2.0 LSJ Engine: how to-timing chain tensioner
Member
Joined: 02-21-09
Posts: 252
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From: morton,Il
Yes and no i pulled the valve cover to just make sure then it was just to unbolting the tensioner and and getting the new one in. The rattle i had is gone and the car is running great so i hope i did it right seems i did
New Member
Joined: 08-11-08
Posts: 16
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From: Ogden, Utah
Install details from auto zone. http://econtent.autozone.com:24999/z...723/sa9374.pdf Hope this helps.
Edit: Dont buy a tensioner from autozone. They do not carry the updated version. Crateenginedepot.com has them but theyll rape you on shipping. Get it from www.rockauto.com. Do a part number search. 12608580 <thats the genuine acdelco part listed for a little bit less than crateenginedepot.com and the shipping is under $4 where crateenginedepot.com wanted over $13 for shipping.
Edit: Dont buy a tensioner from autozone. They do not carry the updated version. Crateenginedepot.com has them but theyll rape you on shipping. Get it from www.rockauto.com. Do a part number search. 12608580 <thats the genuine acdelco part listed for a little bit less than crateenginedepot.com and the shipping is under $4 where crateenginedepot.com wanted over $13 for shipping.
Last edited by goldenfoot05; Dec 27, 2011 at 02:12 AM. Reason: revised info
New Member
Joined: 04-10-12
Posts: 2
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From: Biloxi
Well first of all I just registered to this website because I have input on this subject ,and being a GM factory tech I think I can help with this issue.
#1 The only true CORRECT way to do this repair is with proper tools, but technically there some things you can do.( I think its a j-tool)
#2 The full repair is to replace all sprockets,guides,oiler,tensioner, and chain.
#3 You have to atleast take the valve cover off because both the old design and new design do work the same.
#4 In 2004 the 2.2L motor came with an upgraded oiler not tensioner that came later.
#5 Trying to ''plug and play'' is like running blinfolded through the interstate hoping people will just swerve you.
#6 I have never seen a timing chain break in 6 years that I worked at a chevy dealer, nor has my boss who has done it for 25 at the same chevy dealer. But I know these things have been revised so theres a reason for that.
#7 My final thoughts, this is not something you wanna figure out how to do on your own car with no expeience but reading these forums witch prolly have some people who wouldnt know to walk around a boulder if they came up to one, so dont trust just anyone because they did it and had good results.I believe they did it the way they said and it worked because they were damn lucky.YOU CAN MESS IT UP.PERIOD.So, take the valve cover off and do whatever you can come up with to make sure that chain doesnt jump while you are taking the tensioner off use a light look down in there, use a wire hook to make sure the chain doesnt come completely off that crank sprocket take your time its not a race its your car.MAKE sure you get that tensioner working and you get it to set properly by jarring it-MAKE SURE YOU DO THAT. Im telling ya'll you can do this with basic tools but do a good job and i recommend you replace the gasket on the valve cover and the bolts i would.FYI this is around a 600.00 dollar job at the dealer partly because they do it right and they put on new gaket grometts and bolts and everything. So if your not confident take it there. And good luck with w/e you do.
#1 The only true CORRECT way to do this repair is with proper tools, but technically there some things you can do.( I think its a j-tool)
#2 The full repair is to replace all sprockets,guides,oiler,tensioner, and chain.
#3 You have to atleast take the valve cover off because both the old design and new design do work the same.
#4 In 2004 the 2.2L motor came with an upgraded oiler not tensioner that came later.
#5 Trying to ''plug and play'' is like running blinfolded through the interstate hoping people will just swerve you.
#6 I have never seen a timing chain break in 6 years that I worked at a chevy dealer, nor has my boss who has done it for 25 at the same chevy dealer. But I know these things have been revised so theres a reason for that.
