2005 Aveo owner

[LyricalShanksta]

Greetings,

I have a 2005 sedan model. I discovered Aveos when I rented a hatchback in 2006 and thought it was a fun little car. But I've mostly thought of my Aveo as a moderately economical placeholder until I figured out what I really wanted - until recently: My son and I have bonded over car mod videos on YouTube, and I suddenly see a lot of potential for the car.

The picture (I hope it's attached and viewable; my preview post shows it as jumping out of the message) shows two simple paint mods we've done. I made the chrome no the grill black, and we blacked the plastic placeholders for the fog lights that someone didn't purchase when they bought the car originally.

I'm looking for Aveo-specific mods, maintenance help (I'm a car guy in training), and some camaraderie. Glad I stumbled across this site today; wish I'd have looked for it when I bought the car four years ago: I've had to deal with the dreaded timing belt grenade AND crapped out thermostat housing.


Zac

[Daox]

Welcome to site Zac.

Those are two tasteful mods. What is next?

[LyricalShanksta]

Welcome to site Zac.

Those are two tasteful mods. What is next?

Thanks, Daox. I'm not sure what's next. My automative partner is 11, and I'm new to DIY, so we won't get too crazy yet. I like the AUX/USB head unit mod threads. We just watched a vinyl wrap episode on Mighty Car Mods, so that's a possibility.

I have some mechanical stuff I want to learn about. The front passenger side sounds clunky, which I think is a strut going bad? The car shudders a bit when braking, which may be warped discs? I'd love to hear ideas on those. And I have what appears to be a transmission fluid leak, but it's not coming from the side. From videos online, that doesn't seem like one of the easy fixes. But if people have worked on that issue, I'm definitely all ears.

I'd love to find a list of mechanical projects with a difficulty rating and time estimates so we can see what's reasonable for now and work our way up.

[xintersecty]

Brakes are easy, rotors depending on the hub design can be difficult. As you have to get into bearings on some. Others are easy breazy as you just put on a new rotor. I would pull the wheels and give your brakes/suspension a good inspection.

This is a good car to learn maintenance on. Kuddos to you both as your teaching your younger partner valuable skills as you learn them.

Here is the ultimate list: http://www.aveoforum.com/forum/f76/a...ns-list-16940/

Personally I hated the stupid badge on the front. This is what I did with mine:
http://www.aveoforum.com/forum/f94/r...le-aveo-19188/

[LyricalShanksta]

I like that badge mod. If we get tired of advertising Chevy, we'll give that a go. Thanks also, for the big list.

zs