Tech Section

Just a quick question-The MINI Cooper S supercharged and the Cobalt SS/SC used the same superchargers, and the Cooper S's have been having problems hat 100K-150K- Anyone hear about similar problems with the Cobalt?? Chris

So, here's my issue: For $#!+s and giggles, and because I got them free... and because a rear side marker lamp in my bumper went out and is the most difficult light I've ever had the displeasure to attempt accessing... ahem, I installed LED lights for all park, brake and turn signal lamps on my wife's car. I understood there would be an issue with hyper-flashing with the turn signals (which are combination park/turn lamps in front #1057 - double filament, and only turn lamps in rear #1056 - single filament). An electronic flasher solved that problem. The other problem is that with the four combination tail/brake lamps #1057, two 194 style rear markers and the high-mou…

whats some super cheap mods for this peice of... fine... machinery.

Before the winter my drivers side fog light kept cutting out and and after I've replaced bulb after bulb I finally looked at the harness and come to find out the plug was rusted over and wet. Even after lightly sanding off the rust (that I could) and drying it out, I'm still loosing bulbs. Anyone know the part# for gmpartsdirect.com for this particular part? I've tried looking on there and can't find it so I'm not even sure what the proper name is. Also, anyone know where the wire leads up to before I go under my car and attempt to trace it back? Thanks in advance.

well this past monday i did a 360 in the rain off of a soft left turn and i ripped my back axle and all those parts to pieces (i'm just ecstatic there was NO body damage) and the rims were destroyed as well. so now, the junk car that im using doesnt have rims that i want and i want to put on five spoke chrome wheels and i want the rim to be as big as possible and the tire to be as fat and wide as possible (i'd rather sacrifice fatness than width) but i don't want ANY rubbing, so can you guys tell me what sizes would be best for my car? also, has anyone here ever taken the resonator off of the exhaust pipe on a malibu? or any similar 3.1? i'm considering it but i don't …

Can't you tell I'm psyched? So, my Cavalier really needs to take a big Valium... I think it's emotionally distraught. Not even a month out of a 500$ Water Pump job, now the following things have gone wrong with my car... -Wiper Arm broke off in my hands under gentle application ( ) -Gas Gauge stuck at full, will no longer move. -Radio Dead due to wiring issue (loose Connection?) under driver's side floor -ABS Light going on and off depending on where my left foot is. -Radio Sometimes Works depending on where my left foot is. So to sum things up, I'm going back to the dealer for another service appt (double ), I've got no tunes, sometimes no ABS, Limit…

My dad has a 2004 Silverado 1500 Z85 with the heavy duty towing package. as such his 1500 has the allison transmission under it (which is totally awesome in my opinion) however, his confidence in his truck has really been shook as of late what with his truck having the steering pin rattle and all. he has replaced that once already and is getting ready to do some engineering work on that so that the grease draining out will no longer be a problem. thats another story. the biggie is that the allison transmission began slipping last week and it has now reached a point friday to where he has parked the truck and is in the process of sending it to the shop to be worked on. Guy…

Can a 2.2L Ecotec easily be put into a 1999 Sunfire that only has the 2.2L? I want to know because I heard that the 2.2L are pretty shotty but the Ecotecs were significantly better. Could this be done without switching out the tranny? The engine in it is fine but once it starts getting into the higher mileage in the future. Also what else would need to be changed? Also, can G5/Cobalt rims be put on a 99 Sunfire and are they the same bolt pattern. They both have the 5 wheel nuts but I don't like the look of the wheel covers.

I just failed my emissions testing in a 1996 Cutlass. This was caused by a replaced battery that same morning. I was told I need to find out what the drive cycle is so it can reset the monitors to "ready". Does anyone know what the drive cycle is?

Is this a common problem? If dealer fixes the leaks, will no more problems exist? Those 1994-1998 Chevys would go 200-300K miles with few problems. I wonder about the newer ones. The Silverado belongs to a relative. A shame to have problems on a vehicle with a few thousand miles.

Hello, My housemate has a 92 Skylark (3300) that stalls when the car is up to temp, coming to a stop. At first I thought it could be a bad ignition control module so I replaced that today. I thought at first it was the IAC valve, but that would happen even in neutral. We'll see if the ICM fixes it, but I was wondering if anyone has any other thoughts on the issue. Also, his service engine soon light is on. Is there a way I can check the codes myself without having to go to the parts store? Is there somewhere I can jump the connections so the codes flash back at me? TIA!

