new master cylinder. Hope that helps.

Did they email this special offer to you? I can print the coupon, so thats what counts. Thanks!

Nice! Can you use them more than once? Good for how long? Advanced has the best price locally on Optima red tops... and starting July 1, they have a $25 rebate each... $35 off the battery, and I need two of them to start my bulldozer. Sweet!