Hello all.
As a formal introduction, my name is Chuck. I am currently driving a 1998 grand prix GTP, Im extremely new to this car, I purchased it 08 - 15 - 09. so bear with me while i adapt.
Im coming from a Turbo'ed nissan 240sx, which after 2 years of hitting my head on the roof, feeling cramped up, tired of a stick shift in traffic, shooting fireballs when i shifted, terrible idle, and a squeaky weak frame/body, I felt it was time to move on to something a bit bigger.
I purchased the grand prix with quite a few problems, but the price was great, and the test drive sold me. so im willing to put in some wrench time.
Immediate concerns with the car.
-Supercharger belt is off, and the previous owner said it was making noise, I checked around online, and found the crappy stock coupler fails, sure enough, i check the play, and the pulley has about 35 degrees of spinning freeplay. Picked up a new coupler, GM S/c oil, gasket material, and a new goodyear gatorback belt. Just waiting on parts to fix it.
-Drivers side window will not roll down / is stuck. regulator is broken, no biggy, have that ordered, and on the way.
-Both rear windows will not roll down. I have yet to diagnose this, but i have a feeling it may be a defective main switch
-The key gets stuck in the ignition. Has happend to me 3 times now (in 4 days of ownership). Doesnt really bother me, as i can generally start it back up, cycle through P-D, D-P and it unlocks, and i can get out. I have read several "backyard mechanic" ways of fixing it, but it hasnt gotten to the point of everytime yet.
-The HUD randomly lights up. I can faintly see it when its dark out and often times it will be dim, but every once in a while i hit a bump, or turn the car just right, and the hud gets nice and illuminated, I believe its just the light sensor that needs to be resoldered in, Wont be too hard to fix.
-The a/c blows just fine, the fan speed works perfectly, But the selector is bad i think.. no matter if you select head, feet, or defrost, it blows air out of all 3, at all times, no matter what selection you make. Has anyone had this happen before?
I have a few little plans to make the car nice and road worthy.
-F-body front brakes (still doing some research)
-new monroe ready struts on all 4 corners
-new steering wheel radio controls, and oem radio
-newer upgraded coils, sparkplugs, and wires
-new wheel bearings on all 4 corners,
-doing research on a smaller supercharger pulley, but i dont want to go past the stock fuel/tuning limits, still doing research on that
-considering doing an intake, to help with less restriction on the intake side of things.
Just trying to make it a good dependable car, that is going to ride as smooth as glass. and not be loud
To be honest, going from a 240sx (even with the stock exhaust) to this car, it is SO quiet inside, at all times. I actually had an ambulance literally come up next to me with his sirens blairing. I didnt even notice he was there, until i looked over and seen his lights flashing.
But expect to see me trolling around in here doing some research.
Feel free to share your experiences with any of the problems i am having, or upgrades i am doing. i would love to get some pointers/suggestions.
