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  3. White93z34

    HELP!! AARRGH

    You don't "need" a scantool, necessarily, Its a 93' its not that smart in the first place. Qucik and dirty oldschool should get you pointed in the direction. These methods served me well for years. I'm saying this as someone who owns all the diagnostic equipment at this point in my life. Are the plugs fuel fouled? if they are that's a problem, New or not if they are soaked in gasoline they won't do much, pull it out if its wet and smells like gas then yeah Do you have injector pulse? One bad injector can bring the other 5 down with it. Its not uncommon for them to fail as the cars get older and older. To check it, pull the cover off the fuel rail, unplug an injector any injector. get yourself a 194 lamp unfold the leads and stuff them in the injector harness, does it flash while cranking? if it does plug the injector back in and move to another of the front 3 and repeat, this will rule out the one you just disconnected as being bad Make sure the battery is up to the task, the ECM won't run under ~9v or so. is the tachometer needle moving when you're cranking if not its an indication that the crank sensor could be bad Check fuel pressure, put a small flat blade screwdriver to the schrader valve on the fuel rail, do you get a forceful ejection of gasoline with the depression while the key is on? its probably ok pull the vacuum line off the fuel pressure regulator, does fuel come out of it? if so thats a problem. if you happen to have a small hand vacuum pump pull a vacuum on the regulator if it won't hold any vacuum, thats also a problem Next lets get into the weeds a bit more, the map sensor is located behind the upper intake, is everything connected properly, if its unplugged the car won't start Coolant temp sensor is it connected, if its unplugged it thinks the coolant temp is around -40 or -50 degrees and can often lead to flooding and not starting I mean you did a heap of work to the car do a general sanity check to make sure nothing you did could have caused it. Hope this helps.
  4. Schurkey

    HELP!! AARRGH

  5. I appreciate all the advice. I’ll bite the bullet and drop the pan. The engine support bar is a great idea. A new oil pump makes sense and the power steering lines are leaking a bit, so I’ll knock those out, too. Might as well check out everything else while I’m in there.
  6. Bite the bullet and pull the pan off, with a engine bay support bar its not really that hard. Replace the oil pump with a newer higher volume one while your at it. Your timing cover gasket is probably in need of replacement as well so you might as well make it a good project.
  7. If it's financially feasible, this may be a good opportunity to drop the pan and have easy access to the steering rack, motor/trans mounts, power steering lines and replace those as well if there is any sign of failure. I would only patch the oil pan if it'd welded shut. Not sure how good of a weld you could get on the oil pan with it on the car and not being able to clean the oil pan super well.
  8. I feel your pain but if it were my car, I would just drop the pan. I haven't done this on a 3.1 car as I own LQ1 cars but it's not a bad job really. Just make sure to clean everything well and you might as well put a new gasket on it. There are instructions in my manuals that require torque for the gasket and the metal tabs in certain areas of the perimeter of the pan flange. You'll also want to add dabs of silicone sealant in the corners of the pan where it goes up and around the crankshaft, etc. Again, the manual recommends this.
  9. j_train5344

    HELP!! AARRGH

    Umm...I have no idea is the answer to almost all your questions. I don't have any of the tools required to test anything you're asking. The plugs and wires were new until today. I put the wires back in that id replaced and the car fired up briefly before dying again without restarting. You can tell it's trying but no luck. I know there's gas in the tank for sure. The fuel filter matches the rest of the underbody in color...dusted. I'd suspect it's oe. If you're asking if the RPM needle flutters when trying to start, I don't know that either. My eyes been on the battery gauge watching it drop slowly with each attempt. I know none of this is probably going to help, but again, the car ran tip top before I opened her up.
  10. Schurkey

    HELP!! AARRGH

    What is the fuel pressure at prime? When cranking? How old is the fuel filter? Is there gas in the tank? What is the cranking compression pressure of all six cylinders? How old are the spark plugs and plug wires? Are the plugs fouled from excess cranking? Will the ignition coils reliably fire a spark-tester calibrated for HEI? Connect a scan tool, verify ALL sensors and ALL computer outputs. Do you have an RPM signal when cranking?
  11. Last week
  12. cutlassman

