Chicagoland 03 Vibe GT Owner looking for advice?

[LiveFast]

Greetings All,

My name is Andre, and I am from Northwest Indiana. I just bought an 03 Vibe GT with 150k Miles on it back in March after my previous DD was involved in a Hit & Run. I also own a turbo Honda S2000 for my Summer toy and as of late that project has been pulling funding in prep for the coming season. But now it is time to invest in the New DD.

Thus far I really enjoy the Vibe but I can tell its in need of a 150k update that I am preparing to do. Overall its quite solid for a 12 year old car but I know there are some areas that need to be examined and I hope you all can lead me in the right direction towards updating them.

1. The Suspension: the Shocks up front seem pretty shot and I have been looking into updates/upgrades. the local auto parts store says the OEM fix are Monroe Quick Struts which is a complete assembly that you just swap out. I have also considered the KYB Sports Struts that Tire Rack offers. I have a few questions on this before i make a decision however. 1st. are there any recommended cheap (ebay) spring setups that have actually been proven to work well on this car especially with the kybs? 2nd in most situations with this car does everything that comes with the Monroe Quick Strut need to be replaced? or is this just overkill? and Thirdly are the Monroe QuickStruts the proven route or is there another Price Comparable route to upgrade this area that is a wear and tear item anyways?

2. The Transmission: I've heard good things about the Getrag 6spd that is in these cars. However I am having some intermittent issues that I would like to address. 1st. every now and then it feels like the trans is locking me out of gear and its a bit hard to shift unless i push the clutch peddle all the way to the floor, at other times the shifting is just mushy and kinda sloppy and when 1st shifting into 1st or reverse its very clunky sometimes. I may be spoiled by the s2000 transmission but I am wondering if these are signs of an aging trans and if so what are the fixes? I plan on draining and refilling with new Trans Gear Oil Soon (from what I have read 75w-90w is the route to go?) I also planned on bleeding out the Clutch Master Cylinder with some newer fluid. are these issues common and if so are there other areas to look towards when trying to better them?

3. The Engine: I passed emissions for the next 2 years so its not overall a major issue for me but my CEL is on throwing codes for Evap Sensor Errors and the engine does seem a bit underpowered. the parts store gave me the typical list of fixes (Gas cap, new sensor, fuel system cleaner etc...) but i wanted to know if you guys recommend a more specific fix to this issue? Next I have heard that ZZ engines had issues with pre cat failure in the header that could damage the engine, is this true for the 2ZZ engines also or just 1zz? if so what header (Cheap Ebay preferred) do you recommend to prevent this sort of catastrophic failure? Any other cheap mild performance mods you recommend to wake the engine up a bit more?

4, The Miscellaneous Stuff: I will be needing to replace wheel bearings, the E brake Cable, the ac seems very underpowered, and a couple other tidbits that I will be looking to hear for advice on the fix.

My goal for the car is to have a fun reliable DD that I am able to get 30mpg on average. I would like to Autocross it here and there but thats about as far as I would want to risk it. I drive a lot and hope this car will be strong for another 150k over the next 5 years. any and all help is greatly appreciated

[gtv237]

Welcome, Andre. Where in NW Indiana do you live? I'm down in Lowell.

1) Quick struts are better for an older car. The mounts, bearings and spring isolators are probably shot.

2) These transmissions are good but they're not bullet-proof. It's probably seen some gear grinding in its time. It may just be time for a rebuild. As far as fluid goes remember to never put 75w90 gear oil in any transmission EVER! Use 75w90 manual transmission fluid like Redline. If you use gear oil like mobil1 it will actively rot out yellow metals, namely the brass synchros. Gear oil is for differentials not transmissions.

3) You'll have to post which codes you have. EVAP issues are pretty easy to deal with. If it's a leak, you may be a defective solenoid or broken line somewhere.

4) Just take it one step at a time. I haven't had mine for long but everyone here seems to think they are extremely reliable and well worth putting a little money into.

Just keep us updated on your progress. Don't be afraid to ask questions and be sure to post some pics!

[LiveFast]

Thanks.
I'm in the Schererville area. So not far.

Yes yes def will be getting trans fluid not gear oil. My mistake.

Just cleaned the maf and because I disconnected the battery i cleared the code. I'll update if/when it comes back.

And yeah I figured the quickstruts were the way to go.

Thanks and will get some pics soon.

[Nasmfell]

Hi Live fast, Welcome

[Salsa Guy]

I did Quick Struts on my 03 GT easy repair. Be careful torqueing down the top bolts because I broke one off.

Transmission Fluid needs to be GL-4. I'd stay away from GL-5 "Yellow Metal Safe". Try some Speed Source Shifter Bushings to help smooth things out with shifting. I'm planning on a clutch slave cylinder extender and see if that helps. The clutch pedal is adjustable I added a 1/4" pad for the ignition interlock. Mines a pita to shift 1-2-3 at low RPMS and cold out.

What Evap Code are you getting? Normally they are caused by vac leaks and have replaced several cracked/damaged lines on my car.

Also check compression. Hopefully it's above 190 on all four with no more than 15-20 psi difference.

Have you hit lift yes? It's not as good as FI but pretty close.

These are high revving engine and the power band is above 5K

Good Luck

[trb]

Welcome! Sounds like you've got a good start on your new Vibe. I have some evap codes also that throw the check engine light every couple of weeks, and mine point to the purge solenoid under the rear of the car, so I'm planning to get a replacement valve from Amazon for about $25 and hopefully that will take care of it.

