Grand prix oil leak

[Gunny04]

I'll get it off when the wind isn't blowing 20-45MPH, the sun is out, and the temps are up... I was outside in sleep pants, a t-shirt with a light spring jacket, took me 15 minutes just to get the bolts out and loose etc. It is in fact the 3.1L V6. I can get anything off if I really want too, I just wasn't sure how it came apart.... I'll look at it tomorrow if its warmer and see what shape its in. If I could find a way to get the spark plugs out of the rear I bet changing those and the plug wires would solve about 50% of the problems.... I think they are fouled, they clear up if the car drives on the highway constantly (for a few hours at 75MPH) but in town driving? thats when the car just plunders and runs like crap etc. Thanks for the very quick and informitive replys....

Gunny (I'll definatly come back here the next time I have vehicle troubles)

[Chris_F]

I think they are fouled, they clear up if the car drives on the highway constantly (for a few hours at 75MPH) but in town driving? thats when the car just plunders and runs like crap etc. Thanks for the very quick and informitive replys....

Gunny (I'll definatly come back here the next time I have vehicle troubles)

Again, that behavior is consistent with a bad distributor as well.  Fouled plugs are indeed a rarity on an EFI car.  They could be totally worn out, but then I wouldn't expect them to become better after extended driving.  They'd simply be bad all the time.

A distributor however will behave poorly when cold and improve as it warms up.  On the highway the engine throws off enough heat to worm up the distributor and it will perform better as it warms.  You can test the plug wires with the simple water spray bottle method I mentioned earlier.  If you see sparks you'll know they need to be replaced.

[elite marksman]

You may also want to look at going to the local Pepboy's/Autozone and buying a repair manual for your car. The Haynes manuals are pretty detailed and will tell you how to do maintenance and replacement on most parts of the car.

[Gunny04]

Well I started the car up in darkness, listened too it and let it idle (no reving) Sounds fine now, with maybe a slight miss every now and then too it, no sparks flying out from under the hood, no strange noises that shouldnt be there (other than an annoying bearing on the A/C unit which is shot) I know its still not running 100% but it is a little bit better than it was, I think the michigan-wisconsin trip did it good and cleaned it out for the time being (The tires have also been improperly inflated I forgot to mention this) all tires were 10 pounds low on air (This probably made it a living nightmare for the engine) Could that do anything to how the engine performs? driving around with low tires.... (Has been for I don't know how long I was just staring at a tire one day and noticed it looked low) so I took an air guage to it and sure enough.... 22 pounds where there was supposed to be 35 pounds...

Gunny

[elite marksman]

Underinflated tires shouldn't cause any direct effects on the engine. They will make it work harder, most notably during cruise, where the engine would normally be at almost idle, it will be significantly higher due to the increased resistance, and if the tires are low for an extended amount of time, this could lead to premature wear on the engine, but I don't know how long this would need to be, in all likelihood, more than just a few weeks.

Underinflated tires, are however, insanely dangerous to drive on, as it leads to increased wear on the tires, causing them to fail, either by balding/cupping, or catastrophically if left alone for a very long time, before they would normally be replaced. Also, if they are severely underinflated, bumps taken at sufficient speed can cause sufficient compression in the tire to damage the rim and/or wheel itself. I would check the tires to make sure they have enough tread left on them, since you don't know how long they have been low.

[Gunny04]

Tires arent terrible, but they arent brand new either. I'd say they have a decent life span left, the two front look really good and the rear ones are fair.

Gunny