Thread: My new car

Hi there to all you chevy lovers

I just bought a 1997 Grand Prix... The engine is knocking very bad and there is metal in the oil. The previous owner said it needs new ball bearings on the crank. The oil pan wont come off because the frame is in the way. I bought a cherry picker and engine caddy today and I want to give this baby a new lease on life. I am going to be buying the manuals and what not next week to take out the engine. couple of questions for yall:

How do i know if i have a real GTP (besides the s/c duh) i heard 97's VIN shows just GT

Can the engine be taken out from the top?

Anyone local to me (ocala, FL) that could help me with a couple things to make my life easier?

thanks ahead of time

Originally Posted by JoRoW99

They arent ball bearings for one. But yea the motor should just come out the top. Um if you have the HD tranny, the S/C motor and the badges then you basically have a GTP. its not like these are collector cars so if its not a 'real' gtp you arent losing anything.

sorry if my green horns show a little but how would the HD tranny differ from the regular gt tranny and how could you identify the difference?

I pulled my vin decoder and it said GT, but on wiki it says that in 1997 GTP was an add on option for the GT and in 1998 it became its own submodel. I also know the transmission was rebuilt.

It would be nice to know just for my personal OCD

Can I just unbolt the tranny and lower motor mounts and cherry pick the engine out the top of the car? (of course disconnect everything else too but yall get the point and i just want to know if this will work)

I don't see how that would work since the torque converter is still bolted to the flywheel. I just don't think there is enough room to swing the motor to the left enough to pull the converter out w/ the motor while leaving the trans in the car. I could be wrong, but even if I am, do you really want to try and get the converter to set in the trans correctly with it in the car? I sure as heck don't, lol...

I would pull them as a unit. It's not that hard. And yes, it can come out the top this way. Just remove the hood to give you room, GENTLY move the plastic fuel lines out of the way, disconnect all vacuum lines and wiring and out she comes. Just take it slow and watch the ABS and brake booster on the drivers side as the trans may try and catch it, and be carefull that you don't smash the backside of the radiator.

My guess is that the lower intake manifold gaskets failed and poured coolant into the oil thus ruining the rod bearings. It's a common issue if not caught in time. You'd be best to find a used motor for $500 or so and just swap that in. You can re-use your accessories and whatnot. If you plan on rebuilding the stock one you will need all new rod and main bearing cap bolts as they are TTY bolts (1 time use), line bore the block, turn the crank, and a slew of other things that makes it not worth the effort or $$$.

No one will care if the car is "numbers matching" when it gets sold. Like was stated these cars are dime-a-dozen. Even the GTP's. Just trying to help save you time and $$$ and get another GP back on the road

Originally Posted by FordMan77

I don't see how that would work since the torque converter is still bolted to the flywheel. I just don't think there is enough room to swing the motor to the left enough to pull the converter out w/ the motor while leaving the trans in the car. I could be wrong, but even if I am, do you really want to try and get the converter to set in the trans correctly with it in the car? I sure as heck don't, lol...

I would pull them as a unit. It's not that hard. And yes, it can come out the top this way. Just remove the hood to give you room, GENTLY move the plastic fuel lines out of the way, disconnect all vacuum lines and wiring and out she comes. Just take it slow and watch the ABS and brake booster on the drivers side as the trans may try and catch it, and be carefull that you don't smash the backside of the radiator.

My guess is that the lower intake manifold gaskets failed and poured coolant into the oil thus ruining the rod bearings. It's a common issue if not caught in time. You'd be best to find a used motor for $500 or so and just swap that in. You can re-use your accessories and whatnot. If you plan on rebuilding the stock one you will need all new rod and main bearing cap bolts as they are TTY bolts (1 time use), line bore the block, turn the crank, and a slew of other things that makes it not worth the effort or $$$.

No one will care if the car is "numbers matching" when it gets sold. Like was stated these cars are dime-a-dozen. Even the GTP's. Just trying to help save you time and $$$ and get another GP back on the road

Thank you very much for the information FordMan77; I think i would rather rebuild this engine. I could always buy another block and buy a better crank but I think just re-using the parts will get me by for now because I dont want to buy another tranny. I might just sell the car if it turns into a money pit and buy a mustang. Otherwise I could wait around for a better tranny and build the engine later down the road and make it mean =)

If you think pulling the engine and tranny at the same time is the best way that is what I will do.

Originally Posted by blk97gt

Hi there to all you chevy lovers

I just bought a 1997 Grand Prix... The engine is knocking very bad and there is metal in the oil. The previous owner said it needs new ball bearings on the crank. The oil pan wont come off because the frame is in the way. I bought a cherry picker and engine caddy today and I want to give this baby a new lease on life. I am going to be buying the manuals and what not next week to take out the engine. couple of questions for yall:

How do i know if i have a real GTP (besides the s/c duh) i heard 97's VIN shows just GT

Can the engine be taken out from the top?

Anyone local to me (ocala, FL) that could help me with a couple things to make my life easier?

thanks ahead of time

with my car i spun a rod bearing which caused a really lloud knock from the top of my piston hitting my head. you are prolly going to have to buy a new short block or do what im doing a complete rebuild. i would not run the car anymore so you dont cause anymore damage. Yes the motor came out the top and for the exception of a few clips and one bellhouing bolt the engine came out pretty easy. i hope this helps,

Originally Posted by JoRoW99

I think what he was trying to say is buying a used L67 will be cheaper than rebuilding it.

That would be my point. Why spend the extra $$ on rebuilding this one when you can get one that is running, with probabaly less miles on it than the old one, and spend less time messing with the thing and just reuse your accessories, install your S/C and call it done.

You do know that ANY Series II 3800 will bolt up to your existing tranny, right? No reason to get a new one.

Ok so does anyone have a write up on how to pull the engine without pulling the tranny?

Originally Posted by bluegtp91

What are you stuck on? Take off the hood...remove all wires...remove all the bell housing bolts AND the b1tch bolt on the back side of the transmission...you have to remove the starter/flywheel cover...then remove the 3 torque converter bolts that bolt the flywheel to the torque converter...and of course un bolt the exhaust...anything else I am missing besides unbolting the motor mount from the cradle and draining fluids?

Ok is there something wrong with the forum because its being difficult for me today witht he login... anyway I guess the only reason i keep asking for a write up on engine removal is because when i was 16 i only took 1 year of college in the ASE mechanic course, and now that I am 21 i feel rusty and I have never cherry picked a whole engine. I am ready to get it done and everything but I just dont want to bust anything important and kick myself down the road so any info is good info for me. Here are some pix of where im at now:
3800 lower intake after s/c removal:


backup view of engine:


Tranny: (someone plz tell me if this is the 60 or 65 lol)


and s/c upside down. cant really see it that well took pix in a hurry but the splines are nice the s/c feels tight.