Looks like I’ll be back on deployment soon… so I guess this is not the the pre deployment thread. Sorry I been away so long. Haven’t done much with the car since it was wrapped last year. I did get upgraded fog lights to match the headlights but have not installed them yet. Also sent the headlights back for warranty work and upgrades. Probably won’t have pictures of that until after deployment 😟

 

Are you being deployed for environmental (forest fires) like the national guard or is the possibility of deployment overseas? Can't imagine why they would call for you as an older vet.

 

Just another regular deployment. I’ll be out on ship again, hopefully with port calls this time around. Last one was 2020 during covid and we never ported after we left home. I’ve been in 19 years and a few months. I put in my retirement paperwork to retire at 20 years back in January, and it was denied. Instead I was told I was too important and transferred back to sea duty for 3 years. So now I can retire at my 22 year mark. A couple days ago I was just told I’m not important enough to advance…. Imagine being so important to navy they won’t let you leave but then tell you you’re not important enough to advance…. The hypocrisy in this is absurd.

 

Does Cloyes not make an actual timing kit for the LNF? Looks like the one you got is for the L61/LSJ. I havent looked into it so I dont know

 

They make the kit for all Cobalts, including the LNF. In fact, it's the OEM.
I did the full thing: timing chain, balance shaft chain, water pump, and all the sprockets. Might as well do everything while you're in there.

 

Update: I'm deployed now. AGAIN. just doing a little looking to fix my cooling issue. Ordered the ZZP radiator, just to upgrade while I'm in there. My real issue is one of my fans. I found plenty of cheap replacements, but I'm kinda looking for something worth buy. maybe an upgrade of sorts. Any suggestions?

 

I wish I remembered what brand I replaced mine with on my GT when it died, it seemed a bit beefier than stock. Rock auto does have GM Geniune dual fan setup.

 

That's probably the rout I'll end up going. I mean the stock fans lasted from 09 until the end of last summer basically. It's been tuned for years and set to come on at 194 I think. Its safe to say it has gotten is fair share of abuse.

Also thanks for the link. It really help with the internet being so slow out here on the ship

 

Interestingly enough, I forgot to order the fan back a while ago, and just ordered today.... wholesale price of $110 USD... $123 shipped. Thanks again!

 

Great price!

 

Getting kinda board out here, so I thought I'd make update. The car is still sitting at home where I left it 5 months. It's now covered in early spring pollen. Cooling fans arrived, the ZZP radiator was out of stock when I ordered, so I passed on that for now. Maybe I'll catch it on their Black Friday Sale.

Thinking about replacing the carpet in the car later in the spring when I get home, maybe even add sound deadening. I'm sure a couple people around have pulled the carpet to dynamat or similar. Seems pretty easy I have almost had the entire interior out of the car previously. The center console seems like it would the be most difficult part. I wouldn't say the interior of the car smells bad so to say, but it does sometimes have an old carpet like smell. I figured a new carpet and mats would most likely solve that. I guess I'll probably look into getting a new trunk mat too. IDK.

In the fall before I left, I found a car with factory heated seats in the junk yard and pulled all the parts for that, including the dash trim, switches heating pads, all the pigtails and connectors. So I'll probably take on that project when I have the seats out for the carpet. Or maybe I'll get the carpet in, and use the old LSJ seats that I have while I install the heated seat parts the LNF seats. Back in the summer (2022) I did the radio install I never installed my back up camera or my hand free microphone. I ended up getting the mic done, when I put new I connected everything for the camera to make sure it worked but never mounted the camera, so maybe I'll get that done.... 🤣

 

While I have done sound deadening on my car from the trunk, to the rear deck, and even removing the back seats completely, I haven't actually lifted the carpet out to do the rest of the body. Noico has been great, however if I wouldn't use the 80mil stuff on the doors - the panel clips don't hold in place anymore (unless you go inside, but I did have some panel rattling issues at higher volumes). As for the carpet itself, I would get one of those drill brush agitators first with some carpet cleaner and an extractor. I did that on my old G5 and it worked wonders, plus I didn't have to muss with trying to find new carpet and installation.

Well, if you're tearing everything apart anyways, you can knock all this out at once. While you're waiting for the carpet to dry, you can whip up the seats with the components then it should be dry enough to do the wiring for the backup camera. The microphone can be done at any point, you just plug it in to the back of the head unit. My microphone is above my rearview mirror.

