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Bought another, time for gaskets.

S

skills4lou

New member
Hi all,
I just bought another Grand Prix, this one a 2000 GT. Originally it was to be a parts car ($250) for the 2000 GTP. The PO said his daughter was driving it and it just quit. Rather than putting any money into it they decided to just sell it and buy a newer car.

SO, before yanking any parts I decided to investigate the no start condition. Turns out it's not a magic car and requires fuel to run. Yup, that's right: I bought a leather appointed, red GT for $250, and fixed it by putting gas in the tank!

So, I drove it around for a few days and decided that the leaking oil onto the exhaust manifold probably needs attention. While I'm in there I'm just replacing all the valve cover gaskets, Upper and Lower intake, general tune-up etc.

I already have the upper and front valve cover off. It appears that coolant likes to pool in the lower, so my question is: what's the best way to remove the lower without dumping coolant everywhere? I'm thinking I might back off the valve rockers to ensure the valves are all closed, then lift if straight up (as straight as I can anyway). If the valves are all closed I should be able to vacuum out anything that does slop. Obviously it'll be getting a few oil changes over the next few weeks to make sure everything is cleaned out.

Thanks guys!
GH
 


skills4lou said:
I already have the upper and front valve cover off. It appears that coolant likes to pool in the lower, so my question is: what's the best way to remove the lower without dumping coolant everywhere? I'm thinking I might back off the valve rockers to ensure the valves are all closed, then lift if straight up (as straight as I can anyway). If the valves are all closed I should be able to vacuum out anything that does slop. Obviously it'll be getting a few oil changes over the next few weeks to make sure everything is cleaned out.GH
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take all this and toss it in the trash ^^^^lol

drain the engine of coolant, then take the lim off and do the lim gaskets and new upper intake gaskets coolant elbows and new vc gaskets.

the puddles on the lim is the bolts leaking coolant up the threads, when you put them back in you use thread sealant on them.

the likely hood of spilling coolant into the engine is real. all you do is change the oil and filter. its fine.
 
And people still wonder why women get paid less.... I'm guessing fuel guage wasn't working? Nice steal anyway. I'd suggest selling it for $2500 and making $2000 profit.

But if you're gonna keep it and do the LIM, if you don't want to spill coolant everywhere, pull the lower hose and drain all the coolant. That way you won't have to worry about it. I just pulled the tensioner assembly that has the coolant elbows and just let the top drain. Coolant still spilled into the valley so I dumped a quart of oil down the valley to run the coolant out.
 
Thanks guys. I was actually surprised to find no goop filled LIM. I was refering to the coolant inside the coolant passages of the lower. I won't worry about that part. It appears the only leaks I have are oil. No service history, so I have no idea if it's been done before. Regardless, I figured I'll yank the lower and replace the gaskets while I'm this far in. It's only a few more bolts, and with the oil leaks it sort of needs a good cleaning anyway.

Anything else I should be aware of while I'm in there? ScottyDog, I see a few threads where people blocked off the coolant ports in the LIM. Not sure if I want to go that route or not. Also, I can get the new UIM with gaskets for a pretty reasonable price. Do you think it's worth the extra $80 to just get a new LIM?
Thanks again!
 


its worth it if the old one is damaged.

sealing them two ports will keep your engine from ever leaking coolant again. internally that is.
 
I'm finding conflicting information on the torque specs. Can anyone tell me what the FSM says for the bolts involved? I have both in-lb and ft-lb wrenches, just need the right numbers.
Thanks!

(I've been trying to find the FSM to buy, but $250 seems a little steep. The last set I bought for $35)
 
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Quick update: all the parts I need to remove are off. Amazingly, the coolant ports in the heads are NOT gunked up. Internally, this is the cleanest engine I've ever taken apart. At 205K miles, I'm guessing this either got a new motor at some point or the original owner (the girl who ran it out of fuel, her grandpa) had this thing serviced religiously until giving it the girl. The plates are good thru July 2016, and they hadn't even got the title in their name yet, so the girl didn't have enough time to do anything other than get it dirty and run the tank dry.

Anyway, the parts cleaning begins. Headed into town after lunch to pick up the new gaskets and other parts.
GH
 
LIM and valve covers back on, had to stop to wrangle kids this evening.

Quick question: The new upper is a Dorman part. I also see one by "ATP" on Amazon. Both are about $50 less than the one I bought locally. I think I'm going to return the one I have and order one of the ones from Amazon, along with all new hoses and thermostat. What are your thoughts on the ATP one versus Dorman?
Thanks again!
GH
 


One more question: While disassembling, I found a two wire connector near the O2 sensor that wasn't connected to anything. I can't find anything else in the area that isn't connected. Any ideas? It's circled in red in this pic:
 
That's kinda what I was figuring, but wanted to make sure. I'm guessing the harness was built for all the GM W-body cars, and maybe the Chevy or Buick had something else in that area.
 
I had a little time this evening, so I put the new intake on. I'm trying to figure out what these 5 little bands might be for:


They were in the parts bag with the fuel injector o-rings, the new stove pipe for the EGR, etc. Any ideas?

Also, I'm going to be installing a block heater, since the car for some stupid reason was made without it. Any trick I should know about? While I'm working on it, I also found out about the splash shield mod for the hvac blower (under the cowl). The parts for that should be in next week.
 


Anyone have any ideas on those 5 plastic rings in the last post?

I did get a few hours today to work on it some more. The new block heater is now in, the alternator is back in place (as well as the accessory belt) and all new hoses. Still need to install an anti-mouse screen in the intake box, find the bolt for the lower portion of the EGR bracket, then oil change and fill with coolant. Should be going again soon!
 
She's back on the road. Would have had it running yesterday but the MAP sensor broke when I pulled it out of the old UIM, so I had to get a new one.

Just in case anyone digs this thread up, the 5 little bands in post 16 must have been for another style of injector. I'm also helping my father in law do a 3100 top end (blown head gaskets in a 95 Lumina) and the injectors in that one have a little spacer above the lower o-ring that exactly matches these little rings. So, my guess is I lost one and there was supposed to be 6 of them.
 
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