#7 My final thoughts, this is not something you wanna figure out how to do on your own car with no expeience but reading these forums witch prolly have some people who wouldnt know to walk around a boulder if they came up to one, so dont trust just anyone because they did it and had good results.I believe they did it the way they said and it worked because they were damn lucky.YOU CAN MESS IT UP.PERIOD.So, take the valve cover off and do whatever you can come up with to make sure that chain doesnt jump while you are taking the tensioner off use a light look down in there, use a wire hook to make sure the chain doesnt come completely off that crank sprocket take your time its not a race its your car.MAKE sure you get that tensioner working and you get it to set properly by jarring it-MAKE SURE YOU DO THAT. Im telling ya'll you can do this with basic tools but do a good job and i recommend you replace the gasket on the valve cover and the bolts i would.FYI this is around a 600.00 dollar job at the dealer partly because they do it right and they put on new gaket grometts and bolts and everything. So if your not confident take it there. And good luck with w/e you do.
New Member
Joined: 04-23-12
Posts: 162
Likes: 1
From: NC
Well first of all I just registered to this website because I have input on this subject ,and being a GM factory tech I think I can help with this issue.
#1 The only true CORRECT way to do this repair is with proper tools, but technically there some things you can do.( I think its a j-tool)
#2 The full repair is to replace all sprockets,guides,oiler,tensioner, and chain.
#3 You have to atleast take the valve cover off because both the old design and new design do work the same.
#4 In 2004 the 2.2L motor came with an upgraded oiler not tensioner that came later.
#5 Trying to ''plug and play'' is like running blinfolded through the interstate hoping people will just swerve you.
#6 I have never seen a timing chain break in 6 years that I worked at a chevy dealer, nor has my boss who has done it for 25 at the same chevy dealer. But I know these things have been revised so theres a reason for that.
#7 My final thoughts, this is not something you wanna figure out how to do on your own car with no expeience but reading these forums witch prolly have some people who wouldnt know to walk around a boulder if they came up to one, so dont trust just anyone because they did it and had good results.I believe they did it the way they said and it worked because they were damn lucky.YOU CAN MESS IT UP.PERIOD.So, take the valve cover off and do whatever you can come up with to make sure that chain doesnt jump while you are taking the tensioner off use a light look down in there, use a wire hook to make sure the chain doesnt come completely off that crank sprocket take your time its not a race its your car.MAKE sure you get that tensioner working and you get it to set properly by jarring it-MAKE SURE YOU DO THAT. Im telling ya'll you can do this with basic tools but do a good job and i recommend you replace the gasket on the valve cover and the bolts i would.FYI this is around a 600.00 dollar job at the dealer partly because they do it right and they put on new gaket grometts and bolts and everything. So if your not confident take it there. And good luck with w/e you do.
#1 The only true CORRECT way to do this repair is with proper tools, but technically there some things you can do.( I think its a j-tool)
#2 The full repair is to replace all sprockets,guides,oiler,tensioner, and chain.
#3 You have to atleast take the valve cover off because both the old design and new design do work the same.
#4 In 2004 the 2.2L motor came with an upgraded oiler not tensioner that came later.
#5 Trying to ''plug and play'' is like running blinfolded through the interstate hoping people will just swerve you.
#6 I have never seen a timing chain break in 6 years that I worked at a chevy dealer, nor has my boss who has done it for 25 at the same chevy dealer. But I know these things have been revised so theres a reason for that.
#7 My final thoughts, this is not something you wanna figure out how to do on your own car with no expeience but reading these forums witch prolly have some people who wouldnt know to walk around a boulder if they came up to one, so dont trust just anyone because they did it and had good results.I believe they did it the way they said and it worked because they were damn lucky.YOU CAN MESS IT UP.PERIOD.So, take the valve cover off and do whatever you can come up with to make sure that chain doesnt jump while you are taking the tensioner off use a light look down in there, use a wire hook to make sure the chain doesnt come completely off that crank sprocket take your time its not a race its your car.MAKE sure you get that tensioner working and you get it to set properly by jarring it-MAKE SURE YOU DO THAT. Im telling ya'll you can do this with basic tools but do a good job and i recommend you replace the gasket on the valve cover and the bolts i would.FYI this is around a 600.00 dollar job at the dealer partly because they do it right and they put on new gaket grometts and bolts and everything. So if your not confident take it there. And good luck with w/e you do.