 

Well just because OTTP was having a spring sale, I ordered a few things. I was going to order a new shifter pivot cup, and a new shift know. Pivot cup to help with smoother shifting, and the shift knob to replace the brushed aluminum one that I have that gets hotter then the sun in the summer. Logged in and changed my address and seen I had store credit still waiting for me to use it, and ended up buying a whole new short shifter with with the knob and pivot cup. I have their older shifter which is a little bit bigger than their new one and ordered a black textured and engraved knob to go with the gunmetal shifter. Did I need a new shifter?.... not really, but its one more thing to look forward when I get home again.

 

Its another Bot. dont even respond. ill get it when im not mobile

 

Well, the list of things to do with the car is growing. As of now, I'm lookin at painting wrapping and installing my rear bumper with the SS lip, painting wrapping and installing my vented hood, installing my new OTTP shifter and new pivot cup to replace my current OTTP shifter, new cooling fans, new steering wheel, LNF heated seats, reinstall my headlights (I had some warranty work done to them) and install my matching fog lights, replace the interior carpet (I think I'm skipping the sound proofing and getting a thicker carpet0, and also now thinking about getting the Velocity aero works cobalt front splitter, side skirt extensions, and rear diffuser. If I'm home in time my goal is to have it done for the EcotecFest Car meet in Pennsylvania in early July. If I'm not home in time my deadline would be before tail of the dragon in October. Also along with the typical oil and maybe plugs, and possible tune update. I really need this deployment to ends so I can started. I missed the entire "off season" of car life.

 

Keep us posted brother. I have a list of things I have to get to my G5 Gt sedan as well including the rear lip from of G5 GT Coupe, get the supercharger finally installed and I might get some leather oem g5 gt seats possibly. I had my car sitting at a local body shop for like 6 damn months and he jerked me around badly with all kinds of excuses and didn't get it done for me. Now I have to find another body and get the rear lip installed hopefully. The douche bag even lost the freakin clips which are hard to get.

 

I have a lot of projects, most pretty small. The hood the bumper and aero kit are the larger ones. I had the bumper on the car when I took it to get it wrapped. He told me to prime it, but I used the wrong primer apparently and the vinyl wouldn't stick to it. so I swapped it back out for the original bumper, same with the hood. I was so hopeful that my bumper project would finally be done, This time it will be.

 

** UPDATED AGAIN ON 7 JULY 2024 **

The list is growing longer everyday. I keep finding things I need, well I guess mostly want, but it in my head I need them. I'm finally going to paint and wrap RK Sport ram air hood and my rear bumper with the modified coupe rear lip. This is the bumper and hood that was painted with the wrong primer causing the wrap not to stick to it. I have a new OTTP shifter and new pivot cup ready to install. I ordered the new shifter because I have the old style and a brushed aluminum knob that gets hotter than fire in the summer. The new knob is powder coated, and I was told it does not get as hot. I have new cooling fan which hopefully fixes my fan not coming on at the right temp problem. My headlights were sent back for some warranty work, and an upgrade, so they need to reinstalled along with the matching fog lights. To go with that, I'm installing a second battery and an isolation kit for my lighting, because I'm tired of walking out to a dead battery after not driving the car for a few days. Ordered the OTTP rear sway bar to replace my Eibach rear sway bar. New coilovers will be installed to replace the tired set of BC that I have, and I might get the BCs rebuilt down the road some time. At some point before winter I want to install the heating pads in my LNF seats, install new bezel with the heated seat switches, and wire it all up. New carpet is on the horizon. I have not ordered it yet, but I want to install the carpet when I have the seats out for the heated seat install. The Aero kit is in production, I'll get the front and sides on ASAP and the rear will go on after the rear bumper is painted and wrapped. Then the typical stuff brakes, oil, plugs, air filter, cabin air filter, bath, ceramic, wax ect... On top of all that I have also been throwing around the idea of getting a spare trunk lid and adding a GT style carbon fiber wing, a C6 Corvette style "D" flat bottom steering wheel, and maybe an underglow kit to fully rice it out.....