I just bought a '95 Roadmaster Estate wagon with the "SE" package. I need to know if a '94 Park Ave remote would work with this car. I don't have any remotes for the wagon now, but I do know it came with the "SE" package. And, how do you program it? Thanks for any help!

I was wondering if you had an all aluminum block, heads, headers, raditor, valve covers, and intake. ect. could you get it anodized in lets say burgendy and not have any issues of it changing color chipping or fadding due to stress or heat? I was thinking of ideas for the caprice again and its possible future. 350 all in anodized aluminum in the same color as the paint.

Well, either my mom is going to get a new car or the Shadow will need some serious work done soon..either way it needs to be done, as I want to hang onto it as a first car for my brother or as a winter beater. Here's the major to-do list: Everything probably leaks, with the exception the the head gasket (it was replaced several year ago). That being said, most are small leaks you could live with...but the vale cover gasket needs to be done. It's leaking badly these days, and it's evident as you can see oil all over teh engine and some on the transmission. oil needs to be added every few weeks or so. I have a reapir manual (liek all the cars I work on), and it doesn't l…

Hi folks: My LaCrosse has the highly "chromed" and bling laden grille common to the '08 and '09. It is not chromed at all, but plastic. I was almost going to buy chrome cleaner but did a little homework by reading the instructions on the can of chrome cleaner and as well as getting the opinion of the guy working at O'Reilly's ... and nixed that idea real quick. One is not supposed to use chrome cleaner on these areas, let alone on this car, probably, since there is little to no chrome. I've just washed the car and then dried this area off. I'd like to know if there are specific ways to care for these areas: 1) the plastic chrome effect on the grille …

Hey folks. Need some help with electrical issues on the Buick. Tonight, I lost low beam lighting on one side. Not only that, the backlighting for the light switches, at the left of the dash, went dark, too. Within the last month, I lost 1 low beam light, the most used one on the D.I.C., and I noticed the console lamp was also out. Coincidence or connected? (Considering the age of the vehicle and/or the sequential nature.) I looked at the owner's manual. There's a fuse center at the right side of the dash, but not for my issues. For those, the (mini) fuses are located in a plastic box under the hood. I'm wondering if fuse replacement is the place…

my 99 M.C. w/ the 3.1L (now w/ about 130K) started this problem last winter....after the car has warmed-up to the normal temp it gets to on the temp gauge, it can sometimes unlock (or not lock in in the first place) the tourque converter in overdrive....sometimes in 3rd too. going 55mph i can rev the engine between about 1500rmp to 2500rpm w/o an upshift or a big change in throtle..... kinda like if it was almost in nuetral but still moving the car. would this be the same thing as if going 55 also, and sometimes the engine drops to near idle speed instead of having engine drag closer to ~ 1400rpm. these things seem to only happen in cool and cold weather, hence it&…

my van has 14" rims. i want to upgrade to factory 16" wheels, so i know they will fit, but is there a way to let the speedomete know the wheel/tire size has changed? i know i can fiddle with tire size to keep the same outer diameter so the van wont know the difference, but i think i would like the slightly bigger tires as well. because i am switching from factory base model to factory higher model parts, shouldnt there be some sort of internal setting available to me?

Meijer Media Alert: Fuel Mixups - Dayton, Ohio On Friday, October 14th, at 9200 N. Main, Englewood, Ohio, our fuel distributor crossed fuels that effected Diesel and Premium Unleaded grade fuels. The problem was quickly discovered and the contaminated fuel has been pumped out and new fuel has been delivered. If you experienced a rough running or rough idling engine after purchase of fuel at the Englewood gas station, please report the incident to the store. Approximately 600 gallons of diesel and 80 gallons of premium were pumped during the timeframe. The only fuel that was impacted is Diesel or Premium fuel purchased on Friday, October 14th.

problems. 1the fob doesn't always unlock my car first try (this one has had that issue before, replaced battery last month) 2also lost 1 set of keys (fob, ignition, door locks) 3doesn't turn over every time i put the key in and try it. 4, correlation to #3, also resets power to my radio. and runs the radiator fan (briefly) my key is a "chipped" key. questions is i tmost liekly my ignition? (cost of ~$400 for new one) or a controller problem? is there a way to check the "controller"? does the security part of this system shut down all system power other than to the IP when the chip isn't "read" or it's the wrong key? (hence the radio reseting) thanks for t…

My Fusion's airbag light came on today. I wont be able to get it into the dealership until Monday at the earliest, anybody have any insight in this? Should I quit driving the car until I can get it looked at ir anything? I figure that the worst case scenario is that the airbag wont deploy in a crash, since I always wear my seatbelt I'm not uber-paranoid.

