Hello everyone!

My name is Paul and I just bought my first J-body a few days ago. Definitely a fun little car!

I'm not new to cars, some of my previous rides have been a Stealth RT-TT and an Eclipse GT. Both of which I'd done some work to but 2 kids, a marriage, and divorce later. I'm driving a '03 Cavalier Base Coupe Manual 2.2 Ecotec. A little bit shorter gear ratios than I'm used to but I'm getting acclimated pretty quickly.

Being I just bought this car used a few days ago, everything seems fine but I'm wondering if there are any problem areas I should be examining, any mechanical failures that these cars are prone to that I should stay on top of, etc.

One thing I am noticing is some lurching when downshifting and I'm assuming I should look at the motor mounts.

One other thing is I'm used to being able to adjust my clutch engagement height on the pedal a little lower. I climbed under there and it doesn't seem to be adjustable, is this true?

Thanks in advance!

Where is Northeast Ohio are you located. I live in Painesville TWP, and work in Mentor.

Strut mount and wheel bearings fail the most on J-bodies.





PRND321 Till I DIE
Old Motor: 160whp & 152ft/lbs, 1/4 Mile 15.4 @88.2
M45 + LD9 + 4T40-E, GO GO GO

Welcome. I have family in the Youngstown, Boardman, Canfield, Canton, Akron areas. My father graduated from Boardman High School and most of my Aunts/Uncles went to Youngstown State University.