The car was taken to Chevy and they quoted me a new engine. They said I had head damage and my oil pan had a crack suggesting my motor is done at just 60k. I'm going to begin tearing down soon and see if it's even rebuildable. The dealer said most likely things are bent such as rods, crank, cams and other things broken such as pistons and valves. The engine has no compression in any cylinder.
I guess the upside is the end result will be MORE POWER!
They do, they're just on a different page.
Use this guide - https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/how-...sioner-276244/
Use this guide - https://www.cobaltss.net/forums/how-...sioner-276244/
New Member
Joined: 04-10-12
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
From: Biloxi
Yeah
I have seen a handful of these tensioners go bad. Including the one on my personal car.I just changed tensioner and inspected the chain and cam spockets,but they were fine so I only replaced the tensioner.One big thing you have to worry about is when you take the old tensioner out if it is indeed defective it will launch small parts down in the motor. At the dealer where I work I have to take the timing cover off when performing this repair, but on mine I just took the valve cover off.Which in itself is kind of a gamble. The new tensioner like every ''automatic timing chain tensioner'' I have ever seen. Comes preloaded, so after you get it in you must jar or compress the tensioner from the inside while it is torqued to spec, and this allows the tensioner to activate and self adjust, yes it has to adjust itself to set the tension the tensioner is used on many different vehicles so it has to be compressed and activated in place to provide proper tension for your engine/vehicle. The only reason the plug and play method worked for the lucky *** guys it did work for is because 1.God looks out for some dummies 2.When they were putting it in it somehow was activated and tensioned properly 3.the oil pressure or chain thrashing around wildly or a combination of both caused the tensioner to activate and put tensioner on the chain before it jumped teeth.I have also seen a 2.2 eco with 230k miles with the original tensioner and it was still functioning properly. There is a lot of stuff that can seem like its ticking from that region of the motor. Most of these engines sound funny at cold start because of the piston design and how they were built.Thats another thread though. One thing you wanna practice with these engines is not to use oil additives such as lucas because the thicker viscosity will make it harder for oil to go though oil jet to lubricate the chain and it can make similar noise gm reccomends that you use 5w30 and nothing else not even ''high mileage oil''.I use synthetic blend i have my opinions and reasons. So my professional reccomendation is 1.If you are not 100 percent about doing this yourself, take it to your dealer, 600 dollars is better than 4000 for a new engine. 2.DIY but remember the tensioner has to be activated and the best way to ensure you dont jump teeth when you take it off is to take atleast the valve cover off. Thats it, hope my input helps I do't wanna sound like a know-it-all but I do this stuff everyday on these cars with the best technical support available for these cars wrote by the people that designed them.
New Member
Joined: 04-23-12
Posts: 162
Likes: 1
From: NC
I have seen a handful of these tensioners go bad. Including the one on my personal car.I just changed tensioner and inspected the chain and cam spockets,but they were fine so I only replaced the tensioner.One big thing you have to worry about is when you take the old tensioner out if it is indeed defective it will launch small parts down in the motor. At the dealer where I work I have to take the timing cover off when performing this repair, but on mine I just took the valve cover off.Which in itself is kind of a gamble. The new tensioner like every ''automatic timing chain tensioner'' I have ever seen. Comes preloaded, so after you get it in you must jar or compress the tensioner from the inside while it is torqued to spec, and this allows the tensioner to activate and self adjust, yes it has to adjust itself to set the tension the tensioner is used on many different vehicles so it has to be compressed and activated in place to provide proper tension for your engine/vehicle. The only reason the plug and play method worked for the lucky *** guys it did work for is because 1.God looks out for some dummies 2.When they were putting it in it somehow was activated and tensioned properly 3.the oil pressure or chain thrashing around wildly or a combination of both caused the tensioner to activate and put tensioner on the chain before it jumped teeth.I have also seen a 2.2 eco with 230k miles with the original tensioner and it was still functioning properly. There is a lot of stuff that can seem like its ticking from that region of the motor. Most of these engines sound funny at cold start because of the piston design and how they were built.Thats another thread though. One thing you wanna practice with these engines is not to use oil additives such as lucas because the thicker viscosity will make it harder for oil to go though oil jet to lubricate the chain and it can make similar noise gm reccomends that you use 5w30 and nothing else not even ''high mileage oil''.I use synthetic blend i have my opinions and reasons. So my professional reccomendation is 1.If you are not 100 percent about doing this yourself, take it to your dealer, 600 dollars is better than 4000 for a new engine. 2.DIY but remember the tensioner has to be activated and the best way to ensure you dont jump teeth when you take it off is to take atleast the valve cover off. Thats it, hope my input helps I do't wanna sound like a know-it-all but I do this stuff everyday on these cars with the best technical support available for these cars wrote by the people that designed them.
