Repair And Fix it

Pull the Grand Prix with the 3.1-liter engine into a safe and level work area. Set the emergency brake and open the hood. Shut the motor off and wait two to three hours for the engine to cool down completely.

Slowly unscrew the radiator cap and set it to the side. Make sure that the cap is not hot and does not have pressure on it. Slide the drip pan underneath the radiator drain plug on the bottom of the radiator. Loosen the drain plug with the pliers and allow a couple of gallons of coolant to drain into the drain pan. Tighten the drain plug back down tight.

Locate the top radiator hose that connects to the top radiator port and the intake manifold. The other end of the radiator hose connects to the thermostat housing on top of the intake manifold. Unscrew the hose clamp from the end of the hose that is attached to the thermostat housing port with the pliers. Pull the clamp back onto the hose. Twist and pull the hose off the thermostat housing port.

Unscrew the two thermostat housing mounting bolts with a ratchet and a socket. Pull the housing off and set it to the side. Pull the thermostat out of the intake manifold and discard it into the drain pan. Scrape away any of the old gasket from the base of the intake manifold and the bottom of the thermostat housing. Wipe away the excess gasket, dirt and debris from both places with a clean rag.

Spread a thin line of the red high-temperature silicone around the bottom of the thermostat housing. Push the gasket onto the bottom of the housing so that the silicone will hold the gasket in place and act as a extra sealer. Make sure that the bolt holes are matched up on the gasket and the thermostat housing.

Set the thermostat housing back over the intake manifold and match the bolt holes up. Screw the two mounting bolts through the thermostat housing and tighten with the ratchet and socket.

Push the top radiator hose back over the thermostat housing port and line the hose clamp over the radiator hose and the port. Tighten the clamp with the screwdriver until the hose is securely tightened to the thermostat housing port.

Add the antifreeze to the radiator until it is full. Leave the cap off the radiator. Crank the motor and let the engine heat up until the thermostat opens. The thermostat generally opens around 180 degrees. When the thermostat opens, the antifreeze level will drop inside of the radiator. Keep adding more antifreeze to the radiator until the antifreeze stabilizes at the top of the radiator cap. Screw the cap on tight and turn the engine off.

Open the hood and stand on the passenger side of the car facing the belt side of the engine. Loop the belt underneath the bottom pulley or the crank pulley, in the outer track provided. The supercharger belt on the 3800 SC is the outermost belt, as there are two belts on this engine.

Hold the belt taught in your right hand so you do not lose your grip on the crank pulley. Run the belts smooth side or back on the front side of the two supercharger idler pulleys. These two idler pulleys are are about three inches in diameter. The lower supercharger idler pulley sits at the two oclock position, just inches above the crank pulley. The upper idler pulley sits on the top front face of the engine.

Loop the inside of the belt, or the grooved side, up and over the supercharger. Maintain your grip with your right hand on the belt to maintain your positioning of the belt.

Set your left hand on the top of the supercharger pulley and hold the belt still. Slide your right hand down the belt toward the front of the car until you reach the tension pulley.

Pull the belt tight again with your right hand, and use a 3/8-inch ratchet and socket with your left hand to push the tension pulley down towards the bottom of the engine. If you feel uncomfortable in this position, set the ratchet down and grab the belt with your left hand. Use your right hand on the tension pulley if this feels more comfortable to you. Slide the belt over the tension pulley, making sure that you keep your hands clear from the point between the belt and pulley.

Release the tension pulley and let it retract to its upright position, and remove the ratchet and socket from the tension assembly.

Inspect your work to make sure the belt is centered on each pulley, and sitting in the proper channels provided in the crank pulley. Clockwise from the supercharger, your belt should go to the front side of the tension pulley, down and around the bottom of the crank pulley, up around the front sides of both idler pulleys, and back to the supercharger.

Open the vehicles hood and turn the engine off. Wearing protective gloves, locate the metal retaining clip above the headlight and use a socket wrench to remove the bolt.

Pull up on the retaining clip while pushing back on the headlamp and align the marking on the retaining clip with the notch on the headlamp. Pull the headlamp assembly out of the vehicle.

Remove the bulb socket ring from the headlamp assembly by turning the ring counterclockwise. Pull the old bulb out from the socket and place the new bulb in.

Reinstall the bulb socket ring by placing it back onto the headlamp assembly and rotating it clockwise. Place the headlamp assembly back into the vehicle.

Push down on the retaining clip while at the same time pushing back on the headlamp to ensure that the headlamp assembly is secured into place. Place the bolt back into its initial position and securely tighten it.

Open the hood to the 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP.

Put on the safety goggles and mechanics gloves.

Remove the four upper engine cross member retaining bolts that run from the passenger-side fender rail to the grille using a ratchet and a socket.

Place the extension on the ratchet and use a suitable socket to reach and remove the battery hold-down wedge bolt. Reach down between the battery and engine cradle to remove both the retaining bolt and hold-down wedge.

Remove the negative battery terminal bolt with an 8 mm box-end wrench by turning it counterclockwise (to the right since the terminal bolt is on the inside of the battery casing). All car batteries should be ungrounded by removing the negative battery terminal first to prevent sparks (which can result in igniting hydrogen gases the battery may be emitting, causing the battery to explode).

Remove the red cover (if applicable) from the positive battery side post terminal and then remove the terminal bolt with the box-end wrench (again turning it to the right).

Remove the battery from the battery tray. Some batteries may offer an upper handle to manage the battery better. If not, tip the battery slightly towards the back of the engine and grasp it from each side. Batteries that are not equipped with handles tend to offer small shelves in either side of the battery for grasping.

Install the new battery by reversing the procedure. Be sure to connect the red positive terminal bolt first and the black terminal bolt last to prevent sparking.

Replace and tighten the battery hold-down wedge and retaining bolt and then replace the cross-member and retaining bolts by reversing the removal procedures.