Thread: 1998 GTP Coupe Multiple Issues! Please Help!

Hello all!

New member here looking for a bit of guidance. I recently won a 1998 Pontiac GTP Coupe at an auction and it is SUPER Clean. It has 76K original miles on it. The battery was DEAD (stamped 4-17-2006). I have installed a new battery and now have power and the car does crank.

I cannot get it to shift out of park however. I got it loaded/unloaded on a trailer by unhooking the shifter cable under the hood and manually shifting it into nuetral by hand. (It shifted effortlessly by hand) I do have brake lights that work when contacting the pedal, however the shift lock release button does not allow me to shift out of park. I have opened the entire center console and everthing looks as I would expect. I am kind of stuck there.


A little further information, the car has approx 3/4 of a tank of fuel and it smells like good fuel at the gas cap as well as the schrader valve on the fuel rail. I do have fuel pressure on the fuel rails as well. I have hit the throttle body with a quick squirt of starting fluid and the car fires up and dies within a couple of seconds. I am wondering if I might have a tank of bad/old fuel or if it could be tied to the shift issues.

I have looked through the owners manual and checked any fuses that appear to have anything to do with the shifter or shift lock release and all appear to be good. I am at a loss on what to do or check next.

This was a dream car of mine when in high school and I have a SUPER CLEAN example of one now with LOW miles! I am dieing to get this baby on the road again! Any and all insight is GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! Thank you all so much in advance!!!

Put a fuel pressure gauge on it. 1 psi less than min and they wont start. Something like 40-50 psi.

If the fuel pressure regulator is bad you may get it to start by stepping on the gas a bit while cranking.


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id encourage you to not chance the fuel- drop the tank ,empty,and see how it looks inside. it would be wise to change the fuel filter,too.

did you happen to be stepping on the brake pedal when trying to shift?

Originally Posted by markpa

Put a fuel pressure gauge on it. 1 psi less than min and they wont start. Something like 40-50 psi.

If the fuel pressure regulator is bad you may get it to start by stepping on the gas a bit while cranking.


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Im about to go to Harbor Freight and grab a kit to test the fuel pressure. Thanks for in input Sr!

Originally Posted by tomsteve

id encourage you to not chance the fuel- drop the tank ,empty,and see how it looks inside. it would be wise to change the fuel filter,too.

did you happen to be stepping on the brake pedal when trying to shift?

I have a fuel filter to chage too. Going to check pressure first. Then probably will drain all fuel as noted and check the tank.

Just an update. The fuel pump is out of it. I have no fuel pressure and I cannot hear it prime. (Took the cover off of it in the trunk) I also checked the harness with a voltmeter and when you turn the key on I get 11.7 volts at the harness. So I know that the system is working to that point. Autozone wants $229 for one but i have found several online for the 60 dollar range with good reviews. I am going to order on off the net and install once it arrives. I also bought a hand pump. I think I will drain as much fuel out as possible and into 5 gallon buckets. Then replace with good fuel and some injector cleaner/sea foam.

Now my issue for the time being falls back to the gear shifter. I am thinking the button you depress is unhooked or malfunctioning. Going to dive into that issue while I wait for a fuel pump to arrive. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I sure would appreciate them. Again thanks all!

I have my shifting issue resolved. The shift knob was raised off of the lever. The U clip was bent and allowed the lever to go higher than it needed to be to properly operate. I pulled the U clip and used channel locks to bend it back properly. I reinstalled it and now we shift properly.

I have a couple small issues left (window wont roll up) possible bad motor. Going to get my test light out and investigate. Other than that I am just waiting on my new fuel pump.

Again Thanks everyone!