I always replace the water pump and thermostat when inside. The pump is driven by one of the chains. I also replace the belt and tensioner since they will be off. I also buy Cloyes parts not Chinabomb parts. Cloyes sells it as an all inclusive kit of hard parts, gaskets are separate and always replaced.

Why do you replace them? (genuine question, i dont know.) Do they they get damaged by a lose chain? Or perhaps there general life span is around the same as a chain?


Im actually not sure what those are. Is there a belt near the chains? What does it do?
I believe my car engine uses a timing chain, not a timing belt, so im guessing you dont mean that. I havnt heard of them using both.
I replaced the serpentine belt a few months ago. Not sure if your talking about that or not.
Im assuming the belt and tensioner mentioned are separate items and not part of most timing chain kits?

Edit: Watching some videos on my engine type. I see what the tensioner is/looks like.

Do you have a link to those so i can take a look? Unfortunately, being on disability doesnt leave me with many financial options.
So i should have the gasket replaced as well then when i get the timing chain replaced? Iv never opened up the valve cover to look inside. So i wasnt positive if that had a gasket or not. But it would make sense to have one. Would also make sense to replace after opening it up, and being 18 years old.

man.. some times i just miss the obvious..
I was looking at kits and watching videos on timing changes and everything with that. Trying to get a visual for everything. A select few things wernt adding up, but eventually figured it out. Sometimes tho my mind skips a step which makes me more confused, unnecessarily. Like trying to figure out what the hell one of the parts was in a kit i was looking at. Even after matching up all the other parts and checking the names listed for each of em.. my dumb ass missed the whole... checking the name of the part i couldnt figure out lol. -_- Turns out it was a water pump lol. That kit also had the tensioner in it as well. And i was able to see the tensioner on one of the videos. So that helps.

So my questions now fall to the thermostat and belt you mentioned.

This was the kit i was looking at. I had gotten some parts there before so that was just where i started looking.
I tried taking a look at cloyes.com and found what looks to be a kit with the same items. Unfortunately, it doesnt list prices for them. It just says to contact sales. Which i find quite annoying. So i was wondering if you usually go through that ordeal if maybe you get there brand through a third party seller or something else?
While i do want/need a product that works, i also have to be incredibly careful of every penny. Being on disability does not make one flush.

I buy most of my parts from Rock Auto. Com if It is a big project and can wait on shipping time. Name brand parts at low prices. If your belt has been changed in the last 136k miles it might be okay, but it will be off the car when the engine is apart so why not replace it. Same with the thermostat, the thermostat housing has to be removed to replace the water pump on this engine. The water pump is difficult to replace and it won’t make it past 200k so save on labor and do it all at the same time.

Get a labor quote for changing the water pump and see. Also get a quote for changing the main chain kit. Then get a quote for the entire job and the complete job will be less than going in at different times.

If the chain breaks then the repair will most likely cost more than the car is worth.

I have 285k miles and quiet chains in my daily driver with the same engine. I change the oil when the change light comes on and keep it topped off between changes. I also run synthetic oil and a quality filter. I pays to maintain your car. I also have 245k miles on my 06 Lincoln Navigator with only routine maintenance. The valve covers have never been off- synthetic oil since 30k miles.

Which belt are you talking about tho? (Name?) Im not familiar with all the names/locations of all the different belts in a car. Wouldnt want to be looking at the wrong belt.
And what does that thermostat control? Im guessing its monitoring temperatures but not sure for what.

Your car has one belt that drives the air conditioner and the alternator. The thermostat recirculates the coolant in the engine and heater until the engine reaches temperature. Then the thermostat lets coolant flow through the radiator to maintain temperature at a certain temperature. Our car’s thermostat use a rubber seal inside the thermostat as an additional seal to control flow. This rubber piece fails over time and lets coolant flow to the radiator when it is not supposed to. This can set a code for “too long to warm up” and make the cooling fans runs on high as an indicator of trouble. Thermostats are a maintenance item. As are what used to be called fan belts.

This is the kit I just purchased for my 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt LT. It the same car as your 2007 ION 3. I have the engine out and the cylinder head is off and so is the oil pan. I purchased the car not running at 165k miles from a co-worker. The car had seen extended oil change intervals and that is deadly on these engines. The main chain had stretched and the engine had a broken long black guide. The chain had jumped many teeth and had very low but even compression. I replaced the exhaust valves and I am going to start reassembly this weekend.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sat...03a94de7b7.png

is that the serpentine belt?


Thats pretty close to what i found on rockauto while searching. But that specific one did not show up for my car.
This seemed to be the main one that i noticed.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sat...630f5f9ff3.png

Looks to be similar to yours minus the belt and the item next to it.
Similar/same on partsgeek and A premium. Tho this is one item/kit thats unusually more expensive on aprem then other sits.

Edit: I jsut noticed that little rubber circle in the water pump gasket; is that the thermostat seal? If it is, is that enough or do you suggest replacing the whole unit?

Some people call it a serpentine belt but being almost 70 it will always be a fan belt to me.

The o ring you are referring to is used when replacing the water pump, it actually takes 2.
Look at the firewall side of your engine and you will see the water pump on the passenger side and a pipe that runs below the exhaust manifold to the driver’s side. The thermostat is in the housing at the driver’s side, both heater hoses and a radiator hose also connect there. All of that has to come off to replace the water pump.

The repairs that your car needs are not for an inexperienced mechanic. I am a professional mechanic by trade.

I purchase Cloyes parts because they are comparable to what the factory installed when the car was manufactured. I also keep my cars a long time and when I repair cars and trucks for customers they also expect to only make this repair one time.

Some places use inexpensive parts but they do not last like quality parts. I would much prefer to purchase a car with a problem then one that has been repaired using cheap parts.

I hope you understand.

Im not used to either name personally. I only ask because a couple months ago i had the 'serpentine belt' replaced. And no point trying to get and replace it again so soon (unless there was an actual issue.)

Oh i have no intention of attempting these repairs by myself. I do know a shop just down the road tho that is willing to install parts i get and just charge labor. Im not sure if they normally do that or if its an exception for me, but it can make a big difference. As i said, disability sucks; including financially.

Oh i do understand. My car is a 2007. I bought it new. So iv had it about 18 years. I do what i can to take car of it. Its always had it regular maintenance done and such. The only things that might have gone a little long are things i didnt know about; Like this whole timing chain and everything else. But, so far, that hasnt caused any damage to the car. Just trying to keep it that way, and learn a little bit as i go. - Aside form always caring for my car, as well as i can, There is also zero chance i could get a new car, so i damn well better do what i can to take car of mine.

As for quality parts vs low quality.. i cant say much to that. Im not really familiar with car part brands and there quality. So i couldnt identify that one way or the other. Only thing i can really see is the price. Again, disability. Another reason i like asking about things here and getting opinions/knowledge. So thank you for that.




Question. I was looking at thermostats on rockauto. There pages said 1. Does that have to be done to replace a thermostat?
2. I forget the details, but i remember looking into that years ago and most ppl said NOT to flush it. Just drain and replace. That flushing tends to cause more problems. (Dont remember why, i just remember thats what was said.)
3. as such, i did drain and replace the antifreeze october 2021 at 125,582 miles. (Unless i did it again afterwords and forgot.) But that was 3years 7 months ago and about 10-11k miles ago.