Yearly maintnance?

[chitownz87gn]

I have some questions about maintnance on these cars. First I will start off with saying my car died on me and I'm having it towed to a buddy's shop. Hes an awesome mechanic but has never worked on one of these cars. What should I have him do while the car is in the shop? So far I know I need a fuel pump which is no biggie, I also need a rear main seal fixed and brakes all the way around.

What spark plugs should I buy?
What wires are the best for these cars?
Is the walboro 255 fuel pump the best/reliable?
What's a common thing to look for ?

thanks in advance,
Frank

 

[turbo nasty]

I would do some homework first.
Check out the spring cleaning guide on gnttype.org

 

[Phoneguy]

Have him take it to someone that knows these cars...There are a lot of members in Chicago that can help. These things are not for the faint of heart, those without patience , or those that dont have expendable funds. They are a blast when you get it running right and quit modding it for further performance. After that all bets are off. Good luck

Bryan

 

[earlbrown]

The car really needs to go to someone with experience with these cars. You're guy could be a crackerjack mechanic but do you really want to use your car and money (and time) to teach him how to troubleshoot these cars?
There are a lot of quirks to these cars that are turbo Buick specific. Some of the nuances are very minor but can result in blown headgaskets if you're lucky and/or running over the crankshaft if you're having a real bad day.

 

[williamsGN]

http://www.gnttype.org/maint/basics.html

CR43TS plugs
Any good brand wire, more money doesn't mean better and anything over 8mm is overkill on a stock ignition
Walbros been around a long time and have a varied reputation. Some are going with http://arizonagn.com/?page_id=54
Don't forget ZDDP if you don't have a roller cam. http://www.kirbanperformance.com/products/20/ZDDPlus OIL ADDITIVE.html

 

[chitownz87gn]

I appreciate your responses guys. I will get the car running and then I will find a mechanic in Chicago to do the "other" work that I need.

 

[groumoutis]

Just out of curiosity what have you checked on the car to figure out why it died? Did you check for fuel pressure in the rail? Did you check to see if you are getting spark?

To own one of these car you either need to know how to turn a wrench or have a big bank account. Sometimes you will need both!!!!

 

[chitownz87gn]

I checked for spark and it does spark, no fuel pressure coming from the rail therefore I'm leaning that its the pump but it could be one of the resistors on the hot wire kit. I havent diagnosed further than just figuring out I have no fuel. I kinda had the gut feeling the pump wouldn't last. O well just another gremlin on the list to fix

 

[earlbrown]

There shouldn't be any resistors on the hotwire kit. A wire runs from the alternator to a relay, from there to the pump. a trigger wire runs from the test plug to the relay or it's mounted in the back and triggered by the stock power wire at the pump plug. And the relay gets a ground for the trigger side.

Start at the front with a test light or voltmeter checking for power. When you turn the key on you have two seconds to get a reading. After that the ECM powers down the pump circuit until it sees the engine running.

 

[BILL HAINES]

BACK TO THE ORIG QUESTION, NORMAL MAIN... CHANGE OIL,FILTER....SERVICE THE POWERMASTER(A BIGGIE)