well mainly there is a lot more grand prix owners who have done work to the cars, and they have been around longer with relatively little change. The sheer number of people owning the car makes it a bit more susceptible to having the larger community and aftermarket in terms of appearance parts, etc. Comparatively speaking, the grand prix was a more practible car for many people because its a comfortable 4 door sedan. Not many people are interested in owning a 2 door impala so to speak since it is less functional then its 4 door counterpart. So to summerize, more people own the grand prixs and have worked on them because they are considered more practical. But I love the styling of the car and the way it drives which is why I own my baby. My first car at the age of 16, and will keep it as long as possible; my whole life and hand it off to my kids if possible.

EDIT: oh and hey guys, long time no post... lots goin on, been lurking but havent posted in a while, have been pretty busy

 

https://montecarloforum.com/m_106140.../tm.htm#106140

there you go for any 3800...if you want info for a 3400 let us know

as for quirks what do u mean, give me an example cuz i am kinda confused on this

and u answered ur number 3

 

I guess you haven't seen me post before.
That series of posts is the most inaccurate, jumbled display of aftermarket hype I have ever read and I posted as such.
He right out refutes many knowns in engine building and what the GP guys have said, which follows what I all ready knew for the most part.
Then time and time again he puts his beliefs out there showing that its some kind of the king of the hill thing he must have and anybody not force inducted, well its a waste and their a waste. Oh that bodes well when you asking a question or looking for answers.

Its hard to explain is words what I have been seeing.
12 years I've been on automotive forums and spent 6 years or so running my own, made parts for the 4300 and this and other late Monte forums are dead in all aspects compared to the ones I have been attending and this is with platforms that have died and been buried so to speak by time. The W body itself was just taken out of the lineup and their are still plenty of owners for it to be this way.

Quirks,
Well lets just list a few I have right off the top of my head which really are not addressed often or completely.

Noisiest IAC valve I've ever heard. No body really complains, nor does it really say why its like it is.
Transmission shifting and torque management
Cabin air filter and associated stinks- I never had a car with one, my manual tells me its in another spot and or the vehicle may not have one. GP guys had quite a few posts I was reading over to which I ended up locating the one I didn't think I had and removed that moldy rotten thing.
Intermediate shaft problems.

There are many more, those are just some simple ones you would think that every owner has experienced and questioned then arisen over those. I don't really see such posts, but then I see redundant posts which still have never been answered correctly and looks like they have advertising backing.

 

A few quirks that I learned from this site is the tendency for the steering to start making a clunking sound. This is the Intermediate Steering Shaft problem. Also, the 2000-2005 instrument cluster guages tend to go bad. I had my temp guage go bad on me. Went way past the upper end. If you have warranty or extended warranty left on the car, it is covered.

As for performance mods for the 2000 up Montes, this has been covered a lot on this site, and continues to be covered. The discrepencies in results is because of each person's opinion or expectations of the mods. Some people are looking for easier, cheaper mods that will get them any amount of HP gain without getting too involved. Some people are more willing to go all out and re-build their engine and re-program their PCM. A common first mod is the exhaust system. Replacing the entire exhaust from the down tube back. Including eliminating the U-bend, installing a high-flow cat, and the performance exhaust system of your choice. But even that simple mod has lots of opinions and variations depending on personal taste.

Duane (Cowboy6622) used to have an excellent thread and tutorial on popular first mods, but it got wiped out by the virus that hit our site back in May. It was very well written, and took tons of time to type up and upload the pics and diagrams. Since he didn't have a backup copy, it means he will have to re-type the thread all over again. Taking a lot of time. Time he doesn't have a lot of since he's in school.

I also have to agree with sickofsoyo's comments on the popularity of the Grand Prix over the Monte. The fact that the Monte is only 2 doors is possibly one of the reasons for it's demise. Like mentioned,a 4 door Monte is called an Impala.Something to keep in mind isthe Monte got cancelled. The Grand Prix didn't. It got re-named the G8.GM gave up on the Monte long before they cancelled it. That's why they simply "freshened" the look instead of redesigning it like they did with the GP in 2005. Don't get me wrong, I love both cars andintend on keeping my Monte. But fact is, the GP is a more practical car with the extra 2 doors. Moderators Wiz Kidd and Mickey had to trade in their Montes because of that very reason.

Another reason the Grand Prix was hugely popular because they had been using the same body and engine/tranny combos from around 1997 all the way up to around 2005. Including their use of the supercharged 3.8 engine. The Monte didn't get the supercharged engine until 2004.

 

yeah they told me its the intermediate drive shaft and the transmission problem is internal.
so since it will prob take a weekend to do it, he's havin me come back on monday and hookin me up with a rental, he said he's gonna try and work something out with enterprise since im under 21. im 20. barely!!! lol.. but they gotta take out the tranny in order to get it fixed so either way im covered with this extended warranty. glad i got it .
my dealership will get an earful when i take my old cars title back up there cause of this **** and my roommate found out they have the BBB on their ***.
lotsss of complaints.

 

ok so my friend was exxagerating, they only have 5 claims on BBB

 

Well lets just look at what you said and I'll give you my opinion.

