2.8L exhaust leak, causing sluggish accleration?

[2.8 Grand Prix]

How about we don't and say we did. This is still a good car, and I have put too much into her to just call it a day and pull the sheet over the headlights. I think more of this car than just a dented up lawn decoration. I think it has some potential. Maybe not what you or anyone else you know would do, but then I'm not like most people.

[2.8 Grand Prix]

I'm on the way to making improvements as we speak. As previously posted, I am in the process of buying an '00 3100 w/ 86,000 miles. The Malibu donor got rearended.

Despite the dented up body, that motor should be able to fetch me at least $500. I mean com'on there's got to be another redneck out there. I just put in a new driver's seat, and I'm planning on fixing up the interior. The body isn't that bad, it's the engine and interior that were shot.

With a little love, this car could make me a good work car. I just hope I can get the new motor in soon. I'd like to keep the miles off my true show winner, a 1996 Olds 98.

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

so, the interior is shot, the motor is shot and the body is beat up? you wanna keep it? i get cars like this in running condition cheaper than it would be for you to fix this one. its just not financially sensible to me. why spend thousands of dollars and a whole ass load of time to fix a $250 car?? im not joking when i say that either. i can get you a grey 88 GP with the 2.8 V6 and no power anything (first i ever saw) for $250 from a 'dealership' here in edmonton. theres sooooo many reasons why you shouldnt bother with this car, when was the last time any of the suspension was looked at? brakes? if you have to start replacing all of this its like $100 a part, for either rotor up front, or for the struts in the back... it adds up really fast. and for the price of four struts and a set of front brakes i could have a full load 92 GP -minus the LQ1.

and youre gonna tell me that your car, to you, is WAY cooler than ANY B4U grans prix?? i woudlnt make that claim thats forsure. thats like me driving a base model lumina and paying just as much as it costs for a whole complete z34 to put another motor in my car, then i still have all the other components to worry about and a shot interior and beat up body. where is the logic?? i am officially out of this thread. it doesnt make sense to me. get fire theft and vandalism, smash a window one night and burn the car down. call police, get money, get new car. forget about gp.

[pocket-rocket]

I'm sure people probably wonder why I put time and money into my 92 because of it's age, but I do it because I'm attached to it. To each his own.

[robertisaar]

I'm sure people probably wonder why I put time and money into my 92 because of it's age, but I do it because I'm attached to it. To each his own.

X2... the MC will never be worth anything, but i can't imagine someone else having it...

[WrathOfSocrus]

so, the interior is shot, the motor is shot and the body is beat up? you wanna keep it? i get cars like this in running condition cheaper than it would be for you to fix this one. its just not financially sensible to me. why spend thousands of dollars and a whole ass load of time to fix a $250 car?? im not joking when i say that either. i can get you a grey 88 GP with the 2.8 V6 and no power anything (first i ever saw) for $250 from a 'dealership' here in edmonton. theres sooooo many reasons why you shouldnt bother with this car, when was the last time any of the suspension was looked at? brakes? if you have to start replacing all of this its like $100 a part, for either rotor up front, or for the struts in the back... it adds up really fast. and for the price of four struts and a set of front brakes i could have a full load 92 GP -minus the LQ1.

and youre gonna tell me that your car, to you, is WAY cooler than ANY B4U grans prix?? i woudlnt make that claim thats forsure. thats like me driving a base model lumina and paying just as much as it costs for a whole complete z34 to put another motor in my car, then i still have all the other components to worry about and a shot interior and beat up body. where is the logic?? i am officially out of this thread. it doesnt make sense to me. get fire theft and vandalism, smash a window one night and burn the car down. call police, get money, get new car. forget about gp.

Not everyone needs their car to look fancy. I prefer my base cutlass that was once powered by a 2.8 60*. Like Robert said, you will never really get a fair amount of cash for the car, especially if you put any money into it, so if it does in fact go from point A to point B reliably, with a bit of maintenance, then why not?

Also, if you know what you are doing and don't care about looks then there are a lot of things you can do to these cars to keep them more or less 'duct taped' together. My first encounter with a W body was the 3.1 powered twin of my current car. This guy who had it knew nothing about fixing cars, said he found it in the woods behind someones house and got it off them for $200. He ran it around from about 150k to 205k miles before it started leaking coolant and he couldn't be bothered to fix it. So he sold it to my buddy for $200. It was just the gasket from the coolant tee above the water pump. We fixed the gasket, new dog bone, and of course the hood latch issue ( i ran a manual choke cable from above the pedals to the hood release) and it was a champ. If the coolant line that snakes around the lower part of the engine bay didn't leak it never would have overheated and probably would have seen higher than the 230K + miles that it did.

Also, the price of parts is something relative. The rotors that cost roughly $80 a piece for your car are nothing like the set of 4 I can get for $46. Sure they suck and probably wont last long but they are better than the warped, worn down piece on there now. Also for the price of a complete strut assembly I can (and have) put together an adjustable coil over setup. I'm going to hard wire a computer under the seat with water cooling for the processor and probably blow out the back seat so I can stuff a six foot ladder in there along with all of my tools. I paid $100 for the car and it is nothing more than a toy. Some people need their toys to look good but I just like them to be functional. Heck, you should see my '96 explorer tool box! It starts, it moves, and it can haul tools and engine parts around the property!

If you need your car to look cool and play loud music and only worry about what other people think, then yes you don't want an old beat up base W body. For the rest of us (most of us) we will keep our toys and swap in newer drivetrains when the time comes for it and enjoy it.