Has anyone had experience using one of these rotisseries? Is it worth it to spend extra to get the hydraulic version? I'm getting into car restoration and thought it might be useful to have if not this particular rotisserie, one similar to it. I'm open for any suggestions. http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/p-13439-16612.aspx

I'm looking into installing an aftermarket remote starter on my 03 Grand Cherokee, and am just wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to which brands are good, or specific models that are a good deal, but more importantly work well, and aren't a huge pain in the ass to install. Bulldog seems to have some nice units, but I don't know much about them.

Since Ocn is in the biz I figured he would know, but anyone with info please share. So I'm looking at photos of my car and I have to say...they depress the hell out of me. The driver's side looks terrible. There's the scrapes in fender and front door from when it was hit by a POS Protege, there's the scrapes left by that Integra that hit it, and over the winter someone scraped it further with the snow blower. The replacement door is an improvement over the huge dent the original had, but it got scraped from the snow blower too. As well, I'm not sure if the door or the rub strip or both are misaligned...but I hate it so much. Also the paint shades are different. The r…

Changed out battery on 2008 Impala. Connecting new battery and the air pump comes on and runs for a while then shuts off. I drove car about 20 miles thinking maybe computer has to reset. No luck. With the key off, the pump motor starts to run for about 3 or 4 minutes then shuts off. Fifteen minutes later it start again. Any ideas?

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Hello all, I'm new to this forum, just found it today while looking for some info so I thought I'd give it a try here. I have a 1986 chevy 4x4 that I was going to install a rear locker in. When i pulled the rear cover I noticed that the spider gear shaft was wallowed out, mushroomed and had started to crack. So I sent the locker back and ordered a Detroit Truetrac limited slip differential. The questions that I have are, do i need to have the gears reset just changing the differential itself? The ring gear and pinion look great and I paln on reusing them and not disturbing the pinion at all. Any help I can get would be appreciated, I live in a small town and the only…

My aunt drives an 08 Equinox that is nearly out of warranty. The mechanism that holds the fabric of the seat to the frame keeps coming off. This has been a recurring problem that the dealer has fixed several times, and is finally going to replace (on one seat). Is this a typical problem on the first generation Equinox/Torrents? I'm new to these type of things, so if I'm not be specific enough, or it is confusing, let me know and I"ll try to explain better.

I was seeing if my car would look good with hydraulics the other day. I knew about this problem Power steering. getting worse but i found this random antifreeze. and this Trans fluid from the tail shaft. Any suggestions? tips, What should i fix first?

This morning I got in my 2004 CTS and the left turn signal indicator on the dash remained lit while the headlights were on. If I turned the headlights off the indicator light turned off. If I used the left turn signal the light would blink at double speed. I havent checked all the bulbs yet but I am hoping it means I have a light out. Any insights?

I was wondering what engine I can go with if i keep my stock transmission. I have the olds 307 right now. I was thinking about the supercharged 3.8L v6 off gm parts direct. I'm pretty sure my trans can't handle that though. Anyone have any good ideas, I'm still open to what engine combo I will use. I would just get another 307 but I really wanted more miles per gallon. Also what transmissions would look good to put in for different engine combos?

Well, not dead, but certainly out of commission. The water pump $h! the bed, and so it's leaking antifreeze like crazy. Needs to hoses apparently too. That ;eaves us down to 1 car, the Prizm. What's wrong with my car? Absolutely nothing, but I can't drive it and neither can anyone else because my car insurance got canceled, which is another rant for another thread. So...sucks ass. I wonder where teh water pump is on the 2.5...

