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TGPforums.com is now working again. It is still in archive status, meaning no new member registrations are allowed, but the forum is searchable without the need for a registered account.

...and it was terrible when GM did it too. FWIW my Northstar has zero stop leak in its cooling system as the problem was fixed correctly, no thanks to the General.

I painted mine. Masked off the brake pad contact area. Held up pretty good 20+ years later, but I never drive it in winter.

Dude.... I own this car now.... Mine is exactly how your describing yours... From florida originally but Ohio car, hail damage, salvage title, center line wheels and the black hood and spoiler... Bro I have your car lol.

For anyone who has visited the TGPforums.com website for the last few years, it is no mystery that the membership and posting traffic has slowed down to a crawl. The Turbo Grand Prix is slowly fading in to the past, and that has left me with a decision to make in regards to the future of that forum. Starting January 1st 2021, new member registrations will be disabled for the forum, and new topic creation will be turned off. Starting February 1st 2021, topic replies will be turned off. At this point the forum will enter an "Archive" status and will remain on the internet as a large resource for the Turbo Grand Prix. I will enable guest access to all previously hidden forums (with exception to administration forums), so all topics can be accessed without a registered user account. This has been posted as an announcement on the TGPForums, and I am cross-posting it here for informational purposes only. LukeZ34 Tgpforums.com Admin/Owner

very happy to see it back up and running. I just went on there the other day for some part numbers. Thank You Luke.

Hello all -- New to me 1996 Grand Prix SE. I will fix this car up and my son will use for college. An experiment for me, too. How many miles can I get out of this car. Goal=200k. 3.1 motor. Auto trans. 102k miles. I live in Ohio. Florida car. Minimal rust. I see clean rockers, pinch welds, subframe, rear trailer arm connection! Clean, Dark gray cloth interior. Salvage title from hail storm. Good: Clean car. 1 year old rotors, pads, struts, front hub, 2 tires, New fuel pump and serpentine belt. AC works. Pioneer head unit. Looks to have nice specs and fitment. Bad: Hood hail damaged. 3 hail dings in front fenders. PO used duplicolor spray paint in a few spots. ABS light on. Windows and regulators kinda work. Needs inspection. I bought car and further inspected. Repairs so far: Transmission cooler lines rusted and leaking. Replaced. Changed transmission filter and fluid. Cooling system flushed (remove thermostat, fill and drain with distilled water 4 times), refilled with DEX 50/50, new thermostat, hoses, cap. Checked fans and they are working. Oil change to synthetic. Car is now running and driving. I plugged my Autoscan tool in and went for 2 hrs spirited driving. No codes and temp stayed between 170-190. Hot heat and cold A/C. No leaks I am experiencing "piston slap" when car is cold. Seems a common issue on 3.1 motors. I guess I keep the car maintained and live with it. Repairs in the next 2 weeks: Bad rear hub. Leaking gas filler. Windows and regulator. Interior light bulbs, some are out. Underside, door seams, inner fenders, and every nook and cranny will be oil sprayed with Fluid Film. Repairs in the next 2 months: I found and bought a NOS hood for $160! Body work on the front fender dings. Paint work on rear quarter. Front fascia needs to be attached. Replaced front door speakers with Kicker 41KSC54. Replace rear deck speakers with Kicker 41KSC6934. Trunk subwoofer. Kicker, not sure which one yet. Some vinyl graphics. I'm thinking a swoop on front fenders, or a rear quarter panel stripe. I saw a Gran Prix with Firebird on the hood, that was cool looking! I am thinking about a Firebird on the hood!!! Law says I needs a front license plate. I hate the offset look. Will related to center of front fascia. Not sure how that will look. The driver's door catch is annoying. It has 4 loud metal clunks sounds when opening and closing door. I can see the hinge is wore out, and lubing doesn't help. It will need to be replaced, but I am finding this part is NLA. Any suggestions? I scored some perfect Centerline Nitro 2 wheels on craigslist. They were on a 2002 Monte Carlo. 17x7. 5x115. 42MM offset. Polished Aluminum. WOW, are they light. Tire size calculators say 235/55R17 or 245/50R17 would be stock tire diameters and work with the 7" rim. I'm just starting research. Any thoughts or PICS on these sized tires for this style of car?

