1999 GP GT coupe dies 2 times in two month after purchase

[nikita7]

Hello everyone, this is my first post on this forum so don't be too be too critical 8). Well since I was 16 I had 1995 Honda accord with F22 engine, car had nearly 180k miles on it and it was driven pretty rough. Despite that it gave me absolutely no trouble, on her last tune up mechanic told me that car was mechanically perfect. Still I wanted to get myself something bigger, faster and American. After saving enough $$$ in June and July I sold the honda and started looking for the new ride. I originally wanted a mustang GT but after I test drove few of them (both manual and automatic transmissions) I didn't like it. So I went to look for something else, than I saw this 1999 GP GT coupe for sale in the dealership in LA.74k miles, great looks,interior and engine compartment. I took it for a spin and instantly I was in love with the car. It didn't have insane acceleration but it seemed very balanced. Next day I was driving this car home to SF, car was driving perfectly through the mountains with no overheating or anything. Than about 30 miles from SF I started getting really low on gas, I had to make a U turn while looking for the gas station. After I shifited from R to D car started shaking and literaly bouncing for the few seconds. I originally attributed it to having almost no gas and motor choking. I made to gas station OK refueled and arrived in SF happy with the car, I didn't drive it for the next two days. Than when I took it out of garage and went to meet with few friends, same situation I shift from R to D car started choking and bouncing. This time "engine service soon" and low coolant light came on, car didn't hold RPMs while idling it barely made it to the auto shop. I left it there for testing, original result was "random engine misfire" I think of well might be O2 sensor or spark plug (nothing major, and car was still on the warranty). Still I leave the car at the shop for further testing, next morning I come mechanic says that they tried pressure testing the cooling system and all water immediately went in the block. Headgasquet was blown, $1500 paid after long arguments with the dealer. I though "oh well HG was damage long before me, now car is checked and everything is in Great condition".
Not even a month passed since the HG was replaced when once again car dies on me. I went to Alameda to see Air Force recruiter, I arrived a bit early started parking when I hear "zzzzzzzzzz" sound from under my hood. I thought that something started rubbing, than I saw steam comming from under the hood. I immediately shut the engine off, got out of the car just to see the lake of coolant spreading from underneath. I thought radiator blew, or one of the major hoses. As it turned out a small (5 inch long tops) pressurized Elbow tube comming from water pump to the engine block cracked. This time car was on the Auto Shop's warranty so repairs were free.
I am getting worried with the performance of the engine, I beleived that 3800 series engines were rather reliable comparing to other US made engines. Is this just a random circumstances or any other GP owners have simmiral expiriences? I don't want to sell the car because I love its looks and performance but if it comes at the price of breaking once every month its rather expensive.

P.S. Car was not driven rough, it was past 100 only once.

[GMMerlin]

Originally Posted by nikita7

I saw this 1999 GP GT coupe for sale in the dealership in LA.74k miles, great looks,interior and engine compartment. I took it for a spin and instantly I was in love with the car. Next day I was driving this car home to SF, car was driving perfectly through the mountains with no overheating or anything. Than about 30 miles from SF I started getting really low on gas, I had to make a U turn while looking for the gas station. After I shifited from R to D car started shaking and literaly bouncing for the few seconds. I originally attributed it to having almost no gas and motor choking. I made to gas station OK refueled and arrived in SF happy with the car, I didn't drive it for the next two days. Than when I took it out of garage and went to meet with few friends, same situation I shift from R to D car started choking and bouncing. This time "engine service soon" and low coolant light came on, car didn't hold RPMs while idling it barely made it to the auto shop. I left it there for testing, original result was "random engine misfire" I think of well might be O2 sensor or spark plug (nothing major, and car was still on the warranty). Still I leave the car at the shop for further testing, next morning I come mechanic says that they tried pressure testing the cooling system and all water immediately went in the block. Headgasquet was blown, $1500 paid after long arguments with the dealer. I though "oh well HG was damage long before me, now car is checked and everything is in Great condition".
Not even a month passed since the HG was replaced when once again car dies on me. I went to Alameda to see Air Force recruiter, I arrived a bit early started parking when I hear "zzzzzzzzzz" sound from under my hood. I thought that something started rubbing, than I saw steam comming from under the hood. I immediately shut the engine off, got out of the car just to see the lake of coolant spreading from underneath. I thought radiator blew, or one of the major hoses. As it turned out a small (5 inch long tops) pressurized Elbow tube comming from water pump to the engine block cracked. This time car was on the Auto Shop's warranty so repairs were free.
I am getting worried with the performance of the engine, I beleived that 3800 series engines were rather reliable comparing to other US made engines. Is this just a random circumstances or any other GP owners have simmiral expiriences? I don't want to sell the car because I love its looks and performance but if it comes at the price of breaking once every month its rather expensive.

P.S. Car was not driven rough, it was past 100 only once.

The 3800 engine is literally bulletbroof.
I doubt highly the headgaskets were leaking on your car, but more like the Upper Plenum was damaged around the EGR tube (common problem on this engine)
The elbow was mad out of plastic and if the repair facility did replace the head gaskets, this piece should have been replaced during the repair.
The problem is you have purchased a used vehicle and don't know its history.

P.S. Car was not driven rough, it was past 100 only once

Yea right

[BNaylor]

I agree with GMMerlin. You cannot judge the reliability of the Series II 3800 based on what you are experiencing with a used car. Like any used car it should have been thoroughly checked out first before purchase. Just a test drive doesn't count.

Personally, I would never buy a used GT or GTP, especially with unknown history, because most previous owners either did not mantain them properly or beat them to death. Just my 2 cents.







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