timing chain issue

[ChadG]

Originally Posted by TooCool5

I have asked 3 different dealers and ALL just try and hide it saying " we have never seen this on the Camaro".
Must be some kind of GM policy.

I've heard the same line, but my neighbor is a technician at a Cadillac dealership and he says they have two techs dedicated to doing nothing but timing chains on the LLT.

[Grimlock]

Did a quick readthrough but still have some questions. So what are our options? I'm getting that changing our oil more frequently is one...can we simply upgrade to a "better" timing chain. Is that even possible? I've been considering the Mace cams and if that's part of the same process then maybe knock both of those out. PLEASE chime in.

<- Lacks any real car knowledge. Just knows which pedal is gas and brake.

[Nutbutt]

So far the part numbers for the timing chain has not changed since original build. From that I would say they are only replacing with original equipment.

[TooCool5]

Originally Posted by ChadG

I've heard the same line, but my neighbor is a technician at a Cadillac dealership and he says they have two techs dedicated to doing nothing but timing chains on the LLT.

I believe it, click on my garage, got two Bonneville's with the stellar 3800 V6's
that run and run and run. Some in our club have 300 - 400K miles on them.
GM knows how to build reliable engines, this is sad that they released a Cadillac
engine with so many timing chain problems for the Camaro.
I knew it was a first year out GM, but got caught up in the WOW factor.
They should do a campaign re-call and replace our weak timing chains!

Originally Posted by Nutbutt

So far the part numbers for the timing chain has not changed since original build. From that I would say they are only replacing with original equipment.

Read above posts, the part numbers were changed.

[BaylorCamaro]

What is weird is there was a member here that was getting close to 100k miles with zero issues. Seems like this is a sporadic issue as a result of poor QC maybe?

Originally Posted by dianeokie

I may be wrong, but isn't this part of the drive train? If so, isn't there a standard "longer" warranty on this part?

Yeah but my car is heavily moded and I can only assume if I had this issue they would try to say it was the mods.

Sent from my SAMSUNG Galaxy S III using telekinesis.

[SC2150]

We do the replacements pretty steady here and there is a replacement kit that has better guides, etc. that we use.

The biggest causes we see in the failure is:
A. car is run low on oil (no low oil indicator) and even a couple qts low it can suck air when stopping/starting/cornering fast.....that is enough for the oil pressure dependant tensioners to release (the spring backup is not strong enough to keep proper tension....these motors run 50-70psi for this reason) and jump a few teeth:


The gear tooth design is a low profile for smoother, less noise of operation but the trade off is it is more likely to jump teeth if tension is lost for a second).

B. The oil reccomended is not a full syn but a blend (DEXOS approved) and these 3 chains really need full syn to not stretch over time.

A. is the most common....do a search here on how many have run low on oil level not checking the oil every few fill-ups.

[SNV]

Originally Posted by SC2150

We do the replacements pretty steady here and there is a replacement kit that has better guides, etc. that we use.

The biggest causes we see in the failure is:
A. car is run low on oil (no low oil indicator) and even a couple qts low it can suck air when stopping/starting/cornering fast.....that is enough for the oil pressure dependant tensioners to release (the spring backup is not strong enough to keep proper tension....these motors run 50-70psi for this reason) and jump a few teeth:


The gear tooth design is a low profile for smoother, less noise of operation but the trade off is it is more likely to jump teeth if tension is lost for a second).

B. The oil reccomended is not a full syn but a blend (DEXOS approved) and these 3 chains really need full syn to not stretch over time.

A. is the most common....do a search here on how many have run low on oil level not checking the oil every few fill-ups.

A. My oil was always changed on time and was never ran low.

B. I have been using full synthetic since I dropped the factor oil at 500 miles.

Do we have a "C" for you to list? lol

[shrinkdoc]

Originally Posted by SC2150

We do the replacements pretty steady here and there is a replacement kit that has better guides, etc. that we use.

The biggest causes we see in the failure is:
A. car is run low on oil (no low oil indicator) and even a couple qts low it can suck air when stopping/starting/cornering fast.....that is enough for the oil pressure dependant tensioners to release (the spring backup is not strong enough to keep proper tension....these motors run 50-70psi for this reason) and jump a few teeth:


The gear tooth design is a low profile for smoother, less noise of operation but the trade off is it is more likely to jump teeth if tension is lost for a second).

B. The oil reccomended is not a full syn but a blend (DEXOS approved) and these 3 chains really need full syn to not stretch over time.

A. is the most common....do a search here on how many have run low on oil level not checking the oil every few fill-ups.

Yeh..but they are brand new cars, why would they even be low on oil?

[shrinkdoc]

If everyone contacted consumer affairs and complained perhaps there would be a recall. I for one dont feel comfy knowing in the back of my mind my chain is stretching.

[spyder]

I have been using Mobil 1 full synthetic since day 14 when I removed the factory oil at about 500 miles..I'm glad I didn't buy cheap regular motor oil.

[KalCorp]

I was told by dealer that the timing cover from factory leaks a lot and they are always redoing them.

I don't see my oil low but they showed me where it is still leaking. In time it needs to be fixed :-(

[SNV]

Originally Posted by spyder

I have been using Mobil 1 full synthetic since day 14 when I removed the factory oil at about 500 miles..I'm glad I didn't buy cheap regular motor oil.

That didn't help me :(

[SC2150]

Some still have issues with all the precautions listed....but far fewer.

Here is one in the shop right now:





Notice the coking on the intake valves after only 50k miles? As bad as any we have seen.

We are doing SC & Heads, and a proper oil separating crankcase evac system on this so while it is apart we do chains standard.

[ChadG]

Originally Posted by SC2150

We do the replacements pretty steady here and there is a replacement kit that has better guides, etc. that we use.

The biggest causes we see in the failure is:
A. car is run low on oil (no low oil indicator) and even a couple qts low it can suck air when stopping/starting/cornering fast.....that is enough for the oil pressure dependant tensioners to release (the spring backup is not strong enough to keep proper tension....these motors run 50-70psi for this reason) and jump a few teeth:


The gear tooth design is a low profile for smoother, less noise of operation but the trade off is it is more likely to jump teeth if tension is lost for a second).

B. The oil reccomended is not a full syn but a blend (DEXOS approved) and these 3 chains really need full syn to not stretch over time.

A. is the most common....do a search here on how many have run low on oil level not checking the oil every few fill-ups.

Tracy so is DEXOS approved Mobil 1 not fully synthetic? I'm confused . . . I've been using Mobile 1 since 1.5k miles and have been changing it every 3k. Haven't ever had low oil levels and I check it at every fill up because I'm paranoid about this issue.