One of my vehicles is a 03 cavalier with the 2.2L Ecotec II engine. This engine is driven by a "never service" timing chain thats good for the life of the vehicle.
Well, my gf's father has a saturn L300 with the 2.2L Ecotec I, the older version, which also has the timing chain, built in 2002. Well, at 30k, last week, hsi timing chain broke clean, and the engine had to go in for service.
Upon service the dealership called him and pushed him that he hadnt changed his oil. He responded that he hadnt changes his oil at THERE dealership because it is a rip off, and that he does it himself, and that the engine has seen nothing but mobil 1. They quickly backed down and serviced the car under warranttee at no cost to him. To further support his case, my gf's father found a bullitin that stated at low RPMS this engines "lube controller" for the timing chain has pressure problems at low RPMS, indicating that this could cause a problem. Being that the car saw mostly highway miles at 55mph, it was all low RPMS in OD.
Now this car has only seen M1, but with 9k oil changes, and i have also stumbled upon a bullitin that states extended drains will cause problems with the "hydrolic pump" that controls tension on the timing chain.
Does this apply to my engine, the Ecotec II at all? Does anyone know if extended drains can have a negative effect on such a thing? I dont see how, because the oil is still good at 9k, like a conventional would be at 3k.
Anyway, anyone know about these engines and how they work when extending your oil drains? Im pretty sure this problem was resolved with the Ecotec II, and that they dont even use that tension system anymore, but I figured I would leave it to the experts of this site. Thanks.
Well, my gf's father has a saturn L300 with the 2.2L Ecotec I, the older version, which also has the timing chain, built in 2002. Well, at 30k, last week, hsi timing chain broke clean, and the engine had to go in for service.
Upon service the dealership called him and pushed him that he hadnt changed his oil. He responded that he hadnt changes his oil at THERE dealership because it is a rip off, and that he does it himself, and that the engine has seen nothing but mobil 1. They quickly backed down and serviced the car under warranttee at no cost to him. To further support his case, my gf's father found a bullitin that stated at low RPMS this engines "lube controller" for the timing chain has pressure problems at low RPMS, indicating that this could cause a problem. Being that the car saw mostly highway miles at 55mph, it was all low RPMS in OD.
Now this car has only seen M1, but with 9k oil changes, and i have also stumbled upon a bullitin that states extended drains will cause problems with the "hydrolic pump" that controls tension on the timing chain.
Does this apply to my engine, the Ecotec II at all? Does anyone know if extended drains can have a negative effect on such a thing? I dont see how, because the oil is still good at 9k, like a conventional would be at 3k.
Anyway, anyone know about these engines and how they work when extending your oil drains? Im pretty sure this problem was resolved with the Ecotec II, and that they dont even use that tension system anymore, but I figured I would leave it to the experts of this site. Thanks.