As for the trans fluid, Monkey Wrench Racing recommends a blend of fluids depending on the use and location. Pennzoil Syncromesh and Redline MT-90.

http://www.monkeywrenchracing.com/produ ... ts_id=1352

I used the Pennzoil in mine and it shifts pretty smoothly even after 216K miles, except for when I miss a shift under power!

Good luck with your Vibe!

[vibenvy]

Welcome to GenVibe! Post some pictures of your "new" GT when you get a chance. We love pictures around here !

[Psychobroker]

Greetings All,

My name is Andre, and I am from Northwest Indiana. I just bought an 03 Vibe GT with 150k Miles on it back in March after my previous DD was involved in a Hit & Run. I also own a turbo Honda S2000 for my Summer toy and as of late that project has been pulling funding in prep for the coming season. But now it is time to invest in the New DD.

Thus far I really enjoy the Vibe but I can tell its in need of a 150k update that I am preparing to do. Overall its quite solid for a 12 year old car but I know there are some areas that need to be examined and I hope you all can lead me in the right direction towards updating them.

1. The Suspension: the Shocks up front seem pretty shot and I have been looking into updates/upgrades. the local auto parts store says the OEM fix are Monroe Quick Struts which is a complete assembly that you just swap out. I have also considered the KYB Sports Struts that Tire Rack offers. I have a few questions on this before i make a decision however. 1st. are there any recommended cheap (ebay) spring setups that have actually been proven to work well on this car especially with the kybs? 2nd in most situations with this car does everything that comes with the Monroe Quick Strut need to be replaced? or is this just overkill? and Thirdly are the Monroe QuickStruts the proven route or is there another Price Comparable route to upgrade this area that is a wear and tear item anyways?

Welcome! Personally, I love my Tokiko HP "Blues". I installed them in 2010, about 40k miles ago, were a great deal, and are still doing great. No leaks.



in case anyone wants a step-by-step install, here's my old thread: viewtopic.php?f=26&t=33116&p=460114&hil ... co#p460114

2. The Transmission: I've heard good things about the Getrag 6spd that is in these cars. However I am having some intermittent issues that I would like to address. 1st. every now and then it feels like the trans is locking me out of gear and its a bit hard to shift unless i push the clutch peddle all the way to the floor, at other times the shifting is just mushy and kinda sloppy and when 1st shifting into 1st or reverse its very clunky sometimes. I may be spoiled by the s2000 transmission but I am wondering if these are signs of an aging trans and if so what are the fixes? I plan on draining and refilling with new Trans Gear Oil Soon (from what I have read 75w-90w is the route to go?) I also planned on bleeding out the Clutch Master Cylinder with some newer fluid. are these issues common and if so are there other areas to look towards when trying to better them?

Definitely change the gear oil - it will help. I went with AmSoil 75w-90w and it helped smooth out the shifts. You can also install a TWM short-throw shifter and brass shifter cable bushings (should be able to find both on these forums) to help clean up almost all of that slop.

3. The Engine: I passed emissions for the next 2 years so its not overall a major issue for me but my CEL is on throwing codes for Evap Sensor Errors and the engine does seem a bit underpowered. the parts store gave me the typical list of fixes (Gas cap, new sensor, fuel system cleaner etc...) but i wanted to know if you guys recommend a more specific fix to this issue? Next I have heard that ZZ engines had issues with pre cat failure in the header that could damage the engine, is this true for the 2ZZ engines also or just 1zz? if so what header (Cheap Ebay preferred) do you recommend to prevent this sort of catastrophic failure? Any other cheap mild performance mods you recommend to wake the engine up a bit more?

Might want to check your MAF... never had any issues with my headers,.. still stock @ 150,000 miles as well.

4, The Miscellaneous Stuff: I will be needing to replace wheel bearings, the E brake Cable, the ac seems very underpowered, and a couple other tidbits that I will be looking to hear for advice on the fix.

A/C has always been a weak spot since it's a GM system.. compressor should be checked and probably will need replacing.

My goal for the car is to have a fun reliable DD that I am able to get 30mpg on average. I would like to Autocross it here and there but thats about as far as I would want to risk it. I drive a lot and hope this car will be strong for another 150k over the next 5 years. any and all help is greatly appreciated

My 03 GT is still very fun to drive, and very very versatile.. can haul stuff and family, so it's not going anywhere.

[LiveFast]

Just found some time to scan the code.
It came back: P0446 evap purge/vent solenoid defect

Thoughts on what the pinpoint issue could be?

The actual sensor is bad or so I just need to clean up the intake?

[gtv237]

Just found some time to scan the code.
It came back: P0446 evap purge/vent solenoid defect

Thoughts on what the pinpoint issue could be?

The actual sensor is bad or so I just need to clean up the intake?

The code indicates an electrical fault in the EVAP system. Most likely the DC motor in the vent valve had gone bad. There is also a small chance that something is wrong with the wiring somewhere. I would start off by replacing the vent valve and clearing the code.

[LiveFast]

You know a part number for that? or is this something I can go into autozone and request?

[gtv237]

You know a part number for that? or is this something I can go into autozone and request?

Rockauto has it for about $35 bucks.
Dorman P/N 911142
GM P/N 88969152

[LiveFast]

will take a look today

[trb]

Just found some time to scan the code.
It came back: P0446 evap purge/vent solenoid defect

Thoughts on what the pinpoint issue could be?

The actual sensor is bad or so I just need to clean up the intake?

Same code I've had, and I just replaced the solenoid on Sunday. So far, no pending codes or anything, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that was the problem. I usually get pending codes within 4-5 days after I clear the check engine light.