Overheating is user error not car lol btw just busting balls

Oh i know :D I can take it. I can handle an argument ;) But that is beside my point and going off topic. The point was, its been through hell and runs beautifully. A real testament to the 3800 series 2 engine.

Id say you have gotten lucky more then its a good engine. They can be reliable. But after some heat forget it. Keep up on the maintenance and she will do good for you. and as far as the tranny goes. If it ain't broke don't fix it. You could buy a "new" and be worse off. The t5's are junk. If your is still shifting good keep it.

Eh maybe. I post on an entire forum of v6's and they all love them and claim theyre reliable. Some of them are up in the 200k mile range and still going. Only thing ive ever herd of going on the v6's are the head gaskets, but all engines are prone to that it sort of doesnt count. Ive had coolant issues, but still not the engine itself. The internals will last forever. A buddy of mine has a turbo charged stock 3.8 that runs great. And i mean its TURBO charged...biggest turbo ive ever seen. Things a beast...but im done measuring d***s.

But as far as the tranny it grinds in every gear and is very loud. Its definitely on its way out soon and yes its filled. Ill probably replace it with a tremac.

My good old LT1 has 175,000 original miles on it, still runs like a champ through constant flogging. But thats honestly the best way to learn your way around a car, just do it. You can sit through all the classes you want that tell you how shit works, how to pull shit apart, how to fix certain shit, little shortcuts here or there yada yada yada. Does it help? yea, but it doesnt even come close to comparing to the knowledge you gain from hands-on experience and just looking at something and figuring it out for yourself. Most of working on cars is just common sense anyways.

Yeah thats how i knwo everything i do. Ive already done the clutch, flywheel etc, driveshaft, breaks, various engine components (water pump etc.) without any prior experience. So far successful :D

Sounds like you are having a lot of fun with the car and have learned a lot working on it. How many miles per year are you putting on it?

It's looking great and it sounds like everything is working well except for the transmission.

Thanks yeah I definitely have learned a lot. I love my car. It's my first one I've only had it for 8 months. I put about 15k on it. I'm good friends with the previous two owners so I know all about its history which is cool.

My glove box came wrapped in vinyl with the car. Had no idea why so i investigated by tearing it off...i found patches of the original material worn off. So i cleaned it and sprayed over the whole thing in hopes to mute the spots. It turned out good imo and looks better than the vinyl wrap. Also stopped by a salvage yard and picked up this emblem for my bumper.

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...8/IMG_1848.jpg

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...8/IMG_1856.jpg

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...8/IMG_1854.jpg

Not too bad. Spending some time with the car before winter huh??