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Post by philg on Jan 29, 2018 10:43:52 GMT -5
120K on an engine may or may not be an issue...depends on how it was treated in it's prior life. I could be good for another 100K.
If you have an exhaust leak at the manifold, you should be able to hear it. If the fluid is in the cylinders, it's going to show up at the tailpipe, not the manifold unless it's an awfully big exhaust leak.
With the engine just barely warm, if you cover the intake, you can guy a can or two of engine cleaner and clean the whole thing if you want to.
Gas does evaporate FAST, puddles shouldn't last too long. The colder it is the longer they will take to evaporate though but not weeks.
And yes, correct trans fluid level...super important.
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Post by COMpulse on Jan 31, 2018 18:49:57 GMT -5
This weekend I will fire it up and try to get the fluids straight. Then, it might just be capable of moving under its own power. That would be so awesome.
I'll keep an eye on the manifold. Maybe have my extinguisher on hand. The good news is that it's the front manifold, and I do have another one around if necessary (though I would suspect the gasket before the metal). No fun, but not terrible work.
But I'm not taking another thing apart until I've done the proper research and confirmed a problem. For now, fluids and warm-up.
Even better if I can start it without jumping it. Maybe I'll try reconditioning the battery.
Then it's just tying up loose ends and making it pretty.
Now that I got this car working, I feel ready to start on another. If I get rid of the GTP and get a good price, I'll keep an eye out for another 3800, Bonneville or Grand Prix. Anyone wanna bring me down to reality on what I might be able to get for this car?
2004 Grand Prix GTP with Competition Group package, paddle-shifters, heads-up display, leather, heated seats, AC, new tires, new rear struts. Maybe 2 or 3 square inches of rust where the paint is chipped around the rear wheel wells. Aftermarket black wheels, spoiler, grilles, remote start. Body 150k, Engine 120k, Trans 40k
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Post by flylear45 on Jan 31, 2018 19:36:03 GMT -5
WOOOHOOO!
Good news everyone!
Changed engines smoke for a while.
let it run for 10-15 minutes and see if anything changes. Look for obvious leaks, and if you don't see anything, then let it run.
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Post by philg on Feb 1, 2018 10:21:44 GMT -5
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Post by redheadedrod on Feb 2, 2018 23:28:48 GMT -5
Hate to say this but you may want to hold onto the car for a while after spending the time to fix it to get some of your value back out of it.. Coworker bought one that looked to be in better shape than the one you have and he paid like $2500 for it. He has since put in another $2000 on it to fix things but doesn't look like these cars carried their values well. Make it your winter beater... My coworker has a 15yr old that likes to push the limit and has driven the GTP without insurance or valid plates on it so who knows how bad he was beating it up... The interesting thing is that the newer 3.6DI engines that have dual overhead cams put out a little more power than the 3800SC engines. I have a 2009 CTS that doesn't quite put out that power (275hp/265ft/lbs) but I can grab a 3.6DI engine out of a newer car of same body style (2013 is 315 hp/312 ft/lbs) which is comparable to your GTP or the newer 3.6DI that puts out somewhere around 330hp/320ft/lbs. Toss twin turbos on one of those and your pulling almost 500hp.. I have an AWD CTS and it does a nice job. Just wish it had a little more power. At 200k miles on this engine I am considering updating to a newer motor with the 75hp more than mine. But I am also running it as a winter beater to save my truck from rusting. Hey looks like I may be out in your area next Saturday, taking a road trip to Ikea and Micro Center.
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Post by COMpulse on Feb 3, 2018 11:53:28 GMT -5
I've looked around on craigslist. I think I can get $2500 all day. Maybe my camera isn't the best, but the body on my car looks great now that the snow has washed all the dust off. And it's got every factory option available. I guess I will find out soon enough. If you're looking for more power, maybe check if there are any tuners for that car. I'm really hoping to finally spring for a tune on my Taurus. An extra 70hp and 90 ft-lbs at the wheels sounds insane. www.livernoismotorsports.com/product/LPP663151Trans fluid looks good. Oil looks good. Just need to warm it up, do the coolant, check everything again, and then try moving it. Then insurance and license plate. Then get all the fluids flushed. Then go to the dealership and get the recall done on the ignition cylinder.
