Hey guys, thanks for the great website. I just purchased a 1996 2.2 L coupe with 18,000 miles on it (yes, 18,000). I am new to the J-body platform and have some questions for you guys.
-the car needs new tires , they are dry rotted (195/65/15) what are good tires for this car that wont hurt mpg or comfort???
-I am going to replace the thermostat and flush the coolant. Should I stick with OEm temp??
-I am also going to change the oil, I was thinking of going synthetic 5W-30. any comments??
Anything else I need to know about this car?? what to look for, tuning etc etc? I am looking for MPG and reliability.
thanks so much!!
Ralph
Raffaele Patacca wrote:Hey guys, thanks for the great website. I just purchased a 1996 2.2 L coupe with 18,000 miles on it (yes, 18,000). I am new to the J-body platform and have some questions for you guys.
-the car needs new tires , they are dry rotted (195/65/15) what are good tires for this car that wont hurt mpg or comfort???
if you're looking for mpg, look elswhere than tires, as there's not much if anything to be gained here. get what you can afford.
Quote:
-I am going to replace the thermostat and flush the coolant. Should I stick with OEm temp??
yes. do NOT change the thermostat temperature. if doing a flush and fill, i would take the opportunity to step away from dexcool.
Quote:
-I am also going to change the oil, I was thinking of going synthetic 5W-30. any comments??
sounds good to me. so long as you don't use a fram filter, you'll be fine.
Quote:
Anything else I need to know about this car?? what to look for, tuning etc etc? I am looking for MPG and reliability.
intake, header, and exhaust, as well as the 1.6 rocker swap will all up mpg (if you can keep your foot out of it) a good bit. as for the electronic part of the tuning, this is where you have to get creative. HPTuners (along with pretty much EVERYBODY) does not support the 96 ECU. so, you either have to swap to a 97 for HPT, or a 95 and burn your own proms.
JBO Stickers! Get yours today!
Yeah...what ^^ he^^ said...also, look at the condition of your plugs and wires..If they look kinda iffy change them...I personally like the NGK plugs but ACDelco and some others are fine too...wires I'm not to sure about maybe some vets can hook up that info....
2003 Cavalier
Stock 2.2 Liter, 5 speed
" Leave the rice to Uncle Ben's and the wings to KFC..
Go clean or go home. "
i'm a big fan of the Michelin Harmony for everyday use its not a sport tire its a regular passenger car tire its got a good tread life, 120 000km i believe (whatever that is in miles) and its a very quiet comfortable tire
stock is 192F i believe on the 96 if your changing the stat i would get a 180F people that know the 2.2L issues will agree. the only car i had heagasket issues was a 95 2.2 and it had green coolant. dexcool is perfectly fine if you change it when they recommend and if it starts looking nasty drain it. i aggcually changed that 95 over to dexcool when i put a new engine in it. i have nothing against it at all its in my 3800SC thats in my cav too.
back to the stat. the 2.2 has head gasket failures usually happen around the 80-100 000mile mark (not always though) if you put in a 180 stat you will prevent the engine from getting too hot and sometimes when the gasket goes the head warps if you runn a slightly cooler stat your gonna help prevent warping the head. also it will help lower the cumbustion temperature since the cylinders walls will be cooler and this will prevent the head from cracking inbetween the vlaves and the spark plug hole. a 180 is a nice stat to run. both my cars have 180s in them now except my cav has a 180 drilled (you wont need that though)
JBO since July 30, 2001
thanks for the help guys. I only use amsoil,K&N,Wix and baldwin oil filters
I am waiting for some parts to come in (exhuast hanger ,etcetc) Anything else I need to know about the engine?? any known issues??? I am planning to replace the trans fluid and filter as well, I dont think it has been done before! hopefully it will be easy to drop the pan. Nota24, those michelins are nice but they are $93 a pop! OUCH!
Raffaele Patacca wrote: Nota24, those michelins are nice but they are $93 a pop! OUCH!
you're in the wrong game if you think $95/tire is expensive.
JBO Stickers! Get yours today!
what game? this is an economy car. I have another car to play games with.