LED third brake light modification. To preface, my 1994 Z34 Lumina was driving down the road, and the third brake light trim cover fell onto the back seat. Upon a little inspection, the 3rd brake light housing was in sorry shape, and had been glued together in the past. Ordered a used light off eBay. So the factory bulbs are halogen 891 bulbs. There are a handful of sellers on Amazon that say they sell led versions of them. I was skeptical that they would fit in the housing. I had 194 led bulbs and sockets on hand, and decided to go with those. So the first thing, is to pop off the red lens, easy enough. Then use a uni-bit on a drill to open up the sockets to 5/8th inch From here, need to cut some lugs into the light housing for the 194 bulb sockets to thread into. I used a small 3 sided file. Took all of 15 mins to do. Then a little bit of wiring to do… splice wires and old connector together. Clean it up, snap the lens on it, and enjoy. This took all of 30 mins to do, with stuff I had on hand. I’m not a fan of the oddball bulbs that were in it, and glad I changed them.

They installed plugs correct for mid to late 90s 3100 engines, not the early 90s 3.1L. The symptoms fit the extra large gap. I also installed new AC Delco wires and a new O2 sensor, but I’m thinking the plugs were the problem.

It's that time. The oil leak in the rear main seal of my 1994 Cutlass Supreme SL with the 3.4L motor has gotten so bad that it needs to come out for repairs. In addition to this being in need of replacement, I am going to have the oil pan gasket replaced as well, along with the 3 coils and the alternator while the motor is out of the car. In addition to that, is there anything else anyone can think of that should be replaced while the motor is out, as this would be a golden opportunity to get it done. The engine compartment will also be degreased to clean up the big mess this leak has been making. It does not need a timing belt, water pump, or any intake manifold work as this was all done 5 years and 10,000 miles ago and no issues here.

Looks like the quick connect fitting is ok. And the leak has otherwise dried up. Only time will tell though.

I've only seen terrible results from those products

I've never used that product, but I'm generally not a fan of stop leak products. I've used them in the distant past. In my experience, they tend to cause more problems down the road.

It's possible coolant can leak from the intake manifold if they messed up the install somehow, but it's also possible it could be the heater hose quick-connect fitting. That's another source of coolant leaking from around that area that I believe is a fairly common issue. Especially more likely since they had to disconnect the fitting and probably didn't replace the fitting. It's this part: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/oldsmobile,1994,cutlass+supreme,3.4l+v6,1223367,heat+&+air+conditioning,heater+hose+connector,6876 It's located right above the crossover pipe and you might see evidence of coolant having dripped on the crossover pipe shield if it's leaking. I would put a white cloth under it and see if it gets wet.

Well, that's not fun. Got all the aftermarket audio equipment pulled. Plugged in the factory radio and... sounds distorted on the left channel, right channel completely out. Pop sounds when I push the buttons. It worked fine when pulled 32-years ago, so I'm guessing something that ages has gone bad. Probably electrolytic capacitors. I've read there are some green ones that like to go bad and leak. I just learned today the amp/radio module is the same as used in GMT400 pickups. I guess that explains why these radios are modular and can be taken apart into smaller modules. Vehicles with the split radios used the same modules with cables connecting them.

Sweet! Sucks that you can’t make a new account though, searching the forum is cool but if I want to view an individuals account I can’t without my own:/ still great work keeping the site up though, great wealth of information

Don't know how important this was to the corrosion resistance, but I forgot to mention I primed mine with Rustoleum Cold Galvanizing Compound spray. It worked surprisingly well as a primer on bare metal. It never chipped, flaked, or peeled. I don't know if it's the same formula today as the one I used a couple decades ago. Photos looks like it's now a smooth gray primer appearance, but mine was a very sparkly shiny bright metallic silver color. Almost looked like fine very fine glitter. Still have the can and looks like it's the same can as the current product though, so who knows.

