Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

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Jamaroon
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Location: Manitoba, Canada

Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

So this will be my thread for the 2009 Vibe base we bought on Oct. 20, 2014 with ~88,000 km on it. We bought it to replace my wife's 97 Sunfire with ~260,000 km.

Here are a couple pictures of it just after we got it

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We bought it from a dealer with a crack in the front bumper, I didn't get any pictures of the crack but it basically went from the corner of the center insert to the corner of the headlight. Part of the purchase agreement was that they would repair the bumper. Here's a picture of the repaired section of the bumper.

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I had a good set of winter tires on the Sunfire but being 14" wheels they wouldn't work on the Vibe. Sold them for $220 and found a set for $200 in my small town. Gotta love deals like that lol.

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Yesterday I installed them onto the factory steelies, and the tires that were on it went onto the old Sunfire alum wheels for summer.

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It took me and a buddy roughly 4 hours to do the 8 wheels and tires, including stopping for lunch.

That's all so far. I'll keep it updated with any future additions/mods.
Last edited by Jamaroon on Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:22 am, edited 2 times in total.
2009 Vibe
1999 ZR2 Blazer
2000 Sonoma ZR2 - SOLD
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vibenvy
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by vibenvy »

Glad to see you made a Garage thread! Also, glad to see you got the crack in the front bumper cover repaired. Looks like they did a good job! So, the Sunfire wheels are gonna go on the Vibe for the warm months? I look forward to seeing how they look!
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2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
Jamaroon
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Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Yeah, you can't tell it was ever cracked by looking at it so I'm happy with it. Just as long as it holds up long term. I'm much happier with the look of the car with it fixed now. I cringed every time I looked at it because of the crack.

Yes, sunfire wheel will be during the warmer months. I stood them up beside the car and I think they're actually going to look pretty good. I was thinking about painting portions of them but after seeing how well they matched the car I might not.
2009 Vibe
1999 ZR2 Blazer
2000 Sonoma ZR2 - SOLD
Jamaroon
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Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Well it's been a while, winter is over and summer wheels/tires are on. Been putting a lot of km on the vibe, it's now at about 100,600 km.

I tried putting them on a few weeks ago but I ran into the same problem as a few other I've read about. The wheels hit the brake calipers. I didn't like the idea of grinding down the wheels or installing a small spacer because the wheel studs don't seem to be all that long to begin with. So I ordered a set of 1" wheel adaptors/spacers. The sunfire wheels also have about 1/4" more backspacing than the vibe wheels so they looked even more sunk in than the stock ones, so the spacers "fixed" that too. So taking into account the difference in backspacing and spacers, I should have about a 1.5" wider track width now.

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I had also been working on a new front bumper for my blazer for a while.

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But progress on that has slowed down because we had our first baby in March.

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So life has been busy to say the least.
2009 Vibe
1999 ZR2 Blazer
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vibenvy
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by vibenvy »

The Sunfire wheels look pretty good!

Pretty neat looking front bumper on the Blazer!

Cute kid! What's his name?
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2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
Jamaroon
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Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Yeah, I think they suit the car pretty well. I also hate when tires are sunken in so much, so I'm happy with them being out further.

Thanks and thanks! His name is Carter
2009 Vibe
1999 ZR2 Blazer
2000 Sonoma ZR2 - SOLD
Jamaroon
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Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Nothing major, but I finally got tired enough of anything I put in the back sliding around like it was a skating rink that I made my own cargo mat. I took some of those foam interlocking floor mats and cut them to fit in the back.

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Obviously a molded rubber one would be better but being in Canada makes getting one that much more difficult and expensive. But I think this came out pretty good, especially since it only cost me $10.

I'm also working on my own dog barrier for it. I'll post some more info on that once I'm further along. But I will say it should install in about 30 seconds with no tools whatsoever. :D
Last edited by Jamaroon on Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
2009 Vibe
1999 ZR2 Blazer
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ctgottapee
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by ctgottapee »

That mat idea is fantastic and looks great.

What type of mat were they specifically?
like the heavy duty ones that go on the floor or more light duty like a kids play mat?
Jamaroon
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Thanks!

Hmm, I didn't know there were different types.

Probably the kids play mat type.
2009 Vibe
1999 ZR2 Blazer
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ctgottapee
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by ctgottapee »

Menards this weeks had a large carpeted mat with rubber on the back for $3; gonna cut to shape and leave the rubber side up
Jamaroon
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Nice, that should work out well. Good luck with it.
2009 Vibe
1999 ZR2 Blazer
2000 Sonoma ZR2 - SOLD
Jamaroon
Posts: 21
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 8:16 am
Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Finished the dog barrier I was working on.

Had my buddy make up some sleeves

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Followed by some plastic bushings

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Test fit the sleeves and bushings

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Welded some rod to the sleeves

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Drilled holes in a piece of flat stock and test fit it again.

