Old Alero, New to Forum

[the1lyden]

Hello Everyone,

I'm Scott, and i have owned an Alero for about 10 years.

I can't believe i am just finding this forum now. I bought my Alero new in 2003 and have about 165,000 miles on it.

I am currently trying to decide what to do with it. It still looks good and i have patched as best i could some rust spots, but i am worried about the other things i can't see. I am still on the original engine...

Oh and if i would have found body kits 5 years ago i would be all about it, but now.... since i am trying to decide if i get a new car, i am second guessing investing any more money in the Alero.

Sweet Body Kit:
http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/Ext...110941/614823/

Does anyone have any links to other kits, that might be even cheaper?

Issues i have had with my Alero:

- Ball bearings went out within my first year.
- My rear defrost stopped working, but i got in there and soldered the wires. Haven't had an issue since.
- My rear break lights went... i needed to replace some relay.
- My Cruise control went on me about 2 years ago, and never got it fixed.
- Just got a new blower motor for my heater.
- My wipers sometimes studder when thy are in use.... still haven't fixed this, but it doesn't happen every time it rains.

I took these a couple months ago:







I am not sure if i am gonna try to get a new car or what, but as a trade in, it is worth about $800.... i was offered $1,500 for it from a dealership, but i am sure i could get more for it selling it myself.

if i canged anything, i would like to get a body kit like the one i posted above, tint the windows, do something with the exhaust... a new hood with some kind of scoop would be nice.... New tires and rims for sure. I would love to put Lambo doors on it, but i don't think that will ever happen....

[sleepyalero]

Welcome! Good to see another black 4 door. I own one too. I mean it all depends if you really want to mod the car, for starters, exhaust.. Headers.. Intake, paint and clear the corners in your headlights... There's tons you can do. Hid headlights would also be a nice mod. I'll show you some pictures so you know what I mean about painting the inside of the lights and all..

Anyway what size motor you got? I've got the 3400. It has 181,xxx miles on the motor/body and around 3200 miles on the 6 speed. (It's brand new) car still runs very strong also with some engine mods and various other things, and I giver hell quite often.

Honestly being worried about it, just depends if the car was a more highway drivin car, or city car... Highway cars seem to last longer because highway is easier on the motor and transmission because its sitting at one speed for a good amount of time instead of constantly stopping amd going shifting all the time. How well you have kept up maintenance in the last 10 years.. I use fully synthetic high mileage oil on my car, evenn though it will say 5000-7500 miles between oil changes. I always do 3000 miles. Coolant is good up to 100,000 miles before change, I do it once a year. And I only drive 15-20,000 miles a year in the car. I just take the best car of it as I can, gets a car cover on when parked, dusted, wax/quick waxed just about everyday.. The car never gets dirty. I take too much care of it but I love the damn thing. I'm crazy about the thing. Don't let anyone touch the paint either. hate finger prints.

Anyway here's some ideas. Look at the headlights how the orange reflector is gone and its now black.

(Guarantee someone will call me a show off) I'm just trying to give ideas.



And here's one I actually took about an hour ago with the lights on.



Oh and about the body kit you chose. I wouldn't get that. Atleast in my opinion. Razzi kit looks best on these cars to me. Or the OSV but its very rare and expensive.

I also plan on lowering the car 2 inches soon. I've got springs, still needs struts and other things first.

[the1lyden]

Heya Sleepy,

Yeah i have been admiring your Alero for days now! I LOVE thoseBlue stripes you put on the fenders. and the powder coating looks great.

My rear tires still have drum brakes, and it would be nice to switch them to pads, just cause they looks so much better.

lets see, i have a 5 speed manual in mine, with a Sweet 4 banger engine... i have pretty much done zero modding to it.... It has been my daily driver for 10 years. I have a wrangler too, and i try to drive that more in the summer.
I am just not sure if i am gonna get the money out of it, that i put in.

