Just bought a used 2000 Cavalier and it has issues......

[Nightmare by GM]

Hello all. I'm new here (yes a "newbie") and I having some problems with my 2000 Chevy Cavalier coupe and need a little help.

I bought this 2000 Cavalier from my friend (for now) for $1,500 bucks. It is a coupe with a 2.2 and an automatic. It has 65,000 original miles and it is very, very clean.

The first thing I fixed was an oil leak coming from the front of the oil pan. I removed the oil pan and timing cover (what a pain in the ass that was) and re-sealed them. I also replaced that little "dog-bone" strut bar because it was oil soaked.

Ok, here are the three problems that the car still has and I'm not sure how to go about fixing it.

1) When you put the car in drive or reverse, it makes a noticable "clunk" when it goes into gear. Is this normal for a 2.2 auto Cavalier?

2) My gas gauge is possessed. While I'm driving, the "check gauges" light comes on and my gauge goes to empty. A minute later, and it goes back to normal. Faulty sending unit in the tank? Anyone ever replace one of these on a Cavalier?

3) This is the most annoying one. The car makes a grinding noise while making a left turn, and accelerating. If you turn right and accelerate, it is quiet. It is not the CV joint, it is something else. It feels like there is a part of the engine or tranny touching the frame somewhere.
The original owner told me that he had the tranny rebuilt about 5,000 miles ago. He said that some bearing let go in the tranny. The trans was rebuilt by Amoco or Amaco or something like that.

Has anyone else ever experienced such a noise while turning left and accelerating? It doesn't do it if you are turning left and NOT on the gas. It is driving me nuts. I thought that replacing that lower strut bar would fix the problem but no.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Regards, Nightmare....

[Classicrocjunkie]

1) Sounds like your TCC solenoid is going. No that is not normal. It should shift extremly smooth.

2) Does this happen when your accelerating and have only a little bit of fuel left in the car? I know i can watch my guage drop significantly when i floor the car. It moves somtimes up to a full 1/4 reading.

3) Wheel bearing/hub assembly needs to be replaced. Best quality aftermarket is Timken and is know to be better than your OEM one. They run $74.99 at autozone. But if you want to be sneaky like me, go online to their website and put in for your car, a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire. Look for a timken hub assembly, and click on it. The price should change to $49.99. I don't have the exact link right now since i am at school. But i will throw it up here for everyone later. Print that off and take that to your local autozone store and tell them you want 2 of them. They might hassel you about it, they might not. I wasn't hasseld. If they do, tell them you consider that a Bait and switch marketing technique (which by law is illegal) and you are going to contact the Better buissness beaure. (BBB)They then should give you the price break.

[Classicrocjunkie]

ok guys/girls... here ya go.

Clicky if you want to pay $74.99

Clicky if you want to pay $49.99

Note: All j-bodys 95-05 have the same part #'s mechnical wise. So just because you may drive a cavalier thats 2002 or w/e.. this is the same Part # needed.

[Nightmare by GM]

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to check the wheel bearing right now. Exactly how do I check to see if the wheel bearing is bad?

Thanks! The Nigtmare.....

[jayson716]

#3 sounds like the wear bar on the break pad.....replace pads..

[OverAllComa]

What the hell does his TCC Solenoid have to do with anything? The only way you know if that solenoid goes out is if you stall out after cruising on the highway. The TCC Lockup Solenoid is fine.

[Nightmare by GM]

I fixed it!!! I solved problems #1 and #3 by replacing the upper motor mount. It was $52.00 at Autozone. MAn, what a difference. Even the engine sits strait now. No more clunk, no more grind. It is perfectly quiet.

I took the Cavalier to the dealer today and had my radio unlocked. It cost me $77.00 (one hour of labor). I thought that was a bit steep for 5 minutes worth of work.

I bought a 2003 AM/FM CD cassette stereo off eBay and put it in my Cavalier. The only problem was that it would not turn on. I then found out that I had to have it unlocked. Since it is an RDS radio, there was no way of getting a code out of it. It is a new system that came out in 2003 (my luck, of course). The dealer told me that everytime I disconnect the battery, I will have to take it to the dealership and pay another $77.00 to have it unlocked. What kind of crap is that?

The dealership said that there is no code on the new radios, it can only be unlocked with some sort of GM interface device.

Anyone else have this sort of problem with the stereo?

Regards, The Nightmare.....

[OverAllComa]

Stop paying the dealer, read your car's manual, save yourself some money with the uber-gay theft-lock.

[Nightmare by GM]

I read the manual, that's why I went to the dealer to have the radio activated. My car is a 2000, the stereo is a 2003.

Is there something that I missed in the owners manual?

Regards, The nightmare....

[jayson716]

no u did the right thing but someone on jbody knows how to decode the system with the code number you can get off the radio. i have had the same problem before and sure enough the numbers i gave him were off the radio he came back and gave my the unlock code... cost me about two days of no radio but well worth it other than paying over 70 bucks.