Wobbly Crank / Pulley - Experts Needed!

Neve_o

Hi there,

I'm new to this forum and the Z22SE but not to Vauxhalls, I have a good mechanical grasp but my lack of knowledge on this particular engine has me a little stumped with a problem that's developed.

My friend has an astra G with the 2.2 (SE) lump and apart from the usual EGR problems its been fairly trouble free until recently, He paid me a visit complaining the engine was rattling, I took a look and the chain is a little rattly however the aux tensioner pulley was slightly bent (worn out) causing the aux belt to get chewed up and was making a hell of a noise.

I replaced the tensioner and belt but there was a new rattling sound (I think the tensioner was masking this issue) The crank pulley appeared to be wobbling, to be more precise the bolt which holds the pulley on looks like its wobbling more than the actual pulley, we had a spare pulley so quickly swapped it over just in case but it made no difference.

Would a worn cam & balancer chain cause this wobble? The engine is on 125k and the chains as far as I can tell (looking through the service history) have never been done (my mate knows he should of done the chains by now but he's not looking to spend his money on a car that's as tired as his is when he's hoping to buy a new car in the near future)

Now, I was worried the crank may be worn causing this issue but the associated noise isn't what I think a worn crank/bottom end sounds like from experience, I also checked the best I could the woodruff key and pulley bolt to make sure they where not bent etc but its hard to do on a driveway in the rain however I 'think' they are ok.

If new chains would solve this problem does the water pump have to be changed too?

Sorry for the long post but this problem has been ongoing for a few days now and I'm running out of ideas!

Any help greatly appreciated!

vocky

sounds like the chains need doing anyway, so replace them and check the woodruff key in the crank is okay whilst it's apart

Neve_o

I thought that would be the reply, we are considering it however we don't want to spend a couple of hundred quid on parts and a good days work fitting it all to find the problem isn't resolved, I think my mate would rather scrap it lol.

Has anyone had any similar experiences and managed to resolve the problem?

Also any advice on the water pump? From all the threads I had read regarding chains I can't see where many people have changed the pump too?

Again thanks for the help so far and in advance for any further assistance!

jwalker

No need to change the pump

vocky

once the timing chains are off it's quite easy to swap the water pump, just drain the rad and remove the thermostat housing, then slide the alloy tube out of the water pump. Next remove the chain sprocket (3 x bolts) from inside the timing chain area, finally the four bolts holding the pump on.

Neve_o

jwalker said:
No need to change the pump

Cheers, that's a little money saved if my mate does decide he wants the chains doing.

Neve_o

vocky said:
once the timing chains are off it's quite easy to swap the water pump, just drain the rad and remove the thermostat housing, then slide the alloy tube out of the water pump. Next remove the chain sprocket (3 x bolts) from inside the timing chain area, finally the four bolts holding the pump on.

Thanks for the reply, I'm not overly concerned with the difficulty, just the price of the parts lol! If its essential to do the pump when the chains are done then I would tell my mate this (like it is on belt engines) but we are trying to this with as little cost as possible as it may not solve the issues we are having and my mate would rather strip the car and by something else if its going to start getting costly.

vocky

if the water pump is leaking then replace it, if not then leave it till it leaks