I am now owning a 2003 Chevrolet Cavalier. I bought it because it was at a used car lot, it runs, it has a manual gearbox, a sunroof, and an aftermarket stereo.

This is what it looks like...

Welcome to the forums. Any future plans on modding the cavy?


Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, May 18, 2007 7:52 PM

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Custom Made 04 CF HID Projectors

You will enjoy the gas mileage.



2004 Cavalier. Razzi. (Sold)
1998 Corvette. Some mods.
1992 Typhoon. Lots of mods.
1994 Civic VX 44MPG

Cool, & welcome.





AIR RIDE MAFIA (~airbagsource.com~)

er... I enjoyed gas mileage with my previous car. I had a 1993 Civic LX Sedan, and that old car got me 43.5 MPG on a long trip once. I averaged 38 MPG for most of my everyday driving. However, I got into an accident recently, and the old Civic was just suffering from too much damage. I had a choice between spending lots of money fixing it or spending lots of money on another car. I chose another car. This is day 2 with the Cavalier. I have 5 more days to go in the "everything goes wrong on a used car a week later" meter.

This is why I have joined j-body.org. I used to frequent hondacivicforum.com, but now that the Civic is gone I have the Cavalier to look forward to, hopefully. I can tell you that while the Cavalier is faster than the Civic in a straight line, the Civic is still a better car. It's just that level of quality again. The Cavalier feels thrown together, like GM decided that quality is overrated and pooping out cars at warp speed is a better business model than building cars that last. Like I said before, I really want to like the Cavalier, but if it becomes a problem car, I'm gonna need all the help I can get. The lack of quality workmanship on this car already does not instill confidence.

So, with that off my mind, this yellow Cavalier has 60,400 miles on it. What can I look forward to in terms of maintenance in the next 15,000 miles? How much money must I save up for when that all important poorly designed part of the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Florida?

To be honest, whenever my Civic broke, it was always in a driveway or the parking lot I needed to be at. I hope the Cavalier will do that too, but given the stories about it, I'm preparing for the worst.

welcome

What'd you pay for it? Just curious... also... you shouldn't be looking at any "maintenence" per say... maybe a radiator flush, tranny check, and the usual oil change, plugs, wire, ect... you should be fine and the car should go practically forever!

If I offend anyone, I don't mean to. I'm naturally not politically correct, and right now I am experiencing Honda Withdrawal Syndrome. It's hard to part with a Honda, and even harder to accept a car that does not live to such high standards set by the top two Japanese motor companies. I bought the Cavalier out of necessity rather than want. I could not afford a used Civic because here in South Florida the market is filled with SUVs and Hondas are hard to get for bargain prices. Everyone wants a car with good gas mileage, and there are only so many Civics to go around. Heck, I bought the Cavalier at a Honda dealer, what does that tell you? It was the only car I could afford that was not an SUV. It also happened to be one of four cars (most of the lot being 2002-2006 Civics or Accords for over 5 digit prices) with a manual gearbox, the other three being a new Nissan Versa, a 2005 Civic Si ricer, and a 2004 Accord, all out of financial range.

With the 92-95 (and more popular 96-00) Civic, there is no end to your tuning options. You can choose between supercharging, turbocharging, or nitrous on your old D series engine. If you got the money, you can even go all motor. Need more than 200 horsepower? Put some new rods and pistons. Want more than 400 horsepower? Swap in a B series motor. The B16A or B16B from a Japanese Type-R is a good start. Not big enough? B18C will suit. Still need more torque? How about a K20, or a K22, or if you're adventurous, grab the K24A2 from an RSX Type-S! It fits in that little engine bay! You can get your 2300 lbs. light Civic up to 800 horsepower, all flowing to the front wheels. Imagine that!

Anyways, I have been looking around to see the options for performance tuning, but I would be quite weary of turbocharging the EcoTech engine. I mean, badly designed fuel pump location, changing the timing chain almost as frequently a a timing belt, that annoying electrical system, and all that adds up. How could GM do this to their customers? I guess it could be worse.

