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I just bought a '09 Pontiac G3 a few months ago and its been having front suspension issues (clunking/squeeking) which the dealership is supposed take care of shortly. The point of the post: is this a bad starter? Its been doing this since the weather here has gotten below 30F.
http://youtu.be/OndNStN3wA0
Doing what? High Idle? All cars run idle at a higher rpm until they warm up a bit, you probably never noticed it before because you had a car that had at least some kind of sound insulation between the engine and the passenger compartment.
Everything sounds normal to me.
Ha ha no I'm referring to the kind of farting gear-clash noise that happens as soon as the engine turns over (2s into vid). I've had many cars over the years and never had one make that when cold.
the valve train sounds a little noisy to me but the starter sounds ok. I listened to to a few times. I think I can hear what you refer too, and I don't get starter from that. But it could be in person.. if it is the starter, pull the fuel pump relay, start the car until it runs out of gas, and then start it again. If the noise is still there then it is the starter.
Not a starter problem, and fast idle is also normal. Valve noise on start up is usually lack of lube to the valves / lifters. How long was it since your last oil change?
I bought the car from the dealership in Sept and have only put 1500 miles on it. The oil change sticker on the windshield says its due at 53k and its got 51k and change now. I have no idea when it was changed last. Its not really black, but smells a bit of gasoline so it might be time. So I'm taking it that this engine has hydraulic lifters?
If the oil smells bad, change it. The dealership should have at least changed the oil when they prepared the car for sale. If you do your own oil change you will get to see the actual contents of the pan when you drain it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Twisted-X
Well, they said they couldn't find anything wrong with the starter and the coolant pressure test came back negative for leaks. It made the noise when I fired it up to drive home, and it still smells like coolant after a half hour drive. :dontknow:
A new little wrinkle developed yesterday (two weeks after they replaced the completely shot upper shock mounts/end links, and the steering rack because one of the inner tie rods was bad. When I moved the steering wheel a little bit from the neutral position (and sometimes under load when hitting bumps) something under the dash made an audible (and feel-able) "thunk". So I park at Wal-mart and start poking around under the dash, and find that they didn't tighten down the bolt that cinches the upper steering shaft to the splined rack-end of the shaft (it wasn't even finger tight). I have corrected this, but as you can see in the attached photo some of the splines are showing. Is this okay? I really don't want the shaft to come apart on the highway, and I *have* to drive it to work tomorrow:
Attachment 8846
I tried loosening the bolt and shoving the two pieces together, but neither was moving. I don't think it *can* come apart, as the rack is bolted in place and the upper shaft is held in place by that bracket. Let me know what you think.
is it a pinch bolt, or a through the shaft bolt?
I would think it is ok, i would check that it cycles lock to lock without binding , shifting, clicking etc. and then determine it from there.
Its just a pinch bolt, and I was able to find photos of the rack showing that I have about half the splines exposed. I guess I'll have to give them a call this week so they can double-check their work... Knew I should have jumped on that Honda Fit. disgustQuote:
Originally Posted by petrified.rabbit
Don't despair. Granted I love the looks of the Honda Fit, however the Aveo (G3) is still a good little car. And you can't blame the car design due to prior owner negligence and crappy repair techs. There are a lot of good mechanics out there and a lot of crappy ones too. Having been burned too many times, I would rather repair it on my own.Quote:
Originally Posted by Twisted-X
And besides the truck space on the aveo is bigger than the fit and scion. I know!
Is there any way to tell how deep the shaft is seated in the pinch sleeve? The splines may be longer than you think.
I was able to determine that the splines run roughly twice the length of the sleeve. So the splines "should" be fully seated. I've been driving it since then with no problems and it isn't binding when the wheel is turn all the way from side to side.
I finally called the dealership today because this thing is making fun noises on really cold startups. Plus its still losing coolant. Its down a half an inch below the lower line on the reservoir when cold. I also mentioned having to tighten the steering shaft. By the end of he call he's giving me the vibe that hes thinking I'm a complainer. Listen to this, and tell me "thats just normal noise":
http://youtu.be/xwuNLrqvaOk
Honestly it sounds normal. There is a bit of slight overtone whine in the beginning. Now loosing water, that's bad.
So that belt-sander noise is considered normal for these?
This is what I would think of as a normal cold startup for a car like this: (jump to 3m23s in)
http://youtu.be/DoEiVtUTcgc?t=3m23s
Have you done the screwdriver/ear trick. Use a long screwdriver put the driver end on the suspect part, the other into your ear. This will help you isolate the part that causing the offending noise. Have you tried a start with AC on vs AC off? If you have an auto-transmission, is the fluid level normal? Listen to various parts of the car to see if there is something rubbing. Have you taken the timing belt cover off and checked the water pump? The water loss and water pump could be related.
I haven't tried the screwdriver trick yet. The A/C wasn't on, but I plan to remove the power steering pump belt and try it again tomorrow (serious head cold going on right now). The car has a manual trans, and the noise is unaffected by whether the clutch is in or out. Its definitely coming the accessory/timing belt area (water pump is actually accessory driven not timing belt on Ecotec's).
that noise combined with the coolant loss sounds like a bad water pump to me. But I can't say there is a reason for that besides your description and video. I'm still not 100% sure i understand what you have had fixed in the steering (did they replace the rack or just the inner tie rod? seems like rack) and that noise could also be the power steering pump not having enough fluid from improper filling during install And now that the steering burped it is low.
They replaced the entire steering rack, both shocks and mounts, and the sway bar end-links. I just checked the PS fluid and its about 1/2 inch below the low mark.
The coolant loss is almost definitely coming from the radiator; I could see some puffs of steam and smell coolant on that -5 day we had last week. Its not losing coolant very fast, it only lost a half-inch of the reservoir in 2 months/1500 miles.