samiamryan Posted January 5, 2004 Report Share Posted January 5, 2004 I am now the proud owner of a TGP. I needed a winter car being in wisconsin (didnt want to drive my firebird in the snow) and by random chance i saw a add for a 1990 grand prix turbo, 130,000 $800 obo. I never new grand prix's made turbos and i had just lost my Eagle Talon Tsi, i was in love with turbos so i gave it a test drive and instantly i fell in love. there was a bit of body damage, cracked bumper, lots of scratched, looked like a girled owned it if u get my drift. when i took it home and did some reserch, i didnt relize how rare these cars were and they run over 200hp. needless to say i was stoked. Anywho, after i bought it, some thing started to go wrong, power steering pump went out, had to get that fixed, but now the engine is acting funny. It sucks gas at an incredible rate, i get about 200 miles on a tank of gas. When i put it in park and floor the gas, the rpms on get to 3500 and tops off, but when driving hard, the car shifts well into the redline, about 6500-6800. Then the other day i was tring to show off and punck it on the highway when at about 80mph i had it floored and the gas shut off, i let up and punched it again and it would take off. Also when the car has been sitting in the cold, when i start the car up and put it in reverse the car shuts off. whats going on, did i get ripped off or are these minor problems. any help would be great. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkorinko Posted January 5, 2004 Report Share Posted January 5, 2004 Ok not to be a dick but 1st off its a TGP, not GTP. 2nd of all the car is supposed to only rev to around 3000 when in Park or Neutral, its part of a safety feature the car has, so dont worry about that. But holy shit dude, ur car is revving waaaaay to high, 6500-6800 rpms on that motor is no good, no good at all! at wide open throttle my car shifts at 5500, and i would say that u should be nowhere past 5800. As for the car shutting off at 80 mph, i have been experiencing something of the same sort, and i havent fixed it yet, and i have tried, map sensor, vaccum lines, oxygen sensor, new chip, new computer and no luck, next i am going to try the speed sensor so i will let u know how that goes. Congrats on ur new purchase and welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gp90se Posted January 5, 2004 Report Share Posted January 5, 2004 Alright, first and foremost, welcome 2 the world of TGP and gm's problems. -P/s leak, yup, its a GM. Fix it, then fix it again in 40-60k miles -You shouldn't be able to rev past 3500 rpms, keeps the motor from going pop. -the 3.1 isn't designed to go past 6100 rpms, by my N/A 3.1 used to go up to 7100RPMS....do NOT EVER let your motor get that high -you have made 1 mistake calling it something other then a turbo grand prix, TGP, don't do it again =) -If your not already, put a k&n directly onto the turbo so you can hear the wastegate spool whine noise. -A blow off valve (bov) is a nice little mod, not only protects the turbo from being stopped to fast, but it sounds cool to. -If you want a lot more performance, do a search about Jeff M. performance chips, better fuel management as well as higher boost and drivability. -Your exhaust is restricting a lot of power from the turbo, go with either a high flow cat or no cat if your state laws permit it, put on high flow mufflers as well. Again, welcome to the site and congrats on buying a TGP. -Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus18 Posted January 5, 2004 Report Share Posted January 5, 2004 your tach might be off. mine shows that I shift at 4500 and I hit rev limiter at 5000. bad gas miliage might be a bad crossover pipe. marcus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 For $800 bucks and it gets to 80mph you didn't get ripped off even if it blows up tomarrow. You may need to adjust your tv cable to get the shifts down. The sucking gas could definitely be o2/crossover issues. and shutting off at 80 probably isn't the same issue as dk has. If you have the factory air box the filter is probably dirty and sucking the flexible hose going into the turbo shut and blocking airflow. Do as indicated and install a direct fit filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samiamryan Posted January 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 As far as the reving to high, do you think my tranny may be bad? Im taking it in to the shop tommorow to get the power steering pump fixed. Im going to have him take a look at the other stuff as well, see what he thinks. Just wondering, how much does a new crossover pipe run? Im not looking to beef this thing up, i just want to get it running good and maybe do a lil racing during the summer with it. I figure it will be a sleeper and ill have a lil fun with it at the track. As for the cars gas shutting off, i was looking through the message board and im not sure if i was looking at the right thing, but there was something about a hose conected to the engine from the air filter and there may be a plastic clip missing and cause air from the turbo to leak and lose power, could this be why the gas would shut off? Im not much of a mechanic, but i do get luck and fix a few things here and there. Any more help would be greatly appreciated and thank to all that replyed so quickly. One other point, i know that the reving in park will only go to 3200 rpms, i new that was normal, but when i dont have my foot on the gas and start it up it sits a 2100rpm or so. thats where it sit. Does the cold have anything to do with that cause im in wisconsin and it friggin cold up here :devil: Thanks again to all and ill let u know what my mechanic says. (he's family, so he wont rip me off.) P.S. both my door handles are now broke!! (passenger outside handle already broke when i bought the car, now the other, it will be a cold ride to the mechanic with the window down) You know its been a rough start to the TGP world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gp90se Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 The door handles will getcha every time, junkyards get $25 each around here and im on my 3ed (and last, this 1 has been modifyed). I think Jeff M gets $450 for a new crossover, and it is worth it in my book becuase he does them right. My guess it revves up that high becuase of the computer, my SE used 2 rev that high and they tranny was fine. I just layed off the gas a little when I wanted it 2 shift. Im going to guess ya have a leaking p/s line which will need to be changed, figure $150 to have that done. Good luck and stick with the TGP, it will be well worth it. -Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 I wouldn't worry too much about the revving too high. There are rev limiters that won't allow it to rev too high, unless someone messed with the computer. When I got my STE I was a little worried when I saw the tach read 7k at only 3/4 throttle, but I could hear that it wasn't spinning that fast, and it was reading 3500rpms at 75mph. Since I know my other TGP runs 2700rpms at 75mph I came to the conclusion the tach is off. I have found it reads ~20% high, which is understandable because my speedometer reads almost exactly 20% fast also. It scares me when I go WOT and see the needle for the tach go into the speedometer! Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samiamryan Posted January 6, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 You know i think you are right obout the rpms not being that hight cause my speedometer is to fast the (speedometer on the windsheild) will say something like 70 mph and the dash will say 83mph, so maybe its shifting when its supose to. I didnt think it sounded like 7000 rpm. I hope your right. Also, im sorry if i step on some more toes but what is an crossover pipe? i see on here all the time that they are always being changed. what are thay, what do thay do, and do i need to replace them?? thanks again for all your help, this site rocks. im learning alot about my car and i just got it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gp90se Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 Ask questions, its an easy way 2 learn. The crossover pipe is the pipe that runs from the rear to front exhaust manifold where the turbo bolts to. Theres 2 sections on the pipe thats flexable that have a tendancy to leak which would cause your mpg to drop as well as lower the amount of power for the turbo. -Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
95GTP Posted January 6, 2004 Report Share Posted January 6, 2004 samiamryan, First off welcome. First suggestion is to read all the past posts. There is a ton of info out there to read and it will answer most of your questions. That way no one will slam you to do a search on a subject. How many miles on your TGP? It is well known that at certain miles there will be things to die on you so be ready. Your distributor o ring will leak, your speedometer will become unreliable, your brakes will give you many problems and cost you $$$, your crossover is bad, rusted and leaking. Some of the electronics have cold solder joints and will cause problems. But if you can fix stuff you will save $$$$. Buy spare parts. Do research. This car is easy to work on IMO. Compared to my GTP 3.4 liter. I bought mine for $500 with 155k miles. First thing I did was to give it a good tuneup, Coils, wires, spark plugs, fuel filter, air filter, PVC valve, change intake gaskets, tranny filter, exhaust work, brake work, etc etc ... Dont be scared, it cost me under $500 ($300 in brake work alone) to do all that. Hey junkyard parts help with the cost. The car runs remarkably better since the day it hobbled into my posession. I still need a crossover, dont know how bad it is since I havent taken off the original heat blankets, they have never been removed yet :shock: I'm afraid what I will find there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff M Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Stock chip cuts fuel at 5,800 rpms in gear, 3,100 rpms in Neutral/Park, no matter what the Tach says. I have found from many owners and myself here on a dozen or so TGPs that the Tach is typically off by 300 rpms=/-, no matter, the engine does not make power past 5,200 rpms, and as many say here it's hard on the engine and tranny revving this high and shifting this high, loosen the trans TV Cable to lower the shift points, your tranny shop can do this easy/in a few minutes! Dkorinko states it here correct, with the common error reading of 300 rpms high, the tach should show about 5,500 rpms to equal the proper 5,200 rpm Wide Open Throttle/WOT shift. 95GTP, you are soooo right regarding getting a used car/used TGP :!: that is the way to think of it hands down :worship: , and glad to hear you state it that way! Jeff M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkorinko Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 Dkorinko states it here correct, with the common error reading of 300 rpms high, the tach should show about 5,500 rpms to equal the proper 5,200 rpm Wide Open Throttle/WOT shift. 95GTP, you are soooo right regarding getting a used car/used TGP :!: that is the way to think of it hands down :worship: , and glad to hear you state it that way! Jeff M who??? what??? where???? when???? we gave correct advice!!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff M Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 who??? what??? where???? when???? we gave correct advice!!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!! , yep, and I will tell you a secret, since there are so many literate board members here now it makes my life a lot eaiser not having to add or be one of the few guys to answer every question (there are a number of us old-guys that have been working, helping etc on TGPs and on the Internet since 1996, we gained some info over all those years. For a while back then we were the only few who had some ideas on things, but not no more....ahhhhhh/sigh!), so thanks for letting me fly low . Jeff M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeorge Posted January 8, 2004 Report Share Posted January 8, 2004 I had bad gas milage going on in My STE, 130- 150MPT Changed the wires, and PLugs Still nothing 160-170MPT I car would Shudder horibly at anything under 3500 Like it wasnt Running on all...at 100MPH it was Fine but if I was doing 60 I would have to have it in Drive not OD. I then Pulled my middle PLug wire and Sure it didnt effect the idle at all...I changed the coil and I was getting 220mpt then I changed the other two and now Im back up to the 300+MPT that I was use to... so Find a Set of coils off a NA 3.1 from a JY if you are strapped for cash. other wise spend the 20-30 each for new ones... My car Runs Great and does not Shudder anymore. she Just Turned to 146,146 miles and not a ping in her yet.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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