i have encounterd a 2.2 with a broken timing chain. now is the 2.2 ecotec an interference engine?
my best guess when the car came in was a broken chain, before i took off the valve cover i tried to turn the engine over and didnt even get compression the least bit. than i took the valve cover and positively diagnosed the chain as the problem.



inteference engine-meaning in a case of a broken timing chain/belt the likely hood of valve to piston contact is high

non-intereference-in a case of broken chain/belt there is no valve to piston contact that could not have occured due to chain failure

 

it is a intereference engine

 

yup..time to pull the head off

 

Thanks for the information guys. Time to let the customer know.

 

Ok...here is my question...Once I put the head gasket and head back on I thought I had it set back to the timing but I guess it is off..Did I mess up the motor or the valves or do I just need to reset the timing? And does anyone know how to set the timing? and what the cylinder compression should be?

 

if you didnt try to start the engine and your timing is just off its not hard to do, its just a long process ( 1 - 1 1/2 depending on you). there might be a how to on the forum, im not 100% sure cause i had a very mechanically inclined friend show me and i been doin it since but ill try to explain as best i can. make sure the valve cover is off and the engine is lowered with a jack under it for support

1. get the head mounted on
2. remove belt and tensioner
3. remove timing chain cover
4. remove timing chain tensioner from back of the head
5. remove cam gears
6. remove anything else under the timing chain cover that is keeping the chain from freely moving

now for the bitch part

7. crank you crankshaft until the links on the balance shaft chain lines up with the dots on the balance shafts and the link lines up with the gear on the crankshaft.....it may take multiple tries
8. when that is done put the timing chain back thru (you will want to make sure you put the timing chain guides back in) makin sure the link is lined up to the dot on the crank and the two links closest to each other are correctly on the cam gears. you will need a wrench or adjustable so you can move the cams a bit to get everything lined up.
9. when the chains are all lined up put the tensioner back into the back of the head and turn the crank a few times to be sure the chain doesnt skip.
10. if the chain doesnt skip put everything back in its place and youre golden

if you need anymore questions i will try to answer. im currently over in the desert so it might take me a bit to get back to you

 

Ok I did try and crank it that is how I found out that it was out of time. I had my cams marked but i guess I put it back on the wrong marks. Will that still work or am I just fucked and have to time it all the way back up?

 

personally id take the head off just to make sure the valves didnt come in contact with the pistons, and when you take the head off you gotta retime it anyways

 

I wish I had a computer, I could email you the GM service info on camshaft timing. But as it stands I only have my phone. Timing the camshafts on an typical Ecotec is dirt simple. Just for reference, look at the main chain and you will see 2 "red" links and one " grey" link. Those are the chains alignment marks. The cam gears should be marked int or exh. With the gear on the shaft facing the front of the engine the intake cam gear mark should be at about the 2 or 3 o'clock position. The exhaust should be at about the 10 to 11 o'clock position. The cams will more or less rest where they need to be to be timed. You will need to move the cams around a hair to get them to line up spot on though. The crank timing mark will be at about the 5o'clock position.

1. Put the crank @ TDC cylinder #1 (mark @ 5 o'clock)
2. Install and line up the "grey" link on the chain to the intake cam gears mark
3. Line up the "red" link at the crankshaft
4. Install and line up the last "red" link on the chain to the exhaust cam gears mark.
5. Reset and install the timing chain tensioner
6. Take one last look make sure everything lined up and tap the tensioners chain shoe with a plastic or rubber tool to activate the tensioner.
7. Rotate engine over to take up chain slack. BE AWARE, the links and marks WILL NOT line back up, so dont worry when they don't.

As a side note I've never had to do the balance shaft chain. Dont know how to time it. Also the head, crank, and cam gear bolts are all torque to yield so dont reuse them.