GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

pljenkins

I can't understand why people insist on putting synthetic oil in this engine. None of the Vibe's engine selections will benefit from using a synthetic oil with the POSSIBLE exception of the GT engine, and that is even a thin argument considering the layman driver of that car will not typically run t...

pljenkins

Ummm... No. This is a Vibe, not a Viper. So long as you're on schedule changing oil/filter, your Vibe will run forever on old fashioned dino-juice.

pljenkins

Quote, originally posted by mojojimbo Â»i have a 2004 base vibe 5 speed with 102000 miles on the clock. for some time now when i start it it idles at 2 grand and sometimes goes up and down from 500 to 2 grand. i'm showing no warning lights on the gauge cluster. if anybody has had this problemo let m...

pljenkins

wow! 186,000 beats my 134,000! Good job! Anyway, at that milage, it's good to take a look at everything. Most of this is easy to accomplish yourself, but if you're skittish about wrenching your own car it's best to let a pro go at it... It will cost you much more though... In any event, if the belt ...

pljenkins

Second it. Lose the DexCrud, do a good three or more thorough flushes with water, then put the Prestone stuff in. Been running that way for 50000 miles since this last change and zero defects.

pljenkins

Well, i think I get from your message that you bought the car new, so you know who's been taking care of it. How many miles do you have on it? Some things are keyed by age, but most maintainence items are keyed by milage.At 3 years there's really nothing that HAS to be replaced as a matter of course...

pljenkins

There was another thread on this... In a pinch, take the threaded rod that holds the spare in place in the trunk to the hardware store. This rod is the exact same thread as the holes in the drum. Pick up a couple of hex head bolts of that size, pay the $1.50, Bob's your uncle.

pljenkins

I for one don't see any reason to switch to "high mileage" oil either. I have 130K+ miles on my base '03 Vibe, changed the good old Pennzoil 5w-30 yellow every 3500-5500 miles and have had ZERO powertrain problems. She runs stronger then the day I bought her.Take care of your machine, educ...

pljenkins

I have a base '03 Vibe too and it's clicked for as long as I can remember. Not horribly loud but definately noticeable. Nothing seems to come of it, and the engine is running as well as the day it rolled off the lot some 110,000 miles ago.

pljenkins

If you're experiencing carbon buildup in a Vibe, there is something wrong. If you're experiencing knock in a Vibe there is something VERY wrong and you should have it diagnosed IMMEDIATELY before something grenades. Either you have the wrong plugs, you're using bad, contaminated, the wrong octane, o...

pljenkins

Okay, little confusing. So, according to the previous owner, he changed the brakes some 27K miles ago? So your car has around 90K now on it? How sure are you that he actually DID change the brakes, and if so did he properly bed them in (doubtful, since a majority of casual drivers have no idea what ...

pljenkins

Eeeks! Old iron block carbed engines+15W50 oil MAYBE let the engine idle for a few minutes. New tight tolerance aluminum block engines+thin oils=waste of resources at best, cumulative engine damage at worst.

pljenkins

In answer to your original question, the Vibe has proven to be a pretty bulletproof car. Just keep up with the maintenance schedule and take care of the paint and she'll outlast you!P. 03 base just turned 130K and running stronger then the day I bought her!

pljenkins

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind Â»Tell me you are doing a proper bedding and seasoning on the pads/rotors... I personally feel it's VERY important, to maximize both pad/rotor life and there general performance.. I agree, though there seems to be some differing opinions on a proper procedure ...

pljenkins

Done. Remarkably easy once you get the seized on rotors off the car. Found that the passenger side pads had seized in the guides and cashed the rotor/pad. Of course, the coup de gras was my hammering the snot out of the old rotors to get them off the car. None the less, for all my hammering and abus...

pljenkins

oops. Double post. Just got the rotors and pads today...working on installation now.

pljenkins

Thanks Sublimewind! Yeah, my friend thought I was nuts and had me doubting myself, so I looked back on my maint records and sure enough, no brake jobs in there. And judging by the hardware I pulled off, I'll believe they've been on there for 6 Chicago winters. Just for giggles I weighed the rust and...

pljenkins

Greetings gurus. Well, I've torn into the brakes here on the front of my Vibe and found quite a few things. First, don't ever wait 130,000 miles to do a brake job, no matter how well the pads are wearing! Remarkably I STILL have about 30%-40% of the pads left, but I found a LOT of corrosion and it t...

