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Some questions...

IdlePear

IdlePear

New member
So me and my dad went out to a dealer the other week looking for a nice grand prix for my sister's first car. We found a very clean and rust free silver 02 GT for a fairly fair price. Theres just some concerns about some noises that its making. First of all it was very hot that day and the car didnt always want to start easily..but would eventually with a couple of tries..but it was most likely from the heat. The next problem is the noises that come from the engine bay. When the car is started theres a slight ticking sound..but once the car sits for a bit and warms up it goes away. Also there is a slight whistling noise that comes from the front when you rev the engine. We think this might be a small exhaust leak somewhere up front but arent sure. The car did have the abs module out of it at the time because it was being fixed but i dont think that has anything to do with the problems it has. Does anyone have any ideas what these could be and how much it might be to fix them if we did buy the car?
 


The ticking is most likely just the lifters, all the 3800's have noisy lifters until the car warms up and they pump up, including my 05.

The whistle is probably an exhaust leak or maybe even a vacuum leak, which could explain why it takes a bit to start.

Seems like minor problems with east, cheap fixes to me, but let's see what other people have to say.
 
How many miles are on it? We own two cars with 3800's and I haven't heard a single lifter tick, even on a 18°F cold start up. In my experience I see one here and there that will. Depending on the mileage it's either due to high miles or lots of build-up of carbon/varnish deposits. Pull the oil filler cap and see if it's clean inside or all carbon built-up. If it's got high mileage, it's probably worn and lucas oil conditioner sometimes helps it. If there's carbon build-up, sea foam has proven to help there.

I'm not sure what a whistle would be, is it related to engine RPM's or just a single tone upon revving? Mine makes a slight whistle when reving or snapping the throttle after I cleaned the throttle body since the air is flowing quickly past a clean throttle.

The hard starting issue is not likely related to heat, it's usually a bad or dirty maf sensor, throttle body, or idle air control valve.
 
The car only has like 103k so its not like super high. & alright..we will most likely go back to look at it again sometime after the abs modules back in it. The whistling is just for a split second each time it revs..not if you like gradually increased rpms. Its almost just like a squeak.
 
IdlePear said:
The car only has like 103k so its not like super high. & alright..we will most likely go back to look at it again sometime after the abs modules back in it. The whistling is just for a split second each time it revs..not if you like gradually increased rpms. Its almost just like a squeak.
Click to expand...

Since it has 103k definitely check under the oil filler cap to see if there's sludge or carbon. The rocker arms should be clean of deposits with just a yellowed color.

The whistling for a split second is what mine does, it's vacuum. If it doesn't make the noise when the engine is not running and you hit the gas, that's all it is.
 


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