Tech Section

The '98 Tahoe I bought came with one of these and I hate it! Lots of questions and no manual to answer them for this non-intuitive thing. But the main thing I want to know is how to turn off the maddening moving display! That thing is always in my peripheral vision and makes me nuts while driving. I'll eventually locate a manual for the rest of the crap, but I'd love a shortcut to eliminate the moving display and replace it with a static one. And, if anyone knows how to eliminate the bleeps when you shut -off the ignition that would be great too. This thing is very close to being thrown against a wall - really wish that the PO had left the stock unit in place!

O.K. bean-counters & you inside techies..... Let's play a hypothetical game. GM needs a new engine for a new mid-size car. What do we power it with? Decision must be based on engine build cost. Let's assume both engines would have the same displacement, and have to be a 90 degree V-configuration. What should we choose? A high tech V-6, but that has the component costs of a counterbalance shaft, to eliminate vibration, and the bearings for it to run in, and gears or a chain/belt to drive it. Or, A V-8, but that has 2 more pistons, connecting rods, and 4 more valves. But it doesn't need a balance shaft. Which would take more assembly time (labor) which has…

So I've overhauling a bunch of stuff on my '89 GMC G3500 Vandura. It started out as a quick quest to fix the brakes from pulling to the left, and to get it through NJ inspection, but after shaking things around, its turned into a mountain of replacement parts... new ball joints, tie rods, rotors, calipers, pads, etc. This was my late father's truck, and generally he kept things in good shape, as he was a mechanic, but I'm a bit disheartened at the condition, since I haven't put many miles on it in the last six years... I'm surprised he drove it with such a mismatching of worn parts. So, anyway, I'm on the home stretch. But after taking the brake pads out, there is a…

The 2 front cooling fans don't come on even after you have driven for 15 miles. When you turn on the AC, neither fan works. The AC won't work. Is this expensive to repair? Do you have to check on several things before you will be able to find out the reason for the fans not working? If you continue to drive with the fans not working, will it damage the engine? I would never recommend a 97-03 Malibu. A real headache.

I was replacing the driver's side rear window regulator on the Mercury, was just about done, tightening the last bolt (one that holds the glass in place) did it too tight and the whole damn thing shattered everywhere. So obviously I'm pissed at myself for tightening it too tight (and too a lesser extend pissed at Ford for designing crap regulators that break all the damn time, then riveting the stupid things in place). Problem is that the car has one of those landau tops, and the part that goes on the door goes over the stupid window frame. There's no way to get the glass out or in with it there. My question is, what adhesive do they use the secure the tops? It looks ki…

A friend of mine has a mishap in his '98 LeSabre yesterday. He hit one of those rectangular yellow reflectors you see along the side of the road with the right-hand mirror, which only scraped the paint a little bit, but the glass cracked and a strip of it fell off in the middle. The glass is also not supported at the top anymore, so it's like it's stuck pointing down. I wouldn't call myself a mechanic, but I can even tell that he needs a new mirror. So, the question is, does anyone know how to remove the mirror off of a '90s H-body? It's not power-adjustable and I don't believe it's heated, which makes me think it would just pop out if you stuck a thin tool between it a…

Okay, so it's no secret that my ass is quite lazy. Remember that miss at idle? I never did attempt to fix it. It only did it during idle and it never gave me any problems since... until now, that is. It now misses while there's a heavy load on the engine, especially in lower RPMs during acceleration. Going up hills will just kill it, as it will begin to miss and cause it to be nearly powerless with a bit of shaking. Luckily, I'm able to shift down by the push of a button without accelerating and avoid bogging down. One thing I just recently noticed (never thought about it before, stupid me) is that it will only miss once the engine is up to operating temperature. Now, I r…

i have a 2003gmc z71 and every time i make a left turn it makes a clunk noise. it doesnt sound like a ball joint, could it possibly be the shock and is there any ay to tell if it is