1. Paint and wrap rear bumper.
2. Paint and wrap hood.
3. Install OTTP shifter pivot cup.
4. Replace OTTP shifter with new OTTP Shifter
5. Replace cooling fan.
6. Install heated seat pads in LNF seats
7. Install my retrofit headlights.
8. Install custom fog lights.
9. Install OTTP rear sway bar.
10. Install OTTP front sway bar.
11. Install Velocity Aerowerks full splitter kit.
12 Install new suspension (coilovers)
13. Install new PowerStop Z17 front and rear brake pads
14. Install second battery with dual battery isolation kit.
15. Install new carpet.
16. Install and wire LNF heated seats.
17. Spark plugs.
18. Oil Change
19. Air filter, cabin and intake.
20. Give the car a bath.
21. Ceramic coat, wax, ect....

Still waiting to purchase....
1. Corvette style steering wheel.
2. Carbon fiber wing.
3. Under glow.

 

Updated list, about a week until the fun begins.

1. Paint and wrap rear bumper.
2. Paint and wrap hood.
3. Install OTTP shifter pivot cup.
4. Replace OTTP shifter with new OTTP Shifter
5. Replace cooling fan.
6. Install heated seat pads in LNF seats
7. Install my retrofit headlights.
8. Install custom fog lights.
9. Install OTTP rear sway bar.
10. Install OTTP front sway bar.
11. Install Velocity Aerowerks full splitter kit.
12 Install new suspension (coilovers)
13. Install new PowerStop Z17 front and rear brake pads
14. Install second battery with dual battery isolation kit.
15. Install new carpet.
16. Install and wire LNF heated seats.
17. Spark plugs.
18. Oil Change
19. Air filter, cabin and intake.
20. Give the car a bath.
21. Ceramic coat, wax, ect....

Still waiting to purchase....
1. Corvette style steering wheel.
2. Carbon fiber wing.
3. Under glow.

 

Curious about #14

 

How hard was it to install that Cobalt SS coupe rear lip on your sedan bumper? I actually ended up scoring a really good deal on a Cobalt SS coupe rear bumper/rear lip. There is a small crack on the exhaust side opening of the lip I have to repair but it shouldn't be an issue. Then i'll get it repainted to match my oem color on my G5.

 

Honestly, not to hard, and I had never really done body work before this couple time I did get frustrated and almost toss it in the dumpster. I used an extra sedan SS/Sport bumper. It would have been easier on a base sedan bumper, but its what I had. On the sport bumper, it comes down lower so you have cut out the lower section to allow the lip to fit right, but you do not want to cut to high, because you need to keep the area for the slots. Picture below for reference.



Also you need to trim about an inch out of each side and basically mold it back together. I cut it out on each side after it curves, and before the lower section splits off. Picture below



After I cut the ends of the lip off I lined up the lip and bumper and marked it for the slots. Cut the slot out with a Dremel cutting wheel. They were a little rough, but worked great (I'll get back to this). I fitted the center section and clipped in place using the original retaining clips. I took each side piece and put them in place and marked how much to trim off each of them. It took me a few trims to cut enough off, I didn't want to cut to much out, and have to fill it back in. This is where it got kinda irritating. I had asked a few people and they said they used epoxy, others said they fiberglass resin, jb weld, or other adhesives. I tried a couple of them, they did not work well or I was not satisfied with the outcome. It was brittle and cracked and would really just **** me off. This was one of the time I almost trashed it. I'll tell about the other time it almost went in the trash below.

I picked up a cheap plastic welder, basically a soldering iron with a different tip. I installed all 3 pieces of the lip on to the bumper. I used duct tape on the inside of the lip to hold it all together. removed it from the bumper. I filled in the gaps using the plastic welder and black abs plastic sticks that came with it. Took a lot of trial and error, but once there was enough melted abs material on the outside I pulled the duct tape and did the same on the inside. On the exterior side I used more than necessary and was able to go back and sand it smooth, and went back and melted a V in to it and was able get a really good bond between the lip and the new filler material. Sanded smooth again and almost looked like it had never been cut and molded back together.

Also once the end pieces were molded back on, and I was attaching it to the bump, I decided I was going to mold it to the bumper as well, so there would never be a gap between the lip and the bumper. Using the plastic welder, I added just enough abs material to where the lip and the bumper meet and sealed it together. This also helped hide a couple of the slots that were visible from when I cut the first few slot into the bumper, that were kinda sloppy.

