z22se engine with a broken chain, repair!

daveb948576

before i start my rant, hi my name is Dave and i have been working on cars for 9 years mostly vaxhalls. :wave:

i bought a vectra b 51 plate form ebay
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT

apparently the timing chain has broken, doh!

i've not tried turning the key, what im planning on doing is taking off the rocker cover and seeing if there is any valves that are still down and also check the cam timing is correct and more than likely upon doing this i will find out whats broken.

with replacing the chain am i right in saying i will need

balancer chain kit for a z22se engine
timing chain kit for a z22se engine with newer oil jet
timing chain tensioner for a z20net engine
head gasket
valves and guides

some have said that the piston rings will need checking because when the valves hit the pistons the rings get squashed and bind again the bore walls, how would i check the rings?

after putting this engine back together and having it started up i'd like to have it working properly the first time round lol

from what ive read the whole head needs renewing is that true? someone else said the head cant be skimmed?

what would be wrong with the head? if its flat then i'll clean the face and re-use it. if the guides are cracked then how would i see a cracked guide?

will i need a balancer chain tensioner for a z20net engine?

i bet this engine is a bugger to get apart!

thanks, dave.

p.s. what id!ot designed this chain setup? would of been betetr off with pushrods! pmsl.

jaywanley

Hello dave, im quite new to this site too but i have just completed doing the rework on my veccy. I also brought a vectra 2.2 sri off ebay not knowing about this problem with the cam chain. the ad ho owned it before me ad repaced the timing chain as it had broken along with new valves. (which i didnt know until few months later).
Anyway ive been working with cars for the past 9 yrs in a garage and i know these engines are designed to burn approx 1 litre of oil every 1000miles and when the chain goes it causes other problems other then bent valves.
With mine it started burning lot of oil (1 litre every 500miles) i looked into this and valve stem seals needed replacing ( these are proun to need replacing ) and also guides whilst i was there i also replaced the rings (this being the result of a snapped chain) . ive just finished it off this week and runs perfect.
Sorry to waffle on but basicly with a snapped chain you need to remove head ( or id advise to), check damage to valves etc you may be lucky and valaves may not of hit pistons, i was lucky.
Basicly you will need :
full head set (£ 90 from vx) which includes all seals and gaskets
new timing chain kit (whilst your there makes sense to repace balencer chain too) from vx for £120 includes new style jet
possibly new rings
possibly new valves and guides
haynes manual :thumbup:

i took my head off and changed the lot as whilst the head was off i didnt want to risk having take it back apart as for head being skimmed check for any signes of damage groves deep scratches or warping shud be ok but yes it can be skimmed but can be a pain.
taken me 2 full weekends to do and tbh it isnt as hard as i thought taking it apart and putting it back together just remember to keep the bolts and studs etc as some of the studs are no longer avaiable from vx.
if you get any probs have a look at the any posts on this site or speak to some of the lads aot of them give exellent advise and know what they are doing with this engine good luck 😃

daveb948576

it seems like this engine is a waste of time and money tbh, im thinking about fitting a redtop to it with the alternator and everything else from a vectra like the power steering pump from a cavalier or x20xev vectra,

i hate the car already and ive only taken the battery off to charge it lol

how much did it cost you in total to get it all working again? did you fit the tensioner from a z20net?

jaywanley

lol mine was sat on me drive for 6 months until i could be bothered to repair it as i had enough of it too, but all in all its a good little engine. cost me roughly £400 thats including new battery for £87 i used the tensioner that came in the kit from vx all is tight as a nun lol. the z20net tensioner is slightly bigger and ideal if there is still slack but the new kit is spot on in my opinion just a pain doing it wish id bought a gsi now. the chain its self is easy enough to change theres a couple of pdf manuals on this site that are very good. upto you what you do regarding the engine but in my opinion with the car having low miles etc it might be worth repairing, id first of all check out the damage and see if its do able or red top sounds good to me but i like the 20let engine lol :thumbup:

vectra2k9

happened to me aswell took about 5 weeks to fix due to bad weather and got really lucky as the damage was minimal and the pistons hardly got marked :thumbup:

vectra2k9

daveb948576

ive got some c20ne lower compression pistons in the shed i coudl fit to it then turbo it after repairing the valves lol cheers..

vectra2k9

no smake

daveb948576

eeerrrr uuummmm 5 weeks??? i started taking the head off at 6 oclock and stopped at 9 oclock. . . the heads in the boot. the chain is in one long lenth the tensioner has popped out of its housing and landed behind a plastic guide lol

its bent 6 valves but i'll replace the 8 thats in the same chamber.

now how do i know if the guides are ok and what caused the smoke prior to this happening? how do i knwo if the rings are ok?

daveb948576

ive noticed the egr valve runs directly to the front of the inlet, can i blank this with a blanking plate and leave the egr valve in situe?

ive been told that this cant be fixed under warranty but its within the 60000 miles the car has done 50000 can someone confirm this for me because i will have vauxhall fix it if i can.

sophos9

Yea just blank the EGR, £4 plate from Vx and leave the EGR connect but hanging over the side

You can try your luck with Vx however I dont see them honouring any warranty or even good will gesture on a 9 year old car.

daveb948576 said:
what id!ot designed this chain setup? would of been betetr off with pushrods! pmsl.

haha, the cam chain setup is fine and better than belts. The idiots are the ones that neglect oil changes and run their oil low - When my head was replaced at 60k it had the original 'small' nozzle and every component was like new. The car has been serviced to the equivalent of 90k miles, inside the engine was spotless. Keep on top of maintenance and the chain will not be a problem. Changed the chains in the Vectra C at 100k, again every component was in great condition (although chain had stretched slightly)

Fix and enjoy, these are great cars

daveb948576

help! ive got the valves out, to find 8 of them are ruined. 4 inlet and 4 exhaust. ive inspected the stem seals to find there rubbery still but the valve guides have what look to be hairline fracture's so im in the process off trying to remove them with not much luck! is there as tool for this?

ive also noticed that the inlet ports are very rough and not smooth at all 🙁 if i had the money i would gas flow it and probably see a great improovement but i cant fund it 🙁

will it be ok fitting these? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/vauxhall-vectra-2 ... 58870620a9

vocky

I would get an engine shop to supply and fit the valve guides

I have some spare valves if you need some, £20 inc postage for 4 inlet and 4 exhaust :thumbup:

daveb948576

i have a guy on vvoc sending me 4 inlets and 4 exhaust but im not sure on the condition of the other 8 valves, i put them in my drill one at a time and span them round a few of them gave a wobble but i think my drill is a bit bent at the best of times lol if i need the valves i'll drop you a pm :thumbup:

daveb948576

just 4 exhaust valves needed, does anyone have these going spare to sell me?

sophos9

vocky said:
I have some spare valves if you need some, £20 inc postage for 4 inlet and 4 exhaust :thumbup:

daveb948576

i had pm'd him yesterday but no reply . . .

sophos9

He will get back to you, busy dude... 😉

sophos9

Or contact ATOM X, he has a warehouse of this stuff and he knows his beans also 😉

daveb948576

i have called the engineers and asked them to order 4 new valves and realised its the inlet valves that i need not the exhaust ones lol