Problem after problem

[Tony serio]

Hey guys my apologies before hand on this long thread and lack of knowledge of this car even while being a gm engine heavy line tech lol, long story purchased my first grand national while at wrk brought it off a friend who also is a drivability guy same dealership, couldn't resist got a I hope good deal car is clean inside and out but has a whole bunch of aftermarket go fast stuff etc.. gn1 heads and ported champion intake a tt chip maf translator ls1 maf, wiseco pistons well looked the part number up on the actual pistons , all main caps have a turbo 6 logo on them don't know what brand has arp rod bolts , turbo says precision 63? With just one hose from housing to waste gate , black injectors also say precision not sure what rating, hAs scorpion 1.55 rockers on studs which are killing me trying to adjust, gn1 vale covers , a alky injection kit and scan master , now the problems , as before I purchased it from my coworker who last year bought it from a service advisor who then quit so hist of the car is unknown, didn't run pulled it down had a broken timing chain so purchased a ta 1523a? That's what it had on it so that's what we bought, sent the heads off had 2 bad valves, reinstalled using arp bolts and graphite felpro gasket, ran but like crap at high rpm, fast forward to now cases been sitting then I bought developed coolant milk shake, turns out blew a head gasket arp bolts came loose, so I studded the motor arp studs, arp intake bolts. Had to get the header welded, so now drove it leaking oil still cuts out took a shot in the dark and bought a coil pack and bingo doesn't cut out, buttttt pouring oil out the valve cover breathers and now back of intake which has felpro 1200 gaskets only installed by my friend who was told by to the machine shop to use these before (thought was the cause of coolant in oil) so I assume it's sucking massive oil through the PVC , anyway I'm putting a stock gasket back on it tomorrow it's on my rack at work doing engine repair for a living so allowed to fix your own crap, but this thing is nickel and diming me to death lol paid 7500 for it 1986 89,000 miles but nothing factory under the hood sorry about the rant guys just getting my butt kicked and the wife asking ya bought a car and it don't run lol will tack pics tomorrow to try and see what kind of turbo and are parts these are , oh yeah those scorpion rockers will not stay adjusted for crap and now need exhaust manifold gaskets and prolly more vacuum leaks some turbo lag alky trying to figure that out to will keep you guys posted thanks..

 

[Nick Micale]

Tony, I feel your pain as I have been getting my ass kicked by these turbo Buicks for over 25 years and still different crap shows up!

I have some ideas for you if you would like to call and discuss them, my typing sucks so an informative answer here is out of the question.

 

[Tony serio]

That would be awesome , any help is much appreciated what's
a good time? Assuming that's ur number in ur sig

 

[cruzn57]

Tony........
welcome!
and your in good hands , (with Nick)

 

[Tony serio]

Thank you, and thank god for forums just wish I wasn't flying blind on everything that's been done to this thing lol

 

[Pronto]

No doubt, these cars are very finicky. Even experienced mechanics find them confounding. I would try to list all the mods that you are sure of in your sig. That way when you ask a question people can review what's been done.
As far as the oil issue, you may be better off with the stock style bathtub style intake gasket. They shield the pvc valve from oil splash. The back of the manifold leak is probably the rubber gaskets not being sealed in the corners (if they used the gaskets). You may find the rubber gaskets are holding up the manifold and causing a vacuum leak which then would pressurize the block in boost. I would test the intake system by pressurizing it with less than 10lbs of air and check for leaks. Good luck.

 

[Tony serio]

Intake gaskets were felpro 1200 actually leaking from the rear rtv pushed out it looked like because of assuming not running a valley pan that was my next step installing the factory valley pan intake gasket back on and buying new breathers since they are shot now

 

[Tony serio]

What i have done since buying it, removed the hvac case installed ta performance a/c plate removed egr installed a delete plate removed heads installed arp studs with new head gaskets hvac box came out in one piece removed to try and get this thing tuned right and after having to pull heads a few times seemed better with it off for now ease of acess lol

 

[Pronto]

Check that egr plate. They are notorious leakers. Pressure test the intake!

 

[chris kirk]

That would be awesome , any help is much appreciated what's
a good time? Assuming that's ur number in ur sig

Tony,
Welcome and congratulations. You are in excellent hands with Nick Micale. He has years and years of experience and knowledge of these cars.

 

[TurboTdr3.8]

Tony , I feel for you I did the same thing as buying my first TB what I though was a good buy with all the go fast goodies knowing that was what I wanted , well almost a year later and several thousands of dollars less in my pocket I finally got my car to run and get to point a to b and have some fun with it with all the help from this board and great people to help like Nick, Bison , Pacecarta and many more just to name a few , the main thing is just be determined to sort out all the problems big and little and you will be glad you did when its boosting up and making hp like it is supposed to , it is a hard road to go down and if they made a pill to do it it would be so big you could not swallow it anyway . Just start reading everything you can get your hands on and asking questions and it will be a beautiful picture one day . Good Luck in the TB world .

 

[grey racer]

You should be happy you're young and have plenty of time to learn all the ins and outs of these cars. A good basic knowledge of motors, wiring, suspension, etc. is the key.
But it's like starting all over again when you buy one of these monsters, but like all these guys said, listen to the experienced people on this site, they'll give you incredible advice.
Without help, I would have sold my GN a few months after I bought it....be patient and the word perseverance will be part of your test. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be
part of a small fraternity of car nuts who are hooked on this stuff......and of course, they do go fast....