1997 Pontiac Grand prix

[JJEH]

Guys,

my Z26 is already sold and tomorrow i have a look at a 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix 4dr. Sedan with 175k mls, cuz i need a new daily driver.

What do you think about the car or rather the mileage?
There are any Problems with the 3.8 V6?

Thanks for your help!

[toxicz28]

I had a '97 GTP. Loved the car, got high 20's on fuel economy. Only real problem I know of is a recall that is currently going on for engine fires. Ask if the recall work was done, if not and you buy it, bring it to a (former) pontiac dealership to get it done.

[Takid455]

185k on mine currently w/ no issues. well maintained they can reach 250-300 i am told. pretty sturdy engine. the common issues are ( TPS, front wheel bearings, blower motor switch and resistor, and intake gaskets)

[fishtail8]

I agree with the others, got a '99 GTP. 245000kms on it (Canadian), and all i've done is tune up stuff, struts and tires. High 20's low 30's for mileage on the highway, depends if I keep my foot out of it. Keep it and run it.

[JJEH]

Thanks Guys!

I was watching the car today with my girlfriend and we will buy it. The seller goes down to $2600,00 for it - yay!

Here is the VIN: 1G2WP52K1VF285303

****** found 15 Records. Maybe anyone can do the ******?
I will appreciate this!

The car has some failures, but nothing special. We need it maybe for 2 more years, then we can start with our plans hopefully.

That's a pic from the seller:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4334356-1.jpg

We need a pair of Taillights, some Wintertires - latest in October, a rear mirror and some cosmetic...

Unfortunately i didn't ask for the recall work...

[68Formula]

3800 series is an excellent engine. I had a GT and a GTP. I miss the GTP most for obvious reasons.

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

I have a 97 GTP with 185K on it. Still runs great. Been one of the best cars I've ever owned. No major issues with it.

[JJEH]

Thanks guys... :)

Here some pictures

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4378353-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4378354-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4378355-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4378359-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4378368-1.jpg

[mc84_zz4]

Coming in late to this party...
We have had 2 in the family, the last on we sold with 140K miles, the only issue we had was the intake gaskets, the pre-2000 have plastic tubes for coolant to the throttle body 9warm up), there is an upgraded gasket set (plastic w/o-rings fused into plastic) that has metal tubes for the coolant to the throttle body.
The gaskets are around $90, and the entire intake manifold is $120.
That took care of the problem for us, and improved also a slight vac leak due to a hairline crack on the PCV plastic housing hold-downs.
Great car, always had the right gear for the RPM, and great for road trips.
Congrats!.

[JJEH]

Does anybody know how i do switch off the fking permanent day headlight thing...:machine:

I don't understand this part in the manual...

THX

[JJEH]

And now with my stickers :)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4419820-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4419822-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4419824-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4419827-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/4419830-1.jpg

[ArtosDracon]

To turn off DTR you just pull on the headlamp switch to the first click. Pushed in is DTR, middle is off(marker lights will remain on) and pulled all the way out is on. Interior lights on with door closed is the dimmer knob turned till it clicks and high beams are pulling the turn signal bar towards you. The controls on these are definitely a little different.

On a side note, if you decide to modify it at all, let me know, I've got a short list of mods that help with power and gas mileage and are either free or cheap(if you can weld).

[JJEH]

Thanks ArtosDracon, but i can only switch from off to parking- and running light. There is no push or pull option...

Well, that isn't that imortant... but i don't like DTR at all...

And sure, i'm always interested to make good things better.
Maybe you can send me some informations?

THX

btw: Where are you located in AZ? Because we will visit Winslow, Flagstaff, Phoenix and the Grand Canyon in June...

[ArtosDracon]

I'm in Gilbert right now, but am closing on a house in Maricopa sometime in the next couple weeks(f-ing apraisers) so I could be in either by the time you get out here, lol.

