is already 2015

11 years out of production for a 2004, and even worse for people with older version, like 15-20

head gaskets are common on these. you're probably looking at $1200-1400 having a shop do it.

some dude on some forum, a shop quoted him $1600 but that was just a rough estimate because they didn't know if they would need to replace the head or not. If they would have, it could have easily been over $2k.

pretty much the cost of your non stock cavaliers

what's the point of wasting so much on making an already plain car look better, when the engine will not last without spending thousands, might as well get a new beater or newer car. I have read stories of people getting their head gasket replaced, only for them to blow again

My car has barely 66k miles, and I'm sure is only a matter of time before the head gasket blows. If that happens, no way I'm paying 1.5-2k for that car. I would buy newer car even if it means getting in debt

I have both, a dd/beater and a 2005 cav coupe that is my toy to spend money on. And its about having some custom that no one else has. Especially here in Ca. No one here has heard of a Gm tuner bodykit.
There alot of plain mustangs and integras here.

Hey friend cheap cars sucks. I knows friend, so horrible. Hows abouts we complain about them untils someones listens and hopes it turns intos a Beeee MMMMMM dauble U.





FYI, Ecotecs are good on the head gasket front. No real issues. Mine has been boosted at 10+ psi for 5-6 years now and at least 40,000 miles. Have a few failed? Yes, but it is not a common issue. These are nothing more than cheap throw away cars. Once you accept that then you'll be happy with the car.

147k on factory original motor that has had 10psi for 7-8 years now. no head gasket issues.


My friends factory motor Ecotec pushed to 25psi made 405 whp no issues.



Yeah head gaskets are a real issue on these cars.


Dave please delete this guy.



FU Tuning

I just hit 400000KM which is about 250000 miles. Do your maintenance, and you will be fine. Take care of the cooling system make sure you flush the cooling system ever 100000 miles or every 5 years

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some people got lucky like us, and got good batches of cavaliers, i keep reading tons of stories of head gaskets blowing even at as low as 50k miles

i hope it doesnt crap out.on me, but if repairs become more than 1k good bye cavalier

even though i hated the cars cheapness, i had good and bad times in it, i have learned to accept it for what it is, not longer want to mod it, rather save all my money for when it craps out, get a better car

Good. Now shut up and stop bitching.

^^^^^^ +1!!!!!

Most people who are here and still modding their cars are capable of changing the gasket themselves. No need to get a new car.

i still hate thr interior though lol

Why would I sell my car if it needed a 100 dollar repair to fit it. That's doesn't make financial sense at all.


I miss my Cavalier, even if it made 100 hp on a cold day and had more suspension then it deserved.

joe satriani wrote:i still hate thr interior though lol

Most of us still hate seeing you post here.

Get some aftermarket seats,a better steering wheel and autometer guages and you'll have a better interior then most cars out there.

Or buy that newer car THAT everyone else has,boring.

3 cavaliers each reached over 200k never flushed the coolant, just drove them. had to replace one head gasket due to a small leak. took 4 hours and a 6 pack of beer. super easy to do.

I'm just wondering how many threads this guy is going to start thinking that someone here actually gives a sh!t.

crash your jbody, collect the insurance money and GTFO.

DaFlyinSkwirl (Pj) wrote:I'm just wondering how many threads this guy is going to start thinking that someone here actually gives a sh!t.

crash your jbody, collect the insurance money and GTFO.

You know his account is completely fake. I have no idea why he wasn't banned. He named himself after one of the worst bands on the planet.




On the inside my car looks like a fighter jet.

Mr. Satriani, or should I call you Josh?

You really have no idea at all in anything you are ever talking about.








Edited 2 time(s). Last edited Wednesday, December 17, 2014 6:39 AM

PRND321 Till I DIE
Old Motor: 160whp & 152ft/lbs, 1/4 Mile 15.4 @88.2
M45 + LD9 + 4T40-E, GO GO GO

Just to be a dick.. My LK9 blew a head gasket at ~50k miles



"In Oldskool we trust"

Y3llowCav wrote:Just to be a dick.. My LK9 blew a head gasket at ~50k miles

Just to be a bigger dick, the lk9 is not a factory jbody motor :p

strat81 wrote:

Y3llowCav wrote:Just to be a dick.. My LK9 blew a head gasket at ~50k miles

Just to be a bigger dick, the lk9 is not a factory jbody motor :p

Bigger dick? Damn I'm out..



"In Oldskool we trust"

strat81 wrote:

Y3llowCav wrote:Just to be a dick.. My LK9 blew a head gasket at ~50k miles

Just to be a bigger dick, the lk9 is not a factory jbody motor :p

But LKQ is the place I bought a replacement motor once.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, December 19, 2014 9:36 AM


"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about
the former." - Albert Einstein

02 base coupe OHV replaced the head cylinder cover gasket and the alternator. at 236,572 mi as it sits in the drive way. only thing i cant manage to permanently fix is the damn door hinge pins they keep bending. other then that rust on the bottom of the door and rockers one side has a hole sadly about 5-6 inches but other than that get the average 27 combined MPG so im all good

its hard to find a car nowadays in that class as light as the cavalier, the cobalts gained 100-200lbs, the cruze gained another 300-600lbs. im a big believer in lightweight horsepower. granted those older ld9 2.4 motors are a pain to work on, the 2.2s are stupid easy.

But the real question here is, did you keep Dexcool as the coolant or green universal?

All aluminum engine means chances are the headgasket will be good, the old OHV 2-slow had the iron block and aluminum head which heated up at different rates and slowly killed the headgasket..my 96 sunfires head gasket went at only 75,000 km... was so prevalent a problem, gm sent a letter and covered it up to 100,000km..so they fixed it for free.

My 2003 sunfire ecotec engine has had no problems whatsoever... and this year was supposedly the worst for the tensioner, clogged oil jet problem, plastic timing chain guide part that will chew up your engine, etc etc....I never upgraded any of it, thinking my engine would die and I would have to swap in another one... nope, no issues after 140,000km of hard driving, I drove it like a raped ape.



Don't buy from MANTAPART!!
There is no easy ways to get HP, no magic box or gizmo... And if you get more hp, there's no way to make your car still behave and sound like a stock one. More hp usually makes your car louder, more vibrations and harder to drive...but still people hope or think maby there's some magic way to have it all, comfort, stock sound and drive.