You get it, you have those rims that visually open up the brake/suspension components much like the rims I have. When the rims and tires look good the rusty looking parts stand out. All the replacement parts for our 1st gens almost immediately flash rust out of the box and most 1st gen rims are mesh or solid so it never mattered, until 2026 when these are the "newest" classic antiques. I`m not trying to build a show car but something resembling a higher optioned factory 1 off that might show up at a show or randomly in traffic because the MPGs on a 3100.

DOUBLE UPDATE - some really great news to report here. I was hoping for this and it just might be coming true..........I have been monitoring the amount of oil dripping in my flat pan since the return of the car, and its getting less and less. It may just be this was residual oil already on places on the motor that were not able to be wiped off, and I just might something here, an almost non-oil leaking LQ-1. Even the wife noticed how well the car is running, and if she notices, now that can't be bad, can it...........

SOLVED! It’s unreal, but the shop installed the wrong spark plugs! Gapped to 0.060” instead of 0.045”. I put the OEM plugs and it runs great.

UPDATE: Got the car back yesterday. A fantastic job was done by the mechanic. Maybe it's just me but the motor seems to be quieter and it's running much better, must be all those new intake gaskets(?). I checked this morning, there is no more oil coming from the oil pump drive, so it looks like the RTV will probably hold. Unfortunately the car is still leaking oil, coming from the lower part of the motor. Not anywhere near as bad as it was though, so for now it will be something I can live with. They also cleaned the engine compartment out of all the oil & grease, changed the oil, and installed a new EGR replacing the original one. Thanks to all for the advice on this one, this is one less major issue this LQ1 now has

So I've had 2 GTP's so far, but this is my first Buick Regal GS. bought it from a grandpa and it was very basic looking when I bought it. Since buying it a couple weeks ago, I've tinted the windows, installed 4 Buick puddle door lamps, white face gauges, scangauge ii, black-housing headlights, zzp F-body brakes, tinted the taillights, installed red reflective lettering on bumper, custom front license plate and holders to match car theme, and took out the window and shift bezel wood trim and painted it flat black to match the rest of the car. I'll post pics when I get it all done, still in the process of some of it

One should have the service manual within reach for electrical diagnosis.

Hi, I’ve just stumbled onto this forum, and i figure I’ll probably need to post here eventually acquired my luminator last year, 2nd owner from a grandma. 70000 (got w 55000)miles. Here’s some pics; thx yall

Its likely a pre-production thing that never carried over, as that episode was filmed prior to the 88 cutlass being released.

Ive been getting water collecting in the spare tire well in the TGP and havent been able to figure out where its coming from. Thanks for mentioning the sealer failure, I will take a closer look.

What they liked the best: The brakes. What folks complain about the most on this site: The brakes. I've said it before, I'll say it again: The biggest problem with Gen 1 brakes is not the brakes per se, it's the brake booster.

Gotta love that quality 80s GM fit and finish! And that Regal is very oddly equipped. Bench seat, manual locks and windows, no rear reading lights.....but it has alloy wheels. Then there is this: That cluster must be from a pre-production vehicle, as the tach was never red like that on any of the production ones. My old 88 Regal was a November 87 build, and the tach was green like the rest of the cluster.

Both of those pieces aren't available anymore NOS. A parts car or junkyard run will be your best bet. I actually found my pieces that way. For the door weather seal, it's part #10283235. For the windshield cowl base, that rubber piece is apart of that metal base where the wipers rest. That part # is 10122028. I actually have the door seal but I need it for my STE. Sorry, I think I might have got the last NOS one. I bought it 6 years ago or so. Possibly...a Lumina/Regal/Cutlass sedan might be the same? I don't know for sure though. Also, a local glass shop might have the rubber piece in stock or could order it for the windshield base. I'm going to the junkyard soon and If I find a good one...either one of those parts, I'll grab them for ya.

