New member saying hello

[03AceAlero]

I got this Alero for my daughter for her first car, it's a 2003 with 119k v6. I searched around here months ago before I joined and found some very useful info.

Found out this car was an avis rental, I hope it wasn't treated to bad.

By the way I'm not new to forums, I'm on about all the s10 forums. Looking forward to finding out lots of info on these cars.

[sleepyalero]

Welcome.

[03AceAlero]

Here's a few pics

When we first got it

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii23/24digger/100_3969_zpsb56c967d.jpg (http://s260.photobucket.com/user/24digger/media/100_3969_zpsb56c967d.jpg.html)

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii23/24digger/100_3970_zps0db0fa71.jpg (http://s260.photobucket.com/user/24digger/media/100_3970_zps0db0fa71.jpg.html)

I put new carpet in it and had to replace about all of the dash vents.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii23/24digger/100_3971_zps5a683224.jpg (http://s260.photobucket.com/user/24digger/media/100_3971_zps5a683224.jpg.html)

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii23/24digger/100_3977_zpsb061995b.jpg (http://s260.photobucket.com/user/24digger/media/100_3977_zpsb061995b.jpg.html)

[sleepyalero]

Looks nice. Low oil pressure light on??

[03AceAlero]

I don't think it was running. And I've since got a matching wheel and new tires.

[sleepyalero]

Ahh, good point. Hard to tell cause of the sun glare. ;)

[tw0123]

Welcome! S10 forums eh? I've always had a soft spot for those trucks.... anything fancy in your garage? :)

[smccarthy1883]

Welcome to the forum. Glad to see another gold v6 alero.

[03AceAlero]

Welcome! S10 forums eh? I've always had a soft spot for those trucks.... anything fancy in your garage? :)

My favorite 91 cameo

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii23/24digger/91%20S-10%20Cameo/000_0078_zps4d5bb3b6.jpg (http://s260.photobucket.com/user/24digger/media/91%20S-10%20Cameo/000_0078_zps4d5bb3b6.jpg.html)

I also have a 94 ss, 95 ZR2, 02 crewcab (yellow), 89 extended cab baja, and just a base 4cyl s10

[tw0123]

Damn! That's a sweet truck and a nice collection.... my neighbor has a s10 extreme sitting with no motor... I'm trying to convince my wife to let me get it... she says i have to sell my car first do that's not going to happen :(

[sleepyalero]

Nice, now you need a cyclone!

[03AceAlero]

Yeah, would love to have one of those.

[tw0123]

Last one i saw around here was going for $25,000!! Good luck on those haha...

Any plans for the alero or just maintenance?

[That01Olds]

Welcome to the site and nice collection of S-10's you got going there. They're nice trucks that's for sure. I only wish GM would've kept making them instead of replacing it with the Colorado. Although I will say I am a fan of the 2015 models lol.

As for it being an Avis rental, my Alero was an old Avis rental as well. My parents bought it in 02 with 38k miles and then gave it to me in 09 as my first car with about 180k. I then sold it to my sister later on who drove it until around 205k before trading it in and it was still going strong then.

[03AceAlero]

I then sold it to my sister later on who drove it until around 205k before trading it in and it was still going strong then.

Nice to know.

No plans really for it, although I just did change the thermostat monday night.
Just a car for her to drive. She doesn't like it as well as I do, mostly the color. But I think I got a good buy on it, for $2000 but I probably have close to $ 600 more in it with tires, carpet, plugs and wires and a few trips to the pull a part for it.

And thanks for all the welcomes.

[01OhioAlero]

Do you know what type of wheels are on the front of it? I really like those!

[03AceAlero]

I have no idea, and it was the only one on the car.

[That01Olds]

Nice to know.

No plans really for it, although I just did change the thermostat monday night.
Just a car for her to drive. She doesn't like it as well as I do, mostly the color. But I think I got a good buy on it, for $2000 but I probably have close to $ 600 more in it with tires, carpet, plugs and wires and a few trips to the pull a part for it.

And thanks for all the welcomes.

No problem. They do make great first cars and it definitely sounds like you got a pretty good buy to me.

[Chris2000]

Do you know what type of wheels are on the front of it? I really like those!

Those looks like MB Drifter wheels. They are sold through discount tire stores. My old alero had 17" Black MB Drifter wheels. :cool:

[Nas Escobar]

Welcome to the forum!

Do you know if the engine has had its Lower intake manifold gasket swapped out for metal ones? I think that's the major thing when buying a 60 degree GM engine, but that's just me. These cars act weird when that gasket is bad.

[03glgold]

Welcome to the forum!

Do you know if the engine has had its Lower intake manifold gasket swapped out for metal ones? I think that's the major thing when buying a 60 degree GM engine, but that's just me. These cars act weird when that gasket is bad.

It is an 03' and for the '03 and '04 cars a lot of people say it was fixed, though with the 03's I am sure at least some of the early ones still had the issue.

[Dynamix]

I heard that GM used better gaskets with the change to the 02 model year. Is that right? In Germany we only had the 99-01 models, so I cant tell. Sooner or later every Alero that has been sold in Germany will have this issues.

[03AceAlero]

Those looks like MB Drifter wheels. They are sold through discount tire stores. My old alero had 17" Black MB Drifter wheels. :cool:

Yeah, that's where the lady I bought it from said it came from

[03AceAlero]

Welcome to the forum!

Do you know if the engine has had its Lower intake manifold gasket swapped out for metal ones? I think that's the major thing when buying a 60 degree GM engine, but that's just me. These cars act weird when that gasket is bad.

Doesn't appear to have anything done to it but I haven't looked real close. I'm aware of the issue, I have a 99 silhouette but haven't done anything to it yet. I do have a lot of oil seepage with it though. Not sure if the anti freeze was the cause of the intake gasket issue but I changed my anti freeze early in its life.

[Nas Escobar]

It is an 03' and for the '03 and '04 cars a lot of people say it was fixed, though with the 03's I am sure at least some of the early ones still had the issue.

Yeah, I've heard of some 04's having the issue. Not on the Alero, but I think once on the Grand Am and a couple times on the Impala.

I feel it's always better to ask that question.

Doesn't appear to have anything done to it but I haven't looked real close. I'm aware of the issue, I have a 99 silhouette but haven't done anything to it yet. I do have a lot of oil seepage with it though. Not sure if the anti freeze was the cause of the intake gasket issue but I changed my anti freeze early in its life.

Well the real problem is the gaskets made out of plastic. Plastic and heat don't mix. My Cutlass Supreme has this issue as well, but I have the 3.4 Twin Cam (LQ1). A lot of people say that Dexcool isn't nice to plastic but my thing is that Dexcool didn't exist until 1996-1997. I don't run Dexcool in my Cutlass so you would think my engine isn't affected, but that would be a misconception.

It's just one of those things. The job isn't that hard to do. I've done it both my V6 cars. If you're just swapping the gaskets, it's a 4 hour job. Otherwise it takes me a couple days since I usually swap the valve cover gaskets, clean the area where the LIM goes, I paint the valve covers since I already have the stuff off, etc.

[over40driver]

That Alero looks nice. Always prefer a non-sunroof.

[03AceAlero]

Yeah, I don't like sunroofs either glad it didn't have one. My daughter wanted one though.