I was given a free 2007 Chevy Cobalt LS (Manual Transmission). I was not given a title, but I could easily get a bill of sale from the friend who gave it to me. I figure I would need to spend about $400 to get a bonded title and register it in Texas. The car drives and is in good to excellent condition; however, the transmission grinds when shifting into 2nd so I must shift from 1st directly into 3rd to drive it. It goes into 4th and 5th just fine. I do smell burnt gear oil when driving. I'm not too smart on transmissions or clutches, but I am fully capable of replacing a transmission or clutch if I had to. I have mechanical experience and can R&R parts following instructions from the free access I have to Chilton's manuals because of my military service. The KBB for the car, in excellent condition, doesn't go for much more than $2,000. I searched for all the parts that I think it would take to fix, and it would cost about $1,000 (Transmission, Clutch, Clutch Plate etc..). My son just turned 16 so I figured maybe this could be his first car, and we could work on it together. Do you think its worth it to spend the money on parts along with the bonded title/registration fees and fixit myself or just junk it? If I junk it, I might get $300 for it.
First make sure it has right fluid in it. They don’t take gear oil, cobalt has the ecotec with the 5 speed getrag. It takes atf fluid in the transaxle. If someone put gear oil in it that would explain many things, also get the tires up on jack stands, hold clutch to the floor and while in first or reverse if your tires start spinning that keans your clutch isn’t disengaging completely. That will tear up synchronizers quick, with second being first to go. Once u change fluid and verify the clutch is ok. I’d just drive it without second til it drops.
The smell reminded me of a similar smell I've experienced from changing gearboxes on Thielert aircraft engines. But you may have a point. I literally only drove it once and then got deployed and I am about to return. I never actually looked at the fluid levels or what they looked like. The person who gave it to me got it from another Soldier and who knows he could have been a crayon eater and filled it up with the wrong fluid.
@thumpy
You need to copy + paste your response down below where it says "Your Answer" if you want to keep it because it will be deleted. It do not belong here in the comments please. Instructions how to use the forum are in the "READ THIS FIRST" topic at the top of the main page. Thank you.
Done, Thought I did put it as an answer. That’s what I get for using the wrong set of glasses. 🤣
Junk it. Bonded titles are a royal pain in the butt. A Cobalt isn't the kind of car you want to put money into.
I'd look for a Civic if it were me.
Also note: In the state of Texas, a bill of sale is not recognized as a legally binding document. In fact, courts do not accept them for proof of ownership.
I think you wrong about the Bill of Sale. I went on the TX DMV website and it says I would need the following:
Bonded Title Application (Form VTR-130-SOF)
Any supporting evidence of ownership (Bill of Sale, Invoice, Cancelled Check, etc.)
Acceptable photo ID
Your probably right about not sinking money into and going with a Civic, but I'm cheap and its hard to find a good Honda for less than $3000.
I do titles all the time. The Texas DMV has a form for Bill of Sale because the DMV is slow to change. Call your local tax office and ask a clerk. They will tell you it is no longer accepted. To get a title transfer in Texas, you need a State of Texas title application, the title itself, and the tax money. If you want to file for a bonded title, you get into all kinds of gray areas. If all you have to prove ownership is a bill of sale, then the car: MUST have been registered in Texas before being sold to you, MUST go through an appraisal process, and more. You can not just take the Bill to the tax office and leave with a bonded title. https://itstillruns.com/title-car-only-bill-sale-5990770.html
It was registered in TX before. I do recall from watching several videos about bonded title process in TX that an inspection/appraisal is required and tax office visit is required. I figured since its non operational, it probably wouldn't pass a state inspection and that they would appraise it for really low anyways. Being military I don't have to pay much to register it. I can even slap my Military Honors license plate on it which only requires me to pay for the inspection to renew registration. Thanks for the link I will check it out.
You're not wrong. The state values are extremely low. Not sure why, but it has always been that way. On the bright side it means you pay less tax, so not all bad news. I think you would spend too much to get it through state inspection to make it worth it myself. But if you really like it and want to make it work, hey, it's your money my friend. Cheers. {blackemo}:hotdrink:
The grinding going into 2nd but fine all other gears sounds like the 2nd gear synchro is bad. Wouldn't sink any money into any car if I didn't have the title for it. If it doesn't bog down too much going 1st to 3rd you could drive it that way for a while. In my cars I find myself shifting 1st to 3rd often as it doesn't hurt any and saves a shift 🙂 /p>
Gives you a reason to really get on it in 1st too 🙂
I suspected the synchro may be bad from watching some YouTube vids. That's internal to the transmission from what I've learned. Way more advance repair knowledge than I would be comfortable tackling. A new OEM transmission cost $641 from the MFG.
find/fix the leak, but just drive it the way it is...shift 1 to 3.
Don't put money into it
If you can actually put it into your name then why not. I wouldn't put much money into it so of a lot of major stuff goes you may want to replace it. Having said that be prepared that a lot of times if you don't have the papers you can't put it into your name.
If it were me I would get the bill of sale, have it checked over to see exactly where that gear oil smell is coming from and if its really cheap, fix that (if its the transmission, probably not worth it). Then drive the crap out of it. Just skip 2nd gear. You might even be able to get the RPMs just right to shift into second with no issues, but I don't know if that applies to this problem.
Also, it is possible that changing the transmission fluid and putting some Lucas in there when you change it might help. I can't recall if Scotty has a video on Lucas for manual transmissions but that is worth checking on and might make the 2nd gear issue somewhat better.
Just if it requires putting any significant money in it it probably isnt worth it. You don't really have a title and 400 bucks is alot, and I'm not sure if you can even junk it without the title.
Thanks for the advice! Will see if Scotty has something on there. I saw something on Craigslist for a business that buys junk cars and in their advertisement, it says Title is preferred but they will take it if I have good documentation and proof of ownership such as a bill of sale .
No problem! I just noticed where you said you thought it would be something good for you and your son to work on together, so that has different value than money. As long as you can afford it (even if the car isn't worth what you put into it) getting to teach him those skills is priceless. Best of luck however you proceed on it!
That's sort of the real driving force behind it. Kiddo kinda got excited about working on cars and now I kinda feel I owe it to him. Probably just wants to spend time with me more than anything. My biggest concern is finding out the bonded title process is a lot more expensive than I thought. I don't mind the headache of filling out the paperwork and going through the process. I've heard the transmission on this make and model sucks and they don't last long. I don't think any junk yard transmission from pull a part would be reliable either based on my previous statement.
First make sure it has right fluid in it. They don’t take gear oil, cobalt has the ecotec with the 5 speed getrag. It takes atf fluid in the transaxle. If someone put gear oil in it that would explain many things, also get the tires up on jack stands, hold clutch to the floor and while in first or reverse if your tires start spinning that keans your clutch isn’t disengaging completely. That will tear up synchronizers quick, with second being first to go. Once u change fluid and verify the clutch is ok. I’d just drive it without second til it drops.