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

thats just it though, IF its reliable... it WAS running on 5 out of 6 pistons.... it has exhaust leaks... its beat up... to fix it could cost as much as to buy something in similar shape with a reliable motor in it... i drove my buick regal after some asshole hit-n-ran it and took off half the front bumper and most of the rest of the front panneling too, all i did was put lights in it and a new header and fender to hold them. you think i put a new hood on or bumper skin? i tried to self tapping screw the part that ripped off back on, but it wouldnt go.

why did i keep that car? because it had a motor that would start in less than one second of holding the key to start. because when it was driving with all its parts missing it could still out run most of the cars i raced with it. and because it had FE3 suspension and could actually take a corner too.

i sold that car for the price of tinting my windows on my current car. ($250) and the guy is still driving it today. he put a bumper on it, changed the oil and drove for a 1000KM road trip, then came back the same way... the point being, the engine was in good shape. if you have to fix every aspect of a vehicle... and you could get the same thing with a good clean interior and not so bad body from an old couple for $250 or so. and maybe it needs a little engine work, why bother fixing another car from top to bottom and spending more than that car will ever be worth just to keep a hunk of dead crap on the road? (i call it that because it has a dead motor, the interior is crap *by his own admission. and the body is dented up *also by his own admission) so if the three aspects that sell a vehicle, that the owner could possibly care about, are all in dire need of repair or replacement.... unless that thing was the birthplace of the shooter on the grassy knoll, i say flip that bitch in the ditch and get a new car. that one is DEAD
im not trying to be rude, im trying to save you money. how much is an engine swap? go check Kijiji i bet you'll find a running car in your area in good shape for the same price. and then you always have yours as a parts car.

or you could fix it, twin turbo it and drive it for 12 minutes and watch it pop again.

[2.8 Grand Prix]

WrathOfSocrus, I totaly agree!

Just because my Grand Prix looks like ass, I can still put a newer drivetrain in and make it a reliable toy/daily driver. I just got a new driver's seat from a junkyard for $35 (plus $35 shipping). I have found that '00 Malibu 3100 for $300. For a car I got for free, (traded my $300 rust bucket Mustang for it), I think it's in pretty good shape. I can pop out all of the dents, and I'm in the process of painting it. The interior won't need a whole lot of work.

SofaKingWeToddDid, maybe you can't see the possibilities this car could have, but the rest of us can. I'm not trying to be rude. I trully think I can make something of this car, and I know I have a lot of people here supporting me all the way.

[robertisaar]

"Do what makes you happy"

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

i can see the possibilities, but its starting farther back than you need to. for the money its going to cost you in BONDO i could get that car in good mechanical and body shape. with a nice new looking clean interior with some POWER options. then you have your dented up shit pile that last ran on 5 cylinders with a ratty interior for a parts car...
you get a car that comes with a body kit (if youre lucky enough) and you get better suspension and brakes.

a better car, in better condition that doesnt need near as much work as youre gonna have to put into that one. whats the point? theres a reason cars end up in the junk yard. they arent all worth fixing. you CAN fix any car, it just takes time and money and im sure you could even pull one out of the junk yard thats more worth fixing than yours...
for the cost of your motor alone i could find you a more reliable car that doesnt even have a dent the size of a basket ball on the drivers side there... it would have a motor running on all six, that doesnt leak a drop or burn a drop. has about 200k on it, (kilometers) power everything (including drivers seat) SWRC and just needs a paint job, and a new hood. it has a couple dents too, but theyre the size of an orange at the worst. $250. oh, and it can almost keep up with my Z34 in a race to 100.

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

seriously, i should avoid this thread... the shop i work at, we get customers comming in all the time with some rust bucket pile of shit burning all kinds of colours of smoke that can barely make it on to the hoist or whatever misfiring and running on 7 out of 8... leaking oil and tranny fluid.... what does he want done? oh he needs a 20K slider Fifth Wheel. hes planning on towing a 18,000lb trailer through the mountains!!

like for real. cars are ALL on a clock and im sorry, but this one has passed. its just not worth saving. its already been to the light for a while now. quit whipping the dead donkey.

[2.8 Grand Prix]

How about we don't and say we did. This is still a good car, and I have put too much into her to just call it a day and pull the sheet over the headlights. I think more of this car than just a dented up lawn decoration. I think it has some potential. Maybe not what you or anyone else you know would do, but then I'm not like most people.

Like a said above, I am NOT going to pull the sheet over the headlights and give up.
I happen to know of a Saturn (one of the most worthless piles of crap on the planet) that has over 300,000 miles. If a clunky Saturn can do it, a base model '88 Grand Prix with a new engine (86,000 miles) sure as heck can!

[bszopi]

SofaKing - Stay out of this thread or get banned for a week. Your comments are no longer needed.

[robertisaar]

Like a said above, I am NOT going to pull the sheet over the headlights and give up.
I happen to know of a Saturn (one of the most worthless piles of crap on the planet) that has over 300,000 miles. If a clunky Saturn can do it, a base model '88 Grand Prix with a new engine (86,000 miles) sure as heck can!

hell yes, brother!

W's are meant to last as long as you take care of the simple little things that are required.

[2.8 Grand Prix]

Thanks you guys!

I know I have a lot of support on this website. That means a lot!

I got the engine today. 2000 Chevy Malibu 3x00 w/ 86,000 miles. Intake gasket needs replaced sometime (still holding up ok right now).

I'm amazed at how GM was able to keep all the electrical plugs the same for 12 years. This guy I got the engine from says everything should just "plug 'n play". Makes for an easy engine swap.

I should be getting an engine hoist (cherrypicker) within the next week or so, so I'll keep ya posted on the progress.