My 89 Grand Prix was not in use for many years, the radio degraded in that time. It started to give a lot of pops and bangs. So much it seems to have blown a front speaker in the few moments it has been turned on. The speaker is an easy fix, just remove the dash pad and screw a new one in (16054362 is replaced by 15173233 and can be easily found). My system is a 4 speaker with Remote control head 16075882, the optional Cassette+equalizer 16050912 and steering wheel controls. The amp and receiver (16072780) which is located above the glovebox is the one that typically causes issues. I found the documentation here on the forum, unfortunatley the link for the amp doesn't work anymore: But even better than documentation, I found a common cause and fix for the pops and bangs: I tried exactly this procedure: https://reattaowner.com/roj/component/content/article?id=198:radio-capacitor-replacement-instructions. The 6 green capacitors were indeed shot. I found d4x5mm (not d5x5mm), 1uF, 50V, 105°C replacement capacitors at RS and had a specialist to put them in. The radio now works well, only some very minor pops are still noticable when the volume is turned to 0. I am very happy with the result and recommend this fix. However, I did notice now that my FM tuner apparently only goes up to 104.05MHz... Scanning, or manual tuning to get past 104 make it jump to the bottom of the frequency band again. I wonder if anyone else had a similar issue or fix for this?

Just to prove I’m not full of it. Here from the parts manual is the entirety of the LG5 engine air intake system

I know she's in good hand.

Stuff happens, post on the Aurora if you`d like. Ive always liked those.

Well I'm sad to say that she has gone to her new home in New York City guy has another 9C3 but it's pretty clapped out being a new york car but hes gonna keep this one in storage and hes taking it to New Jersey this summer to have some Company that does really good work undercoating And hes keeping it in storage during the Winter months so I believe it's going to a good home. It was a fun car and nice project now I've picked up a 1996 Oldsmobile Aurora with a bad transmission so you know what's gonna happen the entire drive train is gonna come out and be refreshed.

I bought this 1994 Cutlass Supreme from the auction and who ever had it didn't finish the swap but I found out it's a 3.8 out of a Grand Prix.

HERE'S MY CAR AFTER ALL THE VISUAL UPGRADES

That's it in a nutshell, accurate cam timing is dependent on the condition of the timing chain, the chain will wear/stretch over time, the longer the engine (for example...original parts) has been in use the more wear the chain will see. It's possible for an extremely worn chain (under just the right circumstances) to jump a tooth on the crank gear. The attached pic is an example of a well worn chain. Pull up the tension on one side & the opposite is extremely loose.

There's a video on youtube that is really a shortened version of mine, but the same procedure. It's the video I used to do the job the first time, along with a lot of reading on here. What that video lacked, IMO, is all the little details. How to remove the steering pump, how to get to top dead center, how to "transfer the marks" to the new belt, how the hydraulic tensioner and pulley work together (because you assemble it by feel...can't see back there). It also shows how I struggled to do some things, which is normal. You don't need to be an expert to do this job. You just need to pay attention to the details. It's a long video, but the people who really want to attempt this will eventually end up watching every minute of it. I'm honestly glad it helped you decide not to attempt it. I think the video I watched originally didn't give me enough detail to make that decision so I went for it. Had you only watched that video, you might've gotten in over your head and nobody on here would want that for you.

Don't forget. Like I said on FB that 99 gtp pcm will be plug and play on your lumina once it's swapped. No tuning or messing with antitheft needed

Hey Iv'e browsed around here for a long time, but just actually joined for much needed help. My rear pads are completely gone and have damagd my rotors pretty bad. I went to replace the pads and rotor but noticed the rear calipers have the e-brake attached to it. How do i remove the caliper with the e-brake in the rear? I think i can remove the cable but the actually ebrake unit itself in the the way of the caliper bolts. any help is appreciated, thanks!

i did the "remove backside stuff" method before.... i think i did something wrong though, because then it would never seal back there again. or maybe the caliper itself was already failing when i got to it. either way, i ended up replacing with the 94-up setup due to that.

