1994 Grand Prix 3.1 - various problems

I have a 94 GP SE. It's been a very good car, but has developed some
problems. 105,000 miles, but in EXCELLENT condition.

1. I personally replaced the rear struts 2 times with
aftermarkets...Carquest, Gabriel, etc...now the car rides like a
truck...very stiff. WHY?

2. The engine leaks oil...somewhere???? not on the ground, doesn't seem to
go out the exhaust. I've learned to live with this problem, because I've
found out it's leaky intake gaskets and distributor seal.

3. It seems to have developed an exhaust leak in the past month and it
sounds like the exhaust manifold near the firewall. This should be a treat
to change.

4. The a/c compressor has suddenly started causing a vibration. I suspect
bad bearings.

5. This has always been a problem. Intermittently, the car won't turn over,
like a bad electrical connection in the ignition circuit. I've replaced the
starter/solenoid, and ignition switch over the past 50,000 miles, but never
cured it. It has never failed to start though, because if it acts up, I try
it 2,3,4 or 5 times until it starts.

Any input is appreciated. Especially with No.1.

Bill wrote:

I have a 94 GP SE. It's been a very good car, but has developed some
problems. 105,000 miles, but in EXCELLENT condition.

1. I personally replaced the rear struts 2 times with
aftermarkets...Carquest, Gabriel, etc...now the car rides like a
truck...very stiff. WHY?

You picked HiPo replacements over OEM style amybe? Changed the tires to
lower profile giving you less sidewall to work with the suspension?

2. The engine leaks oil...somewhere???? not on the ground, doesn't
seem to go out the exhaust. I've learned to live with this problem,
because I've found out it's leaky intake gaskets and distributor seal.

You answered your own question.

3. It seems to have developed an exhaust leak in the past month and it
sounds like the exhaust manifold near the firewall. This should be a
treat to change.

Or it could be the maifold to pipe joint. More likely and not hard to
change.

4. The a/c compressor has suddenly started causing a vibration. I
suspect bad bearings.

On top of all these other problems it must be one heck of a vibration for
you to even notice it. Does the A/C still cool? Does the compressor cycle?

5. This has always been a problem. Intermittently, the car won't
turn over, like a bad electrical connection in the ignition circuit.
I've replaced the starter/solenoid, and ignition switch over the past
50,000 miles, but never cured it. It has never failed to start
though, because if it acts up, I try it 2,3,4 or 5 times until it
starts.

Wow, another one from out of the blue.

Any input is appreciated. Especially with No.1.

" in EXCELLENT condition"

With a list of problems like this I'd HATE to see what you call
"POOR"condition.

<grins>

You've pretty much listed some of the more common issues discussed in this
group in the last 2 months. You could do a Google groups search with a few
keywords. You could look back over the previous posts. All of these issues
are covered in dozens of places.

A good suggestion, pick one thing at a time to troubleshoot and fix.
Concentrate on that till it's been dealt with. Then move to the next.

My rear struts are very stiff too. Don't remember the brand. About 75,000
miles on them.

The "distributor seal" is easy to replace. Try to re-torque the intake bolts
to stop leaks. Re-torque valve covers to stop leaks too.

Had the intermittent starting problem too. Went to replace the starter motor
and saw that the wire connector was very tarnished. I polished every thing
with fine sand paper then cleaned with solvent, put it all back together and
returned the replacement motor to the store. It would then crank faster than
it ever has and has not caused any problems since. While I was under there I
cleaned all the grounds too.

"Bill" <WMB853 (AT) Prodigy (DOT) Net> wrote

I have a 94 GP SE. It's been a very good car, but has developed some
problems. 105,000 miles, but in EXCELLENT condition.

1. I personally replaced the rear struts 2 times with
aftermarkets...Carquest, Gabriel, etc...now the car rides like a
truck...very stiff. WHY?

2. The engine leaks oil...somewhere???? not on the ground, doesn't seem
to
go out the exhaust. I've learned to live with this problem, because I've
found out it's leaky intake gaskets and distributor seal.

3. It seems to have developed an exhaust leak in the past month and it
sounds like the exhaust manifold near the firewall. This should be a
treat
to change.

4. The a/c compressor has suddenly started causing a vibration. I suspect
bad bearings.

5. This has always been a problem. Intermittently, the car won't turn
over,
like a bad electrical connection in the ignition circuit. I've replaced
the
starter/solenoid, and ignition switch over the past 50,000 miles, but
never
cured it. It has never failed to start though, because if it acts up, I
try
it 2,3,4 or 5 times until it starts.

Any input is appreciated. Especially with No.1.

OK, I guess I opened myself up for criticism. The exhaust leak and a/c
didn't start happening until the past month or so. The struts are probably
my fault because I used aftermarket struts. Monro has some that specifically
say softer ride. I'm wondering if they are any good for a Grand Prix. It
seems the Gabriels must be a universal strut meant for a tank or something.
They are junk on this car.

As far as the oil leak, this is a known problem with a 3.1. The ignition
connection problem...who knows. It's been doing this for 4 years ever since
I've had the car. I also cleaned the connections, but haven't solved the
problem.

Thanks.....I still think it was a pretty good car for the first 100,000
miles considering it's an American car, but it still looks pretty much like
new with all the ground effect mouldings.


"Bill" <WMB853 (AT) Prodigy (DOT) Net> wrote

I have a 94 GP SE. It's been a very good car, but has developed some
problems. 105,000 miles, but in EXCELLENT condition.

1. I personally replaced the rear struts 2 times with
aftermarkets...Carquest, Gabriel, etc...now the car rides like a
truck...very stiff. WHY?

2. The engine leaks oil...somewhere???? not on the ground, doesn't seem
to
go out the exhaust. I've learned to live with this problem, because I've
found out it's leaky intake gaskets and distributor seal.

3. It seems to have developed an exhaust leak in the past month and it
sounds like the exhaust manifold near the firewall. This should be a
treat
to change.

4. The a/c compressor has suddenly started causing a vibration. I suspect
bad bearings.

5. This has always been a problem. Intermittently, the car won't turn
over,
like a bad electrical connection in the ignition circuit. I've replaced
the
starter/solenoid, and ignition switch over the past 50,000 miles, but
never
cured it. It has never failed to start though, because if it acts up, I
try
it 2,3,4 or 5 times until it starts.

Any input is appreciated. Especially with No.1.

I am responding to your starter problem.
I have a 1993 grand prix LE, and never had starter problems until one
day the starter took a dump and wouldn't start I took the old started
apart and discovered the brushes were worn out so i went to my local
auto part store and purchased a new after market starter with a lifetime
warranty.
I installed the starter and it started right up! My problem solved or so
I thought, after two weeks with the after market starter my car began to
click when i would attempt to start it, it would click once and then
start but after one week it would take two clicks before starting then
three so after a month of putting up with this starter I decided to
return the starter for a replacement so I put in the replacement starter
and uwa-la! It worked on the first try problem solved... nope! After
three days the replacement was doing the same thing as the previous one
so I decided to buy an OE starter at my local GM dealer and installed
it.
Its been 5 months now and the starter has not given me any more problems
which goes to show never compromise on your car parts stick with OE GM
parts.

Sincerely,

Dave

P.S.

Im not sure if you had replaced your starter with an after market
starter but if you did then you should look into buy an OE starter.