Hey guys, my solstice is starting to worry me. The rear end makes awful grinding noises when turning. I've service the rear end with lsd additive several times which makes it quiet for about 3k miles but it goes back to grinding again. Secondly, and perhaps more troubling, when I start the car, I get a really loud rattle/slapping noise for a few seconds. When I turn it off, I can here a small knocking noise as the engine comes to a stop. When driving down the road, I head something that sounds similar to spark knock but I've used premium in it forever for whatever reason. I've noticed a significant loss in power. So, all this leads me to believe I have some chain stretch going on. Is this possible or common? My car is 10 years old with 123k miles on it. It has the original water pump. And I've never seen the check engine light come on so I don't know if it even works. Any ideas on how to approach this would be great. I really want to avoid a car payment of at all possible.
1. Rear diff grinding. First I assume you have the G80 option code for having an LSD. I had the same issue on my 2006 NA with the LSD. I took it to my GM dealer I trust and had them swap out the rear diff fluid and additive. Now we did run into a problem regarding what was the proper part number for both the fluid and additive. GM went through 4 to 5 revisions in their TSB for LSD grinding. They tried multiple fluids and friction additives. From what I remember, they only finally resolved it in 2010. One of my post references to GM part numbers for fluid and additive to be used on the rear diff with the LSD. My dealer only charged me $90 CDN ($70 USD) and it has worked great.
2. Noise of spark knock. As RtE noted the timing chain maybe stretched or the tensioner has gone. Again, I would take it to your trusted mechanic and have them take it for a test drive with you to let them hear it. The 2.4L ecotech's are very common engines and thus there is a lot of knowledge out there.
Could be just a simple sensor is faulty.
From what you wrote, it sounds like this car has been pretty reliable and relatively inexpensive for major repairs (ie: no water pump replacement). If this is true, then you haven't sunk much money into it. Pay $100-$150 to have your mechanic review it (and scan for codes that aren't showing a MIL). Once you have a diagnosis and estimate on cost, you can determine your next steps.
are these cars that bad?my sons honda del sol is over 300,000 miles with only water pump/belts/rebuilt auto trans and it seems to be good for another 100,000 at least.i have 63,000 on my solstice with no major problems other than an exhaust solenoid failure.
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