I have a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix 3.8 45k miles. Recently I have noticed that whenever I go above 4000 rpms the car quits accelerating and makes a puffing sound from the engine. Tonight I found out that the car will not go above 90mph and it is hard to accelerate at higher speeds and the service engine light came on when I tired this on the interstate. I have put fuel injector cleaner in the tank twice but it has no effect. You can not notice a problem with the car when driving normally on city streets and the car still gets around 22mpg. I want to fix this myself so I don't have to take it to a shop or the dealership. Thanks! -mk

Right now I am running 225/70-15's, on my Ford pickup. I'd like to upgrade to stock 16" wheels and tires. Anyone know what sized tires I can use, without throwing my speedometer/odometer out of whack? (Yeah, I know it's a Ford, but I picked it up for next to nothing...Not a bad little truck however)

About that Valium- My little electrical problem has spread beyond the ABS and Radio to the turn signals, where the electrical fault is causing the blinkers on one side to go crazy fast while the 4-Ways and Right Turn Signals are fine. I've already checked the obvious (bulbs/Fuses) once again, and everything is fine. So now depending on where my foot is on the floor, my turn signals might work, or they might not. It gets more interesting- now, intermittently, when I lock or unlock the power locks, the locks go crazy and they unlock, lock, unlock, and lock again in random succession. I have to wait for them to stop to be able to gain access to the car from the outsid…

I have a 96 Lumina with 181,000 miles on it. Since last summer when I left the car idling for 30 minutes plus I have had this annoying problem where after you run it til it is warmed up and shut it off for 20 minutes to an hour and a half or so it will run horrible.. very rough like it is either flooding or choking itself. If I am fortunate enough to keep it running(while riding the brake and gas pedal at the same time) after a couple of miles it runs fine. If I am not fortunate it will take almost the entire charge of the battery to start if I am lucky. Recently I filled it up with gas at the local gas station just to have it do the same thing but was not able to kee…

When my car's cold (within the first 2 minutes of driving) any big bumps (think 2-3 inches suspension travel) cause a squeaking or scraping noise from the right front tire. It kind of sounds like the springs in a really old bed, if you were to jump on it. It gets quieter almost right away, and after the car warms up, it goes away completely. I took a look at the tire, and nothing looks out of place. I'm going to take it in to a dealer tomorrow - hopefully it's under warranty, whatever it is. I was just wondering if anyone here had any idea what it is. Remember, it's an '05 Cobalt LS coupe.

Does anyone know if there are any wiring issues on 2005 GTOs? Mine has already had it's second dead battery in 2 years. The first time was with 15,000 miles on the car. I replaced the original battery with a yellow top Optima battery($200) which have been known to last over 10 years, and now 2 years later it is dead again. No electronics were left on, no doors open etc. I just parked at work in the morning, went to leave for lunch, and it just clicks, and the remote unlocking/locking chime is very faint.

today is was driving in my 90 Caprice (the older boxy style) and i noticed that when i make a right turn, and properly signal, that once I complete the turn the turn signal doesn't return. but perfectly works when I turn left. Is there a switch or somthing in the steering column that sense the turn and is it easy to fix or should i just manually return it for the rest of this fine automobiles life.

I have an 89' cavalier 2.0 that I race at the local speedway and I need more hp. I can't use a turbo so what can I do to the most hp possible out of this engine?

A coworker of mine asked me if I knew anything about Caprices and electrical problems. I told him that I'm no mechanic, but know plenty of people online that I could ask (um, that means you guys!). He has a 1991 Chevy Caprice with the 305 V8. He was given this car by his uncle about 7 years ago. When his uncle owned it, right before giving it away, the radio was replaced due to being shorted out. John, my coworker, had to replace the radio again about two years after he got it. The first indication of an electrical problem (other than the shorting of the radio) was that the door locks would hum & vibrate - until he turned the car off. The latest issue he has is…