Im looking into putting a new exhaust system on my truck, a 2017 Z71 5.3. As of now I have my old Flowmaster 40 SI/DO muffler dumped right before the read axle. I did this just to get a louder tone from the stock muffler. Well after driving it for a week now I've come to not like it at all. I have been looking at videos on youtube and reading around on different forums looking for a good setup in my price range, hopefully no more than $500, that I like. The sound I am wanting is a deep growl, not extremly loud but a deep tone. Nothing that pops when I rev high. Just a nice and deep at low RPMs and at higher RPMs gives a good throaty sound. Thanks in advance and I hope thi…

The gas gauge in the wagon hasn't ever worked, and I really want to fix it before I drive the car again. The number one suspect , of course, is the fuel tank sending unit. They are available for every bodystyle of '73-'77 Chevelle/El Camino.... except the wagon. Let's hope it's a bad wire...

Three questions: 1) With cars now having platinum and iridium spark plugs, the intervals between changing them has become fairly long. I'd finally like to change my original platinum spark plugs. Are there ever issues where the spark plugs have been in the cylinder block for so long that its tough for the mechanic to get them out? Is there something they can do prior to putting on the socket wrench that will make them turn more easily? Also, do you know if, on transversely mounted GM V-6 engines, they access the 3 rear spark plugs by the firewall (a) from above or (b) by hoisting up the car and working from the space behind the exhaust manifold but in front of t…

OK. So when ever I take a sharp corner, regardless of speed, I hear this weird klunk from the front end. I have a single idea at what it might be, and that would be tire rods. Yes? No? Maybe so? Also, what would cause the speed setting on the wipers to change. Like sometimes in the fastest wiper setting, they are imtermittant and vis versa. Turning them off and turning them back usualy does the trick. And finally, my indicators are telling me that my rear window is open when it closed. I think the latch might be loose. Cheap part? Hopefully :] Thanks for any input. [except calling me teh n00b. not allowed.]

Last month I picked up a crankshaft for the Corvette. It was advertised as a NOS 396/427 crank and has the correct casting numbers. Late last night, I get an email from someone who bought a crank from the same guy. His had the 396/427 casting number, but had the physical characteristics of a 454 crank (a 4" stroke vs/ a 3.76" stroke, and a dowel pin at the flywheel end). I open my box and, sure enough, same thing. Naturally I'm upset about buying something that's not as advertised, but I'm more concerned with making sure I can still use the 427 balancer and flywheel. The 396/427 crank is internally balanced while the 454 is internally balanced. With all the backgroung o…

I'm not sure this been posted (at least in a while), so I thought I might throw it out....you know, being car guys (gals) and all... So, what does your car/truck/bike/wife drink? (and we are talking about motor oil here... )

Ok, part II, there was a whirring sound coming from the front of the 92 Regal, 3800 V6, with almost 260,000 miles, that changed with the rpms but did not affect drivability nor economy. I had written down stethoscope for athis Saturday morning's errand. No need. (I was intially thinking pulley, alternator, water pump, p/s pump, or even a minute exhaust leak) Today, driving home from the rail station, the low coolant light came on and off. In fact, last night, at Borders, I noticed some drips in front the car, but no temperature issues. No temperature issues today, either, but that can/will change real soon. There is a coolant leak under the water pump area. Tha…

Does anyone happen to know the location of the blower motor resistor on a 2002 Impala?

I have a 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic and while cleaning the dash the auto headlight sensor fell into the dash. Is there a way to get it back into position. Looking at the hole it is a simple quarter turn twist to hold it in place so it must have been twisted the wrong direction. I don't think it is broken just down in the hole.

I've got the GM 4T65-E transaxle in my LaCrosse. Whether on this car or my last car (4T60 transaxle), I've never had a transmission flush, where they leave the pan/gasket/filter alone. I've always had them drain and refill the transmission, and have them change the filter and check the pan and gasket in the process. I am aware that that leaves some old fluid in the torque converter. However, an old school GM advisor told me that doing "drain and fill" with the pan and gasket dropped every couple of years - 25,000 or 30,000 miles - is as good as doing the full flush with the machine less often. He said the "drain and fill" is easier on the transmission. …

Hmmm....

