Squeaking on 2003 Chevy Cavalier?
I have the above mentioned car and for a while it's been squeaking toward the right side of the engine when I turn it on and while I drive it. My dad looked at it, drizzled some water over a belt in the front and the squeaking went down/almost silenced but that obviously only lasted a few minutes. And then he said it may be the alternator (how he got to that conclusion from messing with the belt, I couldn't tell you...) I know nothing about cars, or what that means, and frankly I don't trust my dad's opinions about cars because while he claims to have been a mechanic 30 years ago, he also drives all his cars to the point you can barely sell them for scrap anything (parts, exteriors, you name it). I've heard it could be the alternator (not 100% sure what that is), the serpentine belt (do cavaliers have that?), a belt tensioner, or some combination of the above. Has anyone had this problem? What is it? I can't afford a mechanic. Once I figure out the problem and the part(s) I need a friend offered to help fix it.
Torque specs for 98 Chevy Cavalier transmission pan bolts?
No more than about ten or eleven foot pounds. All you need to do is get them snug to where you can feel them lightly start to compress the gasket. I use a 1/4" drive socket and just lightly snug them up. This is one area where you really need to be careful not to over torque the bolts since that will distort the pan. This also applies to any sheet metal type cover that you need to tighten. Over torquing pan bolts causes more oil leaks than anything else.
Does anyone know why my 2002 Chevy Cavalier constantly squeaks!?
I have taken my car into three different mechanics and all of them told me they do not know why the car sqeaks. It is driving me crazy. Its been squeaking for about a year now. It started on the passanger side and seems to be coming from the wheels. Now it is on the drivers side too. I can only hear it when the windows are down, but everyone else can hear me coming from a mile away! It squeaks constantly while I am driving. So it is not the breaks. The mechanics say it sounds like a belt, but no damaged belts can be found. I believe it is the tires, but I am not sure. Anyone have any ideas?
Cost estimate on repairs to 2003 Chevy Cavalier?
After rough months of winter driving, my 03 Cavalier has started some significant squeaking and clanking in the front end. I ve dropped it off with a mechanic and he s given me the diagnosis of: the springs are needing to be replaced, but he also recommends replacing the struts and mounts. I haven t worked with him before and I d like to believe he s honest, but I was hoping for others opinions on the cost of these repairs. I m awaiting his estimate. I ve been taken advantage once before at the hand of - what I thought was - a reputable shop and I d like to avoid it happening again. If you have any information or numbers for me, I d really appreciate it! Thank you!
Squeaky truck Bed. Make it STOP!?
I just bought a 1995 Dodge RAM, single cab, long bed. From inside the cab I can hear the truck bed squeaking, even over the smallest of bumps. Its driving me nuts. Anything I can do to stop squeak. Thanks in adavance.
My front brakes are making a squealing noise when almost about to stop. What could that be?
It could be just a build up of brake dust. Go to your car wash, and spray them with tire and wheel cleaner, let them soak for a few minutes while you wash the rest of your car. Then rinse them out good. If this does not help, you may need to replace the brake pads.
How do you fix squeaky shocks?
Sometimes it's the shock itself that is squeaking, sometimes the spring mounts, sometimes the shock mounts, and often one of the 18 or so rubber bushings between the metal suspension parts. Or a bad ball joint. Or a combination of the above. What you do is take off the wheel and take a bright flashlight and inspect everything. Look at every place a bolt goes through a rubber bushing. If the rubber has the slightest surface cracking, or has pulled away from the metal parts, or if there is orange dust on the rubber or metal parts, then the bushing is probably bad and needs to be replaced. Look at the shock. If there is oil on the shock, it's leaking, and that can go on for years before it causes squeaking, or maybe it started years ago and now it's squeaking. You can press on the car and try to pin down the source of the squeaking, but the sounds are often misleading. I go mainly by looking for rust dust, cracks in rubber bushings, and oil drips from the struts. The bushings are about $20 each, but require $100 in labor to replace. Sometimes it's cheaper to replace a whole control arm for $180, as you get a new arm and two new bushings, that only take 15 minutes to replace. Struts cost $100 to $400 in parts each, plus an hour of labor to replace. It's often best to replace both sides even if only one side squeaks now, as it's a little bit cheaper to do both now than to wait two months till the other side does the same thing.
Would my tires being unbalanced cause a squeaking sound?
Very doubtful the squeak is from the bearings. More likely that your dad has just got something not quite right with the brakes. Possibly an anti squeal shim not fitted right. The high speed vibration will be down to wheel balance. If this is not corrected the vibration will eventually bugger your new bearings. Get dad to take another look at the brakes and pop down the tyre shop to get your wheels balanced. Happy motoring.
Battery light just came on in my car and steering wheel tightened up...?
I waS on my way home and my battery light came on so i turned off the air and the radio (thought maybe it would conserve some of the energy if the battery was dying. everytime i tried to turn a corner the steering wheel was sooo tight i had to force it to turn. I got home and turned the car off and back on a few times, turned the radio and the air back on to see if they still worked...everything was still working but the battery light was still on and the wheel was still locking up...does anyone know what would cause both of those things to happen at the same time?
Will a belt squeal if the belt is too tight or too loose?
On most modern cars the belt tension is set automatically by a spring loaded tensioner. I'm not sure if that is the case on your car, as some from that era did use the alternator as a belt tensioner, but either way, if they look like they are in bad shape they should be replaced.They may squeal from being too loose, but practically speaking it's less about being too loose or too tight and more about the condition of the ribs on the belt because if they are cracked and dry and brittle they won't grab the pulleys and will make noise even if the tensioner is just fine. If there is no visible play (and the car is actually running fine) chances are your tensioner is fine and all you need to do is replace the belt.If your belt's tension is set by the alternator mounting screws, then it's worth measuring it and making sure it wasn't installed incorrectly when replacing the alternator, for example.