Not sure where to post this, so feel free to move where appropriate. This is a questions for insiders and people who have a lot of knowledge about platforms and the engineerings aspects of them. It involves the automaker not some project car. This would be for redesigning/heavily modifying an existing vehcile. How difficult is to to stretch the wheelbase, of a platform, widen it, lengthen the trunk, and change the roofline. In addition to these structural changes, the vehicle using this platform would need new suspnsion tuning, and work on NVH levels. Would it be easier an more cost effective to modify this platform to meet these requirements, or design a new platfo…

We got a new black Z06 brought in to our shop today. As most of you know, the roof is non-removable on that model. Except, on this particular car, the roof removed itself. Not completely, but the adhesive bond failed on the front 3 sides of the roof skin panel. We found a TSB, so there must be a precedent. GM has an adhesive kit to remedy the situation. Damn, it's a gorgeous, sexy car.

Damn GM and their fit and finish! Anyways, I've been cleaning up my cars this week, and I noticed the wife's Cavalier is growing some rust underneath the doors...(sad, because the car still looks good on the outside) I don't plsn to do a huge repaint or anything, but I do not want the doors to rust further. I was thinking about sanding and putting on some Por, and calling it a day. I was wondering if you guys have any good ideas....

About two months ago I had taken my fog light out to clean it out and to really get to it the headlight cluster has to come out. So I had taken just the driver's side headlight and foglight out and put the headlight back in no problem. I had driven it for a good two weeks and the aim was straight on. Well when I had put the fog light back in and put everything back together the headlight aim was about a foot lower than it should be. I tried turning the adjustment clockwise and counter clockwise with not effect. I've tried reseating the whole headlight fixture several times and it's still aiming too low. Friday I had taken in my car for regular maintainable (Coolant flush,…

Anyone ever heard of this? A friend of mine is having this problem. He couldn't get the car into park, he muscled the button in and got it into park and now he can't get it back out of park. Something is obviously broken but has anyone experienced this and do you know a work around so he can drive the thing to the dealer?

1300kms! Is Tiger Paw this bad? I'm off to the dealer tomorrow.

I've noticed in the parking garage of the new building I live in, that I squeal my tires almost every time I turn a corner. The floors are concrete. I'm not going fast enough to actually slide the tires, probably about 10 mph. They're tight 90 deg corners, so I probably have to turn the wheel about 270 deg to make them. Right at the point where I have the wheel turned the most, just before I start unwinding it to go straight again, I will hear a squeak from the tires, I believe the outside one. I'm not giving it any gas in these corners, and I'm usually either just above idle in 1st or idling in 2nd, depending on how fast I'm driving that day. I have a 2005 Cobalt man…

So, IIUC, on the last gen Grand Prix, the rubber ducky antenna at the front of the roof is the OnStar, the small truncated sharkfin at the rear roof is the XM antenna and the AM/FM antenna is in the rear window. Has anyone ever had a problem with something breaking/chewing the end of your OnStar antenna off? Today, I was inspecting the car, and it appears something has chewed the end of the antenna off... which is hollow, so water was getting in the car. I'm stumped how this has happened. I know the antenna was whole before. Keep in mind, this car spends all its time in areas with few animals, so I'm at a loss how it happened. I asked Mom if she drive the car rapi…

Alrighty, you guys talked me into it. The Cobalt is getting Mobil 1 this week when it gets its oil change...and a nice Wix filter........ But, this is the first time I've put Mobil 1 in a car with this many miles (40k), so I will be keeping an eye on things. Besides watching the usual (seals and gaskets), is there anything else I should keeping an eye out for? I'm looking forward to the better milage and lower operating temps.....

I'm buying winter tires for the Cobalt this winter (Michelin X-Ice). I'm trying to decide what to do for rims. I was initially going to buy steel rims to mount the snow tires on so I could put them on and off myself. The salesman told me that since I had the OE rims on there, there was really no point in buying steel rims. Only people with expensive aftermarket rims really need them. I don't think he was trying to screw me, since he knew I was just buying the tires there and not going there to have them taken on/off. He also said that the tires would need to be balanced after installation and removal whether they were on steel rims or my original ones. I don't really un…

If a engine has E85 capability, what changes are needed to the engine? Is there more hoses, solenoids, condensers, etc to further fill up the engine compartment?

