I just picked up a 1997 Cavalier 2 door(not sure if there's a specific model or anything...it's pretty basic...no power locks/windows/anything). It has 153,xxx on the odometer. We got it at a steal and i'm trying to get it in decent running condition for a daily driver. There are a few things that i can't really find the answers for after searching the boards, so i figured i would post them up for help.
First off, the previous owner changed the head himself. It was fine until i got the oil changed the day i picked it up and now there is a slight ticking noise that goes along with the RPM's of the motor. Sometime's it's really noticable, other times it's not. The guy at the shop who changed the oil said it was coming from the area of the timing chain so....could that be the culprit? Is it usual for a car of this age?
Second, whenever i brake normally, the oil light comes on. Once i take off, it goes away. Any idea on what could cause this? I just had the oil changed and checked the level earlier this morning for good measure. Could a sensor be out of place or what?
Also...what does a used auto transmission run for this car on average and are they too difficult to replace? The transition between first and second gear doesn't go through smoothly....the only way it'll shift is if i run it to 20+ MPH and completly let off the gas until i feel it change gears. Otherwise, there's no problems with it. Would it be cheaper to maybe have someone open it up and just fix whatever is wrong? I'm not too sure with these cars.
Third, how the heck do i get the rear seat off? I need to put back in some interior panels(rear drivers side panel) and from the looks of the other side, the bar holding in the rear seat goes through the panel...thus i need to get it off or so something to allow me to put that interior piece back in.
And finally, the seatbelts, for whatever reason were disconnected at the floor/seats. Can anyone explain to me how they properly hook up and what kind of bolts/nuts i would need to get everything safe. I don't feel like dying anytime soon
Any help for any of the problems is HIGHLY appreciated. It doesn't sound like it's too bad and if i can fix most or all of the problem, it sounds like it'll run for a long time. Not bad for $500.
1) is the ticking all the time, or only when the car is warm
2) Oil level sensor might be going bad
3) Not sure about the tranny
4) Removing the rear seat...
Unfold to a 45* angle.
On the passenger side is a black clip. Remove it with a screwdriver.
Slide the seatback to the passenger side until it is able to slide on that pin. This will free it from the driver's side pin.
Once free from the driver's pin, slide off the passenger pin
**Note, you may have to change the angle slightly (ie, raise or lower the seat back slightly so it can clear the notches)**
The seat bottom is held in by 2 clips, one on the driver's side, one on the passenger, about 1/4 of the way in from the edges.
5) Front or rear belts?
It ticks all the time i'm pretty sure. I'll double check when i leave for work. I'll look into getting a new oil level sensor and see if that fixes the problem, and as far as the seatbelts go...they are on the front. They are still connected from the roll to the wall the first time, just not sure how they connect after that.
I'll do the back seat tonight...i know which black clip you are talking about...i remember seeing it but didn't want to break anything :o
Sorry to double post(didn't see an edit button) but i also figured i would note that this morning the car was running somewhat hot(not redline, but around 3/4 which i assumed wasn't normal). After i dropped her off, i stopped and got a bottle of coolant and turns out the coolant resevoir was damn near empty. I'm clueless as the previous owner claimed to have filled it and i watched him top it off before i took off. I fill the coolant, run the heater and eventually take off. 20 minutes later, the heat guage spikes again so i pull into a QT and pop the hood. There is no coolant...again however this time i noticed there is coolant below the resevoir. I checked for leaks, filled it up and ran it for a good 5 minutes full heat to see if i could find it leaking anywhere and couldn't see anything.
Is there something i might be missing? Last i checked, running through 2 gallons of coolant in an hour isn't a good sign, i just need to know where it's going >.<
I also get the symptom of whenever i drive for a bit(shortly before the heat guage spikes) the air blows cool instead of the heat.
It may be the timing chain that is ticking, it's getting on in age at your point. Also, could be 'piston slap' where they 'rock' in their bores. Some have it bad, some engines not. There is an unofficial recall, but you are way past the time and mile mark to have it done for free. Basically, they drop in new piston heads. The temperature problem could be from a system that's not been properly 'burped' of air.
To add onto my previous post...
I drove home from dropping my fiancee off at work and drove myself to work and had to fully fill the coolant resevoir, as in...i could see the bottom with no coolant, 3 times. That is WAY too much coolant.
When i made it to work, i shut off the car and tried to see where it was leaking from. I couldn't tell where it was leaking from, but underneath the resevoir was soaked with coolant. My boss pointed out a hose that had coolant on the end of it(i thnk it was the overflow hose). We started it up and neither of us could find the leak anywhere. I'm completly baffled although now i'm leaning towards that hose instead of something like a water pump.
Any suggestions.
Have you burped the system, like gotten the air out? If it's a 2.2, there's a metal line with a nut/bleeder on it to burp it.
Lanman31337 - Cavfire wrote:Have you burped the system, like gotten the air out? If it's a 2.2, there's a metal line with a nut/bleeder on it to burp it.
Where's that nut/bleeder at?
And to whoever asked the previous question about the ticking, the car does NOT make the ticking sound while cold. I'm hoping that's a good sign.
There's a black metal pipe that goes across the front of the engine. On the top of that pipe, there is a bleeder screw.
As for the ticking, with it only doing that at operating temp, 10:1 odds its the timing chain.
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One more thing... the timing chain tick is a very common thing on 95-97 2.2l engines.
That's a relief. I have a friend who has a timing gun and we're planning on getting it sorted out tommorow. With any luck, it'll be a decent running car before long
Also, i took the car to a shop yesterday. They did a compression test and found no leaks, although found that my radiator cap was cracked so they replaced it. I haven't had a problem since so...that was a bit easier than i expected. Could that be causing what i was describing or is something else most likely wrong(i'm assuming not as i haven't seen anything dripping and it's kept coolant inside).
