Advice Please. 2005 Chevy Cavalier

[Dustin Coffey]

Hello 🙂

I’m back, this is my second post on this wonderful website. See my other post if you need help a 90’s model GM Light Truck Water pump Replacement.

This time we have a 2005 Chevy Cavalier with the 2.2l (4 Cylinders). banana:

Lets start with what happened.

“Drove it home one day, woke up next morning, turned it over. It just stopped, the stop wasn’t violent or anything it just quit. So I Took it to good year and said that the timing chain had broken.” The report from our source *My step-father*

So to me it seems that an inspection is required to see if the timing chain is actually broken or if one of the tensioners is just loose or something like that.

I’m scared though because I believe it’s a Echo-Tech L61, and I dont know for sure but I think that is an interfering setup for the timing chain. Meaning that if the chain did in fact break I now have serious problems on my hands correct ?

Any advice is greatly appreciated and loved, Do check me on whether or not the engine is an interfering design as I could not verify that information.

Thanks for reading :p and “stay Dirty”

Topic

[Bill]

If your engine is in fact an eco-tec engine it is an interference engine. I have seen several of them with jumped timing chains and bent valves. It’s possible you got lucky but you would have to remove the valve cover to inspect the valve clearances to be sure.

[Pat]

rip that bad boys timing cover off and take a look. See if the chain is broken or skipped. Line up the marks throw a new chain on it “according to the FSM” and then rotate the engine gently by hand 2 or 3 complete turns on the crank. If you feel resistance or if it feels like you come to a solid stop, then i would say u have a valve or 2 needing some help. Not the end of the world though. Get some junkyard heads and check em for leaks and valve problems or just take your heads or head to a machine shop and have em do a valve job on it. either way its a driveway rescue if you have tools, patients and a little know how. FSM go go. time to get dirty.

Pat

[Dustin Coffey]

Ahhh I love both of you for the help, let’s remember here though Im intelligent and mechanically incline not a mechanical expert:P

So to check for bent valves I should take off the valve cover and the heads and flips the head over because the valves are exposed on the under side of the combustion chamber right ? Or can I check the valves just by taking the valve cover over ?

I can look up how to check for leaks on a head on youtube or somewhere so we are good there.

The machine shop bit, If i do infact have bent valves, I take the head to them point out what valves need fixing and then they do what exactly, and approx. how much would it cost.

Thanks so much again for your help.

[Gumpy Guss]

Don’t worry too much, I had an interference engine where the timing belt broke when I was on the highway and the engine survived, I’ve since put 40,000 more miles on it.

The situation can be scoped out by Turing the camshaft and doing a compression test or a boroscope inspection of the cylinders.

[Dustin Coffey]

Thanks so much I’ll try what was recommended up above, it’ll be a whole before I can update this post as I’m in high school. So it’ll be this weekend or the , so subscribe and favorite this so you get the notification.

Thanks so much ill update when I can.

[Bill]

If you remove the valve cover and have a helper crank the engine you will be able to see if the camshafts are turning. If there is any noise or one or both of the cams stop turning then the chain has jumped. Like I stated before there is a 95% chance that at least some of the valves are bent.

You could phone around on a price for an exchange head that would give you an idea of cost. Don’t forget you will need to buy a chain, guides and tensioner, as well as gaskets also.

[Dustin Coffey]

Thanks for ask the posts is there anything I should be concerned about for taking off the head or valve cover ? Want to make sure I don’t mess anything up and I always love advice from people who’ve been there and done that.

[Dustin Coffey]

Got a quote on the head, BASE price was 325 including labor and the price would go up from there depending on what needs to happen and how much the indv. parts were.

Not sure if that’s high or what but I found a car on Craigslist with the engine for 300. If i go look at it, what test should I do to it ? Compression ? and what else ?

Eric Posted on like every post except for mine 🙁 He doesn’t love us guys.

[Dustin Coffey]

hey guys im on the car right now, just wondering how do i get the Crank pulley off, picture below.

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[Dustin Coffey]

hey guys im on the car right now, just wondering how do i get the Crank pulley off, picture below.

[Gumpy Guss]

Removing the crankshaft bolt can be quite an ordeal, I hope you have an impact wrench or at least a long breaker bar. You usually have to jam the shaft in place with a big screwdriver so it doesn’t turn.

To replace the timing chain is kind of a big deal, especially since the factory now recommends changing some of the oiling arrangements, and replacing the tensioner, and many folks say the aftermarket parts are not very good, and the job is VERY hard, quite a job apparently, see:

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Article/79542/revised_timing_chain_and_service_procedures_for_gm_22l_l61_ecotec.aspx

also see:

http://www.cobaltss.net/forums/how-guide-43/2-2-ecotec-cam-install-instructions-5779/

and:

http://www.v6z24.com/jbodyforum/03-ecotec-timing-chain-replacement-t118358.html

[Bill]

You will need a balancer puller. Perhaps you could rent or borrow one. You could also buy one as they are not expensive.

[Dustin Coffey]

Yeah I figured I’d need an impact, when I turned the crankshaft it sounded like a glass of skittles so I know the chain is off, so i think next I’ll get at the head and do a leak test on it to see if my valves are damaged/

[Author]

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