Hey guys, I don't even know if anybody remembers me, it's been a real long time. But anywho... before I start I want eveyone to know that my father is the king of knowledge when it comes to knowing about my car (or any car especially GM, hes been rebuilding engines and doing body work on cars since he was 14 years old, and is currently the service manager at a Chevy dealer in PA) but I still want some advice because he's in a state of denial because he has to find a way to get her intake leak fixed, and now solve my new issue, which is why I'm here. Sorry that took so long. The issue is apparently "sticky lifters", which we are assuming was caused by sludgy oil (since…

Hey guys, I don't even know if anybody remembers me, it's been a real long time. But anywho... before I start I want eveyone to know that my father is the king of knowledge when it comes to knowing about my car (or any car especially GM, hes been rebuilding engines and doing body work on cars since he was 14 years old, and is currently the service manager at a Chevy dealer in PA) but I still want some advice because he's in a state of denial because he has to find a way to get her intake leak fixed, and now solve my new issue, which is why I'm here. Sorry that took so long. The issue is apparently "sticky lifters", which we are assuming was caused by sludgy oil (since…

a year ago Someone at autotire told me my water pump weep hole was leaking coolent. Where is the weep hole on this car? I cant even find the water pump. I have not had to add any coolent to this car. was to guy just trying to make some money? its a 99 malibu 2.4 with 78.000 miles. thanks

Understanding Batteries – Why so many cells? Have you ever wondered why some EV batteries have thousands of cells? Why the Volt’s battery is so big even though it was “only” 16 kWh? Can you actually save about half the money if you have a 50 kWh battery instead of a 100 kWh pack? (1) Cells and batteries: Before we get started, let’s get the terminology right. A “cell” is the smallest element in a chemical charge storage device. A “battery” is a bunch of cells strung together. The 1.5V AA Duracell is a “cell”. A pack with four of them strung together for a total of 6V in your flashlight referred to as a “battery”. (2) EV Batteries: A lithium ion EV…

Reposted from the ACNA forums (increasingly dead over there...): Have at it. I want to get this done.

Article from Yahoo that makes GM seem almost cutting edge.

Just curious what would cause a power window to intermittently malfunction in my Buick... it's the driver's side rear window, and it goes up and down perfectly, but about every other time, it'll stop about an inch from the top when raising it. Never a problem going down. And when it stops, all I have to do is lower the window again an inch or two and hit up and it closes all the way. Any ideas? No other problems with any of the windows in the car.

After we started up the electra, we found that the brakes are jammed...the "brake release" "pull here" thing is stuck, and the floor breaks are stuck. WHAT CAN I DO?

If you guessed Intrepid...you'd be... Wrong. Not the Shadow either. (both of those Dodge's transmissions shift fine, much to those who say DCX transmissions are crap) It's...the Geo Prizm! Yeah that's right, the one with "Toyota Quality" Yesterday (which was freezing), I set off too school but first went to Shell to get gas. I pulled in and gassed up. Turne the car on and went to put it into 1st...and it wouldn't go. 2nd...no...3rd...no...4th...no...5th...that's be a "f@#k you asshole I don't feel like moving" no. Eventually I managed to force it into 1st and I was off to school. i got to the lights at R110 in Lowell (by Consumer Auto Parts for those of you wh…

I've noticed in the last few weeks my wagon has started losing power on its pick up. It struggles to get up to speed-but seems to be ok once it gets there-until I have stop again. I was planning to replace the pcv valve, fuel filter-possibly the IAC. But I've noticed that it really gotten worse as it has finally warmed up. But I'm wondering- could the cat be causing most of these issues? (After BV's Fire' and my dad bringing it up-it got me thinking) The car has hadsome bad gas in it's life-even had some a few months ago (thanks, BP. ) And the Cat has never been replaced, which is now over 140,000 miles. What do you guys think?