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Post by redheadedrod on Feb 4, 2018 10:26:49 GMT -5
Most of the GTP's are fully loaded. I haven't heard of one that doesn't have the HUD and leather seats etc... You would probably know that one better. Can't imagine you getting more than $3-4k for it. But maybe I am wrong. hard to know for sure.
Not sure if I will be doing it this year but I hope to get HPTuners for my cars and learn how to tune them up. They have a tuner package for $500 that includes like 12 credits. And its like 1 or 2 credits per car or 4 to cover a whole year for a particular car.
Although with me getting a Tech 2 I don't know how much I need to play with. If I can get an editing program to make changes I might not need another tuner package.
Rodney
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Post by COMpulse on Feb 5, 2018 8:06:25 GMT -5
Well, I warmed it up on Saturday and let it run until it quit smoking. Worked on filling the coolant. Temperature started going up beyond where I wanted it to, and the upper radiator hose was leaking, so I shut it down for the day. Then got 4 inches of snow on Sunday.
If I get over 3K for the car I will be happy. 4K and I will need to buy new pants. The nadaguides site said up to $4800 for a GTP CompG with all options, but I know mine isn't worth that much after all that it's been through. But it does have add-ons too.
I think most of the GTPs came with the HUD, depending on the year. Not sure if leather was standard. But the CompG package is a little more special. It adds: 3.29:1 axle ratio Heads-Up Display (optional on GTP i think, Standard on CompG) Tap-Shift 142 top speed limit (126 for GTP's without Comp G) Changes to suspension Maybe a transmission cooler, I can't recall.. Mostly just stuff to make it more expensive to repair.
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Post by COMpulse on Feb 6, 2018 15:20:46 GMT -5
Today I started the GTP without jumping it. It took a couple cranks, and I thought maybe the battery wasn't up to it. But then it turned over and found it's idle.
Still working on fluids. Coolant seems good. Ran the car for 30+ minutes, multiple cycles of thermostat open/close and fans on/off. Trans fluid seems low. Might need another quart. I moved the shifter through the gears. You really have to wait a bit after adding it to get a consistent reading on the dip stick. Engine oil I thought was super over-filled, but now I think that was because I checked it while it was running. After I shut it off and checked it, it seemed more like where it should be.
Still getting a bit of smoke off the block. Not sure what it is yet. If oil level is high, maybe it's oil coming out around the valve cover and smoking on the manifold.
I might change the oil again now that she's had a couple warm-ups. But to do that, I want to drive it back into the garage, which means I need the trans fluid level close to correct.
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Post by jhornbr225 on Feb 6, 2018 16:23:47 GMT -5
Yeah, oil is always checked after the engine is stopped. I usually wait about 5 minutes to let it all settle back into the pan.
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Post by COMpulse on Feb 6, 2018 17:47:24 GMT -5
Yeah, I checked it again later. Looks good. Maybe a little low. Glad I didn't freak out. Same with the trans fluid. I was afraid I would need to get the vac-pump out.
So, I drove it (no jump!). Just up and down the driveway to move it so it no longer blocks my garage. The wife will be pleased with a snowstorm coming tonight. The trans felt like it was vibrating when I put it in gear. Maybe those trans and motor mounts do need to be replaced after all. Not surprised. I'll check the fluids again before I move it again. Eventually, I think the last thing is to put the splash shields back on the wheel wells.
No leaks since I tightened the upper radiator hose. Not a drop of oil on the ground. No warning lights.
It feels like I may have won. I'm not certain yet, but that's how it feels.
All the neighbors that probably saw me spending weekends and evenings alone in my garage. All the nights falling asleep thinking about what I'd do on the car tomorrow. All those hours alone with my wrenches, with no idea if what I was doing was going to work out. All those fears of being another guy with a dead car that never gets finished. All the trips to AutoZone, Harbor Freight, and the junk yard. All the questions and tips from everyone on hear that I read and re-read. All the YouTube videos and how-to instructions. All the oil, dirt, coolant, gasoline, RTV, blood, sweat, and tears drenching my clothes. The dirty hand-prints around the house. The orange pumice soap, and fingernails so dirty that clipping them was the only way to get them clean. The cigarettes dangling from my lip. The hernia surgery. The U-Haul I used to transport the engine. And then manhandling the thing into my garage. Coming home from work and opening the garage instead of the laptop. Texts from the wife saying "dinner is ready" and "dinner is still ready".