    COOLANT LEVEL SENSOR DISCONTINUED FOR 2.8L V-6 & 3.1L W-body cars

    I had the same problem for the longest time in my ‘92 3.1L. The low coolant light would stay on, even when the level was fine. I finally disconnected the sensor 15 years ago and haven’t worried about it since. I keep an eye on the overflow tank to make sure I’m okay.
  13. I’ve owned this car for almost 24 years and getting that broken crankshaft position sensor out was probably the biggest PITA since! I was able to get various drill bit sizes into the hole and chip away at the plastic sensor. Unfortunately, when it finally started to loosen, I accidentally pushed the sensor into the block where I could hear it thud into the oil pan. New problem now! After draining the oil, I tried to fish it out through the oil pan drain hole with no luck. The metal middle of sensor is in there, along with about 75% of the plastic surround. Dropping the oil pan is such a hassle, so I may just leave the sensor remains in there and roll the dice. Or, I thought about drilling a 3” hole in the oil pan and then patching it. Anybody have any experience doing anything like that? I haven’t found a suitable plug, yet. So frustrating.
  14. j_train5344

    HELP!! AARRGH

    Alright guys, got the 93 cutlass vert as some of you may have seen. Got 107k miles on her and ran tip top...except I had white smoke from under the throttle body and had timing belt fragments all over behind the covers. I changed the timing belt per Memphis man's how-to video and it worked like a charm. Thanks for that! My initial startup following was lackluster thanks to a dead battery but it did run although briefly. Pulled the battery to charge and a 1 1/2 wks later (northern Indiana weather, ugh) changed the uim, lim, and valve cover gaskets. Also did plugs and wires. Thermostat too. Might as well right?? Reinstalled battery. Crank no start!! Fuel pump has prime. Fuel check valve gives a spray followed by burbles of fuel. Cam flats are down at tdc on the front bank. Pulled the valve cover to confirm. Didn't check the rear because I don't want to undue/redo the upper if I don't have to. Also, nothing moved when doing the timing belt. Plug wires are seated properly with locking clicks at all plugs/coils. Attached is the diagram used. She sputters intermittently like she wants to start. I need help!!!
  15. BradCH

    Starting the hunt for a 91 Grand Prix GTP

    Many thanks for the detailed reply! I think ABS was just becoming a thing in the early 90s.. I can't remember if our original GTP had it. The seller of the blue GTP says the brakes are 'unsafe' to drive, so.. The white GTP sold in under 24 hours, so that's off the table. Parts are definitely something I've had to wrap my head around. I think as your sense of time kind of freezes up - the early 90s are 30+ years in the rearview now but I still feel like they should be considered 'modern' and parts ought to be plentiful. I had 2 Edsels to go along with my 88 Thunderbird at one time and I had an easier time finding parts for those. So that'll be something I guess I need to think about, not that I anticipate putting more than 1000km on a future GTP annually. Honestly I'd be okay with just having one to sit in, run the radio and transport myself back to being 16 again for a few moments. The 5 speed is something I do kind of want just because it's how I remember our car. I do also remember the anxiety I had with that car as I was a brand new driver with all the angst that entails PLUS having to deal with things like hill stops. The GTP was not too forgiving as I recall with the clutch, I remember stalling it a lot. I'm having a think about the blue GTP.. if I could get it for less than $1000 then I don't really care if it ends up being a failure, it's surely worth that in parts - it could become a donor to a future, better GTP. Plus, although I think the Pontiac nostalgia will last, I think the same might not be said for the GTP once reality collides with the imagination.
  16. White93z34

