Comments: 1-15, 16-17
15,000 miles: WATER LEAKING INTO PASSENGER COMPARTMENT
I noticed water collecting on the passenger side floor when I would drive the vehicle in heavy rain. Dealership looked at it, could not find problem - asked if I was partially submerging vehicle. Got the problem fixed (lose gasket in firewall) after writing to Chevy and telling them that I no longer cared to own this vehicle if that is the way that I was going to be treated. No charge, just a lot of time and harassment.
50,000 miles: ZIPPER ON REAR WINDOW WORN OUT
I do not remove the top or the rear window very often, but the zipper no longer works. Brought the window and entire soft-top to an upholstery shop. Worker told me that the factory zipper is the cheapest type in the industry. He replaced it with a heavy-duty plastic zipper. $200.
65,000 miles: driver-side falling off
I noticed that the driver-side door started sagging. I had to lift the door slightly to close it. Problem kept getting worse. I finally noticed that the door pillar was rotted and the door was almost falling off. A body shop had to do a bit of cutting to replace the pillar - they informed me that there was no rust anywhere else. Pretty odd problem! $1000.
75,000: major maintenance
After 75,000 miles my little tracker needed tires, breaks, exhaust, and a clutch. I replaced them all - not cheap, but these are expected expenses. Still getting the 30 miles/gallon that I got when this thing was brand-new. I figured that shocks and struts should probably be replaced also - after market parts would have cost me $700 - afraid to know what the factory would have charged me. So, I decided to get the 2.5" lift kit from calmini. com - it cost me $750 - complete bolt-on kit.
Cost: $1800.
90,000 miles: CRANK SHAFT RUINED
For some reason I could not maintain highway speeds. After about a week, the vehicle would hardly move and gas mileage was down to about 10 miles/gallon. Brought it to a garage: timing pulley had come loose. The timing was way off, the pulley was ruined, and the key-way in the crack shaft was destroyed. The crank does not spin true any more. A major tune-up with high-end parts, replacing the timing belt, timing pulley, egr valve, and filling the crack-shaft key-way with steel-epoxy cost me $1300!! My only other option is to replace the engine (replacing the crank-shaft would cost about the same, so might as well replace it all).
91,000 miles:
Time problem has showed up again. The pulley has come lose and the timing is off. Mechanic and I decide that he should weld the pulley right onto the crankshaft - no other option other than replacing the engine.
92,000 miles: ON ITS LAST LEG : (
My Geo is my baby, but the problem with the crankshaft/timing pulley has taken its toll on the Geo and on my wallet. I don't think it is worth putting more money into it. The Timing is off again and I don't believe there is a reasonable solution to the problem - time to get rid of it.
I am obsessive with maintaining my vehicles. When my Geo hit 1500 miles I did an oil change. After another 1500 miles I did another oil change, but this time with Castro Syntec. My Geo has seen nothing other than Castro Syntec since then.
SEATS
The seats are very uncomfortable. Any drive longer than about 30 minutes requires periodic shifting in the seat because there is not much padding - ass gets sore. If I was fat, I might understand it, but I am lean. Lower back get sore due to lack of lumbar support.
GAS MILEAGE:
I was getting 30 miles/gallon from my Geo until I put larger tires on it when I put the lift kit on. I then started getting 27 miles/gallon - still pretty good and now had about 9 inches of ground clearance!
SMALL IN SIZE AND PRICE
The two-door Geo Tracker is a small vehicle, but it cost me $12,000 brand-new. It has a rough ride, and lots of road/wind noise, and some rattles - but for $12,000 it is a pretty good vehicle. It was very reliable - never left me stranded.
I would not buy another one because it is so uncomfortable on long trips (1.5 hour+ is a real problem) and because it is just too small for me to carry off of my gear for all of my hobbies.
I am sorry to see it die from some fluke problem I had always planned on keeping it until it died - sorry to say that time has come.
Please contact me concerning this problem streak1700@yahoo.com.
I have the same engine issue. My front crankshaft bolt broke and took out the timing gear and crank. New engine on the way. I wonder if it has anything to do with the oversize tires??? (I am running 30x9.5). Sorryfor your loss and yes I am truely feeling your pain.
I own two 1997 Geo Trackers and purchased them both from back east and live in Portland ore. area. I drove both of them over 2000 miles to get them here and was on a limited time schedule so I drove them many miles a day. I suspect the the problem with being uncomfortable is the proportion of your body in relation to the factory seats even though you are not a large person. I Weigh 200 lbs. and my dad had an Oldsmobile a few years ago (I like Oldsmobiles) that gave a back ache in less than a mile of riding. It is the only car I have ridden in that has caused this problem, and it was consistent in doing so. Good luck.
Marvin B. Alfred.
I have a 1996 Tracker with a 16 valve, and was wondering if you had the 8 valve or the 16 valve engine.
Thank you.
I'm in the same boat with the crankshaft on my 1997 Geo Tracker. It's a 4 door, 2 wheel drive, and now has 113,000+ miles on it. The second time I had a bad crank key/ pulley, I found a JB weld fix from the Mazda Miata, which seems to have the same problem. And I too had put slightly (one size) larger tire on it. We basically lined everything then JB welded the new key on the crank. Then we JB welded the pulley into place when we bolted it back on. So far I have put about 1500 miles +/- on the fix and it still seems OK. Back up to 25-27 mpg. But now I hear a 'rattle' and click in the engine, so not sure whats up.
