Just bought 85 GN

[TPI79MC]

Hi guys, I just bought an 85 GN that needs some work. I knew the guy I bought it from, and he parked it when it got a serious rod knock. The car has only 79000 miles on it. The car sat for a good 2 years now and when I went to start it, it fired right up and had a bad rod knock, but also smoked terribly. There was no trouble codes thrown, but the car ran horrible, and it sounded like the turbo was making a loud sound when I revved it up. I know for a fact that this car ran good when it was parked, it just had a terrible knock. Any thoughts? I am new at this and have no ideas. Any response would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[dave84gn]

I'm no expert, but you *might* want to fix that bottom end knock before you destroy the crank. bottom end knock = shot bearing (right guys?)... that's what happened to me at least

Best of luck to you, hope you get it running, these are fun cars... and with the kind of help you get on this message board you won't be without help

Dave

 

[HOTSIX]

A couple of us...including ME have pulled their motors out and had um rebuilt. Nothing like that fresh feeling. Sounds like thats what you need. Mine was exactly like yours when I bought it. Is yours a moonroof, T-roof or solid roof car ?

I had lotsa questions when I started out (a year ago) and ALL the guys on here are VERY knowledgable and willing to help you. Dont be afraid to ask...I wasnt.

Good luck with it.

 

[cool 84]

There's a good chance the debris from the motor took out the turbo too especially since it's making a lot of noise. Make sure to flush or replace the oil feed line to the turbo when you do a rebuild on the motor. The best advise is to have someone familiar with these motors rebuild it. Most shops will set the clearances too loose like a Chevy motor and they wear out in less than 20,000 miles. I know, I did it twice.

 

[TPI79MC]

Hi, my car is a hardtop. My main concern is not the knock, because the motor is coming out and getting rebuilt. My major concern is why it is running bad and smoking. I took the car around the block to make sure everything else worked and a few times I floored it and it just stuttered and barely accelerated. Do you guys think the Turbo is shot from sitting for so long? How can you tell? I dont want to have this motor rebuilt and end up hurting something because I put a bad turbo on it. What do you all think?

 

[a.j.hogan]

turbo

I,upgraded on my turbo put a ta49 on.I still have the stock one.Just the turbo,no elbow it had 50k on it still in very good shape.If interested send me e-mail.a.j.
the84gn@aol.com

 

[cool 84]

It could have bad gas from sitting, injectors probably need to be cleaned or replaced. The rod knock will definately set off the knock sensor and retard your timing making it surge and have no power.

 

[NOKA72]

WELCOME ABOARD...YOU WILL FIND ALL THE HELP YOU NEED HERE ON THIS BOARD....GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR RESTO AND I HAVE A NICE SELECTION OF HOT AIR PARTS IF YOU NEED SO JUST ASK....VINNY

 

[TType84]

sensors can go bad when cars sit, just due to moisture and what not..

 

[national84]

I have seen cat. convertors rust and collapse after sitting for a while like this, especially if they sit outside. This would likely cause the problems you are having. Also, you cannot rule out the possibility of piston damage or a stuck ring causing the smoke. Yank the motor, overhaul and then go from there.
If you are going to need a turbo, you might as well upgrade, believe me, you will anyway..these cars make hp as addictive as crack. Besides, everyone is going to recommend an upgrade when the performance work begins, but you should cross that bridge when you get to it. You aren;t even out of the driveway yet.

 

[Buick From Hell]

sounds like the intake side ceramic oil seal broke...this would make a helluva racket and oil the hell out of your intake, which would make it run terrible...

Pull the throttle body and have a look. If the turbine blades are oily, bingo...

 

[EyeTalk2Trees]

I'd also guess if it has been sitting for 2 years the vaccum lines are probably gone, that could contribute to the problems listed int he last few posts. I'd freshen up the engine and drop it back in. Don't worry if its all there you can get it going again.

 

[turbo84gn]

C'MON!!!!!!!!! Fix the knock first! With the bad bearing you are probably losing all of your oil pressure to the top end. If you keep running it your rebuild bill is going to get more expensive. You will end up having to replace the crank (if not already needed), more connecting rods, more head work required!

Fix the obvious problems first!

 

[EyeTalk2Trees]

just to clear up my first post I did say freshen it up then worry about tunning it. I was trying to convay that you need to stop driving it around and reviing it up to listen to it, and start tearing it down and rebuilding it. It would be an expensive spin around the block if you break a rock or the crank. So rebuild the bottom end, replace all the rutine replaceable parts(spark plugs, wires, test the coil pack, all the vacume hoses, etc) then start tuning and tweaking. Don't worry about the little stuff untill the big stuff is working correctly.

like i said before but more details this time i guess, thought someone missed my point.

 

[TPI79MC]

A bad turbo is a minor thing? I obviuosly ran the car up the road to see what I was dealing with. Like make sure the tranny shifts good, and the rear end is fine. Its not like I am out cruising this car, I just needed to see how it worked. So bolting a possibly bad turbo onto a fresh motor wont hurt it? Its just that I would hate to damage the new motor. Thanks for all the replies so far, any other thoughts?

 

[dave84gn]

A turbo only interferes with the exhaust flow and intake flow. The worst it could do with the exhaust end is cause a lot of backpressure. On the intake side, the only thing you'll need to worry about would be overboosting (running too much boost than ur engine can handle) -- get an accurate boost gauge and you'll be fine. Other than that, unless ur turbo blows up and gets sucked in your intake, I think you can't hurt your engine =)

Dave

 

[cool 84]

There's a very good chance if you have a serious rod knock and the turbo is making a loud noise it's damaged. Even if it doesn't contaminate the oil on your new motor it will probably be leaking oil into the intake and causing detonation. It would be good insurance to at least send it off and have it rebuilt for about $200. I'm sure some one on here has a stock turbo laying around from an upgrade.

 

[dave84gn]

Oh yea, forgot about the oil thing. Oops.

Dave