Thread: 02' GP GT LIM/UIM Replacement

Okay! I'm back home! Let me first say Thank You to Bill for a spectacular job today. Aside from having my car done, it was a pleasure for me and my son to meet Bill, Brian, and Josh, and get to hang out with a fun bunch of guys! Laughs were plentiful to say the least. My son must have told me three times on the way home that he was so happy he decided to come with me today. Bill made me feel right at home as if we were buddies for years and years.

He is really amazing to watch. He works extremely fluid and effortlessly. He has his system of working on these engines down to a science! He was clean and organized, and treated my car as if it was his own. He let my son get in there and get his hands dirty as well which he (my son) was thrilled about. At the end of the afternoon, which seemed like a blink of an eye, my GP was running like a top, no check engine light, and my starting issue when hot was gone as well! He allowed us to get some cosmetic stuff done while he wrenched as well. I had a blast and it was definitely worth the trip up!

Now for some pics, which Bill was nice enough to allow me to take.....

The guys scoping out the course of action.




I started by removing the crappy tail lights.




Starting the break-down procedure.




Out back the new tail lights went in easily. They look so much better than the stockers, and now you can actually see light out back!




Back up front the UIM was already out by the time I finished the tail lights.



LIM was taken out next.



Bill made quick work of the old gasket material and gunk from all the surfaces.



Clean mating surfaces was all that was left after the die grinder!



New seals front and back installed along with the new aluminum gaskets.



Bill had already prepared an LIM before I got there to speed up installation.



He did the coolant passage plugs as well. Nice job!



Here is a testament to why Bill says not to use RTV sealant on the coolant elbows. When trying to remove them, one of them snapped in two! Just lube them up with good old vaseline, and install.



Brian was there working on his GP's Turbo System in the next bay. Nice to have multiple jobs going on at once.

New Upgraded Dorman UIM installed.



Old plugs were replaced with new AC Delco Iridiums



Throttle body reinstalled



New Taylor 8mm wires installed.



Next Bill installed a new Crankshift Position Sensor.



Bill was so great. He showed me every step of the procedure so that I was able to watch and learn which was great for me. Your never too old to learn new stuff. My mind was like a sponge today, and many things that I had feared doing beforehand, now don't look so tough. Thanks Bill!



Lastly Bill did an oil change and new filter.




All done!!!!

After everything was done we started her up and bled the cooling system. After it was up to temp, system bled, and oil changed, we checked to see if the new Fuel Pressure Regulator was the issue I had with the restarting when hot. We shut it down and went to restart and it stalled again. Bill immediately jumped in his box of parts and pulled out another MAF Sensor. He swapped out what we found to be some aftermarket brand sensor. He installed an OEM unit and the car restarted perfectly. We shut it down when hot and tried again and she started right up and stayed running! WooHoo!! Problem solved!! All the way home she ran perfectly, averaging 32.5mpg the whole way at 65mph and used less than a 1/4 tank of gas for the solid two hour ride home! Can't be unhappy with that!!! Thanks again Bill. Your a great guy and it was my pleasure to meet you today as well as Brian and Josh. Next time your wrenching up there I'll have to pass by with the bike to say hello!!!

After all the action yesterday up at Bill's place, my son Richie was all amped up to work on his car. We went back and forth yesterday, not being serious, but just joking with him about his Import car. We had some good laughs for sure. I just thought that I would post this here for Bill, as I'm sure that Richie would at least want him to see the work he did today. He did his first full tune-up and stripped, cleaned, and sprayed his Valve Cover before installing his new wire set.

Me, I started the morning by getting the mirror on that I forgot to bring with me yesterday to Bill's.



Richie had already stripped and prepped the Valve Cover by the time I headed downstairs so we shot it with, get this, FORD RED!! Hahaha!! I'm sure that Bill will get a kick out of that!



Richie installed the cover, changed over to Iridium Plugs, and installed the new Accel 8mm Wire Set.



He did a great job for his first time, and it was nice to hang out and wrench with him.



While he rotated his tires I cleaned the underside of his hood that still had a lot of gunk from Winter.



After staring at the "bare" headers, I broke out the high heat black and shot them while hot just to freshen them up.


Oh, and Bill, Richie says thanks again for a great time yesterday. He was really impressed with all you guys as was I.

Billy and Richie, it was a pleasure. You did leave out that once your car was finished, you guys jumped in and lent a hand putting the summer tires (still have last summer dirt on them) onto my car. It should be known that the car stops and turns better with the summer sneakers on it. Right.. better than when we took it around the block.

It was a good fun day for sure. Richie, that looks very good. I was impressed with the quality of work you were doing on the GP and knew that when you started in on your car, it would be equal or better. Your dad will likely now want to race you since his codes are no longer present. Do him a favor and let him win by a nose out of respect...even though we know your car can probably take his.