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I know it seems I’m always writing about things I feel are worth buying, but that’s not my main intent and I have no connection with any eBay vendors. That being said, the sad reality is that original Pontiac specific stuff is disappearing by the day. I know many just want to keep their cars on the road, but other’s have longer term (collector) aspirations. In either case, original documentation is invaluable to anyone wanting to know, learn or repair more than the average do-it-yourselfer. And, I’ve always been a documentation junky so this is right up my alley. Printed service manuals have pretty much vanished as service complexity (and costs) have increased and you pretty much can’t even buy bound books anymore (and wouldn’t want to).
I bought one of these last May when I bought my car and mentioned it here at the time:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pontiac-G6...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
It’s a DVD with the actual GM technician level documentation for the Pontiac G6 2005-2009. I was reminded that the vendor only had a couple of these left, so I bought one more and thought I’d mention it on the forum in case anyone else wanted one before they’re gone. I don’t know if there are others available elsewhere or if more will become available. It’s basically everything GM wrote for their technicians on the G6’s for diagnostics and repair. It includes component drawings, wiring diagrams and connector pics, all diagnostic codes your scanner might return, repair procedures, special tools and covers all the recalls and campaigns GM issued for the G6. In short, it’s a veritable treasure trove of G6 knowledge for the uber geek. For those who own convertibles, it covers them in depth including their specific descriptions, parts locations, diagnostics and trouble codes. If you own a convertible, you already know how little there is available to help you diagnose and service them.
It isn’t just a DVD full of .PDF files that you can open up and copy at will. It’s an application that runs in your browser using a non-commercial version of the VMware player. And, it has a key so you can’t just duplicate it. Lastly, it runs in Windows so those of you who speak Microsoft already know it will be “fiddly” and occasionally cantankerous. (I did desktop support for 10 years in my last job and I’ve been able to keep it going. You can too.) The interface is old school (remember how old these cars are) and of course it will give you fits, but at least all the hyperlinks work perfectly and you can always get “home”. You can even enlarge the pics and diagrams to print off or export to a file if you like. (Sadly, it won’t help you find the parts that are long discontinued.)
If you consider one of these, be sure to mind the System Requirements. The installer will complain if your computer is too old or inadequate in some way. I have it installed on a dedicated laptop with all my other car software. (The VMWare player has updated automatically a couple of times already.) I’ve spent countless hours navigating through it and have learned a lot. For me, it’s certainly been worth the small price of admission. I’ve attached some small pics of the main screen and various views within the menu tree. The line drawings are typical GM and at first glance aren’t impressive, but you can enlarge them in the window and scroll as needed to locate what you want. Anyone with mid-level PC experience should be fine. I’m sure GM had technician training classes on this back in the day.
Good luck. - Mark
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I bought one of these last May when I bought my car and mentioned it here at the time:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pontiac-G6...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649
It’s a DVD with the actual GM technician level documentation for the Pontiac G6 2005-2009. I was reminded that the vendor only had a couple of these left, so I bought one more and thought I’d mention it on the forum in case anyone else wanted one before they’re gone. I don’t know if there are others available elsewhere or if more will become available. It’s basically everything GM wrote for their technicians on the G6’s for diagnostics and repair. It includes component drawings, wiring diagrams and connector pics, all diagnostic codes your scanner might return, repair procedures, special tools and covers all the recalls and campaigns GM issued for the G6. In short, it’s a veritable treasure trove of G6 knowledge for the uber geek. For those who own convertibles, it covers them in depth including their specific descriptions, parts locations, diagnostics and trouble codes. If you own a convertible, you already know how little there is available to help you diagnose and service them.
It isn’t just a DVD full of .PDF files that you can open up and copy at will. It’s an application that runs in your browser using a non-commercial version of the VMware player. And, it has a key so you can’t just duplicate it. Lastly, it runs in Windows so those of you who speak Microsoft already know it will be “fiddly” and occasionally cantankerous. (I did desktop support for 10 years in my last job and I’ve been able to keep it going. You can too.) The interface is old school (remember how old these cars are) and of course it will give you fits, but at least all the hyperlinks work perfectly and you can always get “home”. You can even enlarge the pics and diagrams to print off or export to a file if you like. (Sadly, it won’t help you find the parts that are long discontinued.)
If you consider one of these, be sure to mind the System Requirements. The installer will complain if your computer is too old or inadequate in some way. I have it installed on a dedicated laptop with all my other car software. (The VMWare player has updated automatically a couple of times already.) I’ve spent countless hours navigating through it and have learned a lot. For me, it’s certainly been worth the small price of admission. I’ve attached some small pics of the main screen and various views within the menu tree. The line drawings are typical GM and at first glance aren’t impressive, but you can enlarge them in the window and scroll as needed to locate what you want. Anyone with mid-level PC experience should be fine. I’m sure GM had technician training classes on this back in the day.
Good luck. - Mark
