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The radio bezel is the reason I haven't wrapped my trim. I really should remove it and get it all painted something other than silver
I dont think the wrap I have is wide enough to cover the whole thing while keeping the grain going the same way as all the other parts. So it may looks a bit funny. Ill attempt it tonight after I peel all the plastidip off it.
Originally Posted by michael23v
It looks good. Are you doing the door panels?
Yep, I cant stand the red inserts. I was just going to buy new door panels but I cant justify the price. So I think I will just get some suede and redo the inserts in a dark grey or black.
Also forgot to mention that I rolled over 1000 miles on the new engine! Still running perfectly, no odd noises and no leaks. Looks like I did something right!
Agree, first 1000 is the make it or break it part. Going to put another 1000 miles on it (changed oil at 500) and then send a sample of the oil out to verify all is good. After that, I think it will be road trip time!
On to my next issues. After putting on my Chinabay exhaust, everything was good for about a day. Then the clunks started. I dont know where the exhaust is hitting but its hitting. 2 things I have found so far. 1 - I need new exhaust hangers for sure. They are sagging and not in the best shape. I am missing one as well. New ones will be here soon. 2 - The muffler is an absolute piece of garbage. Its made with paper thin stainless. Its so thin that where the pipe meets the muffler, if you wiggle the muffler from side to side, the muffler moves but the pipe doesnt. I mean I could twist the muffler over about an inch and the pipe was still in the same spot. Last night, I cut a piece of stainless and welded it to the muffler and connected it back to the pipe at a 45° angle. That stopped the muffler from moving but it still clunks around. Again, hoping when the new hangers come in, it solves the issue. If it doesnt, time to fab up some more mounts.
Bag-o-rubbers came in as well as my China fobs. Going to attempt to program the fobs on lunch. Hopefully they work. Ill slip the rubbers on when I get home.
Well I got one fob programmed. Wouldnt let me do both for some reason even though there are still 4 open slots. It was one or the other. Whatever. At least I can lock and unlock my doors without a key again.
i think u can program 5 keys and 1 fob but i was gonna say for ny emissions i just had to throw my stock dp on for it and asked zzp to leave the readiness monitors on with my canned **** tune lmao
i think u can program 5 keys and 1 fob but i was gonna say for ny emissions i just had to throw my stock dp on for it and asked zzp to leave the readiness monitors on with my canned **** tune lmao
Ya I have no idea what was up with the fob programming. It said I could program up to 5 but it would only take the first one. When I tried to do another, it did nothing, just stayed on the programming screen.
My car is registered in a non smog area so I am good there. I dont have anything illegal on the car anyways. Trying to keep it nearly stock. It will pass CA smog with a simple tune swap.
Put my new exhaust hangers on last night. They were actually the wrong ones as they were longer than the factory ones. This ended up being a good thing cause the top of the muffler was hitting the body. With the new mounts, it dropped the muffler just enough to not hit. So no more clunking over bumps! I think at this point, I am done fixing all the little things. Now I can focus on making it look nice. Dont expect many updates from here on out.
Alright so as I have been putting some miles on this thing, I am getting my front end clunks back. Took everything apart and only found 1 bolt kinda loose. I can clearly hear it clunk from both sides. I cant make it make the clunk in any way with the car sitting still. Here is a recap of what I have replaced so far.
Koni yellows
Powell springs
Strut top hats
A-arms
Tie rod ends
Steering shaft coming off rack
Car has been aligned as well
Rack and sway bar bushing all look good with no cracks. This leads me to think it may be the sway bar end links but they have no play in them. Maybe its just the Konis since they are an insert? Any other Koni users have a clunk? Anything else I am missing or should check over?
The sway bar bushing tend to deform open not crack. I replaced mine when my motor was out (easy to get to then) and the old ones had no indication of cracking failure but fell off the bar when I removed the bracket. The new ones required some assistance to get on the bar.
End links would be my first guess. When mine went bad, they didn't SEEM bad either.
I haven't messed with the Koni inserts - but I wouldn't think that'd be the problem. I would think the springs would be able to provide enough force to prevent any sort of issue with the insert.
Are your endlinks the greaseible ones? I would double check that.
Nope. They are stock with 123k miles on them.
Originally Posted by ECaulk
The sway bar bushing tend to deform open not crack. I replaced mine when my motor was out (easy to get to then) and the old ones had no indication of cracking failure but fell off the bar when I removed the bracket. The new ones required some assistance to get on the bar.
I will have to look at them again but they "appeared" to be normal looking. I know, should have done them when the engine was out. Too late now. Did you notice any difference after you swapped them?
Originally Posted by USMCFieldMP
End links would be my first guess. When mine went bad, they didn't SEEM bad either.