pljenkins

So it's not just an anomaly. I have a touch over 120,000 miles on my '03 manual tranny and I still have significant pad left. Last brake job was when the car left the factory.I was so astonished by this I took it to the local mechanic to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Sure enough, plenty of meat ...

pljenkins

There's a bolt of some sort that screws down the cover for the spare tire in the trunk. This happens to be the exact same size and thread as the two holes in the rear drums. Take the threaded rod from the spare tire lockdown with you to Ace or somewhere that sells bolts and get a pair of them, prefe...

pljenkins

Quote, originally posted by mccdan4 Â»I thought it would be their problem as well but they are refusing to do anything about it....so that will be the last time they do any work for me!!!!!Interesting... Sounds like a rock solid legal case to me. No way you should have to pay for those repairs.

pljenkins

I used synthetic for a couple of changes a few years back, but found absolutely no difference in performance so I went back to dino juice. Dunno if I can say the brand here, but decent quality stuff, and I'm pretty good about getting the oil changed every 3K to 4K miles. Going on 130,000 miles and s...

pljenkins

Quote, originally posted by wayofthemetal Â»Ok ok so say yes others no. hmm, I haven't put regular in the car since I got it couple months ago. I have no idea what the previous owner put in it. I'll fill up next time with regular and see how that goes. I'll post about it next week.Word of advice... ...

pljenkins

I did a complete flush of my base '03 a couple of years ago. I did the drain from the radiator. Since I was doing a flush and fill, I think doing it from the radiator sans the engine is academic.I do recall it being a pain in the *** to burp the thing... Just took a lot of time.

pljenkins

Ummm... Ethanol=alcohol...In any event, you might well see a very marginal mileage increase from using premium, but the cost of the fuel will far outweigh the savings gleaned from the increase in mileage. In short, you won't hurt your engine, just your pocketbook.

pljenkins

It's 22mm. And the one the geniuses at Napa gave me was the wrong one.. Totally different thread. Figures. Might as well just get one from the dealership.

pljenkins

The new valve is 19mm, but the one that is on there now is some goofy ridiculously large size. It's bigger then 22mm, which is the largest metric socket I tried. I narrowed it down to a 7/8 socket, seeing as the 13/16th was too small, the 15/16th was too big, so one stands to reason.. dunno what tha...

pljenkins

Anyone know what size wrench is required to take off the stock PCV valve on my 03 Vibe 1ZZ? My guess is 21MM but I'd like to make sure before I go off buying tools... ThanksP

pljenkins

Quote, originally posted by bodhi_tree777 Â»quick question (well, 2 actually)..is it worth it to clean it? what i mean is, will it be like new, or just extend the life a bit? Also, I just cleaned my MAF with some CRC MAF cleaner, can the same be used on the PCV or ..? (maybe a dumb question, but wor...

pljenkins

My '03 has made a light "ticking" sound from the valve area for as long as I can remember. As someone else on here said, they all made some noise. This ain't a BMW! Unless something bad has happened under the hood (bad gas/contaminant/lead in gas, detonation problem, exceeding redline, for...

pljenkins

The Brake system isn't "truly" sealed, but for purposes of moisture intrusion, it's negligible, provided you don't get into the habit of popping the cover to peer inside exposing the fluid to new air or drive around with the hood off exposing it to sunlight. There's a reason why the brake ...

pljenkins

I'm not surprised by this. 5000 miles between oil changes is appropriate under most driving conditions, so long as you don't let it slip to 6000 or 7000 miles. A quality motor oil of the recommended weight should have no problems in this engine.The old "3000 mile" rule is sort of a "c...

pljenkins

Quote, originally posted by willysr Â»I have a new 09 with the 2.4 has anyone heard of the so called break in oil and if so should it be treated the same way a normal change is at 3,000 miles also 5w20 sounds fairly thin but I guess min. tolorances.p.s. an a1 site.Yeah. Break in oil is still used in...

pljenkins

Manual Tranny fluid change:http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=29283Tranny oil should be done every 30K. I would think they would have changed the fluid when the rebuilt your clutch, but in any event, in 10 Kilomiles you'll be due to change it again.Brakes : As needed. With a manual transmission...