So I found this awesome white '94 Z28 with ~88,000 miles on it, and all I'm waiting for is the finance guys to tell me where to sign. But, I'm a little concerned about fuel economy. I'm going to assume that the MPG on a 12-year-old V8 aren't going to be great, and I can accept that. My question is are there any ways that I can mechanically change the 5.7 (LT1?) that will increase my fuel economy? I've developed a pretty economical driving technique by driving my parents' Tahoe, XC90, and S80 T6 over the years, so I'm looking for something that will help post some worthwhile gains combined with that. Thanks.

About to pick up my brand new HHR SS. We live up in Canada, and the block heater is standard on most Canadian ordered vehicles, and is used 4 or 5 days in the winter, every winter. However, there is no block heater option available on the 2.0 turbo charged engine, currently in the HHR SS and soon to be new Cobalt SS. Being new to turbos, the turbo technology seems to be the only difference between the usual normally engine. So, is the fact that its a turbo the reason that a block heater isn't a factory option? I can't imagine what it would conflict with with a turbo charger and an engine block, but there also has to be a basic reason a block heater is not an optio…

The 2004 Grand Prix GTP has been in the family about 3 years now, and recently it has started belching out an awful, dieselly odor from the HVAC every so often. Its been too intermittent for me to put my finger on the problem, so I'm curious if any other GM owners have come across such a problem. The problem is that the car will just be driving along normally when it happens... not hitting any bumps, turning or braking. We've observed it with the AC on and off, with the Recirc on and off. The smell lasts about 5 seconds and smells remarkably like one drove into a big cloud of diesel smoke. Of course, there is no smoke... or any diesels for miles, usually. I would im…

Was wondering if engine misfire/hesitation takes a toll on timing chains? My Regal's 3800 V6 had a flat spot in the low rpms where acceleration after shifting into 4th (approx 47 mph) was accompanied by hesitation and misfiring which cleared itself up above 55 mph. Initially, I thought it was the torque converter, but it was only under acceleration after a low throttle upshift (such as merging or approaching a hill) and not all the time. Had this exact same thing happen about 5 years ago and I changed plug wires which got rid of it. I got new plug wires 2 weeks ago and the problem is gone! This was the car's only driveability quirk. My question: I had this condition…

I am planning on painting the hood of my car. A friend told me I need to wet sand it first. Is this true? And if so, would something like this do a good job? http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/p-12829-15974.aspx

http://www.epinions.com/content_3625296004 Wasn't sure where to put this- the Lounge, Appearance, or here, so it's here. Talks about how some of the aero mods you see can help or hurt your car's aerodynamics. I can't vouch for the accuracy, but it make ssome points and there is some discussion in the commecnts section. FWIW

Hi there, I have a 1998 Lumina LTZ with 134,000 miles. I get the oil changes about every 3-6k miles, usually closer to 6 than 3. I have a dummy "change oil soon" light that comes on pretty much every time I start the car - even the day I get the oil changed. It's stays on for a couple a minutes and then goes off. The guy at the shop said the sensor measures the oil viscosity - so if it is brand new oil what is the problem? Is this just a faulty sensor on a old car? Anything I can do about it? Also, is there a quick fix for rusty rotors? I got my brakes done fairly recently but they are a bit rusty and squeak, wondering if there is something simple I can do. Thanks

So I went to start the Prizm today. The key turned into the first position, but wouldn't go any further. Attempts to get it to turn further with all 4 keys did nothing. At one point it wouldn't turn at all, now it's back to going to Accessory, but not any further. No idea what's wrong. I used it last night with no problem... Is it possibly due to the cold? Or is the ignition junk and has to be replaced? I hope the former but suspect the latter. v_v

Does anyone have access to a manual or to an online web site that shows me how to remove the interior dome lamp from my wife's 2008 Pontiac G6 Sedan??

How often all of the bags will blow in a modern car when it is hit and how often just some of them will? Just saw a vehicle that had been hit hard in the side, and only the side impact air bags had blown, not the fronts. Also, what are the laws regarding used airbags? Does anyone know? I know in some states salvage yards are not allowed to sell them. Chris

If you have an automatic transmission and you are stopped and about to race someone in a drag, what gear should you start off in? Overdrive, drive, 2, or 1? Also just please explain why that's the case, thanks in advance

okay so, i have a 99 malibu with the 3.1 and california emissions. i have a wierd surge that has been explained to me, and i've somewhere heard that it's important to keep the engine lubed because of the emissions thing. you guys are the smartest out there, i need professionals to break it all down for me. i wanna know how it works, why it does it, how it does it, and mainly what effect it has on my car and what i should do to balance out my loss of power because in these times i need to do all i can to get every sip of gas out of her... i would really appreciate your help. thanks guys...

