'97 Cavalier timing chain

My daughter's '97 Cavalier, 2.2 4-cylinder (80,000 miles) quit running Saturday; had it towed home. The starter spins the engine over fine but will not start. Here's what I've checked so far:

  1. There is good spark at every plug. They're gapped at .060", but were wet when removed.
  2. Since the plugs were wet, I assumed it was getting fuel, but to be sure, I disconnected the fuel line from the discharge side of the fuel filter. When turning the key on, there is fuel flowing for approx. 2 seconds, which I've been told is normal. Also, with a spark plug removed and cranking the engine, there is some fuel splash coming from the open spark plug hole.

O.K., it's got fuel and spark. Now what? Well, next....

  1. I removed the valve cover and then cranked the engine over. Surprize... none of the valves move. Got to be a timing belt, or is it a chain on this engine?

I'm amazed that with only 80,000 miles a chain (or belt) would go bad. Is there anything specific I should be looking for? If it is a chain that needs replacement, how tough is this job? Doesn't appear to be very much room to work with there.

I apologize if this has been asked before. I did do a search on this topic in this group but still have questions on this subject. Thanks very much. Denny

Reply to
impala4speed
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Whatever. If the valves dont move, your options are normally broken belt or chain. Sometimes the tensioner can go bonkers, or the teeth can be stripped off the gear, but the result is the same. You are probably going to have to have an intimate relationship with your engine.

Chains and belts can both go bad early, but it is less likely with a chain.

I've seen chains break at 40,000 miles.

Reply to
<HLS

According to Autozone's locator it's a chain. Make sure the camshaft turns freely before proceeding. If the chain is not broken and the camshaft did not seize, one or both timing gears may have worn out. It is a good idea to replace both gears and the chain as a set along with any applicable tensioner and the timing cover gasket.

Find out if you have an interference engine or not. If you do, perform a compression check after putting on the new chain to find out if you bent a valve.

Haynes or Chiltons manual will list the necessary steps. On my FWD car I had to pull a motor mount (jack under the oil pan with a wood block to support the motor) and the harmonic balancer pulley to get the timing belt cover off. You probably have more work ahead of you than that since the chain is intended to rarely be replaced.

Reply to
Ryan Underwood

I just had to deal with a similar situation on my s10. The timing tensioner was bad and the chain slipped, but did not break. Then it would not start. Put a new chain and tensioner on it, still no start. Turns out it bent all 8 valves and the head had to come off and get redone. Its running now, but it was an expensive lesson.

The harmonic balancer is a bitch to get off. And that was with a rear drive car. If your not doing it yourself, my guess is your in for $500 to $700 shop and machine work if the head has to come off.

Bob

Reply to
Bob Urz

Thanks to all. Will start on it this week. Denny

Reply to
Denny

On 2005-08-08 snipped-for-privacy@icequake.net said: > snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com writes: >>3. I removed the valve cover and then cranked the engine over. >>Surprize... none of the valves move. Got to be a timing belt, or >>is it a chain on this engine? >According to Autozone's locator it's a chain. Make sure the >camshaft turns freely before proceeding. If the chain is not >broken and the camshaft did not seize, one or both timing gears may >have worn out. It is a good idea to replace both gears and the >chain as a set along with any applicable tensioner and the timing >cover gasket. >Find out if you have an interference engine or not. If you do, >perform a compression check after putting on the new chain to find >out if you bent a valve.

In an overhead cam engine in the state of yours, a neat test is to remove the cam (to allow all valves to seat, if they can), use a cylinder leak tester to find valve damage. If not OHC, removing the rocker shaft assembly will do the same.

Tom Willmon near Mountainair, (mid) New Mexico, USA

Net-Tamer V 1.12.0 - Registered

Reply to
twillmon

Since that is an overhead valve engine, that chain is not intended to be replaced often or at all, so you will probably have a lot of work ahead of you.

Reply to
Masospaghetti

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