Newbie here
 

Hi everyone!

As said, pretty new here. was lurking around for a few days before actually signing up. anyway, just purchased a 99 alero a few months ago. pretty shitty to be completely honest. bought it after an older guy traded it in at a dealership. inspection just came up and i failed it due to the front tires being dry rotted and no money to buy tires yet. hopefully buying some with the paycheck this weekend. anyway, my list so far of things to fix:

- windows don't work. the clips that take the window up and down are broken on every door. am i able to just buy the clips? or do i have to buy the whole window unit(minus the glass of course)? right now, they glass is literally being help up by blocks of wood the guy somehow lodged under the glass to keep them up snug.

- (very easy) open up the shifter to grease everything up. every now and then when it gets cold up, i have to take the shifter handle off and use needle nose pliers to shift out of park.

- replace head unit. guessing he got a cassette stuck cause every now and again, everything cuts out and it tries reading a cassette and the display shows that one is in it, even though there isn't.

- add an external antenna. seriously, who decided to combine the rear defroster and the antenna? every time i turn it on, the radio turns to static.

- start fixing rust(hopefully). garage i got it inspected at said its rusting in the rear, though I've yet to actually look. also, all the brake lines and fuel lines are rusting so i figure for the lines, and hopefully rear, i'll just use some steel wool and break of any loose rust, throw some rust converter on (anyone have experience with it? does it actually work?) then throw a coat of primer on, and then throw paint over top it all to help prevent it worsening.



that's it for the list as of now. i'm sure it'll grow as i find more issues the guy caused. luckily he took really great care of the engine. only 94,500 miles when i bought it. once i get money saved up and the main issues fixed, let the real modding begin. :awesome:

sounds like a hefty list to start, but grats on your purchase and welcome.


i believe these are the clips you want, yes you can replace just the clips, but how im am not sure.... never done it, i just replace the whole thing most of the time lol

hey sleepy usually when you mention a link you want to include it :p

Welcome to the site...as to the defrost/antenna thing, I usually just listen to a cd for a couple minutes while the defrost is going, not a biggie for me and it don't take long

thanks!

as for the defrosting, luckily I've only had to use it once and it was too dang cold so i just turned it on and went back inside as the car warmed up.

Welcome,

I'm not sure if the rust converter is the thing that sends electric current into the body of the car to prevent rust, but if it is, they don't work. The whole thing is basically a scam. The dealerships that sell new cars have it as an option sometimes, but a new car won't start rusting for a couple years any ways and by that time, it's too late. Just save your money and put it towards something else. They are sold in stores as well such as Canadian Tire for a couple hundred dollars. Stay away from them.

Also, post some pics of your car.

Welcome to the forum!! I hope you got that car at a low price.

Anyways, I'm going to dissect your post.


This one is easy. Even the lodging of the wood was easy, it's not going to be hard to get them out.

These windows have 2 clips on each window called "sash clips". They are the same throughout all 4 windows (you didn't state doors, but I assume it's a 4). They are glued on by some gorilla glue type of ordeal. You have to get the window out on each door and change off those clips.

This situation looks like this



Here's a link.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-piece-Window-Glass-Regulator-Repair-Sash-Connector-Guide-Clips-Grand-Am-Alero-/331188504363?fits=Make%3AOldsmobile|Model%3AAlero

Make sure it's those sash clips and not the window regulator. If it's the regulator, you have to swap out the whole thing.



If your car is a 2002 or above, you will need the chime module to keep your chimes, otherwise you have to tap into the brown ignition wire (it was brown in my Grand Am) for the radio to work on the switch. You will also lose your RAP feature.


Actually, the defroster/antenna feature is very common now. Although why the Grand am got a mast antenna and the Alero didn't is beyond me.

This is somewhat complicated. I'm assuming it's the modulator.

Someone did a how to, but I assume this person had no working defrost. You may have to swap yours out.

http://www.aleromod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25298

Darn it.... I was at work. Anyway you can find them on ebay.


And I like not having a exterior antenna. Car looks much more sleek.

The static is normal...it works too hard whrn trying to do both and that is why i think they melt...he also said in the original post it is a 99

Missed it... Oh well, he didn't state 4 or 2 door lol

Yes, I have a box of those clips in the garage :D

Welcome to the site

Welcome

thanks everyone! yes, my car is a '99, 4 door. it's the GL with perfomance package. as for the windows, i didn't take the car doors apart too much to really look into it all but those definitely are not the clips I need. the ones i do look like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Grand-Am-199...1e354b&vxp=mtr

I do agree with the antenna thing. Not having one does make it look rather sleek. I have no issues keeping it the way it is, as I said, generally when i have to use the defroster, it's too damn cold out for me to wanna sit in my car anyway.

For the rust converter, i don't know how it supposedly works. here's what i was looking at, has some good reviews, but idk. http://www.gemplers.com/product/1277...Rust-Converter

The link you posted is the side that goes on the regulator and the others attach to the window and they bolt/screw together

You said it was the clips that take the window up and down. The clips I posted do exactly that as the way you posted. Those clips you posted are something else, those weren't designed to make a connection between the glass and the regulator, but do serve a function. My advice is to thoroughly inspect the damage and take pics, we'll help you out. If your regulator is messed up, you're better off swapping the whole thing. Those cables can get messed up and will make the window get stuck.

Did you read my post...they are the clips on the regulator itself...i know because those also broke on my friends 01 along with the part that glues to the window
EDIT: in your picture you can.barely see it behind the door support it is what the metal piece attaches to

Welcome!

And for those clips, just go to O Reilly's and get them, i got mine for roughly about 8-12 dollars.

sadly there's no o reilly's here in PA, and neither pep boys or advance/autozone has them so i pretty much have to buy them from ebay. Anyway, just got a set of 4 used tires of 80 bucks though. they're practically brand new. car headed to be reinspected. better pass this time or ima be pissed since they said i just needed new front tires. once it's inspected, moving onto the windows.

I'm surprised they don't care about your windows... In the state my car is registered, they care about the driver's window. It has to go up and down or else it won't pass.

my windows COULD go up or down... :rolleyes2:

Welcome to the site.