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Just bought a 2004 Grand Prix Gtp Comp G but many problems..

T

ThingaMagid

New member
Just bought a 2004 Grand Prix Gtp Comp G but many problems.. First off, I bought it cause it was cheap, it got side swiped and took off the right side mirror and front bumper. I replaced the mirror but cannot find the front bumper anywhere! Someone wanted to charge me 600$ -__-. The car is in good shape otherwise.. but...

First off, the car is over heating,(ill attach a photo) it gets up to the 3rd long line plus one. So basically 4 lines away from the red zone. It has not gone into the red zone yet though. I have changed the car's thermostat but that has not changed anything. The car's sunroof is hiccuping, works sometimes, but other times it hiccups and I have to keep pressing the button to get it to close. The air condition turns on and off when I hit a bump which is so annoying cause its soo hot now. There is a weird hydraulic sound in the suspensions.(I don't know if that is normal or not).

NOW the worst part about this car.....

This car is said to achieve 22-28 mpg, highway and city. I would be happy to even get 20 mpg....
This car is only getting 9-13 mpg!! That is outrageous. That is the only reason why I would sell it. I can't afford that much gas everytime =/.
So I got a full tune-up with the brakes changed and the freakin' guy charged me 600$ which sucked. What sucks even more is that the full tune up (air filter, fuel filter, oil change, radiator flush, spark plugs, and wires.) did not change anything!! The cars MPG is still the same.

I am desperate to fix all of this. I don't know what is normal what is not and what to change now before this car gets worse. I don't know how to fix these problems. If anyone can help please let me know!! I am getting helpless. No mechanic wants to help or knows what they are doing. Thanks in advance!!
 


overheating could be caused by a bubble in the line. do you hear gurgling on takeoff from the passenger floorboard? front bumper, you can check gmpartsdirect.com

FD04005.gif


part 1 is 365 bucks.

sunroof sounds like maybe it could stand to be greased in the tracks

mpg's could be a number of things. do you see white smoke pour from the exhaust?
 
try bleeding the coolant system. It sounds like there is still a bunch of air in it and thats causing it to run hot.

As for fuel mileage, since the air filter and plugs and wires were done. I want you to try and clean the MAF with maf cleaner and I would prolly change the front o2 sensor.
 


How do you bleed the coolant system? And how do you clean the MAF? All the mechanics I go to are no help. They have absolutely no idea what they are doing.




Fivefingerdeathpunch said:
try bleeding the coolant system. It sounds like there is still a bunch of air in it and thats causing it to run hot.

As for fuel mileage, since the air filter and plugs and wires were done. I want you to try and clean the MAF with maf cleaner and I would prolly change the front o2 sensor.
Click to expand...
 
Fivefingerdeathpunch said:
try bleeding the coolant system. It sounds like there is still a bunch of air in it and thats causing it to run hot.

As for fuel mileage, since the air filter and plugs and wires were done. I want you to try and clean the MAF with maf cleaner and I would prolly change the front o2 sensor.
Click to expand...

o2 sensors ain't cheap. clean the MAF first. since you've been having a mechanic do work, here's what you do.

Buy:

crc-maf-cleaner.jpg


Get access to the object on the far right with wires going to it

6612_220968365553_515575553_7900820_2398540_n.jpg


and spray according to direction on can.

Note: take it out of the car, don't spray it into your intake lol
 
are you losing coolant with out seeing a leak?

you may be due for a lower intake gasket, the shops in queens are going to rape you on that one.
 
That sounds like a good idea. I am going to try that.





ZR1Vette09 said:
o2 sensors ain't cheap. clean the MAF first. since you've been having a mechanic do work, here's what you do.

Buy:

crc-maf-cleaner.jpg


Get access to the object on the far right with wires going to it

6612_220968365553_515575553_7900820_2398540_n.jpg


and spray according to direction on can.

Note: take it out of the car, don't spray it into your intake lol
Click to expand...
 
ThingaMagid said:
How do you bleed the coolant system? And how do you clean the MAF? All the mechanics I go to are no help. They have absolutely no idea what they are doing.
Click to expand...

run the car from cold till warm, leave the radiator cap off,(wait for the fan to come on) follow the top rad hose to the engine, on top of the thermostat there a brass screw, open it up a few tuns when the bubbles stop and a steady stream of coolant comes out, its done, tighten the screw up, fill rad, and cap it.
 


ThingaMagid said:
I hear gurgling in the beginning when I take off, but that's about it. And I do see white smoke from the exhaust.
Click to expand...

gurgling means there's air in the system, common issue and easy fix, just bleed the system. white smoke (thick white smoke) means you're running rich aka too much gas going into the engine and not all being burned off, which explains your bad mpgs. since you had a mechanic do the tuneup, i'd say double check the spark plugs, make sure they are gapped correctly and that they aren't saturated with fuel. You can check the gap with this

plug_gapper-01.jpg


probably 2 bucks at your local parts store, just ensure that the space is .060" (IIRC that's the right gap for stock gtp) does the engine feel like it runs rough? cleaning the MAF may help slightly, o2 sensor may also be the culprit but might as well try the cheap and free stuff first
 
i dont want to confuse this guy, but

white smoke is coolant,

black smoke is fuel (aka real rich)

and blue smoke is oil


no?
 
That sounds easy, I am going to try that. Thanks so much for the help.




scottydoggs said:
run the car from cold till warm, leave the radiator cap off,(wait for the fan to come on) follow the top rad hose to the engine, on top of the thermostat there a brass screw, open it up a few tuns when the bubbles stop and a steady stream of coolant comes out, its done, tighten the screw up, fill rad, and cap it.
Click to expand...
 
too rich is black smoke.

oil is blue.

coolant is white.

water moisture is also white.

take off your TB and clean it till it shines.
 


scottydoggs said:
i dont want to confuse this guy, but

white smoke is coolant,

black smoke is fuel (aka real rich)

and blue smoke is oil


no?
Click to expand...

i always heard white smoke is fuel.explained why my blazer that ran on 5 cylinders blew white smoke out year round. I could be wrong though
 
How would you measure it? Just place it along the spark plug wire next to where it says 1-2-3-4 etc? on the head? The engine doesn't seem like it runs rough. It is pretty responsive. I just get nervous when it starts to overheat.


ZR1Vette09 said:
gurgling means there's air in the system, common issue and easy fix, just bleed the system. white smoke (thick white smoke) means you're running rich aka too much gas going into the engine and not all being burned off, which explains your bad mpgs. since you had a mechanic do the tuneup, i'd say double check the spark plugs, make sure they are gapped correctly and that they aren't saturated with fuel. You can check the gap with this

plug_gapper-01.jpg


probably 2 bucks at your local parts store, just ensure that the space is .060" (IIRC that's the right gap for stock gtp) does the engine feel like it runs rough? cleaning the MAF may help slightly, o2 sensor may also be the culprit but might as well try the cheap and free stuff first
Click to expand...
 
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