Taking my corolla to the doctor (You guys)

[WTFseabass]

Ok so i got a 2001 corolla LE with 202,XXX miles and still runs fine...it has been involved 2 accidents, i have so many good times with this car that i just cant let it go if it still works and still runs great up to this day but recently i got these problems bothering me a little...


1. My gas meter is weird...Im driving and the meter goes down half a quarter and then comes back up when i turn off the car, next day its fine and goes back up....and when i reach 1/4 and the refill light comes on the meter stays on 1/4 and wont go down even after driving with the light on for a day or so....cant refill until the end of the day and will go back up after i fill up. My MPG is ok, getting 32+ depending on how i drive, is there a way to fix the meter to be a little more accurate?


2. I woke up one day to find out someone stole my original stock muffler from my corolla...dont know why, but it was gone and my catalytic converter was still present...my Friend had a N1 muffler (cheap o muffler from ebay thats loud as f***) that he had and i installed it because idk if they check for one when you do a smog check or not...smog passed just fine every other time i did it but i just want to know if the N1 muffler affect the test in anyway or car usage? i dont have the money to buy an original one right now since I'm a student.


3. Recently i started to hear a screechy noise sorta (ill try and make a video) when im turning to the right, sometimes i brake to turn or if im going kinda slow i turn without braking and i hear this noise, its not my brake pads i know and i dont think its my steering fluid since the steering wheel is not hard...its basically when the driver side strut gets force i guess...idk how more to explain it but whats the noise coming from?

Hope you guys can answer my questions and thanks!

[fishexpo101]

1. Mine does that as well - the fuel gauge is not very linear in response. At times, the gauge will read lower/higher than it should. Just keep an eye on the mileage, and you should be safe. Not much you can do to "fix" this. Just make sure the chassis grounds are clean, as electrical noise in general can cause you all sorts of headaches.

2. Muffler itself generally does not require a CARB EO sticker, as it doesn't change any part of the pollution control bits on the car. Some places will frown upon any non-OEM part - but the muffler itself is not enough to "fail" you outright. Noise might be another issue - limit is 95dB, that muffler can be way louder than that. That should not affect SMOG, but will raise the attention of any nearby police officer. If you run another resonator before the N1 muffler, that should quiet it considerably. Up to you on that - you could always run to a pick-&-pull place and get an OEM muffler or get a quieter aftermarket one welded up. N1 is just begging for problems unless your friend is giving it away to you.

3. Could be a number of things, slipping serpentine belt, squeaky sway bar bushings, strut noise, contact between wheel/tire and body, dying P/S pump, etc. Post up a vid, that will help a lot.