Greetings all! It'* been awhile since I posted but I wanted to give everyone an update on some issues I had and have solved. Pontiac replaced my intermediate steering shaft under warranty. There is a new shaft they developed and it works great. No clunking at all anymore. When they installed it, the Pontiac dealership noticed my front engine mount was broken. I had noticed a thunk when my car shifted from 1st to 2nd gear but I thought it might have been the transmission. However, the broken engine mount was causing it. I had that replaced and all is well now with that. It is a weak point for Northstar cars the dealership said and if not repaired it can cause stress on the other engine mounts and hoses nd other lines. So replace it if you can ASAP if it is broken. It is listed as a 5 hour labor job so plan accordingly on the price. The part was about $125 but with 5 hours labor it can get costly unless you get itcovered under the warranty.

I replaced my rotors with Powerdisc drilled ones and Raybestos Ceramic Pads. I know some people here have said to use either slotted or factory style rotors but alot of people I taked with said slotted rotors can act like razors on the pads and can wear the pads prematurely. It'* probably a myth but I felt like the cross drilled would be OK since the new Grand Prix GXP'* come with those from the factory. Since installation I have been completely satisfied. The "stuck caliper squeak" I thought I had is gone and the braking performance is super! My orignal rotors had warped just a tad bit which caused the squeak. Those of you that have read my earlier posts remember that I had my car in Germany and drove on the autobahn and in the city of Berlin for 2 years and 33,000 miles. I did some hard braking over there. Although the brakes were great, the rotors just wore out earlier with the high speeds. I had the car routinely at 130-145 mph over there and heat cracks slowly developed. This may have been due to the ceramic pads I put on after ony 3,000 miles over there. I hear that ceramic pads can create more heat even though they "grab" better when hot than semi-metallic. Of course the main reason I switched to ceramic was the brake dust issue. So, I went with the cross drilled rotors and have been very happy thus far. I hit the brakes pretty good today as a test and did they work beautifully! Slotted rotors may be great as well but I personally dont think there * anything wrong with cross drilled rotors either. I noticed no problem with lack of surface area that some have said may be an issue. Next on my list are new tires (I still have the original RS-A Goodyears), transmission service, and a fuel filter. The car is running super here in Florida. Cheers and happy driving everyone!

Slotted rotors do act a little like razors, but it'* more like if you held the blade at a 90* angle to the surface and rubbed it with a very dull blade. Of course at the pressures of a braking system it'* going to be a little bit. But with a street system you'll never notice the difference. Once you get into racing applications with higher pressures it'* a real problem.

The only thing to watch on drilled rotors is if the holes are cast then cleaned with a drill bit or if they're just drilled from a blank. The first is fine for most any application I can think of off the top of my head while the latter is very bad and may shatter is use.

Motor mount, huh? I had my GXP in for the steering shaft a month ago and I told the dealer I thought there was something wrong with the transmission. It feels like it clunks back and forth when you go from acceleration to coast back to acceleration. It never occurred to me that it could be motor mounts. Of course dealer said "nothing wrong" , "normal operation", "can't reproduce problem", or some other BS answer they tell you right before your warranty expires. I'll look into the motor mount issue further. Is there a way to easily tell without a lift, or does it take a professional diagnosis?

No, you can easily tell by looking under the car. The one I had replaced was on the front near the radiator. The rubber boot was torn. The mechanic who drove the car before they started working on it noticed it right away and he had never seen or driven the car but had worked on several Cadillacs and Northstar powered cars before. The Pontiac dealership and this mechanic said it is a weak point. Since the repacement there has been no clunk at all so I know that is what it was. Good luck and let us know if that was it.