Is it true that the timing belt needs to be replaced every so often in an S-Series? My 2001 SC2 that I got just a few months ago died on me with 127K miles on it because the timing chain skipped and since its an interference engine all of the valves hit the pistons, killing the engine completely. The guy I sold it to knew his Saturns really well and said that the timing chain should've been replaced around 100k miles. I can't get my head around this because I know someone else with a 3rd gen SC2 that has 180k miles on it and they've never replaced the chain, and I had a 1998 SL2 with 246K miles on it and it never even once had the chain replaced either. Can anyone explain why my SC2 timing chain went out so suddenly?

 

To be clear, the S-Series 1.9L engines use a timing chain, not a belt.
That being said, it's normally quite robust and can take a lot of abuse/mileage. You'll find lots of stories of long miles on one without issue.
Mine made it to 281k miles with constant thrashing, high revs and occasionally low oil before I retired the engine. It did sound and look rough by that point but it did not break.

For one to give out at 127k is unusual.

It could be anything from a defective chain, some other malfunction like timing chain tensioner, low or no oil pressure (and high revs). Misaligned guides, or some other issue.
Has someone had the engine apart before?
Has the oil been allowed to run low (or out)? These engines are famous for the oil rings sticking and causing high oil consumption so it's good to keep track of oil usage.

 

Chain engine probably died early from lack of proper maintenance. Skip a few oil changes and use Quaker State or Penzoil leads to an early death.

 

Indeed those engines have chains not belts.
Most likely a low oil situation that did the chain in.
You do not replace the timing chain unless there are signs or indications of issues.

 

I'm happy to see that someone else has the same opinion as I do about Quicker Sludge and Pennyzoil.

 

Yes, I meant to say chain, I was used to typing belts so I had a few typos.
I bought the car pre-owned at about 125k miles
The guy I bought it from did a 5 angle valve grind and had put a header on it. I don't know how well he took care of it other than that, but I DO know that I never let the oil get low. Heck, it actually never burned any.
A couple days before it died on me though, I was on the highway and I went to downshift to 3rd, and ended up accidentally going to 2nd. I didn't see how high my rpm went because I instantly moved it back where it belonged. Is it possible that that's what killed it? It felt fine afterwards and for the next few days until died on startup a few days later.

 

Excessive rpm could certainly be the reason the chain failed. Sounds like the engine had been apart before you purchased the car. It may have had an inexpensive Chinese timing chain installed when the head was off.