GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Hi everybody,

I am a new member to the forum. I just bought a silver 2005 Vibe standard with 120k miles for my wife. I am new to the car but not to the powertrain, my daily driver is a Toyota MR2 Spyder with a 1ZZ in the back (hopefully to be upgraded to a 2ZZ).

We got the car cheap, but it requires a fair amount of work to be in proper condition. It needs a new hood and probably a new front bumper, and 4 tires. I will also replace the spark plugs, serpentine belt and tensioner (it squeals when the engine is cold), timing chain tensioner, air filters, and pcv valve. So I will probably be asking a few questions around here and looking for some parts.

By the way, does the maf mod work for the Vibe?

Welcome! Love the little MR2 spyder. My best friend had one for years; eventually getting the 2zz 6sp swap and accompanying mods. Silver and black. It was an adult go kart. We called it the poor man's Elise. lol Someone eventually t-boned him and sent the car flying into the median and into the air. Totaled it.

Can't think of the MAF mod off hand...

Hi. Welcome.

Welcome to the forum, Xavier!

Show us some pictures of the progress you are making with the Vibe.

Welcome to GenVibe xavier! Sounds like you're familiar with the powertrain so any work should be a breeze for you. What little work you may have to do should resurrect this Vibe back to "great condition" so your wife can be proud to drive it. Post pics right away (before's) then follow up with progress so we can see the difference. Good luck on all your work and THANK YOU for purchasing this car and saving it from any further neglect. Your wife will thank you for it!

Thanks for the welcome. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but these are the ones from the ad:







Today I started by getting the windshield repaired, it had two small cracks.

I must say that I am pleasantly surprised by the way the car drivers. Quite agile and responsive for an FF with auto transmission. The only thing I hate is the steering wheel material, my Spyder has the same wheel but wrapped in leather, which makes it much more comfortable.

ImUrOBGYN wrote: Can't think of the MAF mod off hand...

The maf mod is a common modification done to the Spyder. You raise the maf by 1/4 inch, remove the airbox vanes and install larger injectors. This tricks the ECU into advancing the ignition timing, giving the engine a bit of more power and better response, especially at low and mid RPMs. However you need to use higher octane fuel.

Welcome! The car does not look too bad, just a few cosmetic items hopefully. Are you sure that hood can't be slightly massaged back into place for now? How bad is the rear fender flare? I have one from my son's car that has a couple of nicks on it that might be good for you. It popped off when he was hit a couple of months ago. Have you looked on http://www.car-part.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for parts? As for the steering wheel, my leather one is worn pretty badly so I was trying to install a leather one from a Corolla S model, but found out the wheel base won't fit inside the Vibe clockspring! It was worth a shot as I got it for $18. I wonder if the Corolla clockspring would work in my 03 so it will mount.

Sounds like you can take care of the mechanical parts, and good luck on the body repairs.

I really like those wheels on your Vibe.

The only thing I hate is the steering wheel material, my Spyder has the same wheel but wrapped in leather, which makes much more comfortable.

That is interesting. I am game for mods that make my Vibe more comfy.

Welcome to GenVibe! Great choice on the color of your "new" Vibe ! Glad to hear you are working on getting it back to tip top shape and thanks for posting some pictures right away !

We started the process by cleaning the interior, we removed the seats and thoroughly vacuumed the carpet. We found around $10 in coins, an umbrella and a lot of garbage. The front floor mats went directly to the garbage, they are replaced by Husky Liners. The front seats covers were quite dirty, so I disassembled them, put the covers in the washing machine and used steam to restore the foam.

xavier wrote:We started the process by cleaning the interior, we removed the seats and thoroughly vacuumed the carpet. We found around $10 in coins, an umbrella and a lot of garbage. The front floor mats went directly to the garbage, they are replaced by Husky Liners. The front seats covers were quite dirty, so I disassembled them, put the covers in the washing machine and used steam to restore the foam.

A thorough cleaning is always an excellent place to start with any used vehicle. Good call on getting the Husky Liners. Rubber floor mats / liners protect the carpet so much better and are so much easier to clean than carpeted floor mats.

Looks good all torn apart! Now that you've removed this much of the interior, it would be a good idea to add sound deadening material AND a conduit of some sort for future wiring to go to the rear of the car (amp, subwoofer, backup camera, etc ,,,). Once you get it all back together it should look & smell like a new car again. Great work so far

Today I spent some time in the engine. First step was to clean the MAF.

I replaced the spark plugs, it had copper plugs, not the stock iridium. They were in relative good condition, but one had black sooth, the others had a tan color.

I also replaced the timing chain tensioner, belt tensioner, belt, and water pump (the bearing was gone). The ironic thing is that I was expecting things to be easier in the Vibe compared to the Spyder, but actually there is less space on the side of the engine of the Vibe.

The good thing is that the engine runs much smoother now. At least it did for a while, then it dropped the RPMs in idle to around 400, but it recovered. I am not sure what happened, maybe the ECU got confused with the temperature as the coolant was filling the engine. I will check if it happens again tomorrow. Is there an idle air control valve in a drive by wire?

trb wrote:Welcome! The car does not look too bad, just a few cosmetic items hopefully. Are you sure that hood can't be slightly massaged back into place for now? How bad is the rear fender flare?

Both sides need some primer and paint, especially the one on the driver's side, but they don't have damage. I would be interested in a replacement if you want to sell it.

Yesterday I installed a new set of Yokohama S Drives:



The previous tires had barely any thread left and were all different.

Those tires will feel like a MAJOR upgrade. I did the same almost immediately after buying my Vibe. I also had them check the alignment and correct it. With new tires they can get it just right.

I didn't respond to your question about IAC valve because I don't know the answer.

You are doing a bunch of things that I put off until spring/summer next year.

Nice going, Xavier.

Well, the problem with the idling did not come back. So I guess it was just the ECU getting the wrong engine temperature as the engine was getting filled with coolant.

I still have the body to fix, but I haven't managed to find a hood of exact color yet. I will also work on the brakes, at least they need new fluid.