Ever owned a Volkswagen? They drive awesome, they feel refined, and are very safe, BUT, reliability is rubbish! The Cavalier is an average car in everything, including build quality, but a VW is always breaking down, and it's always over stupid design flaws too. I got someone that loves Volkswagens, and has three of them, new ones. Basically, they drive whichever one is still running while they fix the other two. The New Beetle TDI blew a turbo, the headlights, and a lot of other things. The Cabrio's A/C does not work, it has trouble changing gear, amidst other things. All the cars, except the bug, have less than 50,000 miles on them. The only thing that hasn't seriously broken yet is the van. And these cars are kept in shiny pristine shape, maintenance and all!

I'm hoping it does. I want it to. Last thing I need is for something to go wrong 1,001 miles after I bought it. You know, just out of the 30 day 1000 mile warranty they put on it.

I paid 6800 for it, 1000 down, financed the rest, plus tag fees and tax, comes to 7100. Just around book value.

I can't believe I read all that... Here's an idea, why don't you just drive it as opposed to worrying about what everyone else says about cavaliers? Your car doesn't need any maintenance at this point, aside from changing the oil and filter on a regular basis, greasing the tie rod ends with every oil change. You may also might want to look at changing the spark plugs; GM says they are good for 100K miles, but I really don't buy that myself. When you do, just go with AC Delco, they work the best in these cars (when stock). Go to the maintenance forum if you're concerned about anything else, but if you keep up with all the regular stuff, you're not going to have any problems with the ecotec.



" To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous. "

Drive it right, and take care of it........ it'll last a long time.




SPD RCR Z - '02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT - '04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI - '78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap

wow good trolling job i give it like a 7/10

We could all go on about how much X car is better than a cav for 50 pages, but why?!

We all know what we have and are happy.

Be happy, if a problem arises ask a question.

If you want to mod, there are subforums for that.

Im sure if I really wanted to I could drag up horror stories about every car.

Impreza WRX wrote:If I offend anyone, I don't mean to. I'm naturally not politically correct, and right now I am experiencing Honda Withdrawal Syndrome. It's hard to part with a Honda, and even harder to accept a car that does not live to such high standards set by the top two Japanese motor companies. I bought the Cavalier out of necessity rather than want. I could not afford a used Civic because here in South Florida the market is filled with SUVs and Hondas are hard to get for bargain prices. Everyone wants a car with good gas mileage, and there are only so many Civics to go around. Heck, I bought the Cavalier at a Honda dealer, what does that tell you? It was the only car I could afford that was not an SUV. It also happened to be one of four cars (most of the lot being 2002-2006 Civics or Accords for over 5 digit prices) with a manual gearbox, the other three being a new Nissan Versa, a 2005 Civic Si ricer, and a 2004 Accord, all out of financial range.

With the 92-95 (and more popular 96-00) Civic, there is no end to your tuning options. You can choose between supercharging, turbocharging, or nitrous on your old D series engine. If you got the money, you can even go all motor. Need more than 200 horsepower? Put some new rods and pistons. Want more than 400 horsepower? Swap in a B series motor. The B16A or B16B from a Japanese Type-R is a good start. Not big enough? B18C will suit. Still need more torque? How about a K20, or a K22, or if you're adventurous, grab the K24A2 from an RSX Type-S! It fits in that little engine bay! You can get your 2300 lbs. light Civic up to 800 horsepower, all flowing to the front wheels. Imagine that!

Anyways, I have been looking around to see the options for performance tuning, but I would be quite weary of turbocharging the EcoTech engine. I mean, badly designed fuel pump location, changing the timing chain almost as frequently a a timing belt, that annoying electrical system, and all that adds up. How could GM do this to their customers? I guess it could be worse.

Ever owned a Volkswagen? They drive awesome, they feel refined, and are very safe, BUT, reliability is rubbish! The Cavalier is an average car in everything, including build quality, but a VW is always breaking down, and it's always over stupid design flaws too. I got someone that loves Volkswagens, and has three of them, new ones. Basically, they drive whichever one is still running while they fix the other two. The New Beetle TDI blew a turbo, the headlights, and a lot of other things. The Cabrio's A/C does not work, it has trouble changing gear, amidst other things. All the cars, except the bug, have less than 50,000 miles on them. The only thing that hasn't seriously broken yet is the van. And these cars are kept in shiny pristine shape, maintenance and all!

Jesus ... where to start?
Whats a K22 , what car did that come in? And grabbing a K24a2 from a RSX Type S would be an awesome feat! Indeed it would!

