Hi all, I own a 2.2 astra coupe and before discovering that timing chain is a common prob on these cars and vx forums I had the dreaded chain fault and replaced myself. After coming on forums I found vx cust services and thought well might as well have a rant about this and see what happens, so here it is for anyone interested, there is some editing removed names etc. Basically it my emails and responses to Vauxhall:

Title :
First Name :Carl
Middle Initials :
Surname :
Flat Number/House Name :
House Number and Street :
Locality :
Post Town :
County :Wirral
Postcode :
Work Phone :
Home Phone :as above
Mobile Phone :na
Email Address :
Preferred method of contact :e-Mail
Registration Number :W
Manufacturer :
Model :Astra CoupÃƒ'Ã‚Â©
Engine Size :2200
Vehicle Relationship 😮wner
Retailer Name :
Retailer Town :
Network Q :No
Previous Case Number :
Marketing Opt-out requested :true
Enquiry:
HI, must say im absolutely disgusted with vauxhalls, as an ex employee of 10 years and having drove vx for 24 yrs never been this annoyed. I own a 2.2 astra coupe bertone and a few weeks ago thought the water pump had gone so bought a new one (car sounded like a diesel) when i stripped it down discovered a very slack cam chain was making all the noise went to lookers and was told the cost of repair so opted to buy and fit timing chain kit myself. Now I discover this is a known fault to vauxhalls and there is a recall on this fault, this was never mentioned to me!!!!! Hence I am angry at spending 200 pounds to rectify what should have been fixed at vauxhall cost due to a production error with oil jet and would like to complain about this. Also I would like to know if there are any other outstanding recalls/rework needed on my vehicle as egr is now playing up. my reg is W847 JWP chasis No: W0L0TGF07YB013220 it is a 2198cc astra coupe bertone. The engine No: TA002902 and has covered 59000 miles and has a full service history. I would be grateful to a reply to my concerns and anguish.Thanks Carl

RESPONSEDear Mr ******

Thank you for your recent email and I was very sorry to learn of the problems you have experienced with your Astra Coupe.

In response to the points raised; your vehicle was not in the affected range for the timing chain concern, and the concern was not related to the tensioning.

There are no outstanding recalls or reworks on this vehicle at the present time.

As an ex-employee you will know that it is not always possible to determine by correspondence whether symptoms displayed on a vehicle correspond to any known concern. It is for this reason that we would always recommend you entrust the vehicle to your local or preferred Vauxhall dealer so that the Service Team can carry out diagnostic checks on the vehicle. They have a database of technical bulletins from Vauxhall, and working from fault codes or symptoms displayed on your particular vehicle, they will be in a position to make an accurate diagnosis and advise you accordingly. If your vehicle is within parameters for work to be carried out under a field remedy supplied through Vauxhall, then the work will be carried out free of charge.

I trust this suggested course of action is acceptable. Thank you for allowing me to comment.

Kind regards

Customer Care

MY REPLYDear ****** ******

I would like to thank you to your quick response to my concerns, however your comments are less than accurate with you stating my car was not in the affected range for the timing chain concern. I have attached a copy of the rework notification from 2003 which clearly indicates my vehicle is bang in the middle of the affected vehicles with a chasis number of 013220 the affected range running from 000196 to 020685 astra g bertone coupe.

Additionally as stated when I took the car to dealers and found out the cost of repair I opted to change myself as I have 30 years of engine building experience under my belt and simply could not afford the cost of the dealership repair. However this is far from my point. The point is when I went to vauxhalls there was no mention that this was a common problem for a large number of vehicles and in fact there was a recall/fix at vauxhall expense, when I then moved over to PARTS and the timing kit was ordered with the aid of my chasis number this was still not mentioned.

Your statement that this was not a tensioning issue astounds me and I'm sorry but this is pretty obvious, the fault was with a 1mm oil nozzle that lubricates the timing chain, (or indeed is meant to) the fault being the nozzle is too small and easily becomes blocked starving the chain of lubrication which then being dry stretches and will eventually snap, a situation I have found to be true according to so many testimonies on vxon migweb and Z22SE websites. My chain was stretched my nozzle was the 1mm type etc and I would be more than happy to supply them to you for your examination. My chain had stretched and actually had jumped a tooth on the crank pulley. The new timing and TENSIONER kit includes a 5mm oil nozzle to avoid this problem recurring and lets be honest if I had left the job serious engine damage would have occured when the chain would have snapped. I would also like to state a noisy and slack cam chain doesnt actually throw up any fault codes that could be picked up by Tech2 anyway.