The other time it almost went in the trash. I was out working on getting the first end molded back on (learning what not to do basically 🤣&#129315 I was sitting on the ground plastic welder on off to the side, waiting for some of the material to cool down. I took a quick break grabbed a soda or a beer IDK.... lol. When I came back I could smell melted plastic, a lot. I looked down and the wind had blow the lip over and landed on the plastic welder. It melted a big hole the middle of the lower section between the 2 grills. I was so angry. After a little bit, I collected my thoughts. and realized it was an easy fix. Was pretty easy, and its almost unnoticeable. Picture below shows where it melted.


If the wifi comes back on the ship, I can add a few in-work pictures that I have.

 

Finally home. Gave the car a bath yesterday. Today of course the battery was dead dead. The car hasn’t been touched in 9 months. Swapped the battery under warranty, and it cranked right up. No lights, warnings or issues. Best car ever. Started with the easy stuff on the list. Checked my parts today everything I ordered arrived. Unfortunately my new cooling fan was broken in shipping.



Updated list. Anything marked red is done.

1. Paint and wrap rear bumper.
2. Paint and wrap hood.
3. Install OTTP shifter pivot cup.
4. Replace OTTP shifter with new OTTP Shifter
5. Replace cooling fan.
6. Install heated seat pads in LNF seats
7. Install my retrofit headlights.
8. Install custom fog lights.
9. Install OTTP rear sway bar.
10. Install OTTP front sway bar.
11. Install Velocity Aerowerks full splitter kit.
12 Install new suspension (coilovers)
13. Install new PowerStop Z17 front and rear brake pads
14. Install second battery with dual battery isolation kit.
15. Install new carpet.
16. Install and wire LNF heated seats.
17. Spark plugs.
18. Oil Change
19. Air filters, cabin/intake.
20. Give the car a bath.
21. Ceramic coat, wax, ect....

Still waiting to purchase....
1. Corvette style steering wheel.
2. Carbon fiber wing.
3. Under glow.

Trying to jump it. Failed.



Looking clean. It got a bath but still needs detailing



Inside still clean



Headlights received. Ready to go back in.


Broken fan.

 

The Bad
So not much progress yet. Actually kinda went backwards. While scrubbing my wheels I noticed 1 of my tires is different. I have BF Goodrich G Force Sports UHP tires. Well apparently when I got 1 of my tires replaced under warranty they put the wrong one on, the one they put on was an all season tire. My sunroof switch died so that will be arriving tomorrow. Also seems like all of my window motors except the driver side are really slow, and my driver door lock actuator is on its way out. Sometimes the car door will not unlock when I turn the car off or try to unlock with the fob.

The Good.

I did wash the car the other day, but the vinyl was still kind stained, so washed it again with a degreaser, looks so much better. Got some wax on the car, and it’s looking clean. This weekend I’ll be doing the oil, going back to my catless DP, installing the OTTP front and rear sway bars, getting the side splitters on, and install the new exhaust hanger bushings, and adjusting my exhaust to stop a rattle. Maybe getting the front splitter on, if I have the time. I might also try to get my headlights and fog lights installed.

 

Got my sun roof switch in, fixed that problem. I reordered my cooling fan to replace the one broken in shipping, and the second one never shipped. Tracking never updated and FedEx said they never received it. Reported it to Rock Auto, and not they have actually sent one out. Should arrive tomorrow. Also picked up the last few things to install the Velocity Aerowerks splitters. Made some progress. More to come.

Updated list. Anything marked red is done.

1. Paint and wrap rear bumper.
2. Paint and wrap hood.
3. Install OTTP shifter pivot cup.
4. Replace OTTP shifter with new OTTP Shifter
5. Replace cooling fan.
6. Install heated seat pads in LNF seats
7. Install my retrofit headlights.
8. Install custom fog lights.
9. Install OTTP rear sway bar.
10. Install OTTP front sway bar.
11. Install Velocity Aerowerks full splitter kit.
12 Install new suspension (coilovers)
13. Install new PowerStop Z17 front and rear brake pads
14. Install second battery with dual battery isolation kit.
15. Install new carpet.
16. Install and wire LNF heated seats.
17. Spark plugs.
18. Oil Change
19. Air filters, cabin/intake.
20. Give the car a bath
21. Wax, detail ect….
22. Sunroof switch
23. Window motors
24. Driver door lock actuator.