Its hard to take a motor from a car that it doesnt have.

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with turboing an Ecotec. , they are actually a really good platform to turbo. And HPTUNERS is all you need "electrical".


Lack of Information > You.

So I really do need to "lubricate the chassis" every oil change. Wow.

In any case, I've already completed 1/4 in the 60,000 mile checklist: Change the filter. Got a K&N airbox filter. I like reusable filters.

2/4: Oil change. I got Pennzoil 5w30 and a PureONE filter. Good choice or bad choice?

3/4: Lube chassis. What kind of grease and can it be done without a lift?

4/4: Tire rotation / balance. I can do that at a nearby repair facility.


------------------------------------
We all drive in a yellow Cavalier...

Aw nuts I just realized I've been spelling ECOTEC wrong! The shame.

...er, who makes the shop manual for this car? I got one on eBay for my Civic, and I'm hoping to do the same for this car too...


------------------------------------
We all drive in a yellow Cavalier...

haynes manual is all you'll ever need.

and ease up man, you seem like your just waiting for something to go wrong.....

Impreza WRX wrote:So I really do need to "lubricate the chassis" every oil change. Wow.

In any case, I've already completed 1/4 in the 60,000 mile checklist: Change the filter. Got a K&N airbox filter. I like reusable filters.

2/4: Oil change. I got Pennzoil 5w30 and a PureONE filter. Good choice or bad choice?

Choice of oil is up to you the manual reccomends 5w30 that's all that matters... regular or synthetic is really just a prefference... if you ask good choice or bad choice your going to get a million different opinions. Filters are the same... some people just trust one brand but the average joe will buy what sounds good in their price range!

3/4: Lube chassis. What kind of grease and can it be done without a lift?

You don't have to lube the chassis everytime you get an oil change but at least twice a year is a good reccomendation! You can do it with a simple grease gun and a nice jack with jack stands... or if you have room to get on a lift it's much easier...

4/4: Tire rotation / balance. I can do that at a nearby repair facility.

Any tire shop can rotate and balance your rims and tires... it's reccomended at least once a year... but the real thing you need to keep a good check on is your "tire pressure" keep that in check and your tires will last!

Well, it's the used car thing. I have 4 days left before I can "ease up". Every used car drives great when you first get it, but if there is something wrong, it will manifest itself conveniently within the first week.

In any case, I've got to go out and get a Haynes, then. Although, if I find a shop manual on eBay for cheap, I'm gonna chase it like a tiger shark to the smell of blood!


------------------------------------
We all drive in a yellow Cavalier...

lol you seem like a cool guy, i hope you hang around here and enjoy the cavalier..

welcome to jbo

Ya, hang around I will.

Today I installed my Sylvania headlamps thanks to the Haynes manual, which while I like how it tells you how to do stuff it's sometimes vague and too catered to the older Cavaliers in some places. In any case, I got those lamps because the Philips bulbs that were in there weren't very bright on the high beams. When I turned on the high beams for the first time, I ended up with LESS light than before, in a different color. The new bulbs fixed that.

Regarding step 2/4, what size washer / o-ring / whatever it is do I need for the oil pan drain plug? Also, 18 ft-lbs. torque is all that nut needs? My Civic required 33 ft-lbs. And where do I get that blasted socket cap wrench thing to get the filter out? Remember, 2,2 ECOTEC


------------------------------------
We all drive in a yellow Cavalier...

Oh, I forgot to mention, when I checked the air filter I ended up vaccuming the airbox out because it had lots of sand and leaves in it. Imagine that! Good thing they were all on the dirty side of the filter!


------------------------------------
We all drive in a yellow Cavalier...

The oil pan drain plug already has everything needed... and just tighten the drain plug hand tight with a wrench... you'll be fine... also you can get a filter wrench at any auto parts store... but usually they aren't needed... Be strong and have patience, they'll come off!

So I can use one of those wrappywrenches on that bottle-cap-like cap thing that the filter is in? Tight clearances, but I guess I've done worse before...


------------------------------------
We all drive in a yellow Cavalier...

For the oil cap, there are special sockets you buy to do it. but i just use an 1 1/4 wrench on the cap and it comes off just fine.