So I'm having some issues with the steering. When I brake from from highway speed, steering starts from around 100km/h, slight vibration, then larger vibration at around 60-50km/h, then vibration damps out. Slight pulsation of the brake pedal at around the same speeds, same intensity variation as well, but very slight. It doesn't seem to happen if I'm braking at low speeds, only highway. I did some basic diagnostics, rotated the tires and checked the tire pressure, doesn't seem to cut it. My rotors and brake pads are pretty new as well, got a new set on all 4 wheels last Summer. Any ideas what might be wrong? Thanks.

A friend of mine recently got back from college out of town and left his car here... now he's here to stay and wants to run it again. It's a 1996 Oldsmobile 88 3.8L Series II (Naturally Aspirated) with the 4T60E Transmission with 180K. It's been parked on a quiet street but has been exposed to the fury of -50 degree weather. There were no mechanical problems or otherwise when he parked it in August. I've been making a laundry list of stuff that needs to be done to run it after a cold Canadian winter outside. I think he should just get a new car considering how much a lot of this is going to cost in my head, but he's adamant about driving the car. So far I've come u…

...though I'm leaning more toward me. On the Balt's last fill up, I might have have put a bit too much gas in her. (never had this issue in any other car) Now things are a bit screwed up. Even when It's full, it only shows 3/4. It also messed up the MPG and miles till empty too. I thought it might have fixed itself after gas today, but no such luck. Anybody else have this issue? I'm debating about unplugging the battery to reset it (hopefully), but I'm not sure....

I think this question may have been asked before, and I probably know the answer deep down, but that's not going to stop me from asking anyway. I lowered the gas tank on the Corvette this weeked, and threw it away because it was rotted beyond repair. To my dismay there was no build sheet shoved between the tank and the body. It's not tucked under the seats or any of the other interior panels (which are out of the car). Is there any way at all to retrieve the option code information given the VIN of the car? My goal is to bring the car as close to original as possible, no matter what the effort, but if I can't do that I'll option it up the way I want to. I'll gladly prov…

Cliffnotes version: What happens if you go from using synthetic blend motor oil to conventional? Full-fat: I took my car to the dealership yesterday to get some work done (mistake 1). Back when I had the recall work for the engine fire concern on the 3.8L V6, I took my Intrigue up to the local Chevrolet-Buick-Pontiac-GMC-Isuzu dealer to have it taken care of. Everything went fine, I got my car back and was happy as a clam that I wouldn't find it and/or myself engulfed in flames one day. To further make me happier, I received in the mail around the beginning of July/end of June a letter from the dealer thanking me for choosing them to work on my car. Included in this l…

So I can finally get around to buying the hardware to do my rear brakes. I'm going with Wagner BD125306 rotors, but I'm not sure what to go with for pads still. Apparently Intrepids without ABS came with organic pads while ABS Intrepids came with semi-metallic, but the pads are interchangeable. The choices are: Wagner PD759 ThermoQuiet Non-Asbestos Organic Disc Brake Pad Set: $30.89 Wagner MX782 ThermoQuiet Semi Metallic Disc Brake Pad Set: $35.46 Akebono ACT782 ProACT Ultra-Premium Ceramic Brake Pad Set - $61.99 I've heard good things about both ThermoQuiets and Akebonos. I can get the ThermoQuiets for a really good deal on Amazon, and I can get an employ…

Ok fellas, here's the deal. Some of you may know I recently bought a 1995 Riviera and in the 2 months I've had it, I've had to replace my boost solenoid, my radiator, and my ABS control modulator went (which I am not replacing) and now this....when the car is parked, and running...whether on level ground or a grade, and the wheels are pointed straight ahead...there is play in the steering wheel and a "tud" can be heard and felt in the floorboard. also when making a right hand turn at higher speeds you can hear this "pop" or "tud" as you are coming out of the turn and straightening out again....Anbody know what this could be? Also I've notcied that if you sit with the…