I have heard a few mentions of a guy named Mike in Ohio that works on Aleros. where in ohio is he, and what does he specialize in?


I want to say i have been good on the maintenance. i converted to full synthetic about 5 years ago, but since i was considering selling it, i recently converted back to regular oil.... I think i just refilled the coolant... maybe 2 years ago...

I do a double coat of wax about once a year, and it seems to do the trick.... i can't believe your "quick wax" yours almost every day... wow that is a lot!

I DO like the OSV kits, but respectfully, i just cannot stand those Razzi kits.... something about how the front end looks with that kit..... just doesn't look right to me.

I do like your headlights.... you suggested to paint and clear the corners... did you get into the headlights to do that or did you do it over them?

Oh and i wanted to ask you how you painted your fenders, if you just straight up painted them, or if you did anything to the surface of it prior to painting it.... i am a little green with all this stuff.

[the1lyden]

do you have HIDs on both your daytime running lights and your headlights?

[sleepyalero]

Haha glad you check her out. The 4 banger isn't bad, yet I know nothing about them because I'm a 3.4 guy.

The fender stripes are actually a nice decal, like a stick, but thicker and better. Got it off eBay for 14 dollars for all 4. I do plan on repainting the car down the road, and the stripes will then be painted onto the fenders. But they look good and hold up to all weather, power washer and everything else.

Mike is an awesome guy, little slow at times but that's just because he's a very busy guy. He mainly specializes in N-body cars. (Grand ams, alerts, etc) he does turbo builds on quite a lot of ga's. he does awesome work. He actually did my 6 speed swap for me. Did a really awesome job on it, the car is a lot of fun. It's 2/2 6 speed 3400s in the world I'm pretty sure. Only other guy on here who has it (mfuller) also got his done at Mikes shop. Milzy Motorsports. Aside from that we believe no one else has this swap. If you didn't know the 3400's only came in auto from factory, no manual option. So it's pretty special. He is located south of Dayton. He has a website. Milzymotorsports.com check it out.

With 165k miles I'd move to full synthetic and high mileage. I use Mobil 1.

Yeah, I like the car CLEAN at all times. I know it's "just an alero" but I want the car to last. It doesn't get drivin in rain, or snow. It's mostly in the garage unless its nice out to drive it. Soon it will be staying in for the winter. I plan on spending a lot of money on the car.. Building the motor and putting a turbo on it. It will be 400-500 hp when I'm done with it depending on where I go with the build.. Gonna cost around 20+ grand for what I look at doing.

Reason why the alero, i don't care to own a car everyone has (camaro, trans am, gto, etc.) yes you can make power easy, but its to easy. I like the alero being a challenge to reach the power I'm looking for. I mean who would expect a turbo 4 door alero? It's going to be a lot of fun, I can't wait.

The headlights were takin apart, removed reflector, and painted the chrome piece inside.

You can convert your alero to disc somewhat easy, though I don't remember what it takes.

[sleepyalero]

Originally Posted by the1lyden

do you have HIDs on both your daytime running lights and your headlights?

Only the low beam has 8000k 35W HID's in them, the high beam is stock halogen bulbs. (Never use them cause the HID's perform well).

The DRL's I disabled because I didn't like them.

[03Sleepr]

Originally Posted by the1lyden

1.My rear tires still have drum brakes, and it would be nice to switch them to pads, just cause they looks so much better.

2.I am just not sure if i am gonna get the money out of it, that i put in.

3.I have heard a few mentions of a guy named Mike in Ohio that works on Aleros. where in ohio is he, and what does he specialize in?

4.I DO like the OSV kits, but respectfully, i just cannot stand those Razzi kits.... something about how the front end looks with that kit..... just doesn't look right to me.

5.I do like your headlights.... you suggested to paint and clear the corners... did you get into the headlights to do that or did you do it over them?

Welcome!
1. if you have a local jy you can get everything you need, although if you are new to modding or working on cars then you may want to get a friend to help you..

