GunsMadeAmericaFree
Golden Member
We have a 2000 Chevy Metro 3 cylinder manual that we use as a backup vehicle, for when we need to take one of our other vehicles to the shop. It was my son's first car, bought from a Chevy dealership nearly 2 and a half years ago. It was turned in to the dealership by the first owner, who had put about 160,000 miles on it, but you could tell that they hadn't done much maintenance to it over the past few years. It had gotten some huge rust areas above the rear wheels, and moisture was actually getting inside from the tires spinning!
He and I used some sheet metal, drilled holes and then riveted the sheets to the car. We also roughened up the 2 surfaces with sandpaper, then squashed some JB Weld water putty there at the joints. Finally, after that had cured, we put some 100% silicone rubber caulk over the surface, so that we would never have to worry about rust back there.
Anyway, on to our recent issue. About 2 months ago, the car didn't seem to have power going up hills, and then it started to run a bit rough, and even to 'lurch' a bit. I set the car aside, because I didn't consider it trustworthy.
My oldest son, who is in an auto repair program at a local community college, hooked up his ODB2 sensor, and said that it seemed like the catalytic converter was plugged up. Well, it's about 23 years old, so I could see that happening. I found a replacement with attached pipe, about as long as I am tall, & a local Muffler Brothers put that on for me. It ran a little better, and I could hear it in the muffler when I accelerated - probably a good sign.
It still didn't seem back to running well, though, so my son recommended changing the spark plugs & wires.
That was it! I had my youngest son help me with replacing the spark plugs, and on the second one (middle) we found that the spark plug wasn't even hand tight. I could actually move the top of it back and forth quite a bit, and there's no way that the cylinder had compression with it that loose. We replaced all 3 spark plugs, and now it runs smoothly, and again has power. So great when a $7 part fixes what you thought was a much more costly issue!
He and I used some sheet metal, drilled holes and then riveted the sheets to the car. We also roughened up the 2 surfaces with sandpaper, then squashed some JB Weld water putty there at the joints. Finally, after that had cured, we put some 100% silicone rubber caulk over the surface, so that we would never have to worry about rust back there.
Anyway, on to our recent issue. About 2 months ago, the car didn't seem to have power going up hills, and then it started to run a bit rough, and even to 'lurch' a bit. I set the car aside, because I didn't consider it trustworthy.
My oldest son, who is in an auto repair program at a local community college, hooked up his ODB2 sensor, and said that it seemed like the catalytic converter was plugged up. Well, it's about 23 years old, so I could see that happening. I found a replacement with attached pipe, about as long as I am tall, & a local Muffler Brothers put that on for me. It ran a little better, and I could hear it in the muffler when I accelerated - probably a good sign.
It still didn't seem back to running well, though, so my son recommended changing the spark plugs & wires.
That was it! I had my youngest son help me with replacing the spark plugs, and on the second one (middle) we found that the spark plug wasn't even hand tight. I could actually move the top of it back and forth quite a bit, and there's no way that the cylinder had compression with it that loose. We replaced all 3 spark plugs, and now it runs smoothly, and again has power. So great when a $7 part fixes what you thought was a much more costly issue!
