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TheDrip

Spark Member
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Everything posted by TheDrip

  1. Picked up from the dealer with 200 miles on it, sold to Carvana with 66500 miles on it 4.5 years later. And with that, I bid thee adieu. *quiet weeping*
  2. I did end up having the manual transmission rebuilt under warranty, due to bearing failure. No one said a word about the trailer hitch.
  3. Located in San Diego, California. 2013 Spark LS 66k miles 5spd Lowered on 17" wheels and 205/40R17 rubber. You can search my posts for a history on the car. I've posted everything that I've done or has happened. Transmission was rebuilt less than 5k miles ago under warranty. Oil pan was resealed less than 1k miles ago under warranty. A/C works for 3 days with a recharge. Asking $5k if you want to negotiate, $4k if you just want to know the price I will sell it for! email drip@dripspeed.com for fastest response
  4. Finally identified the whiff of hot oil I get sometimes when parking the car. Using UV dye in the engine oil, I was able to find a small leak between the engine block and timing cover. the highest point of leak is between the bolt head and timing cover, and secondary leaks between the timing cover and block. Has anyone had to have Chevrolet replace their timing cover gasket under warranty? .
  5. Car is over 60k miles now, and still gets beat like a rented mule. I did finally have a "major" failure though. Bearings in the transmission had to be replaced. The final diagnosis is that the manual trans was not designed for high-rpm down shifting with heavy engine braking. Covered under warranty. For anyone who thinks the trailer hitch doesn't cause abuse, hook up 800 pounds to the back of your car and try driving some of the mountain passes in Colorado or California. 3rd gear, full throttle at 5000rpm to maintain speed. Turn the A/C off because you will need that ex
  6. I recently rolled over 60k miles and had to replaced my coolant tank. The rear most nipple at the top of the tank had cracked and would whistle with coolant/steam when the car was hot. It seems this tank is going to be a common problem, as there are a number of reported issues with the plastic getting brittle already, and the dealer had quite a few in stock when I was there. For a part that was only used on 13-15 Chevy Sparks, I wouldn't expected the dealership to have a dozen on the shelf unless they're going through them pretty quickly.
  7. It would pull the weight, but that surface area would be killer. The air resistance trying to go down the highway would kill your mileage, probably have to drive in 4th gear. The side surface area would make being passed by a truck into a religious experience.
  8. I think Ich bought the battery I was trying to buy last week in SoCal. I ended up going to the Chevy dealer, battery was $147. No strange behavior in my car, started at the grocery store, didn't start at the gas station next door.
  9. Since no one has answered, they were Goodyear Integrity.
  10. I've had about 800 pounds behind mine. Drive slow (like you have a choice). Brake early.
  11. My car has 52k on it. I've done the suggested oil changes and put an air filter in it a few weeks ago. I had a wheel bearing issue that was a factory QC issue out of the gate, and the whole A/C debacle everyone went through. I would have no qualms about buying a 50k mile spark for my wife. My car also has a pretty brutal life as far as Sparks go. 17" wheels and tires since 14k, lowered since 30k or so, also has a hitch and tows on a semi-regular basis. 85mph commute to work + stop and go at either end. #1 issue is the loose nut behind the wheel!
  12. I replaced the (now used) donut spare with a 175/65R14 tire mounted on the spare rim. Far from ideal, but if it saves me just once ever again, well worth it. New spare tires are 150-250+ depending on the size. My replacement tire is a sketchy chinese knockoff of a chinese tire, but was only $30. It fit in the spare well (early 2013 build), but now my jack has to live in the trunk space.
  13. 3 years later, totally worth it to do this work. Friday night, 11pm in the rain. I hit a pothole that bent a wheel and cut a tire. Spare had me on the road in 15 minutes, vs the convenience kit that would have had me waiting for hours for a tow. This little project paid for itself ten fold!
  14. I added another 'bad idea' achievement to my record. 16' lumber with my spark+ tiny trailer!
  15. I lost access to Fuel, Tire pressure and Oil Status when my trial of full featured OnStar Expired. The only thing I can access now is the fob functions in the app, nothing else.
  16. Edit: I can do the fob functions, but nothing else.
  17. The app dies with the short full service trial. It is not part of the basic package. Or my on star is totally gone.
  18. The rotors are still vented like OEM, just 2MM narrower overall. Two "discs" with ribs in the middle. The maximum disc thickness for the new rotors is the same as the minimum thickness on the OEM rotors. I'm taking it off today and putting it back as stock until I can address the issue of the disc wandering axially under heavy braking. Working on a new drawing for integrated concentric rotor and wheel adapters.
  19. THEY'RE ON! I DROVE IT! With the 205 rubber, the OEM brakes wouldn't lock up enough to trip the ABS on clean & dry pavement. These new brakes STOP THE CAR. with ABS activation, I leave witness marks coming to a stop from 60. I had a little more grinding to do on the caliper bracket than I initially thought, just to clean the outside diameter of the rotor, nothing structural. I have one expected issue, and one put-the-OEM-back-on for now issue. The expected issue is a low pedal. The full thickness of the replacement rotors just barely falls into the minimum thickness spec of the OEM rot
  20. And another update on my car. 3k miles into driving it lowered, and the front no longer rubs. The little plastic nub has worn away enough that it never touches the tire anymore. I also just changed tires, still a 205/40R17 Hercules. I went from the Raptis WR1 to the newly released Raptis R-T5. The new tire leans more towards a high performance touring tire than a strict performance tire. The upside is the shoulder is more rounded, and I no longer have a rub in the rear end either! So lowered with B&G springs on 205/40R17 on 17x7 +38 wheels, and no rubbing at all. It is possible after all
  21. The brackets are just 1018 steel. Plenty strong for this application. As far as painting the caliper red, they're not actually coming off the car. One of the great things about just relocating them out, I never touch the hoses, so no bleeding at all. If I ever get a wild hair, its really not much work to get this car apart and paint the calipers. I still don't know that this will drive well and may end up having to take it all back off. With the donated prototype printing and machining and finding rotors at a discount, I'm only into this project for $75. $150 if you include all the tooling I
  22. We're getting close now. I receive the machined steel brackets in the mail, looking terrific. The brackets were not completed, I still needed to tap the holes to 12x1.25. I practiced some on scrap steel to get a reliable tapping setup. Using my cheap Chinese drill press as a tapping stand worked great. I used a c-clamp to prevent rotation, and a couple of spring clamps to hold the bracket down, but allow it to self center on the tap. A pair of channel locks to turn the drive pulley made the work easy, and I installed the drive belt crossed over on itself to drive the spindle in reverse. Manu
  23. Guaranteed they give you free time. There is an ongoing promotion for buyers of used cars to receive 6 months (I believe) OnStar simply by calling in. As far as fixing it, the previous owner may have been wearing a tinfoil hat and pulled the fuse or unplugged the unit under the driver's seat.
  24. I've got a project going to fit larger front discs on the car. I'm not expecting any performance gains at all though. What are your objectives with the disc brake swap? In a car this light with so much front bias, the 9" drums are more than sufficient for anything you can do on the street. You would really only begin to see issues in you're on a track lapping. If the end goal is appearance, then ignore all the performance talk, and start designing your own. I have not seen any straight forward rear disc brake swaps. As for the lighter weight struts and shocks, you really can't go much lighte
  25. I've driven 12 hours straight normally cruising about 75-80mph. My daily commute includes a stretch of 25 miles I do at 85mph. The car will take it, but say good by to your gas mileage. At 85mph cruise, I get about 28mpg. At 55-60mph I get over 40. 5 spd 2013 car. 85mph = 4500 RPM.
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