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Drilled all of the mounting holes

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Welded the rods to the flat stock

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Cut out some plexiglass to fit the back of the vibe

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Mounted the plexiglass to the flat stock and another test fit

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Sanded and smoothed the edges of the plexiglass

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Painted the metal pieces

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Final assembly

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And installed

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Last edited by Jamaroon on Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
2009 Vibe
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2000 Sonoma ZR2 - SOLD
tpollauf
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by tpollauf »

Very nice & professionally done ;) You owe your buddy a few cases of LaBatts and Molson for his work in this project. All stainless steel and TIG welded! Awesome. I miss working with SS and other intricate metals as it is truly a form of artwork and very rewarding. Modified/fabricated Wheelchairs in my younger years and was welding SS & Aluminum with a TIG welder on a daily basis. Got real good at it too. Hope the pups appreciate what you just did for them. Enjoy it!
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vibrologist
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by vibrologist »

Wow, and all that for the dog! You need a finishing touch, maybe this:
got drool.jpg
got drool.jpg (9.11 KiB) Viewed 7097 times
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'05 Vibe

"It is important to know the difference between 'accurate' and 'precise' even if you are neither!"

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Jamaroon
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Thanks guys. It's not stainless though. I was helping him out with some machining and we whipped the mounts up to take a bit of a break from the work lol.
2009 Vibe
1999 ZR2 Blazer
2000 Sonoma ZR2 - SOLD
Jamaroon
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Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 8:16 am
Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Hey everyone. Just checking in.

Nothing really done to the vibe other than oil changes. It's got the winter tires back on.

I did however get my bumper finished off for my blazer finally. Still have to finish the wiring for the lights and winch though.

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Testing out the lights, just direct to the battery.

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Also been busy getting my Sonoma ready to sell. It's in for the safety inspection today, so hopefully it doesn't need much if anything.
2009 Vibe
1999 ZR2 Blazer
2000 Sonoma ZR2 - SOLD
Jamaroon
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Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Oh, I forgot to mention. I did get a remote starter installed in the Vibe a little while ago. I love remote start, very much a necessity around here. Only bad thing is he broke the volume knob on the radio. He probably would have repaired it for me but I don't have time to have him do it, so I'll do it myself. He did supply a replacement knob though.
2009 Vibe
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vibenvy
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by vibenvy »

Jamaroon wrote:Only bad thing is he broke the volume knob on the radio. He probably would have repaired it for me but I don't have time to have him do it, so I'll do it myself. He did supply a replacement knob though.
What a coincidence, the volume knob on my Vibe broke last weekend (on its own though). At least he gave you a new knob.
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2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
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Jamaroon
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Well, I finally got the knob fixed. What a PITA! The screws on the backside of the faceplate are 3mm.... I don't have any 3mm sockets so I had to use a small crescent wrench. It took forever.

Here's the back of the faceplate, you can see all those little screws.

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I cursed these things so much.....

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Knob removed

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Picture of what broke

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2009 Vibe
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vibenvy
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by vibenvy »

Thanks for the pictures! It's nice to be able to see what to expect before tackling a project like this. I'm going to replace both knobs while I have everything apart. I'm also going to remove the flanges on them both so if they break again, they can be replaced without having to remove the faceplate again.
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2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
Jamaroon
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

That's not a bad idea. If I had a 3 mm socket it would have been so much easier. I would suggest trying to find one before you tackle changing the knobs.
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Rayven01
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Rayven01 »

My wife's Vibe needs this done; the knobs only work if you fiddle with them. I think I am going to try the 'chop them up into pieces and extract them' method first.
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Jamaroon
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

If I had the right socket it would have been a piece of cake. I would much rather take it apart than try cutting it, but that's my personal preference.

I don't want to give anyone the impression that this is a hard job to do. I was just stuck without the correct tools so it took a long time. Removing the radio from the car, and removing the faceplate from the radio are both easy jobs. Removing the board from the faceplate would/should have been easy as well.
2009 Vibe
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vibenvy
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by vibenvy »

I will definitely check my sockets before I even think about starting this project. If I don't have a 3mm, I'll definitely be getting one. Thanks again for the tips and pictures ;)!
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2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
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ctgottapee
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by ctgottapee »

So the lights in the factory radio are LEDs then?
Jamaroon
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

I didn't pay attention to that. But it does kind of look that way from the pictures, doesn't it?
2009 Vibe
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vibenvy
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Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by vibenvy »

ctgottapee wrote:So the lights in the factory radio are LEDs then?
I was thinking the same thing :D!
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2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
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Jamaroon
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Location: Manitoba, Canada

Re: Jamaroon's 09 Vibe

Post by Jamaroon »

Not much to report, the Vibe has been giving us trouble free service (other than being a bit on the small side).

I'm working on fixing my pictures now that photobucket is useless.
2009 Vibe
1999 ZR2 Blazer
2000 Sonoma ZR2 - SOLD
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