I have PLPD insurance. I don't thin the insurance company will have much to do with it other than raise my rates.

Today one of my children rear ended another car and pretty much destroyed the front end. It is not drivable. I belive there is frame damage. Car has around 180k miles. I live in Grand Rapids Michigan. Rest of car is in good shape. Rather than just junk the car right away, I would like some suggestio...

Tires are brand new. There is a little bit of a whine coming from the back.

I have the same problem. In light or heavy snow, only one front wheel spins. Previous owner was told the rear dif was bad per the assessment of a dealer shop. I question that assessment, though I have no way of knowing. The car is horrible in snow, even the slightest dusting. Is the viscous coupling...

Now my son tells me that the fuel gauge drop from nearly full to nearly empty in a few short miles existed prior to the cluster switch. Here are two additional things that were done on the same day as the cluster swapping event. 1. Oil change 2. Spark plug replacement. (Replaced with Bosch 7957. I u...

2003 Vibe AWD With a similar problem as http://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=30913" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; BACKGROUND: My son wanted a bright LED version of the 2005. He bought a used 2005 cluster to later find out it would not interface as the 2003 becau...

OK, I have a 2003 AWD Vibe with two parts missing that I need replaced. I can't figure out what the parts are called, so I am asking for your help: 1. On the exterior of a door with the windows up, you have the metal part of the door. On the top edge of the metal part is a horizontal strip (or mold)...

DiveNut wrote:... opted to replace the cat rather than screwing around with the sensors etc.
Pat

I would opt for replacing the manifold/cat assembly. The $300 - $500 it would take is cost prohibitive right now.

A bit of chronological history (See http://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=39166" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for more detail) 1. Car could barely go 50 miles per hour. 2. A mechanic looked at it and determined that the back pressure test was off the ch...

I was able to easily gut out cat converter attached to the exhaust manifold while it was still attached to the vehicle. For anyone considering it, the "guts" are not securely welded or attached to the sides of the cat. It seems to snap it to ridges on the inside of the cat housing, along w...

i cant help with too much detail because i imagine your awd is different than my base i recently changed the manifold on. but i was also worried about breaking a bolt so for about a week and a half i sprayed all the bolts and nuts with pb blaster every night. seemed to help i didnt break anything. ...

(This post is related to http://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=38952&p=466712&hilit=exhaust+manifold#p466714" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) 2003 Vibe AWD After discovering that the cat converter built into the exhaust manifold is the one plugged...

Do you still have the gutted converter?

The purpose of an automobile catalytic converter is to reduce exhaust/pollution. I guess in our cars two are needed to get the exhaust down to the desired level. Some people with AWDs have gutted that first cat in order to achieve a small performance gain. I think they have been able to run that wa...

I've confirmed the exhaust manifold cat converter is plugged.

I will entertain suggestions other than spending $400 on a piece of hardware not much bigger than the size of my forearm.

This involves a 2003 Vibe AWD with 150k miles. I was told by a mechanic a back pressure test was off the charts, making the catalytic converter a likely culprit. Since I had to drive 350 miles to get the car, I drilled a couple holes ahead of the cat near the second 02 sensor--per the mechanic's rec...

Moving this to a new post called: Exhaust Problem

Did you do check the muffler or tail pipe for a plug, or a damaged exhaust pipe some where (I know it too late now). If the CAT or exhaust system is plugged some where, the exhaust gases that get to the O2 sensor are all good.... Are you suggesting that an obstruction may exist between the O2 senso...

Well, went to pick up the car yesterday and just arrived home. Sure enough the car could not go much past 55 MPH. I drilled a couple small holes ahead of the cat converter and was able to go 65 - 70 while maintaining around 3000 RPM. Interesting: Before I left for the trip home, I decided to check t...

If you decide to drive it with a bad plugged CAT could cause damage. Take a hammer and screw driver to it and knock a few holes in it. It may be loud but at least your not back pressuring the engine. ... I would like some other's opinion on this method... Which of the two cats would need the holes?...

If you decide to drive it with a bad plugged CAT could cause damage. Take a hammer and screw driver to it and knock a few holes in it. It may be loud but at least your not back pressuring the engine. ... I would like some other's opinion on this method... Which of the two cats would need the holes?

Discovered that the reason for the poor acceleration is due to a malfunctioning, plugged catalytic converter. I'd like your opinion on a 3 issues: 1. Is there a potential for serious harm if I drive the car 320 miles with a plugged cat? 2. Diagram pics online almost show the Vibe having two converte...

Joatmon & Salsa Guy: Thanks for your input. Right now, a non-dealer will be looking at the car sometime next week in an attempt to figure out what is keeping the car from going no faster than 55 MPH. If the transmission is also a problem, then I'm going to abandon the idea of getting the car--ev...

I'll leave it up to you to figure out if an Astro van can safely tow anything as heavy as a Vibe. The books say to only tow an AWD vibe with all four wheels off the ground. I suppose if the differential is shot and you disconnected the the driveshaft connecting the rear differential to the transfer...

(The person I'm getting the car from lives about 300 miles away. She's having the car checked today to try and figure why it won't go past 50 or 55 mph. If its a transmission problem, then I probably won't go get it.) QUESTION: Can this car be towed safely behind my AWD Astro van? Using a (two wheel...

joatmon wrote:... Is the reason it won't go over 65 believed to be because of the differential, or are their engine/tranny problems as well?

I'm going to try and contact the mechanic that diagnosed the problem to get more details.

You can get a rear diff off a Matrix also. I've seen them used for $1000 or so. Them problem with these rear diffs is that the seals will leak and eventually run out of fluid then the rear diff will go bad. There's a lot of information on this site about that and the cost seems to be inline. If you...

I was offered a free 2004 AWD Vibe. The main problem is a confirmed rear differential problem needing repair. Mechanic quoted the person giving me the car $2,200 for the repair. I would need to make a 720 mile round trip to get this car; it will reportedly drive at a max speed of around 65 mph. I ha...