New guy here........

So I picked up a 2004 sedan from a good friend who got screwed by a bad repair. I fix cars on the side from my normal job as a mechanic for the United States Postal Service. Anyways he paid a guy to change his timing belt as a precaution to the dreded timing failures that can plague this awesome car! I say this with conviction due to being apprehensive at first but I plan on keeping it due to falling in love with the design of the drivetrain. Back to the story. After pulling the head I found that the person doing the repair did not tighten the water pump correctly and it slipped....... ouch but it did it at idle so a few dings on the pistons and only two mildly bent valves. Currently have the head on my kitchen table lapping the new valves....... So grand total so far............. 400 for the car and about 300 in quality parts....... I am in love with the Aveo! I have vast automotive knowledge anyone feel free to ask me anything. Super nice guy that respects others who like to work on and upgrade their vehicles.

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Welcome to the forum.
Good score! I also have an 04' sedan. Done a few cool mods and found answers to all my questions on here.

Welcome!
Curious, what particularly piques your interest about the first gen's drivetrain as opposed to other vehicles?

Excited to see updates as you restore your car! ^^

Welcome! It's always great to have another pro join in, especially here where there is such a small number of them active. Most of us are just shade tree guys who look to these forums to get as much information as we can before starting on repairs that are typically going to be first-time jobs.
I've done 3 timing belts, and have always used an inch torque wrench on those WP Allen bolts. I believe that the combination of squishing the O ring, along with the sideways torque from the timing belt, makes finding the correct tightness fairly problematic. Maybe someone who has done lots of these can do it accurately by feel, but I wouldn't feel comfortable without the TW, especially consdering how important it is to get these bolts done correctly.
I too would be interested to know what you like about the Aveo. I've always thought of it as a decent, low-end vehicle. My '05 has been a great daily driver for me for 9 years, and also an '06 has done well for my daughter. But I've never considered it to be above average in any way, so I would be interested to read your professional opinion about it.

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Originally Posted by bigj8691

So I picked up a 2004 sedan from a good friend who got screwed by a bad repair. I fix cars on the side from my normal job as a mechanic for the United States Postal Service. Anyways he paid a guy to change his timing belt as a precaution to the dreded timing failures that can plague this awesome car! I say this with conviction due to being apprehensive at first but I plan on keeping it due to falling in love with the design of the drivetrain. Back to the story. After pulling the head I found that the person doing the repair did not tighten the water pump correctly and it slipped....... ouch but it did it at idle so a few dings on the pistons and only two mildly bent valves. Currently have the head on my kitchen table lapping the new valves....... So grand total so far............. 400 for the car and about 300 in quality parts....... I am in love with the Aveo! I have vast automotive knowledge anyone feel free to ask me anything. Super nice guy that respects others who like to work on and upgrade their vehicles.

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Welcome to the forum from the other side of Missouri! As a fairly recent member and 2011 Aveo owner, I appreciate your offer as a source of Aveo savvy, which I have little of. The Aveo forum members have been MAJOR help with questions I have posted since I bought the Aveo in Nov., 2013. PS My Aveo sold new from Jonny Londoff Chevrolet, Florissant, MO 11-14-2011 Be Well!