Hey all, I last posted here on the forum in 2015(however, this is a new account). I've had a few Cobalt SS LSJs but had to sell off the toys with kids, house, life etc... but I'm BACK BABY! Just picked up an 08 Cobalt SS LNF the other day. I did quite a bit of work the the lsj cars, basically all the cooling, pulley-ing, meth-ing etc. Basically pushed the Eaton to the edge of its limits. I know nothing about the LNF. The guy I bought it from didn't know much either, he bought it and drove it for a couple years and sold it to me. It's got a K&N typhoon, some sort of aftermarket charge piping and intercooler, I'm not sure about exhaust yet, I think it's just a muffler delete. I could use yalls help with direction for the car... light mods, still want drivability but I'd like 300+ ponies... also, it's got 118k miles so what would be some potential failure items I could take care of? I sure appreciate yalls help!!!

 

Welcome (back).

 

Hey Sambleasdale! It's pretty funny to read your post because it's almost identical to the story that I came here to tell I also have an old account that I've barely used (because I just lurk and search), had an LSJ for years (that I had been struggling to find the time to finish repairing), and I also recently came into the possession of an 08 LNF. Mine is a bit younger though with ~66k miles. It's in excellent condition and was sold to me, somewhat reluctantly, by a friend who knew of my Slobalt's saga. He also has a jeep and needed to free up a spot in his driveway for his girlfriend to park in when she moves in. I'm still in shock that this actually happened to be honest

Let's see a pic of your new ride. Here's mine..

 

That's hilarious! You lucked out getting one with so few miles. Congratulations on the new purchase.

 

Thanks, congrats to you as well! Love the red calipers and SS badges.

Did you replace the timing chain guide bolt on it yet? I've been searching for other trouble spots that can be mitigated if taken care of early. I've actually seen a lot of conflicting information regarding whether the timing chain tensioner in the LNF ever needs to be replaced. Up until now I was under the impression that all LNFs had the new tensioner and that there was generally very little risk of failure before 150k miles for cars that didn't live at the track and didn't have stage 3 mods, but several threads with large debates seemed to suggest that some LNFs still have chain failure and would benefit from a new tensioner (along with an enormous debate on how to replace the tensioner, but I already did that job on my LSJ... I would love to not have to do it again though ). Do you know of any other weak bolts? I'm pretty sure the LNF doesn't have the garbage bosch coolant pump since there's no blower

Now, to get rid of my 07 SC. It's definitely going to be a project car, so these forums will probably be my best bet at finding it a home with someone who will A) make proper use of it, and, more importantly B) not kill themselves with it. There's probably some sort of minimum post requirement I'm guessing.... I wonder if duration of membership can substitute for post count

 

I actually did do the timing chain tensioner. I did it on my other LSJ cars in the past so it was near the top of the to-do maintenance list. I do believe its already got the updated version by at over 100k i went and ahead and did it. And you're correct, no crappy Bosch IC pump! One of the big maintenance differences I've found so far is cleaning the valves. Since its direct injection the back of the valves get super build up with carbon. Ive already ordered the gasket and pcv valve and will be doing it next week.

 

I did the tensioner in my LSJ like 5 years ago before I had any mechanical skills (Im finally a novice) and had a miserable time trying to convince myself that the thing had set properly. Eventually got to the point where I didn't know what else to do and had to just try starting it, and it had set properly haha. Yes I realize now that I could have removed it and essentially started over, but I also wasn't about to take it apart to see if it was set or not. I'll probably replace the one in my LNF when I do the plugs and such in the next year or two.

You did the tensioner guide bolt too, yes?