As for cheap mods that make a surprising difference, the Airbox is the one that I've noticed the most change with. If you open up the airbox you'll notice that it's three pieces, The front directs air from behind the headlight to the middle section through a ~3" round opening, then the mid section uses roughly the same size opening, at a slightly different angle to get the air within about a quarter inch of the filter, then the rear takes the air from the filter to the intake tube. Well if you look at a dirty filter you can usually tell, you've got a huge filter, and are using just the area of that 3" inlet. If you cut back that inlet so there is only ~1/2" left, trimming off ~2" then you'll open up the area of the filter used. That'll mean less restriction on the intake which will mean better fuel mileage and power and longer service life of the filter. I'll see if I can get some pics of mine tomorrow. Made a noticeable difference just on my 3.4.

Second big change is the u-bend in the exhaust. GM, in their infinite wisdom, decided that to protect the rear O2 sensor, they wanted it between the exhaust and the floorboard, but not till after they designed the floor. Their solution was to put a u-bend in the exhaust right behind the cat, but without moving the downpipe to midpipe flange location, so the exhaust drops more than an inch and back up in less than 4", with an O2 sensor in the middle. The overall area of the exhaust in this section is down to roughly the equivalent of a 2" pipe. If you don't mind shelling out the money, there are a few good downpipes out there, catted and non that fix this and are available in 2.5 or 3". But if you're cheap like me, you can just get a 2.5" diameter piece of exhaust pipe, weld on an O2 bung and splice it in place of the u-bend. If you'd like it a bit easier, ZZP offers a u-bend delete piece that you just have to weld to the Cat and includes the O2 bung and flange, makes it super easy.

From all the tests I've seen, unless you're running boost or nitrous and a lot of it, the stock cat-back is more than good enough, unless you just want the sound, and even then, removing just the resonator in the mid-pipe can make a big difference in sound, and a small difference in flow.

Maintenance wise, there are a couple of plastic elbows coming off the water pump that tend to dry-rot and leak over time, keep an eye on them, they're not tough to find, there is one out the top and one out the bottom of the water pump, my dads went at ~140K. Also, the wiper fluid bottles leak around where the neck connects to the main bottle, there is just no way to fix it, so just don't over-fill it.

If you're looking for handling improvements, find a GTP or an impala SS in a junk yard and pull the front shock tower bar, the swaybars and the rear trailing arms. It's a surprising difference for the minimal work to get them on. Beyond that the KYB GR2 shocks are about 10% stiffer and are pretty well priced compared to stock replacements.

The 3.8s aren't nearly as picky about oil as the 3.4, but I've had good luck with the regular yellow bottle penzoil in both. on the 3.8, the best way to get to the oil filter is through the passenger wheel well, IMHO, and if you can find the oil filler neck off a later mode, 2003+ I think, it's pretty handy. Stock belts on all the non-supercharged engines seem to go for practically ever so long as you keep oil and coolant off them.

Tires are on thing that I've never gotten worked out completely on these. Shouldn't be nearly as big a problem for you, but because of the heat and bad roads here, soft sidewalls suck. They don't make the tires that came factory on them anymore, but the Kuhmo cheapies handle well, and get crappy wear. If you find one you like let me know. Avoid the P3000 on them, they're terrible, work great on lighter cars, but are bad on heavy cars.

If I think of more, I'll let you know.

[JJEH]

Thanks for your detailed advise :)

[67 455 Bird ragtop]

Check out this forum. Lots of good info the these cars.

http://www.clubgp.com/newforum/default.asp?cookieCheck=505815619

[ArtosDracon]

Thanks for your detailed advise :)

No problem, I've been working on these cars since my dad got his new in 01, then my mom and I each got one in 05, I took my new car over to show them and she had hers sitting in the driveway in place of her 96 burb, kinda took the wind out of my sails, lol. If I'd have known then that the 3.4 actually makes less power and gets worse mileage than the 3.8, I wouldn't have gotten the one I did.

One thing I forgot, keep an eye on the rubber donuts that hold the exhaust on, they fall off all the time. The only real fix is to bend the body side brackets around them tighter, but they can still fall off the exhaust side. Possibly the dumbest exhaust hanger ever.

[ArtosDracon]

Blimey, I just noticed, it's a pre 2000 with the original airbox, ignore everything I said about the airbox, they're completely different, and unfortunately, your sucks, and it does that poorly.

If you get the junkyard look for one of the newer airboxes, should bolt right in place of the original and flows much better, should only set you back a couple bucks, a lot less than any of the aftermarket set-ups. The newer one looks like this:
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/fwi_1s-1.jpg