Following, the timing chain problem I have also had to replace the egr and guess what even that is now an alternative item to original! I wonder Why.

Therfore if you email of complete denial of my car being in the fault range is the best you can do I will take this matter further.

Please check the attachements as I think they are relevant and also have lots more if you need them to help you determine the actual range of vehicles that are affected by this problem.

I am not asking for the vehicle to be repaired as its already done and is now sound. However I would expect a goodwill gesture on your behalf due to the circumstances. All I ask is further consideration be given to my circumstances and more care is taken regarding your reply.

Thanks

Response
Dear Mr *********

Thank you for your further email. I regret we could not open the attachment in the format it was sent in.

I have, however, re-checked with our Technical Team and can confirm again that your vehicle was NOT within the chassis range for the timing chain concern. We see you have noted the range as being from 000196 to 020685. The range was actually 1 B 000196 to 1 B 020685.

A Parts Manager, if you ordered parts, will take your order and supply the parts. It is the Service Team who would check the Technical Bulletins and databases supplied from Vauxhall Motors and advise the customer if symptoms or fault codes they have detected when inspecting the vehicle, relate to any known concern. If the vehicle is not maintained by a Vauxhall dealership, then the onus is on the repairer to keep updated with Technical bulletins from all manufacturers and garages are aware that there is a technical line they can call to receive all relevant technical data from Vauxhall Motors or can certainly obtain this information from the Customer Care Centre if they enquire.

Our Technical Team have advised that a timing chain that is supplied with a reduced level of lubrication would not stretch, as timing chains do not stretch. But it may cause the links to wear prematurely. Reduced lubrication can be caused by incorrect or insufficient servicing. And whilst a noisy camchain does not necessary throw up fault codes, the noise itself would alert a Vauxhall Technician to suggest to the customer that further investigation is recommended.

We are always keen to investigate technical concerns on a vehicle and offer technical and financial assistance to our loyal customers when a vehicle is just outside of manufacturer's warranty, but in order to consider any claim, we do require the vehicle to be inspected in its failed state at an authorized Vauxhall dealership.

Regrettably, as a Vauxhall dealership was not given the opportunity to inspect the vehicle in it's failed state and repairs have already been carried out, I regret to advise that we would not look to contribute towards repair costs on this occasion.

I am very sorry I cannot meet your expectations.

Kind regards

Customer Care

Please note that in responding to your request for assistance we will store your personal details and respective correspondence on our customer care database.