pljenkins

I had a 95 Cavalier with the same problem at around the 80K mark, and it turned out the ball joint socket had wallowed out. Not to say that's your problem here, but it's a good place to start.

pljenkins

I'm of the school of alignment "as needed". However, this requires that you keep an eye on your car! If you're doing your own oil changes and rotations, you're already attuned to this, but suffice it to say, you should always regularly inspect your tires for any kind of damage or funky wea...

pljenkins

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind Â»Friends, don't let friends, use Fram, friend... lol.. Purolator... One of the best quality, OEM style filters out thereHaha! Cute... Anyway, I've been using the little orange bastiges for the life of the car. Going on 115000 miles, zero engine related defect...

pljenkins

Quote, originally posted by GoodVibErations2004 Â»Whatever you do, DO NOT go to jiffy lube. They all got closed down in my area for 1: Damaging peoples vehicles,2: scamming people by not replacing filters, and 3: for notoriously not filling with enough oil.Hah! Indeed.. Walmart in my area did the sa...

pljenkins

If at all possible, you should be doing oil changes yourself. Quicky oil change places are just that... quick. A proper oil change will take longer then 15 minutes. You want to give as much of the old oil as possible a chance to drain out. Not to mention, you have no idea the experience level of the...

pljenkins

Throttle Body Service - $118.88 -- Negative. What the hell service needs to be done to the throttle body, anyway?Transmission Flush and Fluid - $144.88 -- definitely. This needs to be done every 30,000 miles. Price seems a little high, though. I think you can find this job for under $100 elsewhere.F...

pljenkins

Undercoating is at best a complete waste of money, and at worst can actually harm a car, depending on how competent the person doing the job is.Edmunds did a whole thing on dealer add-ons a while back, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.In any event, it is unlikely that a properly maintained ...

pljenkins

Mine is starting to go also. I have no airflow at the lowest setting. other settings are okay for now.. I've had this happen before in a Cavalier and it required replacement of the blower motor assembly. The switch is fine as the AC compressor will kick on with the lowest selection...P

pljenkins

Hey, anyone have a picture or a description of where this A/C drain plug is? I'm having some funky noises much like what Juggler described, and I'm hoping it's this and not what I fear it might be...I have an 03 vibe, 5spd manual.Paul

pljenkins

Thanks for the help.. Yeah, I did the fronts at 80K. I probably could have gotten another 10 or 15K out of them, but heck, I had the parts and the wheel was off.. I believe that part of my brake pad longevity is because I'm driving a stick. You'd be amazed how much more of a beating brakes take tryi...

pljenkins

Greetings fellow wrenchheads! Just turned 80K on the '03 Vibe and I think it's finally time to change the front pads.Which leads to the question... What composition pads did the factory fit to the base model 2WD, ceramic or semi?Thanks!P

Search found 45 matches

Re: Dealer Insists '09 Vibe AWD Requires Synthetic Oil? (jimmycrackcode)

Re: high idle (mojojimbo)

Re: (ou.grizzly)

Re: '06 Vibe, high highway miles, should I do anything? (jasony0423)

Re: sound from engine at 153,000 miles? (ShadowLink13)

Re: (Sublimewind)

Re: (Sublimewind)

03 Base Front Brake Shims

Re: Front brake pads (keithvibe)

Re: (Digger)

Re: (mccdan4)

Re: Synthetic oil vs. Conventional oil (forvibe)

Re: (wayofthemetal)

Re: PCV Valve wrench size (Raven)

Re: PCV Valve wrench size (Raven)

PCV Valve wrench size

Re: (bodhi_tree777)

Re: noisy lifter (girlfriends 04 vibe)

Re: (ou.grizzly)

Re: 8000kms between oil change? Really? (Vibe2009)

Re: break in oil (willysr)

Re: (maxx4me)

Re: Inner Tie Rod end shot or is it the Steering Rack? (Digger)

Re: (Vibe_dude)

Re: (Sublimewind)

Re: (GoodVibErations2004)

Re: instant oil change disaster

Re: General Maintenance question - NEED HELP!!! (shooter1)

Re: Free Undercoating Offered by Dealer ?? (Dana_r)

Re: 04 vibe blower moter acting up (jerryjoe28)

Re: (juggler311)

Re: OEM Brake composition (Whelan)

OEM Brake composition