Crazy car doesnt want fixing, Help plzzz

Nellyboylee

Hi im new to the site and hope this post appears in the right section,
Here`s what happened and im hoping for help not just guess work, A long post but im trying to give as much info as poss....... Its a 2006 Zafira 2.2direct Sri, (122k miles) I do 14k miles per year, Car was running fine with no faults, went the shop and came out, car started fine and I noticed power loss, it is fine until extra power is required so if I drive like a grandad and hit no hills it would be hard to notice a fault, this happened about a month ago and it still starts fine but idles a little rough which improves when warm, When I hit a hill or put my foot down heavy the car bogs down makes a growling noise and I need to drop a gear and accelerate lightly and its fine and the noise is gone,
No EML light although a misfire No4 was recorded and a CIM fault.
Ive changed MAF, Plugs, Coil, fuel pump, fuel regulator, fuel sensor, throttle body,EGR, CTS, Brake Pedal Switch, front pipe/CAT and middle box checked manifold, vacuum pipes with propane and lambda sensor No2, with NO change... lambda number 1 will be changed on Tuesday ,.... Im unsure of the chain as its quiet and I change oil every 6-8 months with shell helix 5/30 fully synthetic....The swirl flaps are unchecked although I can feel the rail end (manifold) moves freely until the car starts and it becomes solid...
Sorry for the long read but id really appreciate your input, Thanks in advance.....

Nellyboylee

Update, its the z22yh engine and had a K and N air filter fitted last year...

Dave_Gilbert

Chains stretched. Id say. But dont hold me to it

Nellyboylee

Hi Dave, Im getting close to changing the chains although ive not made a visual inspection yet but in your opinion do you think the timing chain could stretch enough in such a short period and be so dramatic to the power loss, also wouldn't this affect the performance all the time and not just when foot down... Thanks....Lee

Dave_Gilbert

@[deleted], please help.

chains stretch to a degree but then cause poor performance.

Evocarlos will elaborate more or tell you that im full of shit. But he will be more helpful.

KevinH

Obviously you"ve replaced the common things that fail on the Z22YH like the high pressure fuel pump and fuel pressure regulator, but like Dave has mentioned, at 122K miles certainly both chains are overdue for changing if they haven't been done before (even if that isn't the problem). 🙂

It's possible that one of the tensioners has come to the end of its adjustment and causing slap on one of the chains.

Do you have any previous service history of the car ?

Nellyboylee

Ha ha Dave, no you and Carl seem to be the men in the know, If I get to needing the chains doing I see Carl fits them...
Hi Kevin, thanks for replying... yes that's true about the milage on the chains and as far as im aware there original as theres no evidence of them being changed...Im trying to direct my funding at fixing the car and then I will see if evocarlos will do them for me...

HarleyPete

Well if it's of any help I would certainly recommend Carl without any hesitation at all. He's just done mine about a month ago and it was a pleasure to not only watch him do the work but to chat to him as well. My timing chain was fine at just over 90K but the balance chain was shot. The tensioner had stopped doing it's job efficiently and the chain was just kissing the casing. The timing chain was fine despite still having the original type of tensioner in use. This was down more than likely to regular oil changes which is a blessing for me. Was well worth the trip to him and the cost of parts via the shop on here which were checked before shipping to ensure that all was correct.

Nellyboylee

Hi Pete, thanks for your reply, As far as I have read into this I only have the ECU, Timing Chains or swirl flaps left after I fit the new 02 sensor on tuesday that could cause this but im not a mechanic so im hoping someone has had the same fault so I can narrow it down further, Im just fearful of spending any more money without a fix, ........Oh and im jealous of your heated seats...ha

HarleyPete

They are amazing when it's cold but not for long as then things get a little too warm on full, lol. Sorry I can't help out more but I'm sue Carl will probably go "Oh yeah it's more than likely this that's causing that" as he does know his way around these engines.

KevinH

HarleyPete said:
They are amazing when it's cold but not for long as then things get a little too warm on full, lol.

When is your appointment with the doc regarding your piles Pete ? :ROFLMAO:

Dave_Gilbert

At 122000 miles id say a stretched chain but the YH engine do suffer from

swirl flaps
and high pressure fuel pump(see if its continental not siemans) on the end of the rocker cover I believe.

and when the chains get to a certain length(if it hasnt snapped by then) the engine just stops as the sensors are to far out of wak.

Im sure theres been a few threads on here about the yh n poor performance.

Nellyboylee

Yeah Pete I do love the heated seat in my truck.. next car im making sure it has them...
Yes Dave it had the siemans pump on it when I bought the car and had done 89k at that point and had classic pump failure symptoms so this was changed to a new Continental one, since this new fault I bought a new one, fitted it and it made no change so I sold it on ebay only losing £8.
Im trying to narrow the fault down as would a stuck swirl flap make the growling noise when I put my foot down..??
All the forums ive read that match my symptoms never get back with what fixed theres...

evocarlos

after reading thru it looks like you have changed everything 🙂
it could well be the chains 122k with no history is asking for trouble 🙂
the balancer chain when long would give a ruff idle compared to normal
but the main chain if stretched would make the engine run like crap i predict if its left then you may run into a no start situation
have seen this with a few z22yh's now and is that is related to a stretched main chain

being a z22yh it would be better to get the engine plugged in and see what's going on with the fuel pressures and sensors
and i would consider getting the chains done as soon as you can
you can buy new swirl flap kits i have fitted one its not for the faint hearted tho

Graham2704

Hi evocarlos changed the swirl flaps on my vectra 2.2 yh you can tell it runs a lot better now they have been changed.

Swirl flaps are on offer at the min from main dealer on carpartsconnexions part no 93192896 £54:18 p absolute BARGAIN !

Nellyboylee

Hi Evocarlos Thanks for your reply... ive taken the rocker cover off and the timing chain is very loose, I could take the chain right off as it is, there is a half inch sag between cams so my next question is can you do the job for me, I live in Winsford,Cheshire,..

KevinH

WOW !!! - I wouldn't even start the engine let alone drive the car. :eek:

Nellyboylee

Your right Kevin its not moving an inch, scary thing is ive used it for a month and give it some beans after fitting parts...lucky I hope depending if any damage has been done...

KevinH

You could well be lucky and have caught this before some expensive damage had occurred.

Have you checked to see if all the camshaft followers are in place and none floating around anywhere ?

Also if you have a torch, shine it down the front of the timing chain area to see if the front guide rail is still intact.

Graham2704

I am also in Sunny Winsford if you need to borrow an opcom or if carl needs a garage to borrow if he does your chains .