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Geo Prizm Car Repair Questions and Answers

Question:    1994 Geo Prizm 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 120,000 miles my car is making a grinding sound. I makes this sound only while pushing on the gas. it makes no sound while the car is in reverse or while it is in neutral or while the front to wheels are off the ground. I changed the bearings and it is still making the sound. it sounds like it is coming from the front passenger side of the car. Do you know what this could be?

Answer:    Check the differential fluid level. The fill plug is located on the back side of the differential, if it's dry, it may be too late. The differential uses a separate lubrication supply from the transmission. If the differential is dry it will seize, maybe causing an accident and breaking the case.

Answer:    I believe the '93 used a mechanical speedometer like the '92. This is a 2 piece cable, the lower one that connects to the transmission usually goes bad. It screws into the upper cable and then into the transmission.
You can buy new one from Toyota or get a used one from a junk yard.

Question:    1994 Geo Prizm 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Manual 160,00 miles While driving the car sputtered and engine stopped. There may have been an indication of overheating before it stopped (daughter's car). Spark is good, timing belt is okay, good fuel pressure up to the rail. I think the fuel injectors are not getting a signal. checked fuses. Replaced fuel filter (was overdue). Cranks over but no sign of trying to start. Any helpful suggestion would be appreciated she needs the car to get to school.

Answer:    You can check the injector pulse with a node light. There are also some relay's that could be bad, or try some sitar in the throttle body, if it runs a few seconds and dies, the fuel pressure or injectors. If it doesn't fire at all, then spark, distributor equipped cars have an ignition module that can go bad. Module is located inside the distributor, believe it or not you can buy a reman'd distributor w/new ignition module cheaper than the module itself.

Question:    1992 Geo Prizm 150,000 miles In Nov. 2006 we had the brakes replaced on my daughter's car. In Feb. 2007 the same mechanic told us the brakes needed to be done again. I told him they had just been done and asked why they needed to be done again. His response was "OK, I guess they don't need to be done." Now the brakes are completely gone and I'm told the calipers seized. Do you think that this mechanic has any responsibility given that they did not catch this a year ago? Thank you.

Answer:    I doubt he would have responsibility after a year. Prizm brakes of this era are very easy to change (front disc, rear drum). You can get loaded front calipers for $60 (exchange). This would be reman'd calipers, new hardware and pads.

Question:    1994 Geo Prizm 6 cyl Automatic 170,000 miles. I put oil in the car an it just runs right out

Answer:    Is your drain plug in? You can take the car to most repair shops and they will add a substance to the oil, you drive the car for 150 miles, then they look at the engine with a blacklight to isolate the leak. Usually, front and rear seals, oil pan, valve covers, cam seals, distributor seal, spark plug tube seals etc. The real expensive one is the rear main, since the transmission must be removed.

Question:    1995 Geo Prizm 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 155,560 miles. My car vibrate when ever I engage the drive gear. I have checked all the engine seats and and raised the fire but still.. I don't know what to do again. Please advice e what is causing the vibration?

Answer:    Generally, assuming the tune up is good and the transmission fluid is full, I would suspect a collapsed or broken motor mount.

Question:    1994 Geo Prizm 4 cyl Wheel Drive Type unknown Automatic 32,000 miles When I turn the steering wheel either way (especially when cold), the car makes a terrible screeching noise. When I straighten the wheel, it stops after a few seconds (usually) and only happens when I am turning while driving slowly. I would like to avoid extra repair costs and would like to have an idea of what is needed before I take it to the repair shop. Thanks!

Answer:    Check the fluid level in the power steering unit, and the supply and return hose and steering rack for leaks. Check the tension on the PS belt.

Question:    1997 Geo Prizm 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 250,000 miles My geo has 250,000 miles on it and has a shimmy in the front end Iam pretty sure the cv joints are needing to be replaced is this a hard job to do it your self. How much time does it take to do this ,do you need special tools

Answer:    Usually cv joints will make a click noise while turning in corners. the cv boots will be torn and the grease will have leaked out. if you have to replace them its fairly easy job, no special tools needed. the axle will pull out of transmission and new one will snap into transmission.

Question:    1995 Geo Prizm 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 110,000 miles Awhile back I was driving and the serpentine belt broke and by the time I was able to pull over safely most of my Antifreeze had boiled off. Since getting the belt replaced I have noticed that my Antifreeze in the radiator keeps disappearing. I have recently noticed a large puddle under my car after topping off the antifreeze. Later that week I was getting a strong smell of Antifreeze while driving especially at stops. Today I was forced to Pull over as my Engine Temp was beyond the red line. It seems there is a leak under my engine as I can see the antifreeze has sprayed underneath. After the raditor had cooled down I opened the cap and Antifreeze sprayed all over the place. Brown slushy like goo. Nothing like it looked when it was added. I'm going to have to get it looked at today but was wondering if you had any idea on what it could be, and what can I expect to pay to have this repaired.

Answer:    Chances are your vehicle overheated and blew a head gasket or warped the heads, perform a compression test on each cylinder lowest should be no more then 25% lower then the highest.

Question:    1997 Geo Prizm 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 199,870 miles My car recently I noticed that is eating to much gas I change oil often 3000 miles what can the problem be. I usally fill the tank up once a week now I notice I have to do it every four days.

Answer:    If your check engine light is not on, then it could be a bad injector, higher than normal fuel pressure or a leaking fuel pressure diaphragm. Pull the vacuum hose to the FPR and see if it has gasoline in it. If so it will need to be replaced.

Question:    1990 Geo Prizm 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 76,000 miles What is procedure to starter installation and what side of engine is starter on

Answer:    Starter is on the firewall side. Best access is to remove passenger wheel and lower stone covers. Remove from underneath with car on jackstands. REMOVE THE NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE! before you start.
Starter has two electrical connections, large from battery and small for solenoid. Remove two starter bolts (carefull it's heavy). Mount new starter, insert bolts tighten to torque specs, usually 25lb-ft. Reconnect electrical, connect negative battery cable.

Question:    1997 Geo Prizm 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 14,000 miles My check engine light came on and I had the fuel sensors checked and the technician cleared the codes and turned the light off - now I do not remember if he told me if the upper or lower sensor needed to be changed because when I had another technician check this he said we have to wait until the check engine light comes back on to do a check because the light was turned off and the codes have been cancelled. Is this correct or is there another way to check these sensors. My car is using a lot of gasoline.

Answer:    The sensor would have to out of its normal range for a period of time to set the check engine light. You could have the PCM scanned and compare the (live) values of the sensors to the normal range, if one is bad it will be close to the upper or lower limit of its range.

Question:    1996 Geo Prizm 4 cyl Wheel Drive Type unknown Automatic 175,000 miles. I found a leak of water coming from the body of the engine not the gasket it is circle in the middle of the back of the engine

Answer:    I know this sounds crazy and goes back to the days before fuel pumps on cars, but consider that the fuel flow is not sufficient on the vehicle. There is gas but the pressure is less than it needs and the climbing of the hill etc works against the problem and solely depends on the pump to get the fuel to the injectors. I would start with a fuel filter replacement. If that does not help, I would get a fuel pressure check on the car. It could be a weak fuel pump.

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