I have a 03 z71 and it leaks or burns up coolant. I have searched the entire engine compartment and can not find the leak, the heater core is good, there is no coolant in the oil. I cant find where its all going aany help would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance

Okay, so this is not a new thing, but I have mentioned to my brother that I have a leak in my trunk. It's not just a leak... everything is SOAKED! For example, if I put a plastic shopping bag in the trunk, take it out an hour later, the entire bag would be soaked and the contents inside would be damp/wet as well. And this is when it hasn't rained in days too. He said he's never seen anything that bad. Even in the summer it's like this. Again, it's not a little water, it's every inch of the trunk. Now, I'm not really concerned with it since I'll probably get rid of the car in a year. Here ya go: I'm not exactly sure why he took pictures of my engine compar…

I've sort of wound down to using 1 GM dealership and 1 or 2 independent shops. I've found an independent shop I really like. The owner, also a mechanic there, is real easy to talk to and has an excellent reputation among his peers and customers. So, here's the question. What is the normal mark up for parts that he has to get from the auto parts stores that he works with? Is it 20% 33.33% Or something else? I am wondering if there is a rule of thumb. Or, put another way, say I walk into AutoZone and a part retails to me for $ 100. What is a reasonable amount for that part on the final repair bill if the mechanic had to purchase it from the same store? …

I'm thinking about putting a new transmission in my '73. The most likely candidate is a Super T-10 Here's the issue: Currently, I'm running the 406, a Turbo 350 transmission (with a shift kit), a 3:73 posi-trac and 17 inch wheels (Not sure on the tire size -- can you tell I haven't messed with my Camaros in a while? LOL) Anyway, the tranny was rebuilt probably 11-12 years ago out of necessitiy, back when the car had the stock rear end and an old, weak 350. After the rebuild, it was a daily driver for about 4 years, then it was retired to semi-daily, and recently, super duper garage queen. Obviously, I've upgraded around the tranny and it has become the weakest link. It…

Hey guys, Just got an 05 Allure (Lacrosse) about 2 weeks ago. Got it for a good price and its absolutely mint inside and out, only about 30k on it, 1 owner (non-fleet/rental). Anyway, I'm starting to get used to the car, but it has an annoying behavior and I'm trying to figure out if its a problem or not. Need some input from people with experience with the 4t65e/Lacrosse. Is it normal for shifts to be inconsistent in feel? I've been noticing that you can never predict how the shift is going to feel when I am driving around town, mainly the 1-2 shift. Basically, sometimes I will be accelerating from a light, moderate throttle, and it will shift nice and quick with b…

My friend has a 1987 Century. It originally came with a six cylinder and now has a 2.5 four cylinder. He just bought it used and has had troubles since. It first was overheating then after removing thermostat seemed better then it did'nt. We changed the radiator cap, washed the radiator fins , flushed the radiator an block to no avail. It was hard to determine because it was intermitant. Then it seemed it would start to overheat when he ran the ac. This has over 100k. Next it was not firing on cylinder no. 3. Now no fire at all. We have checked the coils Put on different ones, Put a new ignition module plate and still nothing. One guy said it has to be the coil sensor. Is…

I plan to replace my old muffler with a new exhaust kit on my 2009 Ford Ranger XLT SuperCab. I am torn between a Flowmaster and a Magnaflow. What should I go for?

A quick question for those who are good with tires... I'm looking for a good, solid tire for the wife's Cavalier. Nothing fancy, though I wouldn't mind a little extra grip. I'm not looking at pricey tires, private brands are fine as long as they are solid.... You have to remember, they are for a Cavvie... I was just at Wal-Mart, and found Goodyear Vivas for 60 buck each, and they did not look bad.... I;m going to be looking for tires for the Balt' soon too, though I'm considering Firestone right now...the Contis on it now suck big time..... I'm wondering about what I should consider.....I could just go to Belle Tire or something like that, but it' snice to k…

