Starter Issue?

[xintersecty]

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.

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.

And besides the truck space on the aveo is bigger than the fit and scion. I know!

[Thud Slamrod]

Is there any way to tell how deep the shaft is seated in the pinch sleeve? The splines may be longer than you think.

[Twisted-X]

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":

[xintersecty]

Honestly it sounds normal. There is a bit of slight overtone whine in the beginning. Now loosing water, that's bad.

[Twisted-X]

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)

[xintersecty]

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.

[Twisted-X]

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).

[petrified.rabbit]

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.

[Twisted-X]

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.