Fairtax4me

Be sure to replace the large stay bushing as well. All that oil in there doesn't help the rubber any. If I were you I'd pick up a gallon of purple power and a spray bottle and go to town on that thing with a scrub brush and a water hose. I can't stand stuff being greasy nasty like that.

Ohhhohohhh I need to make a video of a friend of mine trying to drive his 85 chevy pickup. It almost makes you cry to hear the clutch literally start screaming I can't even describe the sound it makes. Just horrible is all I can say.

You pop the roll pin out of the boss on the shaft and slide the linkage off. The shift shaft won't come out of the trans through the back. It comes out the front of the extension housing. The tail housing will come off without pulling the trans. Just make sure the center diff and transfer shaft don't fall out with it. The leak may be the shift seal, the tail housing seal or the cover plate. Of the three I'd suspect the cover plate most. Mine was leaking, and it literally fell off when I unbolted it. The gasket wasn't sealed to the plate at all.

Loose hose. Glad you got it back running decent.

Might try slightly larger tires to help bring down engine revs at speed. Or take a different route to work. I'd try to find the source of a leak, might be a rear cam seal or VCG. Both of those will drip right onto the exhaust. I get the same thing running mine at high RPM, so I try to avoid interstate/freeway travel as much as possible. Generally I'm running 55-60 and getting 33+mpg on extended drives. Even if it takes a bit longer, my engine likes it and so does my wallet.

Letting the clutch slip unnecessarily when shifting between "rolling" gears. (rolling as in you're already moving) 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, and so on. You might hear rice rockets do this a lot (simply because its so much easier to hear what is going on with the engine due to that stupid coffee can stuck on the tail pipe). Listen to 2nd and 3rd gear here. You'll get what I'm saying. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf5OQ5zPj3M

Manual trans is lighter than an automatic, yes. There's a lot less going on in a manual. In the auto you have drums, clutches, planetaries, valve body, solenoids, more clutches, more clutches, and about 6 or 7 qts of fluid in the TC that can't be drained out. Plus the TC is heavy as lead by itself. The flywheel on a manual weighs in at a hefty 23lbs, and the clutch is another 10-15 or so, but it's all attached to the engine, doesn't have to be removed with the trans. Not that hard to drop it out in your driveway or garage, but a helper is a definite plus. If you have a large floor jack and can get the bottom of the car at least 20 inches off the ground (big jack stands) You can have the trans out in about 3-4 hours depending on how fast you work. Putting the new one in should take about the same as long as you get the input shaft lined up right with the clutch hub and pilot bearing.

Little late to the party but at least he's enjoying himself.

You didn't drop a wrench or bolt down into the turbo did you? How about tape or a rag in the throttle body or intake tube?

I couldn't say exactly when, but generally if your car has an advanced stability (ESP, ASC, ASR, ESC, etc) control system, it will have a steering angle sensor. Regular traction control systems don't take into account steering input, just wheel speed. The more advanced systems actually effect vehicle direction control rather than just wheel spin, so they use steering angle, throttle angle, wheel speed, vehicle speed, G forces, and tons of other values to determine which wheel to apply brakes on, how much to change the throttle, and if it needs to adjust steering sensitivity or any number of other various systems of the car to restore stability of the car.

Sounds like my Ranger on a cold start. I'd be inclined to say your CTS is on the way out.

Could be a caliper. Could also be abnormal wear on your "new" tires. Check the tread depth on all rows across the tires in several places around the circumference.

A small amount yes. A few inches at most. If the car continues to roll, the adjustment for the cable is on the lever. Look down between the halves of the boot around the lever and you'll see a nut and a threaded rod sticking out. Just pull the top of the console of its easy to tighten. The parking brake shoes rarely need to be replaced. So yes replacements are hard to find. Rockauto.com does carry a set listed under the brake shoe section. CENTRIC Part # 11107940 Other than that it's dealer or junkyard.

I don't know that I'd call this a "failure" just yet. Doesn't leak a drop, doesn't make any grinding or chattery sounds, just clunks when I go over certain bumps. I'm gonna leave it be for now and see how long it lasts until it falls apart or starts puking fluid.

Did he drop a V8 in it or what?

Two sounds here. Which one does it sound most like? This is rod knock. This is lifter tick. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5oIg14ndqk

My bet's on a Vacuum leak. Check the hoses for cracks and dry rot. Replace any that are hard, brittle, or feel loose on the nipple they're attached to.

Improper break-in (running the piss out of it, hard shifting, hard launching) will lead to glazing which will cause it to slip. How many miles on this car? Riding the clutch into high gears will do the same thing, as well as "rolling" back and forth at stop lights. You're sure its not tires burning? Done a clutch test yet?

Japanese drive on the left side of the road. Their light patterns favor the left shoulder. We drive on the right. Our lights tend to favor the right shoulder. Until recently with these damn Xenon lights in new cars, they just point in the damn sky and blind everyone coming or going. And Toyotas and BMWs are the worst offenders.

Should be able to go after market bolt/clamp together for a little cheaper than that. The second Cat is gonna be the money unless you go universal. But you should be able to do it under $400 I'd imagine. Check out Rockauto.com they should have everything you need. Check local sources as well. You never know which place might have the same exact parts for half as much as another place.

I'm joining this crowd. Pulled the drivers side boot off mine today to find out why the hell the inner tie rod was still clunking. (been three months since I replaced it, seems like almost a weekly thing. It lasts a week with no problem then starts clunking again) I've had trouble with it loosening up, expected that was all I would find, not so this time. Joint was plenty tight on the rack, had one of the techs at work look at the rack while I moved the drivers wheel to recreate the clunk it has been making. End of the rack was moving up and down about 1 - 2mm depending on position. Not leaking yet, but I did find some score marks and grease trails that seem to indicate a gouged bushing. Got some cheapy camara phone pics that I'm uploading and gonna see if there is enough detail to show what I'm talking about. So when you;re under there, grab the inner rod end right a the end of the rack and see if you can move it any up and down by hand. It may take a bit of force, but You'll hear it clunk a little if there is any movement. A pic The brown line right in the middle of the shaft is one of the grease trails. There were a few others up on top. I wiped some of that one off with my finger and there was a nice score mark in the shaft right next to the grease. This pic is for Gary.

Goin with the wheel out of balance on this one. Make sure you don't have any heavy dirt or snow/ice buildup on the wheels. Check for "clean spots" on the rims where one of them might have flung a balance weight.

New tires and alignment, which is why I suggested it be taken back and rechecked.

It does help visibility. The yellow light isn't reflected back by fog the same way white or blue light is due to the difference in wavelength.

Might have been due to the pedal sticking. Id start checking into the cause of that ASAP.