When writeups are done they should be submitted to someone higher up before there posted up.
This opinionated type writeups are just flat out degrading in most aspects, besides incorrect.
Yes some people are looking cost effective wise and what they can do for themselves versus someone with more money and skills and that is not something new. But if done in stages without opinion, its very beneficial. What we see now is garbled and all over the place again filled with insults if you read directly and between the lines at the same time.

Exhausts, that one just kills me looking from the outside.
These cars have not used the same exhaust setup as far as quirks within them to warrant alot of the posts about the modification of them. Downpipes are problems on some years and not other ones but you wouldn't know by the posts. U-bends have gotten totally out of hand, there not that big of deal, maybe 1-2 ponies max and that might be pushing it at that. Cats, high flow ones?? Thats another area thats inflated so bad its not funny. A cat that meets CARB compliance of 49 state legal won't flow more than 1 h.p. better than a brand new OEM one, which is actually made by aftermarket. There are very few, actually 2 that do flow where you could notice it at the seat of your pants, but it would throw codes all day lone.

There are no real restrictions in exhaust for the most part of what I'm seeing based upon exhaust 101. There are more problematic areas of distroying scavaging, which in ltself creating backpressure, but we post things that add to this delimenia and they get backed only because it will free a little up top, so because it did this, we forget nor try something that will help the whole range.

Now the final part of this exhaust thing is headers.
I just want to b*tch slap everyone whom thinks, says etc that headers should be a wait thing or not worth it NA.
I have never ever read so much bullcrap about headers. It is the #1 restriction, yes, restriction and scavaging destroyer in a automotive exhaust system and has proved more times than any other mod ever done to be the most bang for the buck anyone with minor skills could do on ones own. It works across the whole RPM range, it makes extra power by at least 5% throughout the whole entire RPM range. Headers alone have on average for every car out there using **** poor single exit tubes manifolds, given a .3-.5 tenths time saving in the 1/4 mile. As far as basic mods outside TQ management and shifting delays, until you do a cam, you will never find a mod with such yeilds. So for a guy that doesn't want to force air, but has a few bucks, well. Yes for these W-bodies they are expensive, but thats your faults, which I make a comment later.

Well now to Chevrolet, not GM.
Chevrolet has had its head up its *** since the late 80's.
The only real R&D until lately that has been done for performance has always been with the Vette. After the late 60's F body cars this has been occuring and getting worse by the year. Vettes always got the best, then the F bodies would get detuned Vette parts.
Now with the Napanese invasion on little cars do you see Chevrolet attacking them with the Balts and doing performance ideated changes to compete leaving the rest to be layed to waste. That was the demise of the Monte all alone.
No other division of GM has a Vette, so there is a little more thought given to the entire lineups of some degree.
GP's to which we have 2 get the nod to continue because there is no Vette lineup in the Pontiac Division.
A GP out classes a Monte, yes I said outclasses one.
Better handling, firmer handling that is more sporty oriented the Montes old man style ride.
ECM factory tuning is sportier
Interior is sportier and better feeling.
I have a Monte because I have no use for a 4 door, we have the GP's when we need 4 doors and the Monte has the sportier looks, which is funny because no where else does is feel sporty and even the SC one does not. 4 doors to me says family car, but thats MY OPINION.
And I bet thats the only reason you have any parts at all is because of the success of the GP.

Now for parts and part cost and this will include Chevrolet.
The reason you got what you got, pay what you pay etc is because of a lack of MOUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't mean running it here on the forums, I mean as a group do it to these people.
Its too late for GM, all though it could be brought back if MOUTHED LOUD ENOUGH, but for the rest I don;t see anything here that has attacked with numbers these problems.

Back to the 4.3's.
We as a GROUP of 4.3 owners got together and MADE NOISE.
We got aftermarket companies to open up and give us parts for fair prices.
We made noise to GM and got some changes done partically on the injection setup and it was late in the ballgame also it was when GM didn't listen to us and went with the ****rado's and Blanyon on the drawing boards. That is biting them in the *** big time and I bet they wished they would have listened to it. 4 years later and they still can't sell them.

You GOTTA MAKE NOISE if you want changes.
Not here but at those directly responsible.

 

This has nothing to do with this forum, but.
#1 reason I believe the Monte failed is because of its close association with NASCAR.
Oh NASCAR and a large following, but its alot like other sports.
Few real die hards that really enjoy the sport and don't openly debate the merits of it.
Majority of loud mouthed, openly rude, debating the merits of, while slamming down gallons of beer and attacking like idiots.
While it is a large group, it is small in nature to the car buying public to which those actions and associations they don't want any part of and won't buy because of.

Don't now gang up on me because of this statement.
But I didn't buy a Monte for years, loved there looks etc because of that.
I also wouldn't buy the one I really wanted because it was covered in NASCAR crap.
I use to be a big NASCAR fan before when it was racing and skills before.
You couldn't give me and have me accept tickets for the best seat in the house for Daytona.
They've made a complete mockery of NASCAR and what it once stood for, SKILL, SKILL, SKILL and more SKILL.

 

 

well if u seem to dislike the car so much then y did u purchase one? there are plenty of other two doors out there