Hello all. I'm new to this forum, I usually hang around the alt.autos.ford
forum, but I just bought my first Malibu and I'm looking for a few
suggestions. Having been a Ford guy all my life, I am actually quite happy
with how this car drives and works. It has high highway kms (255,000) and
the second owner told me that it has a piston slap, which goes away and you
can't even notice after only 45 seconds. The fact that Chevrolet has been
using this engine for such a long time, and it is known to be reliable makes
me not worry about the mileage or piston slap. Not to mention that if
something catastrophic were going to happen to the engine, I think it would
have happened by now. Also the fact that the car has been very well
maintained makes me feel that much better.

The first thing I noticed about the car was at low speeds, there is a
whistling sound, I think it is coming from the engine compartment somewhere
near the center, but not positive. Usually goes away after you get up to
50 - 60 km/h, and it seems to be short random blows and not long, annoying
blasts. I'm thinking alternator bearing or tensioner pulley, but would
appreciate other suggestions. Secondly, when I got the car home from buying
it, I popped the hood to take a look around. This car has the 3.1L V6 and
after a thorough look around, I couldn't find a dipstick for the
transmission. I have found the trans. fluid fill, which was reasonably hard
to remove, but I thought it may have a dipstick on it, which it didn't.
Having said that, what is the proper way to check the trans. fluid? BTW, I
didn't get the manual with the car. I have downloaded the PDF owners
manual, but I don't think it mentions anything about checking the trans.
fluid.

The last thing I noticed was the ABS light stays on all the time. The
second owner told me that he replaced the drivers side front caliper and he
wasn't sure if he bled all the air out of the system. The brake pedal feels
as though there may be a small amount of air, even though there is only a
short amount of play before the brakes activate normally. I will try to
bleed the system today, hopefully it is not a wheel sensor making the light
come on.

Any suggestions are welcome on any of the above.
Thanks in advance for any help

Sharky

I read the Ford forum also as I have a Sable but the best repair info can be
found on alt.autos.gm
I have a '01 & '02 Malibu's in the family I wrench on and yes piston slap on
cold start is normal on the 3.1 motor. My wife's cars quiets down fast, my
sister's car sounds like a diesel until it warms up but both cars have over
100k miles and use very little oil, almost none between changes.
There is no trans dip stick, there is a level plug in the side of the trans
by the right side output shaft.
Intake manifold gaskets leaking coolant into the oil is a issue with the 3.1
engine family, if your losing coolant and no external leaks can be found
then it's the intake gaskets for sure. Engine oil analysis is the sure way
to know. I've done both my cars as they started leaking at 80k miles.
Coolant in the oil will smoke the engine bearings.
Passlock sensor in the ignition switch and the hazard light switch are 2
other issues with these cars. There is a recall on the hazard light switch.
Wheel sensors in salt areas are a common problem in all cars, scan for
codes.

"Sharky" <cleighton (AT) NOSPAM (DOT) eastlink.ca> wrote

Repairman, thanks for the advice. After some research on the internet, I
found out about the intake manifold gasket leak and made sure there was
absolutely no signs of a coolant leak before I handed over any money. There
are no signs of sludge anywhere near the oil cap or dipstick, and from what
the second owner told me, it uses no oil between changes.

I did not know about the issues with the Passlock sensor or the hazard
light, I will have to do some research. I ran a VIN check through the
Chevrolet dealership and it showed that there were no outstanding recalls to
be done. I think you may be right about the road salt and the ABS sensors,
this is probably what is causing the ABS light to stay on. Here in Nova
Scotia, the DOT uses incredible amounts of road salt during the winter, so
there are all sorts of things to worry about on our vehicles. I'm not
exactly sure where the sensors are located or how to clean them, so I'll
have to add that to my research list.

Thanks again for your help,
Sharky

The ABS sensor is part of the wheel bearings and had to be replaced on
mine when the ABS light started staying on. The part is ~$200.

Other problems include the heater fan switch not working in positions
1 or 2. This is an $20 external resistor.

Another problem I encountered is the A/C works fine except on hot
humid days, (when you need it most). There is a control head rebuild
guide from some helpful guy in Mexico floating around the web that
will save you $200 if you do it yourself.

My 2001 Malibu is quickly becoming a full time DIY project. My piston
slap last for about 12 minutes and the engine has only 66k mi on it.
Intake manifold gasket was replaced at 36k mi. after leaking into the
oil.

Good luck to you.
- Duane


"Sharky" <cleighton (AT) NOSPAM (DOT) eastlink.ca> wrote

The transmission has no dipstick; the factory does an overfill, so even if a
bit leaks out there are usually no problems. My daughter had the first
trans fluid change on hers at 160,000 Km and it was extremely clean. Mine
is due for the 160,000 Km change next month.

Without the dipstick, significantly fewer contaminants get into the
transmission, resulting in higher reliability.
Good luck!,
David

"Sharky" <cleighton (AT) NOSPAM (DOT) eastlink.ca> wrote