Hi everyone.
I just bought an '01 monte SS, that I am very excited about.
What is the "normal" operating temperature of these cars, and what are somethings to watch out for?
It has 97,900miles on it.
I started with obvious things such as oil change, air filter, I'm having the tranny fluid and filter changed tomorrow, and draining and refilling the anit-freeze.
Thanks in advance for any advice, and/or help!

 

i know that all though monte carlos are awesome and very beautiful they have alot of transmission problems , keep an eye on your tranny esp if u gota almost 100,000 miles

 

I havent heard of very many tranny problems. Watch out for the catalytic converter that seems to go bad on most of them but with 97000 maybe it has already been replaced. Also the intermediate steering shaft seems to be a problem on a lot of GM vehicles. Overall i havent had any major problems with mine.

 

also watch for a bad bcm and t stat

 

normal operating temperature is 195, that's the stock thermostat. You can put a 180 in there to help with engine temperatures.

Basically the gauge will be halfway.

Transmission, the torque converter is a problem if the previous owner drove it hard. The wheel hub assemblies, which holds your bearings and traction control/tire pressure monitoring systems usually go bad.

Did you already get the transmission flushed? If you didn't, ask them to replace your dexron 3, with dexron 6. It's the newer formula that handles heat and shifting better.

There is a restriction in the exhaust, called a U-Bend, good to get rid of that.

The stock rotors for the car are complete crap, they will warp under heat and moisture.

There really aren't many "typical" problems, for the cars. Some stuff is just an annoyance, but it all depends on how well a car is kept, how you keep up with routine maintenance and drive it.

I have a 2000, and I'm at 165,000 and still running strong. These 3800 engines are serious beasts, and very easy to modify.

WELCOME!

 

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Well today something went wrong in the valve train and I lost compression so I'm having the dealer I bought it off of fix it.

 

engine seized up and so its getting another 3.8 dropped in
hopefully the grimey ****s doing the work don't scratch my car