    Starting the hunt for a 91 Grand Prix GTP

    Welcome! Great backstory, I think it captures why many of us still love these cars. So you covered a lot of ground I'll try and hit on some points, not to scare you off but to inform. If you encounter a 1991 with ABS, don't walk, RUN. That was the last year the old PowerMasterIII braking system was offered in these cars. It was troublesome 35 years ago and in my opinion totally unsafe to use today, and its a massive headache to get rid of. Just spend some time reading here and you'll see. 92/93 had a far more reliable however underwhelming performance of the Teves IV ABS System. the "high oil pressure" is likely nothing more then a bad sending unit, when they start to fail they will read all over the place, $20 for a new one no big deal A 1992 will have the highest possibility of being a manual, not sure on production numbers but 1992 was the most common year for manuals, again still very uncommon but highest chance. As far as automatic vs manual, I've done both flavours of the 3.4 DOHC, the 5 speed is more fun but its truly a hateful gearbox to live with on a daily basis. I'm good with it for a few days before I get sick of it, your mileage may vary. There is also the reoccurring problem of these cars in the 5 speed manual, no parts! you can get axle seals, clutch sets, sometimes clutch hydraulics and not much more. Shift cables are another issue they don't break often, and you can repair the main shift cable when the rubber bushings fail. But the cables themselves, they are unobtainable now. And lastly Timing belt components are getting harder to come across, specifically the timing belt tensioner actuator, its been discontinued by GM and you're basically scrounging old stock or used ones at this point. Literally no idea what I'll do next time I need one. Probably have to get creative. The video of that 91' you posted sounds in a pretty sorry state, could be something simple. Can't really tell from the video. Of the 2 you are looking at the white one with cloth looks better taken care of. That said, If you do want one try and hold out for a nice one, at least around me these cars are just gone from junkyards so replacing broken pieces could be a challenge.
  17. Hello! Sort of an introduction - I live near Vancouver, BC. I don't have a W-body, yet, but I think that's about to change with your much appreciated advice! I am looking for a 91-93 GTP, similar to the 91 my father had brand new when I was just getting my drivers' licence. His was black with grey leather, had a 5 speed manual, and I think the wheels were gold. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of it when I was a kid - he traded in his beautiful 88 Thunderbird Turbocoupe which I absolutely loved (but was having repeated mechanical issues). The GTP felt kind of like a downgrade in some ways, especially the rattling interior. It sounded badass, but it wasn't very fast at all, something that kept getting hammered home every time I picked it up from the dealer after servicing - the dealer was a family friend who loaned us his personal 91 Trans Am every time the GTP needed something. Anyway, fast forward a couple of decades and one pops up on craigslist. Could never get hold of the seller, but it was just like my dad's except white. I then remembered my Dad's more, especially all the buttons inside (!!!) and reading and watching videos made me really kind of want a GTP again as a fun/project car. I think over the years I've come to appreciate it more as the unique car it was. Plus almost 25 years after Pontiac closed shop I'm really missing the whole brand. Those 'heat is on' commercials were constantly on my TV back then. My Dad passed away last year and my memories of learning to drive with him in it and the happier times of the early 90s are in my head now. This era of GTP (before they refreshed the interior - I think around 94?) seems to be pretty rare these days generally and especially where I live. I was trying to search for production numbers on the forum here to get a sense of what might be left out there but strangely the search engine reports 0 instances of 'GTP' across the entire forum even though I can see it plainly in various posts. I was hoping someone here had posted production numbers. There are two GTPs for sale right now near me. One I think may be a bit of a basket case. No rust (this is why I love the PNW). It is blue with grey leather, 'well loved' and apparently the brakes are shot. In this video the seller revs it and to my ear it doesn't sound too healthy and the oil pressure looks like it's high. It has 220k km and he's asking $2000cdn - it's been for sale for 6 months, I think maybe $1000 or less would be reasonable, but you guys let me know. The other is 150km from here, it's a 93, doesn't have leather (meh), but it is in excellent shape with only 140k km and could qualify for collector plates. Both cars are automatic. I was really hoping for a 5 speed but finding one out here may be impossible. I had thoughts of maybe buying an automatic and converting - it's not a money issue for me but I'm thinking scarcity of parts would be a big problem. If I had an idea just how many or few 5 speeds were produced that might guide my thinking. Or might just make my peace and live with automatic. As it's been a long time since I've bought a used vehicle (we just re-lease our Toyotas every 4 years), I was looking for advice on what to watch out for specifically with these cars, ie. things that might be broken that indicate you need to pass on this particular car. I'm kind of leaning towards going cheap to start, just to scratch the itch, because I don't know if this nostalgia wave will last once imagination/memory becomes reality. I think I'm almost in the market for something to literally just sit in and reminisce about Dad. But it might become a passion project too. Like I said, I really miss Pontiac. Anyway sorry for the long post!
  18. Callahanj0b

    Post rebuild electrical nonsense

    Replaced relays, vroom vroom.
  19. rich_e777

    TGP hood vent repair.

    I knew I read about the Corvette people and hood vents from somewhere. The clear coat didnt make the pattern it was the new coat of primer on top of the scuffed up clear coat. I was thinking a media blaster using some "softer" stuff like baking soda would be enough to remove it evenly. Or just make a week long project out of doing it by hand a few square inches a night with sand paper. While their off I had the idea to see if CS vents fit, I`ll dig them out and see. I also have a set of Daytona vents I forgot I had, only have one drip pan for it though.
  20. Callahanj0b

    2010 Buick stalls, restarts after 20 minutes

    GM is terrible about the battery to body ground, they use a piddly little wire on the 3.8. Ground point gets a little rusty, resistance increases, temp increases, vicious circle wire gets hot and conductivity stops, after 15 to 20 mins, its cooled enough to conduct again and car starts and drives, repeat. Like an unshielded starter on an SBC. use a bigger wire to a better body ground
  21. Callahanj0b