I just purchased a 2006 Lucerne CXL with everything (ALMOST)! I have the 6 disk CD player but no XM radio. Is it a possibility that GM might have had the foresight to make this radio upgradable? It has the CAT button for XM radio; when you press it, states XM feature. Can you purchase some type of module to upgrade it to XM without all the add on crap? I am sure it is not, but it would be a great feature for those of us who purchase off the lot and then want to upgrade the radio in the dash to XM because the dealer was not bright enough to order XM on it. If anyone has a recommendation without all the add on's I would appreciate it tremendously. It has the antenna …

I'm having an issue with the "beater" (aka the Cobalt).. I've been doing updates on the car.....and some things to improve the gas milage... I got it up from 15 to a bit over 23 now. :sign0200: The fuel system cleaning and the air filter change (along with some other stuff) is helping...but in city driving the last few days, it seems going through gas again.. The one thing I haven't changed yet is the fuel filter yet....I wonder if that is really hurting my MPGs that much? I know it is due for one (has 32k now), but it would surprise me if the fuel filter is in that bad of shape. Then again, the previous owner was a bit rough on the car..... I'm planning …

i cannot believe the improvement that a couple of cheap mods have made to my 2003 pontiac bonneville. its a 3800 series two engine. 1. Amsoil synthetic oil 2. K&N air filter 3. Taylor hi performance spark plug wires. man, the acceleration is incredible. the sound out the back and under the hood is a little stealthier too. i am not blowing smoke here. it is truly noticable. i'd like to know where i can get the car tested (in the detroit area) for torque and horsepower. i think the factory spec on this is 205. i was going to put on a borla muffler but i am not sure how much more you can do to improve it. i am running 89 octane, now.

Hey guys, I was always kinda curious to know exactly where the engines and tranmissions in my rides are from. I mean I know that the Impala was put together by the nice people up in Oshawa, and my truck was built in Atlanta, but what kind of information would I need to know where the transmission and engine were produced. I'm fairly certain that they weren't built on site, but I guess I could be wrong. If anyone happens to know, then I'd love to see an answer.

I have to move the '69 Firebird. It has a fairly worn Chevy 350. About six years ago I last attempted to start it and was unsuccessful. At that time it had sat for about 2 years. Now it hasn't been attempted to start in about 6 years. I checked my fluids, poured some gas in the carb and put a battery on it, and even with a good battery, I'm getting nowhere. The engine does turn over... slowly... but it sounds nasty... a deep, dry, grinding. Normally, I would panic, but I recall a different, worn, engine which sounded similar (father's worn 350 Chevy Cubevan) until I got enough juice into the starter... at which point it fired up and ran. Is this grinding the be…

Hey all, I was looking to buy some cheapy stealies for my 2001 Saab 9-5 for winter tires. Now I change from summer to winter tires on the same rim, incurring a rebalancing and mounting fee each time. This year I decided to buy some dedicated wheels for the winter tires, but I have had trouble finding reliable information about them. My car (according to TireRack.com) has 16x6.5" wheels, but the key is the bolt pattern: 5-110. I was looking at buying steel rims off a Volvo on Craigslist, but (again according to TireRack) the bolt pattern is 5-108. The question is this: can these wheels be installed on my car? Thanks!

I have a 99 chevy malibu with 2.4. 78000 miles. When its below 40 degrees its hard to get the car moving. 3000rpm gets me around 2 mph. it runs fine after it has warmed up for 5 min. Above 40 degrees the car runs fine. I hooked up a scan gage to it and could not see a problem. can the spark plugs cause this problem? I never replaced them. thanks

Anyone have experience with this stuff? In order to get the color scheme I want for my interior I either have to live with black/gray but have to hunt down the rare black/gray leather door panels, or paint the upper door panels (vinyl arm rest and upper door panel) black.

Who has the scoop on making this work?