I hope your dealership has better listening skills.
New Member
Joined: 05-06-11
Posts: 64
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From: laval
I dont normally spend time on forums but I registered because I couldn't agree more. My engine was making a rattling noise and when I did a search, I found this thread. I went against my better judgement and tried the plug and play method because I was lazy and my car never ran again. It didnt even try to start. The timing may have slipped during the removal had my engine been in the wrong spot. The starter itself has enough power to cause damage.
The car was taken to Chevy and they quoted me a new engine. They said I had head damage and my oil pan had a crack suggesting my motor is done at just 60k. I'm going to begin tearing down soon and see if it's even rebuildable. The dealer said most likely things are bent such as rods, crank, cams and other things broken such as pistons and valves. The engine has no compression in any cylinder.
I guess the upside is the end result will be MORE POWER!
The car was taken to Chevy and they quoted me a new engine. They said I had head damage and my oil pan had a crack suggesting my motor is done at just 60k. I'm going to begin tearing down soon and see if it's even rebuildable. The dealer said most likely things are bent such as rods, crank, cams and other things broken such as pistons and valves. The engine has no compression in any cylinder.
I guess the upside is the end result will be MORE POWER!
New Member
Joined: 04-23-12
Posts: 162
Likes: 1
From: NC
The car still sits in my garage. I haven't driven it for 18 months because I've had no time to fix it and refuse to get raped having someone else do it.
I bought a Darrel *** Racing SRT-4 from a guy that wanted to get out of his payments to keep my need for speed. Now that I have the SRT-4, I am debating on selling the SS as is for cheap and then listing the other 4k in aftermarket parts that are still brand new in the box...TVS, exhaust, etc....Too much to list.
I haven't decided yet and my curiosity may get the better of me to pull the head and see what I did to it. If it's repairable I could sell it for much more. The car is in great shape but will never be as fast as my SRT-4 with that TVS so it seems rather pointless to bother installing that stuff on it if I got it running.
I had forgotten that the oil pan leak is from a moron tow truck driver that tried to jack my car up from it causing a small crack. It had nothing to do with the timing chain tensioner removal.
I bought a Darrel *** Racing SRT-4 from a guy that wanted to get out of his payments to keep my need for speed. Now that I have the SRT-4, I am debating on selling the SS as is for cheap and then listing the other 4k in aftermarket parts that are still brand new in the box...TVS, exhaust, etc....Too much to list.
I haven't decided yet and my curiosity may get the better of me to pull the head and see what I did to it. If it's repairable I could sell it for much more. The car is in great shape but will never be as fast as my SRT-4 with that TVS so it seems rather pointless to bother installing that stuff on it if I got it running.
I had forgotten that the oil pan leak is from a moron tow truck driver that tried to jack my car up from it causing a small crack. It had nothing to do with the timing chain tensioner removal.
Senior Member
Joined: 10-09-06
Posts: 1,967
Likes: 0
From: Rochester NH
Changed mine at CED today in 10 minutes. The only hard part was getting the new one threaded. The new tensioner is real easy. Don't even need to pull the Valve Cover off.
Screw the old tensioner out (careful, mine fell apart as soon as it came out)... then screw the new one in.
Screw the old tensioner out (careful, mine fell apart as soon as it came out)... then screw the new one in.
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