Monte Carlo is Fixed at last....

So, enough with the complaining, worked on the car today. Pulled the cat off, clean as a whistle. Pulled all the plug and wires, closley inspected each. #6 plug was wet and the anti-sieze I put on didn't burn off, check the coils, turned out the #6 wire was barely hanging on. I thought to myself "that can't be the only thing causing all this." So, placed the crank at TDC, pulled the front cam carrier cover, what do I see, the cams are about

5°-10° off. "WTF!" I exclaim. So, tore the top end apart, timed the cams, all is fixed.

Lessons I have learned:

  1. NEVER take short cuts on a procedure outlined in the service manual. Not taking the time to properly time the engine when I replaced the timing belt was my down fall. All the symptoms were there, I replaced the timing belt but didn't bother to check the timing.

  1. GM Engineers smoke crack when the come up with designs. I have had to pull the upper intake on this car countless times. The list of things you have to take the intake manifold off to access is very long, yet they decided to make it the most ockwared piece to take off. I mean, who honestly puts a 2" piece of heater hose in a place you can only reach with a knitting needle? Who decided it would be a wonderful idea to attach a retainer for the fuel lines to the bottom of the intake with the bolt going up and the only access to this bolt being the 3/4" gap between the lines. I have a ton more, but I'll stop now.

Steve

Reply to
Steve Mackie
Loading thread data ...

Reply to
Shep

That's good news Steve, I support what you said. I always follow the OEM service manual instructions when it comes to things like timing the engine.

Brian

Reply to
el Diablo

They definately do. It's to protect their cash-cow of replacement parts that they alter things a bit every couple of years. After a couple of decades, though, you get almost Escher-inspired insanity in the placement of components and bolts and so on.

I really had to admire Volvo, though. They spent as little time re-engineering anything. You could slap a 1990 part on a 1975 vehicle or vice-versa in about 50% of the cases.

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

If it ain't broke........

FWIW I just had a Volvo X-Country wagon as a rental from Hertz (prestige car) and it was one of the finast, most comfortable cars I have ever driven and I get to drive a lot of different cars, many of them high end cars, due to traveling a lot.

Reply to
Dana

I have made it a point to never buy anything with a timing belt. When an old fashioned pushrod engine can push the same MPG as an overly complicated timing belt engine then it just shows that the over complicated engine isn't necessary.

Reply to
Eugene Nine

complicated

True, but pushrod engines can't compete with the high reving, wide power band of the OHC engines.

Steve

Reply to
Steve Mackie

Tell that to my s10 2.2 which has a chain and had 8 bent valves..... Nothing is fool proof.

Bob

When an

Reply to
Bob Urz

Its not necessary to rev an engine high unless you want to make it sound like a bee nest.

Reply to
Eugene Nine

My 88 S10 broke the timing gear around 150k. I pulled the radiator and the water pump and timing cover then slid the camshaft out the front and the new one and gears slid back in. Very easy job. I've helped replace a timing belt before and will never do it again.

Reply to
Eugene Nine

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.