Two timing belts broke!
Alternator went out.
Water pump went out.
Massive Oil Leaks.
Crankshaft pulley warped.
Rear springs worn out @ 80,000.
Chevettes are great around town, but not on the expressway.
No problems with the car until I started an hour commute on the 70 mph highway. After six months of that - major oil leaks lead to the timing belt breaking. The oil coated the belt and weakened it.
The good part on the timing belt is it's simple to replace.
A good car if you are nice to it.
I live in yermo ca and drive to long beach ca to work. I work nights (3pm to 11:30 pm) and drive my 1980 chevette at 70 to 80 mph. the round trip is about 274 miles and I get 37 to 44 mpg depending on how fast I go. besides if you drive on I-15 from yermo ca to the ca-210 cutoff you better do 80 or get ran over and this little car has no problems running
at these speeds. I have no trouble going up cajon pass at
70 mph. my car is a 2 door hatchback with a 1.6 engine and
a 4speed manual transmission.
Ahh yes, but what about those who have the 3 speed auto?
I know nothing about cars. I'm only reading these to do a school project.
I used to have one of these cars with the automatic and I had the same problems on the highway, I never had a tach, but the engine raced at 70 mph. I think the manual had a different gear ratio than the automatic, if I remember right mine was a 3:36 rear end. This is probably the reason the manual works better on the freeway.
OK I'm glad I found this site because I really need to change one of the dash lights and no matter how hard I try or how long I can't figure out how to get the burnt one out. I thought I had found a way, but all I could do was just very barely touch the back of the light plug. If anyone can help me it would be a very great help thank you. P.S. I don't like Chevy's, but I can say that my 1984 Chevette gets me where I need to go.
Remove the 4 screws in the dash corners, then pull it forward, unclip the speedo cable, then unplug the harness. The cluster will come out, then just switch the burnt out light. It will be a 194, whole job only take about 10 minutes.
Oh, thank you! I've been waiting two years since I posted this! Now I can finally change my bulb!
Yikes, 70 mph for a Chevette? They were meant for optimal cruising at 55 mph. I hope you have a 5 speed or a 4 speed so you don't damage anything too seriously.
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