I haven't messed with the Koni inserts - but I wouldn't think that'd be the problem. I would think the springs would be able to provide enough force to prevent any sort of issue with the insert.
When yours went bad did it cause it to clunk? If I go over a speed bump straight, no noise. If I go over with one tire at a time, it clunks. I really dont think its the Koni insert either. The shock fit pretty freakin tight. Had to use the bottom bolt to suck it all the way down into the insert.
I will have to look at them again but they "appeared" to be normal looking. I know, should have done them when the engine was out. Too late now. Did you notice any difference after you swapped them?
When yours went bad did it cause it to clunk? If I go over a speed bump straight, no noise. If I go over with one tire at a time, it clunks. I really dont think its the Koni insert either. The shock fit pretty freakin tight. Had to use the bottom bolt to suck it all the way down into the insert.
Mine weren't bad either when I swapped them, but when I did get them out, I could pretty easily move the bolt/joint around. Stock with 123K on them, yep, time to spend the $40 for a pair from Moog.
And yes, I had the same problem. Uneven roads was rattle city, but the speed bumps would be barely anything. I changed out my front sway bar bushings too and as ECaulk said, they also don't look worn down, but it was a huge difference replacing mine. Had the GM dealership toss them on when I was getting my ebrake fixed.
When yours went bad did it cause it to clunk? If I go over a speed bump straight, no noise. If I go over with one tire at a time, it clunks. I really dont think its the Koni insert either. The shock fit pretty freakin tight. Had to use the bottom bolt to suck it all the way down into the insert.
Yep, I replaced them because I had a clunk in the suspension and Powell said they were the likely culprit. Similar symptoms, iirc. I replaced with Powergrids. Feb 2010; somewhere around 60-70k miles.
Alright, you guys convinced me. Sway bar bushings and some new links will be ordered shortly. Havent replaced them so might as well. Everything else on the car is new anyways. Might as well order some bushings for the rear beam while I am at it. They dont look bad but might as well change them so that all the bushings are the same age.
I will have to look at them again but they "appeared" to be normal looking. I know, should have done them when the engine was out. Too late now. Did you notice any difference after you swapped them?
When yours went bad did it cause it to clunk? If I go over a speed bump straight, no noise. If I go over with one tire at a time, it clunks. I really dont think its the Koni insert either. The shock fit pretty freakin tight. Had to use the bottom bolt to suck it all the way down into the insert.
I did have some suspension clunks that went away, but I also did steering rod ends (one was trashed no resistance and the other had to much play). I'm pretty sure I had a clunk from the drivers side transmission mount (into the unibody) so I replaced it as well and now I don't have suspension clunks.
This, get the MOOG ones as they're grease-able, unless you plan on autocrossing or getting into serious road racing then get Powergrid adjustable (i think thats the manufacture)
They only list 22mm for the sway bar bushings. Odd. Ill just get GM bushings. They are about $10 for the pair anyways and I dont have to pay for shipping.
Originally Posted by ECaulk
I did have some suspension clunks that went away, but I also did steering rod ends (one was trashed no resistance and the other had to much play). I'm pretty sure I had a clunk from the drivers side transmission mount (into the unibody) so I replaced it as well and now I don't have suspension clunks.
This, get the MOOG ones as they're grease-able, unless you plan on autocrossing or getting into serious road racing then get Powergrid adjustable (i think thats the manufacture)
I have not done any of the engine/trans mounts. Again, like all the other bushings they "looked" good when I had the cradle dropped. Steering tie rods ends got replaced as one of mine had a cracked boot
Moog end links for sure. I like the grease-able part. The Cobalt wont see much track time, I think. But even at that, the events will be for fun so I dont need the best of the best stuff on it. Thats what the money pit Evo is for.
They only list 22mm for the sway bar bushings. Odd. Ill just get GM bushings. They are about $10 for the pair anyways and I dont have to pay for shipping.
I have not done any of the engine/trans mounts. Again, like all the other bushings they "looked" good when I had the cradle dropped. Steering tie rods ends got replaced as one of mine had a cracked boot
Moog end links for sure. I like the grease-able part. The Cobalt wont see much track time, I think. But even at that, the events will be for fun so I dont need the best of the best stuff on it. Thats what the money pit Evo is for.
For engine mounts I go with ZZP or OTTP. Moog endlinks are good or non greaseable ones made by proforged.
For engine mounts I go with ZZP or OTTP. Moog endlinks are good or non greaseable ones made by proforged.
I dont really want to go to aftermarket mounts just yet. From past experiences on other cars, you feel the vibes. Going to see what the sway bar links do first then go from there.
09-22-2020, 01:07 PM
