Yea I was thinking as well as putting in a 180 stat. As far as my dash says my temps are in the middle range ( sometimes a hair over the middle ). Did you buy your parts from Autozone? or Advance?

I was just reading up on your thread and was reading what Andrew said (harofreak) Just to make sure that this is the proper way let me just tell you and tell me if thats what you did. First you have to drain the coolant ( which how do I do that? as well as what coolant do I use to refill it with? ) then I can go ahead and take of the belt, take the water pump off and clean the surface then apply new gaskets and waterpump back on ( does it come with new gaskets? ) then I'm done with the waterpump right?

Also at this time do you think it be wise to replace the radiator hoses? are they expensive? And since I will be draining the coolant can I take the reservior out to clean it so I can actaully be able to read it. If so whats the best stuff to clean it with? and I'm guessing thats jsut bolted on and just disconnect the hose and I'm good right?

I bought my parts from AutoZone. The water pump was $38, and the 180 t-stat was $10-12.

Yes, I did drain the coolant via the petcock/draincock/whatever which is located on the bottom of the radiator facing down on the DRIVERS side. It'* plastic. Additional coolant was drained from the block upon removal of the water pump itself. Remove the belt, then the water pump and clean off the area. I used a file. The water pump DOES come with a paper gasket. Reinstall the new pump and gasket and then fill the coolant back up using the instructions in TechInfo. I used Prestone Dex-Compatible ($14 @ AutoZone for 1 gal) which requires mixing 50/50 with water. You'll need to purchase 2 gallons.

Many people on here will tell you to flush your coolant and replace it with the green stuff as Dexcool supposedly causes deterioration of the LIM/UIM gaskets. I have been told that using Prestone Dex-Compatible was fine. I also chose to go this route because using green coolant would violate my extended warranty. You could replace the hoses, however, mine were fine @ 95k. I'm not sure on the prices. I'm also not sure on the coolant reservoir, mine seems to be stained, not dirty. Good luck!

For cars that came from the factory with Dex (most GM since '96) I recommend replacing with the newer formulation "mixes with any color or type" rather than Dex compatible.

Why? Because other than one thread on this forum, I have never heard of any problems with the "mixes with any type" coolants. They were made to mix with anything without causing problems and are NOT believed to cause gasket failure or other problems.

The same cannot be said for Dex.

Cars that have run Dex should NOT add the old bright green (phosphated) coolants as any residual Dex will combine with it to form a nasty sludge. I don't know where you could even find the old green stuff anymore. All that is available in my area are greenish yellow "mixes with any" marketed by Prestone and most aftermarket sources including Wal Mart, and the orange Dex group - Havoline Dex and Prestone Dex compatible.

I agree with Bill. If it doesn't affect any warranty issues, the all makes/all models is the way to go. I've used it in all the vehicles that I work on since it became available, without any problems.

The all makes/all model coolant I saw on a thread here by someone posting saying that it isn't good that it actaully does harm and that the new Dex is the stuff to go with. So I'm a little confused on which one to be purchasing..

Also should I flush the system out? or just after the waterpump and everything is hooked up just fill it up?

As Bill mentioned, there was one post saying not to, versus many that says to use it. It also mentioned "documented cases" without any supporting documentation for those cases. The all makes/all models is basically the G05 coolants that have been used in Europe, and other imports for years, as well as Chrysler and Ford products. In the end, the decision is yours to use the coolant that makes you feel more comfortable.

If you haven't done a cooling system flush lately, this would be a good time to do it. Also, if you are switching coolants - do the flush. If one has been done lately, and you aren't switching, just top it off when you're done.

I never did a flush to my coolant but I'm not sure if the Pontiac dealership did when they had to re-build my engine. So I'm thinking I should go with the flush. How exactly do I do that?

With the coolant issue, I just want w.e will be best for my car, I've been having the worst damn luck with this car, the amount of money thats been put in I coulda bought a new car with, so I want to make sure I use w.e will work nothing that will cost more money...So I'm going on your guys words..So far its the all makes/all models one...anyoen else have any thoughts?

I tend to agree with everyone that the "mixes with any color" stuff is the best solution. However, I chose not to take that route because it would have violated my extended warranty. Had I not had an extended powertrain warranty, I would have flushed it and put in "mixes with all colors". If you don't have warranty issues to worry about, flush (you can buy a flush kit at AutoZone for very cheap) and put in the "mixes with any color" stuff.

Yea I have no warranty..so get the all makes/allmodels coolant? And is that exactly what it says? I don't want to go to autozone looking for something and not be there and I ask and there like huh? lol

I've never heard it called "all makes/all models" coolant before. I've only heard it called "mixes with any color" coolant. Prestone makes it, as well as others.