2.99.999997% of the time, if you mod a car. you will never get your money out of it..I don't have tons of money in mine, but I would get even less out of it. we do it for the love of the car/modding..

3. search for milzy motorsports, I imagine this is the mike you are talking about..performance mostly..

4. razzi is sexy, OSV is far sexier...

5. you have to open up the headlights to paint the bezels, it's not hard. look in the how to section.

6. sleepy is a showoff, aaaand a superfast ninja, or I just type slow as eff.

[sleepyalero]

Originally Posted by 03Sleepr

Welcome!
1. if you have a local jy you can get everything you need, although if you are new to modding or working on cars then you may want to get a friend to help you..

2.99.999997% of the time, if you mod a car. you will never get your money out of it..I don't have tons of money in mine, but I would get even less out of it. we do it for the love of the car/modding..

3. search for milzy motorsports, I imagine this is the mike you are talking about..performance mostly..

4. razzi is sexy, OSV is far sexier...

5. you have to open up the headlights to paint the bezels, it's not hard. look in the how to section.

6. sleepy is a showoff, aaaand a superfast ninja, or I just type slow as eff.

I already told him about mike you skimmer!! Haha and thanks for calling me a show off, sorry I love my ho.

Yeah I've got around 7 grand in my car right now. Bought the car for 3500 almost 5 years ago. I probably won't see 7 grand out of it. Even after my turbo build spending over 20,000 more if I did sell it (which I never will) I will probably only get 10 grand out of it.

[jawa]

i had 200k on my 3400 before i put a 3500 in it

[billytheman1188]

Welcome! There are a TON of CHEAP mods to do to that 4 banger. The 3400 is another story....$900 ceramic coated headers vs. $200 ceramic coated header (for your engine) lol. I have over 8k into mine and will NEVER see that....with my fully new suspension, 3500 engine with 35k on it and a CLEAN car it's only worth prob like 3k If you love the car.....start modding!


Also...you said the cruise doesn't work....do you have any lights on in the gauges? If your trac off/abs/service vehicle lights come on it's a bad speed sensor in your wheel hub. Get a scanner and find out which one...then replace hub assembly. Cruise control will work again. If not...idk what it is....could be a bad cruise module?

Windshield wipers.....there is a thread on it with no answers....try replacing the wiper motor and check if the wipers are bolted down tight enough (prob are but worth checking).

[the1lyden]

Wow you guys are sooo helpful! wish i would have known about this forum years ago.... strange because i was online searching for resolutions to all the issues i have had over the years.

So if my factory headers are still going strong, what is the benefit in replacing them? do i get more power? i have heard that blown factory headers are pretty common with Alero's.

I don't have any lights on in the gauges. i heard it could be the switch or the CC cable as well as a bad speed sensor that is throwing off the Cruise.

@Sleepy - Daytime running lights - yeah i don't care for them either. Did you just take out the bulbs or did you do something fancy to stop them from working?

Wipers - i want to get new wipers anyway, the old ones are showing signs of rust.... it sounds like i need to start finding out where some local junk yards are....

More Razzi fans.... i am a little surprised that no one else likes the Showoff 3 body kit.....

[03Sleepr]

Originally Posted by the1lyden

Wow you guys are sooo helpful! wish i would have known about this forum years ago.... strange because i was online searching for resolutions to all the issues i have had over the years.

So if my factory headers are still going strong, what is the benefit in replacing them? do i get more power? i have heard that blown factory headers are pretty common with Alero's.

@Sleepy - Daytime running lights - yeah i don't care for them either. Did you just take out the bulbs or did you do something fancy to stop them from working?

people here and usually pretty helpful, there are few of us..but we try.

you don't have factory headers, you are confusing headers with head gaskets. headers are replacements for the factory exhaust manifolds, you will see an increase in power and maybe fuel mileage and generally a better exhaust note.

look through the how to section, disabling running lights involves cutting or blocking a pin on a relay in the fuse box. it's very simple.

