nelliott Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Hello. My name is Nate. I'm 28 years old and I live in Oxford, CT with my wife. I just picked up a 2004 Impala SS last week with 45k miles for $7,000. I drove to Long Island with a buddy of mine to pick up the car. It was a one-owner car owned by an older gentlemen that decided he wanted something new. The gauge cluster is wonky (which I found is very common on 2003-2006 GM vehicles) and it has a mysterious coolant leak. I already ordered the new stepper motors to fix the gauge cluster and I'm taking the car to my mechanic tomorrow to have them flush the cooling system. I want to be rid of the Dex-Cool before I start trying to track down a leak. I have a feeling it's one of the intake manifold gaskets. Here's a picture from the day I bought it. That's my buddy's WRX next to it. We stopped for lunch before driving home. I also own two other cars. A 1990 Talon TSi AWD with just a few mods: And a 1989 Prelude 2.0 Si 4WS. This is what it looked like shortly after I bought it. I have since rehung the bumper but it has developed even more rust over the six years I've owned it: I actually used to own a '92 Lumina Z34 as well. I bought it when I was 18. Unfortunately, a year later, the transmission burned up sitting in traffic. I'm pretty sure one of the lines on the cooler had clogged and caused it to fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l67ss Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Welcome chech into metsl coolant elbows they are a COMMON failure point on 3.8s(stock are cheap plastic) the metal elbows are like $12 at oreillys etc. Any plans for your impy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelliott Posted February 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 I actually read about a weakness with the coolant elbows. I'll have to look at that. I really need a good repair manual. I ordered the Haynes manual but it would be just as helpful in a dumpster. It covers way too many years and the L67 isn't even in the book. What a joke. Guess I need to pony up for a quality manual or maybe an All-Data subscription. No plans for it other than maintenance. It's going to be my daily. I bought it to replace the Prelude because my wife is pregnant so I needed a bigger car. I'm going to do a clutch swap on the Prelude, fix the speedometer, and give it to a friend. For now, I've got a box of maintenance parts/fluids (trans fluid, trans filter, wiper blades, front and rear brake pads, PCV valve, fuel filter, spark plugs, supercharger oil, and new belts) but I'm waiting until the weather warms up a bit next week. For now, I changed the oil/filter and replaced the air filter and cabin filter as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 olds vert Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Welcome! Nice cars. Those SS impalas are pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l67ss Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 You mite also check lims. Btw chilton is a decent book I actually read about a weakness with the coolant elbows. I'll have to look at that. I really need a good repair manual. I ordered the Haynes manual but it would be just as helpful in a dumpster. It covers way too many years and the L67 isn't even in the book. What a joke. Guess I need to pony up for a quality manual or maybe an All-Data subscription. No plans for it other than maintenance. It's going to be my daily. I bought it to replace the Prelude because my wife is pregnant so I needed a bigger car. I'm going to do a clutch swap on the Prelude, fix the speedometer, and give it to a friend. For now, I've got a box of maintenance parts/fluids (trans fluid, trans filter, wiper blades, front and rear brake pads, PCV valve, fuel filter, spark plugs, supercharger oil, and new belts) but I'm waiting until the weather warms up a bit next week. For now, I changed the oil/filter and replaced the air filter and cabin filter as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91z34lumina Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 wow I always love those 04 impala ss. Car looks like it has alot of that bad attitude type of car. Killer car. The z34 what can I say. I love them and I have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cully77 Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tornado_735 Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Welcome to the forum! My cousin had a black 1986 Prelude when we were in school...we ragged the shit out of that poor car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euro Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Holy shit the Prelude's had 4WS? That's actually really neat. Love the Impala man, welcome! I was looking for those before I bought my Regal, but I couldn't find a nice one under $9k here. They held value like crazy, but seem to be coming down now. Get those gaskets done ASAP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelliott Posted February 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Holy shit the Prelude's had 4WS? That's actually really neat. Love the Impala man, welcome! I was looking for those before I bought my Regal, but I couldn't find a nice one under $9k here. They held value like crazy, but seem to be coming down now. Get those gaskets done ASAP! I absolutely love my Prelude. I knew nothing about the 4WS before I went to look at it. I didn't even know what it meant until I asked the guy. Hard to believe I paid $900 for the car six years ago. And I think you're right about the gaskets. I might as well just preemptively replace them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Welcome to the forum! Sexy lot of cars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runt Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Former PA resident? Looks like a nice batch of cars. I'm going to assume that the Impy has an L67? Looks like a great car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 That Talon and Prelude are Sweet! Both on my "someday I want to own" list. Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelliott Posted February 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Former PA resident? Looks like a nice batch of cars. I'm going to assume that the Impy has an L67? Looks like a great car. Yep. Born and raised in Pottstown, PA. Move to Gainesville, FL for four years when my wife was in grad school. When she graduated, she got a job in CT so we moved here almost two years ago. And yes, the Impala has an L67. I was determined to have more boost in my life. I always wanted an L67 when I had my Z34. That Talon and Prelude are Sweet! Both on my "someday I want to own" list. Welcome! 3rd gen Preludes are getting harder and harder to find in good condition. I really lucked out with mine. $900 and no serious problems with it. The Talon, on the other hand, has been a real pain in the ass but I knew what I was getting into with DSMs. After pulling the trans for a rebuild and swapping the clutch, I'm fighting a bout of clutch drag above 5.5k RPM. So far I haven't been successful in curing it. I've determined the trans has to come out again and, when it does, I'm doing everything right by having the new flywheel resurfaced and installing a much more serious clutch so I hopefully don't have to do it again. I've had the trans out three times so far. I'm sick of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runt Posted February 14, 2014 Report Share Posted February 14, 2014 Yep. Born and raised in Pottstown, PA. Move to Gainesville, FL for four years when my wife was in grad school. When she graduated, she got a job in CT so we moved here almost two years ago. And yes, the Impala has an L67. I was determined to have more boost in my life. I always wanted an L67 when I had my Z34. Nice on all accounts. I'm on my first boosted car and they are a lot of fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vyper144 Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Welcome! Love the Impala! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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