We do a lot of HVAC work, resteraunt repair work, and Electrical work for a chain of truck stops. I've noticed a lot of truckers love the Lucas stuff. Lots of them swear by it. Anyone tried it? I'm trying it in the wife's car. Chris

Hello, everyone! My 1988 K car's timing belt snapped a few days ago with the car at 104,000 miles. Took it in to have it replaced. (Thank goodness the old 2.2/2.5's are non-interference!) I picked up the car yesterday and it idles fine, but is hesistant, shuddery, and generally non responsive. What would be the most likely culprit here? I plan on taking it back to have it looked at because it is barely drivable as compared to pre-belt break.

How the f**k do you remove it? The Legacy has been Armor All'd sometime in the past and I've been having a hell of a time trying to remove the shine. The automotive interior cleaners and similar protectant sprays with a 'matte' finish do nothing to actually remove that god-awful stuff. Any solutions that won't have negative effects to the interior materials?

After some process of elimination, I am almost certain that my Regal, a 1992 W-body, needs at least one motor mount. (I think I asked a similar question before, but now I'm more convinced). If I'm going to do this, I want the engine/trans mounting system to have new mounts all around. Is this an easy thing to do via a visual inspection/are they "easy" to see? (I've tried looking for diagrams or pix on the Web and can't find them readily). How many are there? What does this service cost, parts and labor? Thanks.

Within the next few months, I plan to do some "update" work on my cars... Her Cavalier will be getting new Shocks/Struts, Brakes/Rotors, and new tires..... I've been debating about going with GM (dealership) parts, or more aftermarket ones. I'm really looking for stuff that is going to last, and I have been disappointed in how long the car's current stuff is holding up.... - Both struts and shocks are pretty rough for 45k -this will be the second pad/rotors in 40k (though it is common for the 03-05s) Should I stick with the same, or change?

I have a 2003 gmc z71 with a 5.3 motor, and here lately ive been having a lifter tap after the vehicle sits for a few hours, it is usually in 40-50 degree weather. I use 5w-30 motorcraft oil and change it every 3 months because i never reach 3000 miles on it. I took it on a road trip the other day a drove about 400 miles, and half way on the trip it started tapping but only for a few minutes. It has 59,000 miles on it, is this normal or may I have a problem? thanks in advance

So today I decided to finally swap and rewire stereos in the Prizm. The Pioneer unit in there actually has good sound adjustments but has a $h!ty, almost unreadable display and it's a cassette player. The Sony XPLOD is a cd player that can read CD/RWs too as well as having an AUX jack. With help from my friend we got it wired up..although I'm disappointed with sound quality...the bass is almost nonexistent. if I ever buy an aftermarket stereo I'll go for Pioneer. But that's not what this thread is about. While I had the hood up to disconnect the battery, my friend noticed that the exhaust manifold had a crack in it. Oh goodie. Apparently this is a commo…

For some reason, the truck is losing coolant and yet the engine doesn't overheat. I haven't driven it more than 25 miles one way. What could the problem be? It does release water out the exhaust at times. I hear a squealing sound when it first starts up. Temp gage never goes above 1/4. When it is low on coolant it tends to make a trashing sound?? And you can hear a gurgling sound when you start it up. I know it could be several things" head gasket intake gasket freeze plug thermostat seals I can't see any visible leaks however.

So, on the Cutlass, I notice that it idles faster than what I would think it should. Having no tach, I can't be sure, but it sounds like it's idling between 1.5k and 2k RPMs. As well, when you shut it off, it continues to try to run. I've read that a fast idle can cause that. Does anyone know how the idle can be adjusted? Or any other causes for it to continue to run like that? Any help is appreciated.