Well, I've put over 10,000 miles on the JB Weld fix. Including an 1100 mile move pulling an enclosed 4x8 trailer through the mountains of West Virginia. So far, all is good. While the car definitely 'died' pulling the mountains, it does OK without a trailer. Still getting 25-27 mpg, THANKFULLY. Other than a few minor oil leaks, it still runs great. So, for anyone that has or had this crank problem, if the crank isn't totally shot, this seems to work. I would have been out $200-250 in parts if it had not. Plus about 2-3 days of vehicle down time. A whole lot cheaper than a new or used engine. As always, your mileage may vary.
If you had stopped as soon as the crankshaft pulley started coming adrift, and then had the problem fixed before using the car again, I don't think you'd have had the subsequent problems.
I bought a 90 Geo tracker about 8 months ago. It just turned 100k miles. I recently replaced the timing belt and crank shaft seal. I have thought of putting a lift kit and a set of 29" tires on it.Calmini.com has also got a lot of performance parts and engine rebuild kits for trackers. I feel the same way about the seats, they are not very comfortable. The short wheel base doesn't help matters any either.
Well, the JB Weld fix on the crank must have finally gave. I was traveling on the interstate and the car suddenly lost power, couldn't pull hills, and I could literally watch the gas gauge go down. No warning either this time. The engine now clunks and rattles in the lower end and has no power. All the fluids were and are good, so that wasn't the problem. I'm now at 131k, so I guess I'll be dropping a new motor in it. At 1500-2000$ its still cheaper than a new car. Anybody know if the 2.0 liter will fit?
I purchased a 1991 tracker about 3 years ago. When I got it, it was at about 79k miles and everything was pretty good on the car. About 6 months later, the trans was shot, wouldn't stay in 4th, and then 6 months after that an bolt flew loose somewhere on the engine and blew a hole in the side of the engine block. That was all fixed, since then I have 29" all terrains, and a 1" lift from rocky-road. I have recently been noticing a decline in my mpg, I'm wondering if that is the first sign of the timing/crankshaft problem, anyone who had that problem, was it a sudden change in mpg, or was it gradual at first, then a big drop when it finally went. Because I just replaced the engine and don't want to have to do it again, if I can just fix the crank.
The biggest problem you have with gas mileage is the tire size you are running. The power needed to just get that much mass rolling is pretty high. Not only that, but your handling in turns and brake capacity will suffer. Might look neat, but mechanically you are probably facing future problems.
I own a '92 4x4 Automatic Geo Tracker and love it. It currently has over 330K km and is still running smooth and strong. I got it originally to tow behind a motor home, but it is so economical, easy, comfortable and fun to drive that it is now our vehicle of choice. No major mechanical probs. It gets close to 25mpg and runs at 70 mph on the interstate just like the big kids. I find the seats comfortable. I've only made one long trip (850 miles non stop) and the seats didn't bother me at all. On the highway the ride is smooth and comfortable. On a rougher road the ride is a little rougher than a regular sedan, not harsh, but for a short wheelbase vehicle that's to be expected. It holds the road very well and feels like and scoots like a sports car. I've never felt it was about to slide or tip. It drives and handles very well in 2WD in all weather conditions. In fact I've only used the 4WD on a couple of occasions. Deep snow and very deep, soft, dry sand. Both circumstances were where the snow/sand would pile up in front of the front wheels and effectively "chock" the wheels. I just locked the front hubs shifted the transfer case and drove off as though nothing was there. I'm sorry you've had so many problems, but mine may be the only car I've ever owned that has done all I wanted from it and more.
Believe it or not, I've owned five Suzukis/Trackers in the last 12 years. My first was a used 91 Suzuki LX in 4 door and 4WD. I put over sized tires on it and eventually put over 225,000 miles on it. My daughter drove it as a first vehicle, then my son, then we sold it. It had the 1.6L 8 valve engine with a 5 spd. I replaced the engine once and trans once in it. It threw the front harmonic balancer twice. The next one was a 1994 Suzuki 2 door 4WD. It was cherry when I bought it used with 27K. Two years later the left door pillar apparently rusted and the driver door sagged on it too. Had a friend perform an ugly weld on it and I traded it. Wish I still had it though. It was a good truck. The next was a '96 Chevy Tracker, 2 door 4wd. I put 114,000 miles on it and traded it for a Focus. The next was a 95 Chevy track 2 door hardtop 4wd (a classic because it was the last of the 2 door hardtops). I bought it with 40K and sold it with 92K on it. I'm now driving a 2000 4 door Tracker with the 2L engine and 4WD. I wish they had introduced the 2L engine in earlier models. It has a decent power band and doesn't strain at interstate speeds. All in all, I have probably racked up well over 500K miles in these little trucks. I cannot recall any of them letting me down, but when you need repairs... they are salty. Still, I'm sold on them and am sorry Chevy quit dealing in them.
I have a 1996 Chevy Tracker 4x4. Love it. Then it started to surge while driving, also the check engine light came on and I heard a tick noise. Then one day it died and couldn't get it to start again. The day before it died a guy put a hand held computer on it, said it was a bad TPS. Got a new one, put it on and nothing. Still dead. Please help, what else could it be? Deb.
Just a thought, these computers have 2 capacitors in them that eventually go bad. your engine will still turn over, the pump will still pump fuel, and everything else works normally except that the fuel injector won't get signal to spray fuel. When these capacitors go, it will also reduce performance and MPG.