okay well i made a thread in the performance section but this is more where it should be, i bought a 98 z24 with the 2.4 in it, the car had recently had all the timing parts replaced chain, tensinor, guides and all. but one morning the people said it just wouldnt start.. anyways. i brought it home and i could hear a noise behine the timing cover while it was cranking, also it has zero compression. i took the cover off and the chain was really really loose. it was barly touching the sprocket on the crank... also the big guide on the front side towards the intake manifold was warn down really bad. well i went inside and my dad decided to take the chain off without setting it at top dead center, he didnt know. so after fraking out i put a straw in the number one cylinder and turned it until the sprocket on the crank was lined up with the dot on the block, and the piston is at the top of the cylinder, this should be top dead center correct? my other question is how to get the cams in timed position, do i just turn then until i can put that 8mm bolt in the hole to hold it? this is were i am lost.. please someone chime it and help me out
Search the forum for the downloadable haynes manual... i lost the link... that should ahow you pretty well how to set the chain. i believe that there are two spots to thread a bolt through the timing gears to line them up. Also there should be a dot/mark on the crank gear for tdc.
Heres your other issue, if the timing chain became that loose and jumped time... you may very well have some piston to valve contact, can cause lots of damage.
my main question is before i put the chain back on do i just rotate the cams until the bolt hole lines up? or is there a certian number of rotations i should do before i lock the cams in place
Yea.. should just have to line up bolt holes and thread in bolts, i think they are 8mm, and then line up the marks, new chain should be marked/color coded. Set your tensioners, then you can remove the bolts in the cam gears, and then the timing cover. I highly suggest you find the manual to be sure, and get the correct torque specs for everything
I found the thread, some of the links died, but if you go to the last post on page two it has a good link, i just re downloaded it to check, this is the haynes manual for 95-01 cavalier/sunfire both 2.4 and 2.2. it has lots of information, including how to's, torque specs, and wiring diagrams. all the info, with details/specifics for changing your timing set will be in there.
http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=11&i=163377&t=133065#163377
Also, you really need to make sure you don't have bent/broken valves, which will mean pulling/replacing/fixing the head anyway.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edited Sunday, June 17, 2012 7:22 PM
well the holes dont have threads in them. i pulled the intake cam gear off and the hole doesnt have any threads in it.. what do you mean by setting the tensinor? it just has the two bolts that hold it on..
you have to set the tensioners once the chain is installed to tighten them.. and there should be a spot for the bolt to go through and align the gears, it might not thread in, but there should be an alignment spot there. If you download the manual in the thread I linked up there, go convert it from rar into PDF, very simple, and go to page 67-68 in the PDF (not the manual pages) that section shows timing chain removal/installation and will tell you step by step how to set the timing, install the chain, and set the tensioners, they have to be pre loaded to keep the slack out of the chain, besides bolting them on, thats probably why the timing set failed, you said it was new before you got the car right? whoever installed it probably didn't get them set correctly, and in turn loosened the chain & ruined it all.
I will say it again, download the manual, and print off the pages that explain the procedure, it will be much easier than having it explained over the net.
ok im downloading it, also what is a way to tell if the valves are bent before i buy parts like you mentioned>
Remove the intake manifold and inspect the valves, also look through spark plug holes and look for marks on pistons. Abd either remove the exhaust manifold to see those valves or get your hands on a bore scope and go through the intake side or a spark plug hole.
well i called oreillies and they told me that if i buy a new tensinor it is already pre-loaded so it just needs to be bolted on.. also they said there is a spring that pushes out on the plunger inside the tensinor? when i took the old tensionor off the plunger fell out and there was no spring behind it? could this be my problem you think?
Quite possibly. As for the tensioner it should hold the olunger back, then once it is bolted on you release it to tension the chain. I can look at my old tensioners when i get home and see whats in them..
