GP1138 Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 I've owned quite a few W's so far. Not as many as Jeremy, but I've had a few. I was curious.. we all hear about the common issues with W-Bodies, but for being so common, and having owned about five of these cars, most of them haven't been all that common, at least in my time with the cars. Door handles - I've dealt with this once, and that was with a frigging SEDAN. I have never had a coupe door handle break on me. Cradle bolts - now this I have first-hand experience with. My first W, an '89 GP sedan, had two bolts break on me at different times. Also, two or three of the W's I've had have had clunking or otherwise loose cradles. Alternators, water pumps - I've had two alternators take a shit, and one water pump. 3.4 Timing Belt - I didn't really own this engine long enough for it to be an issue. Sagging Ass Monoleaf - All of the W sedans I've had have had this issue to one degree or another. The coupes are the opposite. They all held up great, aside from my Z, which had 210k+ miles on the ODO. I know I'm missing a few stereotypical W-Body problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charged 3.1 Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Yeah I've had my fair share of problems with mine so far. My drivers side door handle broke so i put a door popper on. The starter,water pump,and alternator have been replaced but I'm not going to complain to much about those cause they where all free. Thats what i like about having a commercial account at Auto zone,cause theres so many cars that come through the shop everything that i need is bound to have a warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3.1cutlass Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 I have had; -Starter -Injector -Alternator -Wheel Bearing (rear) -Heater hose that goes into the TB sprung a leak Had the car 2 years now and has around 70k i cannot complain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charged 3.1 Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 I have had; -Starter -Injector -Alternator -Wheel Bearing (rear) -Heater hose that goes into the TB sprung a leak Had the car 2 years now and has around 70k i cannot complain. Reading yours made me think of a few more things about mine. LOL. both front wheel bearings and my injectors went bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Nothing that I consider major(major to me is a blown engine or transaxle, even then it isn't that big of a deal ) but here's some stuff that has been replaced. TGP: -ABS accumulator -Alternator -Stock injectors were leaking, so I replaced them with some Ford Yellow top injectors. 1993 Grand Prix SE: -Driver's side door handle replaced twice(when my parents had the car). I haven't broken one yet since I only use the handle to unlatch the door, then I pull it open by grasping the top of it. -Alternators - This car has had about 7-8 replacements, and that's not an exaggeration. I guess my rent's had shitty luck buying alternators. It had everything from brand new AC Delcos to rebuilt ac delcos and everything else in between installed on it. . I've had a lifetime warrantied alternator from Autozone in it for almost 6 years now, so I finally broke the alt eating cycle. Before I installed that warrantied alt in 2002, I had an alternator nearly seize up on me due to a failed bearing. I drove the car 20miles to my house after it started to seize up. By the time I got to my driveway, the 3.1 was straining to turn the accessory belt. -Monoleaf cracked/split @ 190K miles - The rear didn't sag much, but the leaf made a nice popping sound when accelerating or braking hard. -Turn signal switch failed around 180K miles. -Intake manifold gaskets @ 230K miles -Original fuel pump failed @ 240-245K -ICM failed @ 254K or so Other than that, I've replaced batteries, brakes, fluid, etc. on a regular basis. My '93 has perfect condition original rear calipers btw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpchris Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 3100 intake gaskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89SupremeCutty Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 my gutlass cutlass: one thing i had to replace was the exhaust rocker arm for cyl. 6. but other than the timing chain jumping and the rocker arm, no problems. oh yea i forgot one. blown ps rack. but it was like that when i got the car. my lumi: absolutely no probs! i've owned it since 116Kmi. and now it has 124Kmi. on it. i do have to replace the egr valve, get the brakes done and get tires for it by summer. no leaks on engine or trans and the trans shifts great. oh, and there's the broken cup holder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrett Powered Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 rear brakes sure suck. fuel pump 5 or 6 times courtesy hold driver side twice turn signal switch PMIII and brake light switch like 5-6 times. engine mounts and struts are just normal wear items that could be more heavy duty. broke a monoleaf but took quite a bit to do it. cs 130 alt sucks but the cs 130 d fucking rules. vacuum lines and egr tube, not to mention the crossover pipe for the turbo, and the turbo. if the PS pump had a bigger reservoir it would be nice. If you forget to top it off your pump and rack and pinion both go out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runt Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 '96 Cutlass: - Door Handle, drivers side. - Water pump - Brake line - Suspension could have been replaced but it wasn't terrible. - Burned oil. About 1 qt every 4k. Not sure where it went but I just added oil when it needed it. I sold it at 119k and it's STILL on the road today. I miss the car though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 1990 TGP -PowerMasterIII- mine was dead when I bought the car, so I replaced it with a new unit. -Fuel Injectors- they all just decided to die and make the car smoke like a mosquito fogger- I was getting 10 MPG and had RAW FUEL dripping from my exhaust! Replacement with five0motorsports yellowtop injectors fixed it. -Drivers side doorhandle- was broken when I bought the car, replaced it and haven't had a problem since. -Battery- died VERY easily, and my new one is dead now I think I need a new alt and ground cables. (car still has original alternator in it!) -Vacuum lines- I replaced them all, along with all check valves because the previous owner broke them all and the tranny would shift so hard the tires