[Papa Rad17]

Looks good! you should be able to find help with about aby of those issues you listed on here. the search button does wonders! Happy modding, the alero is a great car to do it to. Welcome

[billytheman1188]

The headers (or header in your case) make a BIG difference in power. If you got with an intake/headers/exhaust you will prob gain about 20-25hp. I was going to say it could be the cruise control cable....mine wasn't working after i did the 3500 swap...popped the hood...saw the cable was off the throttle body and popped it back on...problem solved. Prob the easiest "problem" i've ever had to fix

Glad you're enjoying the forum....hopefully we can convince you to keep the Alero! Too many people on here getting rid of theirs for imports....not good!

[DJx79x]

Originally Posted by 03Sleepr

Welcome!


2.99.999997% of the time, if you mod a car. you will never get your money out of it..I don't have tons of money in mine, but I would get even less out of it. we do it for the love of the car/modding..

This is a completely true statement but I disagree with its sentiment. I plan to put money into my car so that I can enjoy it more. I know that I am different from other people and that my intentions are unique but if I spend alot of money on my car and it makes me have more pride in driving it then to me it pays off. My car was 11 years old when I bought her last year and I had no intentions on selling the car for a gain because that would just be unrealistic.

[the1lyden]

Right!!! Head Gaskets, not Headers! got it.

@billytheMan - i will check the cable under the hood! great suggestion!

I love the Alero, and i try to keep it nice... but with 165k miles on it, and living in Ohio with salt and rough winters.... i have concerns about throwing a few Grand into it....

How noticeable is an increase of 20-25 horsepower?

[Redog]

Welcome to the site, finally!

I too bought my Alero brand new in May 2000, now sits at 142,6xx miles on the orginal motor and 2nd transmission.

I've done a lot of mods to the car, but this one gets the most attention:

Front brakes: 99-02 Camaro Calipers and 00-05 Impala Rotors (look at the caliper very closely)





Rear Brakes:

Calipers and rotors for a 2005 Grand Prix

[the1lyden]

Nice!!! Alero Emblem FTW!!!

[sleepyalero]

Originally Posted by the1lyden

Wow you guys are sooo helpful! wish i would have known about this forum years ago.... strange because i was online searching for resolutions to all the issues i have had over the years.

So if my factory headers are still going strong, what is the benefit in replacing them? do i get more power? i have heard that blown factory headers are pretty common with Alero's.

I don't have any lights on in the gauges. i heard it could be the switch or the CC cable as well as a bad speed sensor that is throwing off the Cruise.

@Sleepy - Daytime running lights - yeah i don't care for them either. Did you just take out the bulbs or did you do something fancy to stop them from working?

Wipers - i want to get new wipers anyway, the old ones are showing signs of rust.... it sounds like i need to start finding out where some local junk yards are....

More Razzi fans.... i am a little surprised that no one else likes the Showoff 3 body kit.....

Show off 3 is a little much...

The drls is actually involved with a fuse under the hood. There's a thread around here somewhere about how I did it.... Depending on what year your car is you should be able to pull fuse #22 and you can either snip pin #87 or tape it. I cut the pin off on mine.

Here's for an 01

2001 Oldsmobile Alero Locate the DRL relay in the main fuse box under the hood, it is #22 corresponding to the diagram on the underside of the fuse box cover. Remove the relay, snip pin 87, and re-insert. Source

[jabartram]

I have an 03 that i run autocross, motor has 150000 with automatic, and it is FAST around an autocross track, i love my alero for the fact that it is the first car i purchased and paid off on my own. i have invested a large amount of money into modifications to the suspension, engine and trans for racing.

here is a link to some of the racing videos, its fun and eye opening when an alero can beat vettes and porche's on an autocross track.

http://www.youtube.com/user/wireless0ne