'92? Caliper piston does NOT need to be TURNED back in. In fact, that's the most-difficult possible way to retract it. Remove one nut and one washer from back side of caliper--remove the little bracket that the park brake cable attaches to. Remove caliper from rotor. Secure so it doesn't hang from the brake hose. I pinch the rubber brake hose with a needle-nose vice grip or the special hose-pinching tools. (Can't do that with aftermarket steel braid-over-Teflon liner brake hoses!) Open the brake bleeder valve on that caliper. Push caliper piston back in with a C-clamp. The spinning is done by the shaft that the nut, washer, and bracket were attached to, not the piston. Brake fluid squirts out bleeder valve, might want to use a length of vacuum hose on the bleeder nipple to direct the fluid into a drain pan. DO NOT allow the old dirty brake fluid to push backwards through the system so that it contaminates the ABS hardware. Remember that the caliper is adjusted by REGULARLY USING THE PARK BRAKE, so if you go months at a time without setting the park brake, expect caliper problems.

OK Got this knocked out yesterday. Gave the TGP a rear suspension overhaul. For those that wanna do it themselves. 4 REAR gen2 lateral links work great, and are like $24 brand new off rock auto. the front ones have to be shortened by 1.5 inches to work properly and have a good range of adjustment. The guy who cut and welded mine put a piece of 1/2in round stock inside the joint (fits nice and tight) and chamfered a 45* angle on the edges before welding them. I am confident that they will hold up great. for reference I used RAYBESTOS Part # 5762115 but anyhow. here we go. and yes. you have to drop the rear subframe to get the old ones out, gas tank is in the way of the bolts coming out through the rear. I turned the rear bolts around so if i ever have to drop the links off again its not nearly as bad to do, pic of that shortly. maybe that is why my car was impossible to align. I'd bet some tow truck driver once upon a time did that old crap removed, new lateral links fit like a glove I am so happy with how this worked out, will be doing this to the z34 100% for sure.

L26 Swap Electrical portion C100 Connector, 96 Harness on left side, 95 Body harness on right side. Directions follows for harness changes: Cut E1 wire, reposition into A3 Connector. Run wire through fire wall and through A1 Port after disconnecting J2. Disconnect K1 and isolate. For K1, Battery Fused wire will need to be fused. I Spliced into the 60 Amp Maxi fuse circuit for the 3.4L Air pump circuit. Pump consumes 25Amp (No longer used). Spliced into a circuit requiring 15 amps for Sund Roof/power windows/locks/Digital Temp Control. Wire pulled from K1 DOHC Harness and reconnected into 1996 Regal harness circuit. Also Trans wiring. Verify Which harness you have on the 1996 trans. OBDII Conversion: Cut off OBDI Connector, Cut off OBDII connector from junkyard. Match up all colors the same. Orange to orange (needs to be fused into B+) Both Black wires spliced into OBDII Black wire, Tan to Tan. Note the purple wire is spliced into my Serial Data wire I fed through C100 connector from A1.

VATS does not care about VINs. in fact, it has no way of determining what the VIN is that's stored in the PCM since it doesn't communicate at all, it only acts based on inputs.

Vats control Box is under the passenger side dash, By the airbag, mounted on the re-inforcment bar.. let me try and find a pic.. Top right By where the air-bag would be. I know this is the v-tas because i forgot to plug it back in when i did my wiring harness swap for hud and dic...

I'm not sure if there's room under the gen 2 intake. Never tried them, then went gen3. The can be made to work in a gen 3. You would need the following brackets. http://wot-tech.com/shop/all/l67-injector-rail-brackets/prod_119.html You'd also have to splice in different connectors. Might be more effort than it's worth for your application

A junkyard. OldSkoolGP just converted his GP over to OBD-II. You may want to get in touch with him for any advice or tips.

For a conversion, youll need an OBDII wiring harness, all the extra sensors, the ports, computer. Sounds MUCH easier than it really is...

I'd take OBD-II over megasquirt. MS is really more of a hobbyist thing.. I wouldn't put it into something I drove every day.