would chirp. -Exhaust crossover- no surprise there. -Turbo drain line- for good measure, to make sure it didn't smoke. -Lower valance- found a new unit in the jy and painted it up, good as new. -Motor mounts- were shot. engine rocked back and forth in the engine bay so much I thought it was gonna jump out and get me.. or raid my garage of all its oil.. -Power steering pump- died on me this summer- man this car is hard to turn without PS! It was pretty easy to replace though, took ~half an hour. 1989 GP SE 2.8 5-speed Rear brake calipers- they were completely seized up when I bought the car, so I replaced them, along with my rear pads and rotors, and fixed my parking brake, brakes work fantastic now. Gastank- had rust holes in it, replaced it with a new tank, kept the original fuel pump, no problems. I LOVE both of my cars, I don't think I can ever get rid of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Door handle trunk lock (88' only was a quick drill of a rivet and you could pull out the lock in under a minute which is why the lic. plate was moved down to the rear bumper cover afterwards) Subframe mounts Rear Shock mounts Dash warping Cluster problems Alternators Vacuum lines (snap like dainty twigs) Head Gaskets Intake Gaskets Oilpump Drive Seal Wheel Bearings... (not sure if this was a common issue but pretty much every W I had needed the front bearings replaced) Rear Brakes (I think I can work on them blindfolded, I have had to work on them so much) Emergency brake (horrible design) Trunk release (again ... horrible design) Monoleaf cracking Trailing arms (stamped sheet metal = garbage) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 My old W-bodies gave me the typical W-specific issues (rear brakes, door handle, wheel bearings, upper strut mount, etc) But my '95 hasn't done anything to me other than the drivers door handle one time. Any other repair I had to do was something that could happen to other platform cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per0781 Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 my old 91: 8 alternators. number 6 shit to bed the day i installed it. and the brakes of course. and the rocker panels disappeared from rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOHCRagtopguy Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Just a few since I've owned my Cutlass: Alternator Starter Timing Belt Turn Signal Switch Rear Struts I did the alternator and starter myself, the other stuff I paid for. The car now has 162K miles on it and still runs like a champ. She is leaking some oil from the good ol' dummy distributor shaft 'o' ring, I plan on fixing that and putting new Rapid Fire plugs and wires on her in the spring. Plus front strut cartridges and a set of Yokohama tires also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990lumina Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Keeping in mind these cars are getting older and older it's silly to assume nothing will go wrong. They are pretty good cars for what they are. Personally I've only had: - alternator - rear struts - new monoleaf isolators - engine mounts - shitty ass paint/primer Seriously it's been a great car for how old it is and the abuse it sees. I've just driven better cars now which is why I slam my car all the time..it feels sub-par, but it gets the job done in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 lol all my gm monoleafs sag. And my sedans right front door handle rod kept getting knocked down into the door because people dont know how to shut the damn doors without slamming them lol Rear trailing arms are commonly bad also on Ws Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 my old 91: 8 alternators. number 6 shit to bed the day i installed it. and the brakes of course. and the rocker panels disappeared from rust. Glad to see I'm not the only one in the elite 8 alternator club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SigEpCutlass Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Well who has a 3100 that hasn't had a LIM problem...honestly! Just the standard stuff for the most part... LIM Alt Water pump brake line 3 strut mounts (this is what happens when a shop replaces your struts and doesn't do the mounts like you told them to!) bad fuel injector Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logikf1ve Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Just the typical stuff. LIM gaskets, followed shortly after with a cam breakage (3100 hollow cam), tranny woes. My '95 3100 has never had the intake gaskets done, though. 137k miles and going strong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euro Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Well who has a 3100 that hasn't had a LIM problem...honestly! Actually...my dad!! lol. He's got the 3100 in his 03 GP SE and he's at 82k on the original LIM gasket. We've owned the car since 38k? Something like that. My mom's Venture 3400 LIM went at 55k so there isn't really a number that they go bad. I've never really had any major problems with the Lumina or GP. Had a reat strut and mount blow on me once. Also had a trans problem with the Lumina right after I bought it, but an easy fix solved that. I've been lucky! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 You dont wanna know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 oh god i am on my third in 3 years. And it is a HO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z34duck Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 where to start 91 euro engine (was blown when i got it) water pump gas tank rotors 93 red z34 transmission(needed when i got it) rear mono leaf steering rack rotors and calipers 93 maui blue z34 timing belt rotors and calipers rear struts and mounts and im sure there more but hell i love working on these cars so its all good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White93z34 Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 hmm lets see... a broken door handle or 2 one alternator, 4 years and almost 100,000miles ago, i must be lucky or something! no less then 5 sets of rear calipers per side a turnsignal switch or 3 the monoleaf sags yeah i think i got about all them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 just blown stock struts and 3100 headgaskets at 77K miles o, and forgot on the 3.4 5-speed Cutty...the steering wheel started smoking BAD one time.....stupid flasher connections...LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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