    Post rebuild electrical nonsense

    New to this forum but not to the Grand Prix. Due to a teenager driving the car with no oil until it stopped moving, I had to pull the motor on my fiances 04 GTP and rebuild it. Crank, one connecting rod, all new bearings, rings, gaskets, seals whole shebang. The rebuild is done, motor back in and it starts/idles fine, but that's as good as it gets. The DIC (mileage/trip/etc) is dead, no power steering -new pump and fluid full(power steering solved, low pressure line had a leak, missed it due to other fluids under the car), moves but absolutely no acceleration like its choking out, periodic hesitations like mmm g, mm, g, g, go, mmmmm, g, g goo, goooo,gooooooooo, no, mmmm (revs fine in park/neutral so im pretty sure CAT blockage is out), HVAC is intermittent blower comes and goes but lights are steady, Brake warning light, trac control and ABS lights all on. NO CEL. New battery, have triple checked grounds and went as far as cleaning body and engine points to near reflective shiny and putting new terminals on all the ground wires, engine to body to battery all check good with meter, ive metered every fuse and checked every relay. I do not know wtf or if im just dumb and theres a plug hiding somewhere I cant easily see when I routed the harness back in or maybe something is up with the under hood fuse box itself. Also, and may be related to the lack of acceleration, she has a remote starter and i started using it while trying to meter electrical, it dies after about 30 seconds, being familiar with the brand of remote start on other vehicles, it uses a tach input to stay running, lack of input may have something to do with lack of power when getting on the gas?? Meaning lack of signal where its actually needed for the motor?? unfamiliar with that wiring on this car
  22. 94 olds vert

    TGP hood vent repair.

    I don't know if I would use a media blaster on those vents. That could damage them. When I had my 1st gen GP and I added some vents. I took them to a shop that specializes in corvettes. They were able to repair them. I had a few broken mount points and a cracks. Plastics can be tricky to paint. I would try a product like this: https://www.amazon.com/Testor-Corp-Lift-Off-TESF542143-Plastics/dp/B000BQSKQE/ref=sr_1_5?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.D26tQF1wV1qdtPU_fCc6S1cn9VBRfVsiKvTkIvtLwO9Xj7KES-1xXQxJ47Qq9lgH1ugikOWGfMueBW5LLxjLesyeN_NSvIv7HVASJKH7TeneFQvPTkj1Xc_Kce2XXeGcm59pzmpIDTG6SzAY6cy2gwWUDI5E3v6v3644kHnJiOR8TK7U8zbG5TwaNg_efrjf9nQocukymTJAwYQnMmLw9yzk1V0c6XBz0e4w9LdMYIHpS-FXEf3ERYySGoZ2Vc5M7rTt9zgP_uWqfwzXC_vpF0ttHWBVNKVtMINh4rRZl4U.xETHwFlqmrxsYAfmsAfwXOaFbWvaTM5EgMQJmR4OmAU&dib_tag=se&keywords=paint+remover+for+plastic&qid=1711146143&sr=8-5 Try a test spot and hopefully it's not too aggressive with the vent. The clear coat left a lightning bolt pattern? Could have just been the clear coat reacting weird to the base layers of paint. I've had it happen and it sucks.
  23. rich_e777

    TGP hood vent repair.

    Can you still match the posts up from where they were broken from? The one post I reglued held the screw ok so far but Ive not put the vent back on yet. I think I`m going to need a media blaster to strip the vent from what I did the first time. I used several coats of clear coat that even when scuffed up didnt like the new primer and it left lightning bolt patterns all over it. Is there any sort of chemical that could be used without damaging the plastic?
  24. 94 olds vert

    TGP hood vent repair.

    I have a very similar issues on my jet ski, with metal screws and plastic mounts. I slammed into a wave pretty hard and broke the tabs. Luckily I was able to get the hood vent cover out of the lake. Looks like I know what to use for the repair now.
  25. Amanita

    TGP hood vent repair.

    I need to fix the hood vents on my Grand Prix but one of the problems is a couple posts have broken and I'm not entirely sure how to fix that.
  26. Earlier
  27. trailing arm mount right in front of the rear wheels, thats a problem area on these cars
  28. rich_e777

    convertible carpeting

    I`ll get back to it in the next few days with some more pics for the front. Ive read where there could be some reinforcement on the inside rocker panel area. If its a similar bulge then that might make the coupe carpet not wide enough to fit over it. I`m also going to try and swap carpets between the two models once there both out.
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