Anyone know the estimated life of the timing chain? Anyone here have one brake on them? How many miles?

My 02 SL Silver Blue Special is coming up on 256k miles. I don't have any issues with it. I had planned on driving it till it dropped, but then I didn't expect it to be in such good shape and run so good at this age and miles so I am debating about putting in a new chain. I'm thinking about doing a 7-8k mile round the country trip this summer.

 

Well, there are two old sayings that come to mind here, Keith. One is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The other is "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." It if were mine, I'd use the second one.

 

There's another active thread right now on this site -- his chain failed at 310,000 ...

 

That's what triggered my question. 310k, thats one data point, I am hoping to find a few more.

 

Well, I've got three points (for what they are worth) -- '93 DOHC, 265,000; '02 DOHC, 197,000; '09 DOHC 90,000. All running original chains

 

I can't find anything anywhere about any recommended timing chain replacements from GM...I'm starting to believe they never expected these vehicles to last long enough to have to worry about it...
I wonder if it might be prudent to change-out the timing chain when you have to do the first valve job? I'm not at that point with my wagon yet, and it's pushing 180k...

 

Timmers the last time I went to the dealer for parts they were telling me alot of the parts are discontinued now, apperently they stop stocking them 10 or so years after the cars last model year. Or atleast the ones that werent shared with other cars

When I rebuilt my motor (@119,025) the timing chain looked fine. compared it side by side to the new one too

If it was me I would just replace it for the hell of it

 

Thanks so far. I am a little curious here, there was a post yesterday where someone posted that their timing chain broke at around 337k in an SL1 but that post has disappeared.

Anyway, I bought this car sort of on a whim. When I bought it, I was commuting 100 miles a day for work and my truck was killing me on gas. I was taking my daughter around helping her find a new car. I saw the commercials on TV for a Saturn Silver Blue Special for $9995 including air, so just for the heck of it, we stopped in and they actually did exist.

I took it for a test drive, I liked it but my daughter didn't. She bought a Corolla instead. That night I was talking to my wife about it and she said that maybe I should go ahead and get it. I would save a lot of money on gas and the truck would be preserved for my retirement. So we went back that evening and I bought it. Good thing that we went back that evening because they had two when I test drove it earlier that day, but that one was sold and I got the last one.

It served its purpose with flying colors. I figured anything over 150k miles would be gravy, In the next 8 years, I racked up 232k miles, mostly commuting to work. I used my truck or my wife's car on weekends so that is about 232k miles that I did not put on my truck. I averaged 37.85 mpg (I kept a spreadsheet), but my biggest surprise was its reliability. In a house full of Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans, the Saturn has been the most reliable.

Two intake manifold gaskets, one rear wheel bearing, one front O2 sensor, one serpentine belt, three brake jobs (don't use EBC pads, they wear out very fast and take the rotors with them, Duralast ceramics are not much better either), third set of tires (and they still have about half their tread life left after 70k), third set of spark plugs, assorted air filters and a couple dozen oil changes. Thats it so far. Come Monday, I will have to add a water pump as it has just started to leak.

Anyway, I am retired now. I only put about 7k per year on it. If the engine blows or any major repair comes up, it will go to the junk yard. I really don't need it anymore but I was just curious as to how long it might go. Looks like it might be good for another 10 years.

 

Keith --

There apparently was a recall on certain engines in the 2000-2003 era that had some problems with defective timing chains. You'll have to contact a dealer and supply them with the VIN number to see if you are included in that group

 

Now, just for grins and Ho Ho's, try the same thing on a Ford Focus! It will make the Saturn look easy!

I also do not know how long the timing chain is supposed to last but I think I agree with who ever said longer than the designers figured.
A friend used to run a wrecking yard and he would fix up Saturn S cars for his rent to own business. He had them out there with over over 400 k on the clock. The only one I ever saw broken in the yard was one that had rolled at a high rate of speed, slid down the road on it's nose, wore through the hood, the cam cover, and then the chain.