TonyUrb

My dad bought a Cobalt (2007, 2.2 ecotech) off of his nephew about 2 months ago. The CEL has been on for about a month. Initially he thought it was just the gas cap error so he replaced the cap but the light stayed on. He took it in for inspection last weekend and had the mechanic check the code. He said it was "probably the timing chain". When my dad told me this, I started doing some online research and discovered the known issue with the old timing chain tensioners. I bought one of the new ones at the local Chevy dealership and had a friend with a garage replace it.

The CEL light was off when it was started back up, but came on again within 10 minutes of driving. Does this mean his timing chain needs replaced? The car has ~80K miles on it. I've called 4 different garages in the area and none of them will replace the timing chain and the associated parts. They all told me to go to the dealership, which would obviously be huge money.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

sc4door

iTrader: (8)

Anyone maybe try scanning the car and seeing what the code is? A timing chain that has play in it will not cause a CEL but it can destroy the engine if it jumps time. Your problem is likely a sensor somewhere but without knowing the code, you're really limiting your options for help

TonyUrb

The mechanic that did the inspection didn't give my dad the code. I'm going to take in to one of the auto parts stores this afternoon to see if they can check it and give me the #. I'll report back as soon as I get it.

sc4door

iTrader: (8)

Ok that's your best bet. This mechanic doesn't sound very credible

TonyUrb

Okay, got the code and it's p0016. Any thoughts on what I should do next? Replace the sensor? I don't know how to check the timing chain itself.

sc4door

iTrader: (8)

Do you know if the car has been running differently? Like low on power, bad gas mileage, odd noises? If that code is correct and the crank and cam are out of sync, it usually means that pistons hit valves and that results in damage that typically prevents the engine from running. Depending on how mechanically inclined you are, you can pull the front cover off the engine and check the timing marks on the chain to see if they all line up. If they do then the chain isn't your issue, it's most likely a sensor. Honestly I've never seen anyone talking about that code before so I don't have experience with fixing it, but I have worked on ecotecs and timed them several times in the past

exninja

iTrader: (1)

Another option is to find someone with the same crank and cam sensors and swap. If the code goes away, you'll know it's the sensor.

TonyUrb

The car seems to run great. Extremely good acceleration, no problems starting, etc. There was a bit of a rattle at start up that lasted 2 to 3 seconds and that went away when we changed the tensioner. The code remains though.

sc4door

iTrader: (8)

I'd say exninja's idea is a good one if you wanna do it the least expensive way. The sensors honestly aren't that much from a parts store if you decide you just wanna try them. But after that, your only option is to open it up and see what's going on