Anyone ever try adding pure acetone into their gas? Two to three ounces per 10 gallons is supposed to increase mpg, improve combustion and performance without harming the engine or seals. It makes sense on the surface but am still a wee bit skeptical. (No, I'm not Scottish.) I understand that oil companies can make better blends that would benefit economy. Adding acetone is also supposed to burn cleaner and eliminate blackened tailpipes. As far as efficiency is concerned it makes you wonder why they add ethanol in some pumps because it doesn't exactly aid combustion Anyway, I'm not an expert on this and not one to buy into this $h! just becau…

What was the stock P.S.I. for a typhoon?

I posted this on a Mopar forum but haven't gotten a response. Maybe someone here knows the trick. Basically i want to swap out my black plastic door handles for chrome ones. I've wanted to for a while, but never knew how to do it. I'm told that the pin has to be removed to do this, but don't know how to remove said pin.

How hard is it to switch a 4th gen V6 F Body from autotrajic to row your own? Think we all know where this is going... Also...how weak are the rear ends on these cars? What other common failure points do they have? Chris

:( :( :( :( :( Yester day night in the rain i let my car warm up for about 5 minutes got out of the sub and normaly accelerated to 30 mph. Once i reached 30 I backed down a little the car went in to passing gear an it stalled. I quickly pulled in to this school parking lot. O yeah making a turn at 25 with no power steering sucks. Almost hit fence. Then tried to stop with no power brakes, again sucks, almost hit parking blocks. No major lights went on just Bat. Check engine and oil press. They come on when you turn your car on. so i tryed starting no luck. pushed car in N to get rolling start no luck. pushed in to space and walked home. came back 1/2 hour later fired…

Mom finally gave up on fixing her Taurus wagon. So I took her car shopping. She looked at a Passat wagon, Vibe, Vue, L200 and a Malibu Maxx. She was planning on a late model used but later decided to spend the extra couple grand and buy new. So her local Chevy dealer found her an 06 Maxx LT with a couple extras, sunroof, side air bags, XM. Very nice little car, I was very impressed with the solid feel of it. So anyway, my reason for posting.... I'm pretty comfortable with GM's 3.1, 3.4 and 3.8 V6's. But I don't know too much about the 3.5. I'm hoping someone can enlighten me on the changes (as compared to the previously mentioned engines). Is this just an up…

I got through washing and waxing my car this morning to find a ding, slightly smaller than a dime or even a shirt button and not deep at all, on the front of my hood. I've no idea how it got there, but the paint is all there so I doubt it's from road debris. Anyway, it's in a spot on the hood where there's double metal (near the latch/release), so the traditional PDR method of working it out from behind is impossible. Do any of these "glue on suction cup" ding removers (like the Ding King, et. al) actually work, and is it something I can pull off myself without making it worse? Is it even fixable at all without filler and respraying the paint. I'm willing to bring it to a…

Anyone out there know what the SSPS light is supposed to be indicating about? It keeps coming on. My service advisor can't seem to overcome his rectal/cranial inversion long enough to give me a straight answer. For the record, I have a 2004 Chevrolet Optra LS (sold only in Canada), with 85000 kms on it.

I was talking to Sixty8 today, and mentioned that I'd like to start up the `69 and move it out of the garage. The problem is that the car hasn't run in 2 years...the last time it was driven was in the fall of `05. Since then it's been in the garage (at least it's level). There is a concern I have...I remember their being a fluid leak...however I can't remember if it antifreeze or something else. If it is antifreeze I'm worried the block may have cracked during one of the winters. So I have a few questions Does anyone know how to pop the hood on a `69 Barracuda? I've done it before but it was a while ago...and I remember it being a pain...but I forget what to do. When…

It is... Anyways, I'm not even sure what I'm looking for here, but I'm just wondering about a few things. The first of which is that it is starting to take longer for it to start. Before, I would turn the key and it would start up without a problem. Now, though, it takes longer and when it does start, it feels as if it doesn't want to run. A few seconds after that, it will finally run fine. Secondly, I noticed it is making a noise. Don't know how long its been making it as its unnoticably from inside. But, it's like a... screeching noise... IDK how to explain it. It sounds like it's coming from the right front area. I didn't look unde…