I notice you compare this car or anything else to your civic. You arent driving the civic any more. They are 2 completely different cars made by 2 different corporations. Nothing is probably going to be the same.

On another note, you atleast sound like you are willing to learn. And A+ on your responses and your typing abilities. although you have a few longer things to read it makes it easier to read them when its all typed correctly.

And the Ecotec is a reliable motor if the oil is changed when its needed. a tune up done when needed and the small stuff. there are a lot of small mods out there but a big word of advice, dont use autozone or oreileys or pep boys for a car shopping super store. Even though GM didnt spend much money on the car itself, the parts you want to replace stock are going to cost you. The bad news is that j people are cheap. not all but a lot are and no body wants to spend quality money on the good parts so then they are not offered and people dont know why.

There are some parts that you can find from www.turbotechracing.com
www.aplusperformance.com
www.carcustoms.net

start there and definately read the newbies forum. Read through the stickies in any forum you go into and it will help you immensely and keep you from getting hounded by all the people that freak out on someone who asked something more than once.

Impreza WRX wrote:If I offend anyone, I don't mean to. I'm naturally not politically correct, and right now I am experiencing Honda Withdrawal Syndrome. It's hard to part with a Honda, and even harder to accept a car that does not live to such high standards set by the top two Japanese motor companies. I bought the Cavalier out of necessity rather than want. I could not afford a used Civic because here in South Florida the market is filled with SUVs and Hondas are hard to get for bargain prices. Everyone wants a car with good gas mileage, and there are only so many Civics to go around. Heck, I bought the Cavalier at a Honda dealer, what does that tell you? It was the only car I could afford that was not an SUV. It also happened to be one of four cars (most of the lot being 2002-2006 Civics or Accords for over 5 digit prices) with a manual gearbox, the other three being a new Nissan Versa, a 2005 Civic Si ricer, and a 2004 Accord, all out of financial range.

With the 92-95 (and more popular 96-00) Civic, there is no end to your tuning options. You can choose between supercharging, turbocharging, or nitrous on your old D series engine. If you got the money, you can even go all motor. Need more than 200 horsepower? Put some new rods and pistons. Want more than 400 horsepower? Swap in a B series motor. The B16A or B16B from a Japanese Type-R is a good start. Not big enough? B18C will suit. Still need more torque? How about a K20, or a K22, or if you're adventurous, grab the K24A2 from an RSX Type-S! It fits in that little engine bay! You can get your 2300 lbs. light Civic up to 800 horsepower, all flowing to the front wheels. Imagine that!

Anyways, I have been looking around to see the options for performance tuning, but I would be quite weary of turbocharging the EcoTech engine. I mean, badly designed fuel pump location, changing the timing chain almost as frequently a a timing belt, that annoying electrical system, and all that adds up. How could GM do this to their customers? I guess it could be worse.

Ever owned a Volkswagen? They drive awesome, they feel refined, and are very safe, BUT, reliability is rubbish! The Cavalier is an average car in everything, including build quality, but a VW is always breaking down, and it's always over stupid design flaws too. I got someone that loves Volkswagens, and has three of them, new ones. Basically, they drive whichever one is still running while they fix the other two. The New Beetle TDI blew a turbo, the headlights, and a lot of other things. The Cabrio's A/C does not work, it has trouble changing gear, amidst other things. All the cars, except the bug, have less than 50,000 miles on them. The only thing that hasn't seriously broken yet is the van. And these cars are kept in shiny pristine shape, maintenance and all!

talk about a bunch of rambling......first off the K24a2 isnt sourced from the RSX, its from the TSX , the RSX-S has the K20a2....further there is no such thing as a k22, perhaps you mean the H22.....even further the Ecotec can support more hp/tq with rods and pistons than a Bseries motor, not to mention it was an ecotec that made the first 7 second pass in the 1/4 ---not a honda...even further than that the ecotec has also broken the honda top speed record at the bonneville salt flats...the ecotec loves boost so dont worry about your car not having a honda motor...most of the honda/acura cars are fast because of their low curb weight not hp..their peak power is always near a very high redline, meaning they generate all of that power mostly from high engine speed and crazy gear ratios..

now if we could get GM to stop building tanks we could compete a little better on the street, BTW welcome to the site..