i recall reading on here about some people that had thier timing chain break on thier ecotec. i searched and didnt find anything. now theres a guy on ebay selling some Eco parts from an 02 grand am that broke its chain. so i was wondering what we ( the j body community) know about this problem. how common is it?, whats causing it?, any common mileage its happening at?, is it preventable? i do know that it leads to alot of emgine damage, but thats all i know for sure. anyone who actually knows any info (not "i think" or guesses) please post what you know.
_________________________________________________________________
Looking for something new? How about an off topic forum where you can truly express your opinions without interference of mods or admins?
Join verbalwarfare.com
http://www.verbalwarfare.com/forum.php?referrerid=86
so no one knows anything about this??
_________________________________________________________________
Looking for something new? How about an off topic forum where you can truly express your opinions without interference of mods or admins?
Join verbalwarfare.com
http://www.verbalwarfare.com/forum.php?referrerid=86
yes the timing chains can break and the timing chain tensioners can also come apart. I have seen a few chains that are in the process of coming apart ( these engines are valve benders ). some comen things to look for are poor performance and noise on start up or while driving. This is of course another good creation from the general himself. So just be leary of noises and or poor performance. Actually I am in the middle of fixing mine because the tensioner came apart. ( 2005 sunfire with 112,000) Hope this helps
2002 ecotec's have a weak oil squinter on the timing chain which causes them to break in the 80k-100k mile range due to stretching from poor lubrication. NO other year ecotec has this issue and a broken chain in any other year is very very rare. So rare that GM uses the stock timing setup in race preped engines up to 750 hp.
1994 Saturn SL2 Home Coming Edition: backup car
2002 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport Coupe: In a Junk Yard
1995 Mazda Miata R-package Class=STR
Sponsored by:
Kronos Performance
WPI Class of '12 Mechanical Engineering
WPI SAE Risk and Sustainability Management Officer
^^ I've seen some early 03's like mine have the same timing chain issue, but those were due to tensioners.
OP: My chain didn't break, but from everything I read about them I wasn't risking losing my daily driver, so at 100,002k miles, I replaced my chain, guides, tensioner and sprockets. Overkill? you betcha. But, peace of mind is better than replacing an engine.
