My first car at 37!! (I'm a truck guy lol)

[MetroMPG]

Did you get a set of snows for that puppy?

I mean stallion.

[xintersecty]

Just did my timing belt, found the water pump had been leaking, get to take it all apart again this weekend lol... Only took 2.5 hrs to do the belt, probably gonna be 4 hours to do the wp.. Oh well

You will have to take the cams off. Break the bolts before you remove the belt. Keep the cams on as long as you can with everything lined up. Remove them, then the plastic crap that prevents the water pump replacement. Put them back on and use a vise grip to keep them lined up.

[PoisonIvy]

Looks good! I like the all-black. I have a similar setup, I have a 2011 Silverado crew cab I bought new. I end up putting most of my miles on the Aveo since I've got a mostly highway commute to work. Although it's a lot shorter then yours.

[06T200]

Very cool Speedy! Love the black ones, very chic! You will love it, very easy to wrench on and easy on the wallet. Nice to see other die hard Chevy guys! Welcome!

[06T200]

[QUOTE=SpeedyG;195735]

Found the intake cam wanted to roll CW on me when i took the belt off, took a few attempts to line it all up again...


To solve this PIA I had good luck using a Lisle 'DOHC cam lock' tool to lock the cam wheels in their 'clocked' position. With that you just thread the belt on, check the crank pully then set tension, much less hassle, as that intake cam is spin happy! lol

[SpeedyG]

I used my electric impact and other fun stuff, it was actually easy using the right tools this time... if a guy was prepared and was serious about it you could do it all in 2 hrs or less... just don't break anything lol or lose stuff.. took me little over three, had a couple beers on my Saturday afternoon... Had no trouble with the belt this time, easy peezy!! Used a big ol 1-5/8" wrench on the WP, just barely squeezed it between the belt and the rear half of the dust shield... once the pump was done it fell back together with a few slight mods (coolant hose clips ground off top of upper belt cover to make it easier to remove, creative use of zipties throughout, etc)

Still looking for a good set of snows, anybody have preferences..? Found a set of 185/55r15 studiess Nokians for $300 already mounted on rims, might go for those maybe... snow is forecast for this coming Monday (first day at new shop)

Been busy with other things... I'll keep ya posted on the changes

[MetroMPG]

We put this thread in the monthly forum e-mail newsletter, going out shortly. Lots of people have been following the adventure since you started it.

Did you get the Nokians? Are they "R"'s? They're supposed to roll unusually well for a winter tire, so you don't take as much of a fuel economy hit.

[SpeedyG]

Thanks Metro! I have to admit i'm lovin this lil unit, it performs flawlessly and is a hoot to drive (manual tranny)

did some Maths the other day, and i have been keeping track of my km travelled and fuel used for my expense report.. I'm getting 40.7 MPG (Imperial) as of this last fillup, 530 km used up 36.8L of Regular... Been shifting at 3000-3200, running with the cruise locked on at 100, tach shows 2750 RPM while rolling on 185/55 R15s Nokians, (mounted and balanced with over 75% tread on them for $260 and have an "ULTRA LOW rolling resistance" stamp on the sidewall) with tire pressures set at 32 front 22 rear... I gotta tell ya, she'll roll a looooong ways when dropped into Neutral... i believe our Elevation is 3400ft here.. I've eliminated as many variables as i can, and I'm sure most can copy this and get similar results (if your car is maintained well)

installed and wired in the new head unit last weekend, a Kenwood BT362U.. With the 10" sub and 500W mono amp the Stallion is Rockin now folks!! Now have to do dash lights in red LEDs and some other fun interior lighting... I will eventually post pics of all my tinkering, all in their respective categories of course... All i will say is the Metra 99-3306 is NOT the dash kit to use in an '07 Hatch, i had to take it back to the A/V shop and buy one from Canuck Rubber instead (which was annoying and time consuming to modify and install, a lot of test fitting and trimming) i will let you all know where/when i post all my mods, have to do them before it gets too cold in the garage

[MetroMPG]

Nice update - glad to hear you're enjoying it. And that's quite the steal for those tires.

[FooFsputter]

Just bought my 07 in September, 3k out the door (dealer), 69000 miles. It cost me roughly $1500.00 to have the t.blt w.pmp, tnsnrs, stuts and brakes done. car books for 4800, so still in the green as far as investment.