My Reply
Dear ***** ******
I would like to thank you for the time you have spent to dismiss my concerns.
I find it astonishing that you remain adamant my car was not in the affected range. Additionally if not in the affected range I wonder why it had the suspect oil jet nozzle fitted! and how in fact this oil jet could possibly be ok in one engine and not another!
The internet makes interesting reading on this matter and I'm sure does little for the integrity of Vauxhall when there are so many numerous articles on this very subject and yet this problem is on the whole ignored denied or other excuses are offered.
My astra coupe bertone 2.2 was built in 2000 and is W reg, and was one of the first batch of mk4 coupe astra's. The car was serviced by vauxhall dealerships until 2003, and has been serviced regularly by independant garages since, but clearly your investigation into my vehicle already knows this. In addition to the car being regularly serviced since I have owned it I have carried out additional oil and filter changes every 3000 - 4000 miles. Interestingly the oil nozzle remedies actually predate the car being serviced by independant garages. My car for W reg having 59000 miles is a low mileage example of this mark and in mint condition. Another interesting point is that most of the cars that experience this problem do so at between 50000-60000 miles and 58000 seems to be a common time for this to manifest itself.
Many owners of these vehicles are of the opinion that the oil nozzle becomes blocked by the breakdown of the paper oil filter fitted to these engines and this may well be so, however when I changed mine it is also apparent there is excessive wear on the guiderails and wonder if the plastic thats worn off these rails has also contributed to the blockage.
I would also like to state your observation of the differences between a parts manager and your service teams, is most helpful! When I went to dealership with my particular problem I told the service team that there was a problem with my timing chain, the response I recieved was that would need to be verified with a Tech2 diagnostics at a cost of 78 pounds and if this was the case a repair costing several hundred pounds would be needed. I then turned to the parts team who incidentally were standing next to service team person and moved to the next seat along the counter, oh about 4 foot along to be precise. Oh and there was definately no mention that this was a common fault or could possible be a recall! In fact the opposite as though I was the first ever to report such a fault.
I would suggest that your technical team are in error to state any chain with worn links due to lack of lubrication does not stretch. Any chain with worn links is longer than a new or well maintained lubricated chain and furthermore I can easily prove this as I have the old chain off my car. This is pretty obvious really and is why the designers of engines include little things like chain tensioners!!! It is also why the chains get so noisy just before snapping, with so many owners complaining of their 2.2's suddenly sounding like diesels on a bad day. The chains are dry or partially dry and stretched. With the timing cover removed the chain dips and snaps back between the cam gears and can easily jump a tooth. The results of this if you keep driving is engine lock then chain snap, and engines seriously damaged and reading internet forums there is a new story like this every week, with some sites even now running features on this very issue. It is possible the chain snaps then damage occurs but it is equally likely the timing locks after chain stretches then snaps. Either way this should not happen, this fault should not exist on any vehicle. Especially one serviced by Vauxhall after 2002 when the remedies were actually put into production.
I would also like to repeat I never asked for you to meet the cost of these repairs as I have already fixed the vehicle and what I wanted was an acknowledgement of the problem and that my vehicle had been affected. Also admitedly it would have been nice if you threw in a sweetner like a discount off future service or something like that but that was not my goal.
Anyway as said, I thank you for your help and listening to my rant and the rapid responses to my queries and concerns. I am sure my story will make interesting reading to all when posted on one of these Z22SE, Migweb, vvoc and VXON websites to all who are considering buying vauxhalls in the future. I currently own 5 vauxhalls at present and am thinking maybe its time to look to a manufacturer that doesnt duck and dive in avoidance when these problems arise.
One disgruntled customer
Carl

The Attachments sent were:
Vauxhall TIS
Field Remedy: 1532
Subject: Engine Z22SE - Broken Timing Chain
Models: Engines: Option:
Astra-G 2000...2002,VX220 2000...2002,Speedster 2000...2002,Zafira 2000...2002,Vectra-B 2000...2001 Z22SE,Z22SE,Z22SE,Z22SE,Z22SE
Complaint: Engine damaged by broken timing chain.
Cause: Missing or unsufficient lubrication of the timing chain.
Production: Modified timing chain and lubrication nozzle have been introduced in production as of the following engine-No: 11065400 (March 2002).

Remedy:
Note: Please check first if the car is included in Service Campaign 03-P-24.

In case of customer complaint please use for the necessary repair the timing
chain kit. This kit contains the modified timing chain and lubrication nozzle.
Note: This Quick Information is valid for all Z22SE engines upon customer
complaint.
Spare-Parts: Qty: Part-No.: Catalog-No.:
Timing Chain Repair Kit 1 12577385 56 36 400
Gasket, Cover, Oil Pump 1 90537915 06 46 295
Gasket, Cylinder Head Cover 1 90537319 06 07 494
Gasket, Oil Pump to Cylinder Block 1 24435052 06 46 902
Seal, Ring, Crankshaft Front 1 90571925 06 38 199
Screw, Hex. HD., Damper to Crankshaft 1 90537363 06 14 927
Labour Times: TC: Hours:
U3 153 20 Install timing chain service kit Astra G, 92 3.0
Astra G Coupe, Astra G Convertible
U3 153 21 Install timing chain service kit Zafira A 92 3.3
U3 153 22 Install timing chain service kit 92 3.7
Vectra B (w/o A/C)
001 Additional work Vectra B(with Air Condition) 92 1.1
U3 153 23 Install timing chain service kit 92 4.6
Speedster, VX220
U3 153 24 Repair engine 92
The costs for this repair will be covered for vehicles until 31.12.2007 and
a mileage lower than 100.000 Km.
The regular warranty procedure should be used for claiming Set-up-time.

the old and new oil jets

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