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Post by philg on Feb 7, 2018 9:28:02 GMT -5
All the neighbors that probably saw me spending weekends and evenings alone in my garage. All the nights falling asleep thinking about what I'd do on the car tomorrow. All those hours alone with my wrenches, with no idea if what I was doing was going to work out. All those fears of being another guy with a dead car that never gets finished. All the trips to AutoZone, Harbor Freight, and the junk yard. All the questions and tips from everyone on hear that I read and re-read. All the YouTube videos and how-to instructions. All the oil, dirt, coolant, gasoline, RTV, blood, sweat, and tears drenching my clothes. The dirty hand-prints around the house. The orange pumice soap, and fingernails so dirty that clipping them was the only way to get them clean. The cigarettes dangling from my lip. The hernia surgery. The U-Haul I used to transport the engine. And then manhandling the thing into my garage. Coming home from work and opening the garage instead of the laptop. Texts from the wife saying "dinner is ready" and "dinner is still ready". Congratulations! You are officially a "backyard mechanic" now! Feels good, don't it! When I was 19, I could drive my '73 Camaro into the garage and have the engine and trans on the floor in 45 min by myself.... Yup had it out too many times not to get good at it.
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Post by COMpulse on Feb 7, 2018 10:20:19 GMT -5
I feel like I could do the job again in a weekend now that I have all the tools and knowledge.
Though I've always had issues with victory feeling a bit empty. I did all this by myself. Which was just the way I had to do it. But there's nobody that knows everything I went through. Every challenge. Programming is the same way. I might write some brilliant stuff, but to a user or a manager, it comes down "works" or "doesn't work". I've always enjoyed the drive more than the destination when I've gone on vacations.
I think winter is bringing me down. Even though I spent a couple hours outside yesterday. Maybe I need more sunlight. The wife finally got to park her car in the garage. This morning I helped her back the car out so she didn't hit anything. It's better than helping to clean the snow off of her car.
Work has been pretty stupid. The company wants to transition most of their data processing into a third-party piece of software instead of having programmers write code for everything. The COBOL programmers are probably a little more worried about their jobs than I am. But, this place never fires anyone. Just re-assign them. I don't really trust the new software platform. It seemed buggy and the UI is not intuitive. And, it's not programming. It's clicking boxes, using templates, etc. They've blurred the line between different jobs. Before, there were "programmers" and "document designers". Now, the document design and programming are in the same third-party software package. So, either the document designers will need to learn some things about this pseudo-programming in this new UI, or the programmers need to learn how to design documents through this new UI. And, with the new software package, customer service can also work on documents. So, three different titles doing the same things, but at different skill levels. The new software package eliminates a printer file format (AFP) from our systems. Writing software for AFP is what built my reputation in the print industry. I don't want to stop doing it.
On top of that, the company has focused on some series of business management books and is making everyone read them off hours. 10+ hours of listening to some stupid audio book about how you need "the right people in the right seats". That's great, but we can't even define the seats anymore. Shit, my boss (who used to be married to a guy in customer service) is married to the owner now. Meetings often descend into full on yelling matches that I try to avoid like a child when mom and dad are fighting. People no longer conceal their contempt for each other here. It's messed up.
Much of the company's printing functions are built on my code. Which I am proud of. But, when something goes wrong, the pressure level goes up significantly. There are no "sick days". Even if you are sick in bed, odds are that it will turn into a "work from home" day.
Anyway, that's all for now. At least I got that fricking car running.
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Post by revheadkev on Feb 8, 2018 17:45:57 GMT -5
Victories are sweet, no matter how small or how isolated they are from everyone else knowing about them.
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Post by COMpulse on Apr 20, 2018 13:31:40 GMT -5
Today I put insurance on the GTP. If I have time I will get a license plate today. Otherwise, Monday. I plan on being able to drive the car in the next week. I need to change the oil again, check fluids, charge the battery again. Put the wheel-well splash guards on. Call it done. I'll probably go around the block a few times before trying a longer trip. Then try driving to work and back. Show everyone at work that I actually did it. Gotta try stomping on the gas, feel that supercharger boost kick in.
The sun is coming back out. It's finally done snowing hear in south-east Michigan. Crazy that I was able to work on it in January, and haven't had a chance since. The broken hand didn't help I guess. But the weather has been terrible too.
Time to get this thing done. Then I can finally look into getting a tune for the Taurus as my birthday present to myself.
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