On the thermostat issue. I think the factory has a 195, but at some point GM changed the speicification to 180. So a 180 may end up showing up in most stores as OEM replacement. But at either rate, I say go with the 180.
i find it amusing that SHOoff has nothing better to do but follow me around & be an unhelpful dick in even cross-forum. - Jon Mick
93 a tire obviously US but i paid i think 125 a tire here for them and they last 120 000km. they say here 24 000km a year is normal that means those tires will last 5 years i don't see a problem paying that kinda money for a tire that last 5 year try buying tires for an 05 equinox with 17 " wheels not a common size and your looking 200 a wheel CDN for the factory tires it comes with (bridgestone duelers) thats 800CDN for a set of 4 and mine lasted me 3 years so less then 400 a set will get you 5 years. but hey if you wanna be cheap on tires there lots of them out there but IMO for Day to day use you can't beat the michelin harmony. if you want a performance tire thats a separte story but for comuting to work or where ever i would buy those
JBO since July 30, 2001
thanks man, going to order the tires tomorrow. I need your guys opinion on something. The trans fluid is orig and it has 18,000 miles on it BUT it is pushing 14 years. Am I asking for trouble by replacing it and the filter???? I would like to change the fluid and put in dexron 3. What ya think???
thanks!
Ralph
BTW, where i the fuel filter?? under the car?? I would like to replace that as well!
right behind the gas tank... silver looking thing lol
if you want to stick with the stock rims kuhmo has a tire that size for about 70 bucks a tire which isn't bad and if you want to change your oil stick with synthetic but once you use synthetic you can not under any circumstance go back to real oil but synthetic reduces more friction and i agree with some of the other guys checks your plugs and plug wires if you want good but cheep stick with ac delco there a good brand to be using
Nicholas Peters wrote:but once you use synthetic you can not under any circumstance go back to real oil
COMPLETELY UNTRUE. YOU CAN SWITCH BACK AND FORTH AS OFTEN AS YOU'D LIKE.
However, that being said, there's no real reason TO switch back from synthetic.
JBO Stickers! Get yours today!
instead of arguing over freaking oil , help me fix this damn fac moonroof
The seal looks great but I have a small leak coming into the interior, where are the drain tubes located??? I need a new moonroof motor to becuase the damn thing doesnt want to open , it barely tilts open
Hmm.....
TIres- That's easy Yoko Avid Touring S ( Tirerack 60ish bucks) or Cooper CS4s (local indy tire shop /tires easy.com)
Temp/coolant -Yes, stick OEM. Don't worry about the Dexcool, just change it .If you plan to take care of the care of the car, don't worry about (meaning you actaullly check the fluids) Coolant is coolant.
Oil- If you do synthetic- just do Mobil 1. Wallyworld carries in 5qt jugs are 25 bucks, get a Ac Delco/wix/Purolater oil filter, and you should be set for at least 5k oil changes.
DON"T do dex III- Cheaper and better (esp at that milage) to do Dex VI- it's either a syn blend or full synthetic (valvoline) Again, you get get Super Tech Dex VI at wall mart for around 4 bucks a quart, should work just fine. Your shifts will be that much smoother.
As for myself, my Cav's next ATF will be Valvoline Dex VI-which is a full synthetic. Good stuff. Nick (another member here) is running it in is 97 2.2.....he can tell ya more....
Any more questions-just ask!
Raffaele Patacca wrote:instead of arguing over freaking oil , help me fix this damn fac moonroof The seal looks great but I have a small leak coming into the interior, where are the drain tubes located??? I need a new moonroof motor to becuase the damn thing doesnt want to open , it barely tilts open
Does sound like a dead motor......
hey guys, well I bought General Altima tires. car drives great. I fixed the moonroof yesterday, God knows the last time it was used! I lubed all the tracks, vasolined the rubber seal and cleaned out all the drain holes. Works like a charm! I am using mobil 1 5w30 with a mobil 1 or K&n oil filter.
New plugs and wires
I replaced the head gasket (it was torn and rotted near one of the bolt holes!) Also milled, pressure tested the head, got the valves reseated and new seals. New head bolts of course.
car runs like a charm!
thanks for all your help!
Last thing to do!!! the damn dash squeaks like hell and the glove box rattles!! I am going to take the dash apart and am wondering what I can use to stop the plastic rubbing noise??? foam tape maybe????
there are some screws on the glove box tighten them that should stop it from ratteling...did with mine.....foam tape works very well