Ok, you guys were pretty responsive on the other questions, now I've got a few more. I'm ordering the truck this week and wanted to run the final specs by you guys. First, a little background: I'll be purchasing the truck, and shortly after I recieve it, it will go into the shop for a 6" or 8" Pro Comp suspension lift, and to be fitted with some 35" tires. I was originally going to order the truck with the 3.73 rear end, but have heard that I need to go with the 4.10 rear end instead due to the bigger tires. I don't need the truck to smoke the tires or have lots of holeshot, but I don't want it to totally be a pig either. What do you guys think? 3.73 or 4.10??? …

I've got a few questions on front end maintenance for my 2008 GM W-body. The first is: at what point would you replace the struts all the way around? About 2 years ago, they were very firm. Now, there is a little more sponginess up front when pushing down on the car and releasing. However, it doesn't oscillate or do anything drastic. I'm thinking of replacing them at 70,000 miles (this has been a low mileage car for me), whether it needs them or not. I also want to do this to get rid of the OEM ones and keep the newer and second set of tires doing well. Also, when I first started driving and needed to replace shocks in the rear wheel drive Oldsmobiles, I alwa…

So, my friends just recently bought a MC-5 from a church and it has an 8V-71 in it. There were able to drive it to storage and then drive it around a bit, but now the bus will start and then it will blow lots of smoke and wont go past 900 RPM. I don't know yet what color the smoke is or how long the bus sat without the motor being ran, but I from what I know so far, I don't think this is good news at all. Anybody have any knowledge on this or know where I can go for answers?

I know nothing. I have an old Sony deck that's about 8 years old and my speakers are worn out in my car. I want to get new speakers to just replace my OEM ones and a new deck with USB connection and AUX jack for my ipod and sirius. anybody have suggestions? Also, if the lights can be red, it would be helpful to match my 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GT Sedan

For my pontiac 1994 sunbird 2.0 sohc, my water pump started dumping out antifreeze today. I know parts aren't expensive but how much should I expect a shop to replace it for. I figure do the timing belt at the same time as well since they have to take it off anyway right? I hope its not over $500.00 because thats all I'm willing to spend and I don't feel like trying to fix it myself since I don't have much time.

So I don't want to spend a hundred+ bucks on a new stereo for the Prizm, so I figure I'd put the Shadow's nicer one in it, and give the Shadow it's stock radio back. Since the Prizm already has an aftermarket stereo, it has the wiring harness...so no need to buy one. Here's the problem though: I've never done this before. Also, Looking at the colors of the wiring harness wires verses the colors of there stereo's wires...they're different. Does anyone know where I can find diagrams or instructions or something? I tried searching but no luck...but I am probably not looking it up right.

I'm buying this truck tomorrow and I want to know what it can pull. It's got a Class III or IV receiver on the back, no trailer brake controller (I'll get one), 350 4bbl V8, 700R4 trans, and I assume the stock 3.73 axle. 3/4 ton, 4x4, what can it do?

Yup, now it's the Shadow's turn to have something go wrong with it, complete all 3 cars having something brake. Starter's bad...car turns over-ish but won't start...tried jumping it but nothing, plus the battery is new ...repeated tests lead to smoke coming from said starter. It goes to the shop tomorrow. Also, there metal pieces bolted onto each sde of the car in the shape of where the rocker panels meats the rear wheel well...because underneath is rusty. Well it looks like the rust ate through the remaining metal underneath because I found the sheet metal that was bolted n on the ground...poor car is so rusty.

Apparently, most GM cars have PassKey III after 1996, which uses an RFID... odd, considering my '99 Bonneville has a resistor pellet (and I guess is PassKey II). This makes some sense, as the '04 Grand Prix keys are marked PK3. However, both the '98 Sunfire and the '97 Tahoe are both well optioned, however, both use a metal key which cannot possibly have a RFID in it. I can believe the Tahoe might have had PassKey III bypassed... but the Sunfire has spent most of its life in out family... I can't imagine that it was bypassed when the car was less than 6 years old... in fact, I find it hard to believe both vehicles might have been bypassed. Is there some sort of easy w…

Well, it happened again...I forgot to turn my lights off and the battery died. I posted this a while ago after my car had been stalling at intersections due to a computer chip needing to be reset, and somebody posted the procedure here. I can't remember exactly how it went and the post was lost when Cheers & Gears went down. All I can remember is something about letting idle for a certain amount of time, stepping on the gas for a certain amount of time, etc. If anyone could help me out, I'd appreciate it!