Hey, just wondering when the timming chain on the 2200's should be replaced; how many km? and i heard the water pump should be done at the same time.
Does my 98 sunfire with the 2200 have a timming chain or belt?
and should the water pump be done at the same time?
Thanks
terry





98 j-body sedan

Terry, your sunfire should have a timing chain, and unless its broke or jumped time, i dont see why you would have to replace it, as for the water pump it doesnt show to be timing chain driven so i would probably wait until it starts to fail, according to the labor book it says its a 1.4 hour job to replace the water pump, and 4.8 hours to do the timing chain.

Timing chain should normally be good for life. However, it seems that there is a bit of a weekness in the timing chain tensioner. The tensioner has quite a few plastic parts in it make up. My 97 2.2 tensioner broke, and believe me, if it breaks you will hear the chain rattling very loud. Sounds like the engine is coming apart. Now it may start to skip and jump teeth, and that you don't want. When I replaced the tensioner, I also put in a new chain. Over 300,000 km on the engine, and the old chain actually looked almost as good and the new one. Very hard to tell the difference. It is a very hefty chain.

As for the water pump. occasionally inspect the weep hole on the shaft (both upper and lower side) for signs of small dripping. This is a sign of the shaft seal going. Or another symptom is it may start to howl. If you have either of these symptons ten you need to replace it. Otherwise it should also be good.

They only suggest to replace the pump if you are doing a timing chain as the access is easier. But even so, it is not that difficult with everything else still in the car.

Mike

The timing chain on this engine is supposed to last until you rebuild the whole thing. This is because they are a pain to replace because of their location. And the factory hates to replace difficult parts under warranty. My '85 broke it's tensioner at 180,000, long past when they expected the car to be junked.

I'm all about the "if it ain't broke" mentality, however parts will eventually give out, so if you already have your engine apart for any reason, you should take the opportunity to replace parts that could give you troubles... For example, I had to replace one of my top valve gaskets, which required the whole gasket kit since the motor had to be taken apart. I paid someone to do this, and while they had it apart, for a little more labour charge, I had them put in a new timing chain kit and water pump. Now I "shouldn't" have to worry about either for the life of the car.

I also replaced my stock struts and mounts with oem replacement KYBs... there was nothing wrong with my old ones, except they may have been a little soft. But now I have fresh suspension that should last until I give up the car.


... if your already at the grocery store, and know your low on bananas, you should get them rather than have to make a second trip... lol




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