timing chain rattles back

al-b

great site...

hi i have a vectrs c 2.2 sri 52 plate petrol, it had what i thought was a timing chain rattle,im no expert, so booked it into the dealers, and yes they said its the chain!! so got the phone call the cars ready, paid the bill
£538, i was in shock for about 10 mins, even tho they quoted me £420 inc vat over the phone, they said they had to replace an engine mount, and new nuts/studs to the exhaust, i said you should have phoned me first before you done the extra work, he just blanked me and said its done now, anyway got in started it up and the same rattle is still there, and on top of that my engine management light was on, this random bloke plugs it in the the computer, and says your lamda sensor's away, you need a new one, aftar a heated talk, i looked under the boonet, just to find they didin't even reconnect it back up, so i said to him the rattle is still there.but was told all 2.2's rattle like this, is this true, seems to be coming from the bottom half of the engine, tick over and worse when driving it, should i take it back and kick up a fuss even more, or do the 2.2's rattle,cold and hot, any info would be great

vocky

I thought all the vectra C's had the new chain notsure.gif

but I suppose it could happen notsure.gif

I would certainly complain, it went in for a rattle and they have failed to fix it.

ask them what trading standards would say about that :evil:

dodger

i would take it back to them an ask for another look.

BTW Welcome to the site

al-b

was on the phone today and they said the balance chain could be the problem or the water pump, would need to book it back in, surely they must have heard the nosie after they done the chain? think im getting the run around off them..

batcho

take it back asap

markdayton

Take it back and tell them you originally booked it in with them for a fault which they diagnosed as a problem with the chain but in fact they havent fixed the problem and it still exsists whilst you are £538 quid lighter ! They charge you for a diagnosis fee so they should get it right. At the end of the day they are the so called experts and that is why you take the car to them. Chances are that they have replaced the chain on your engine when in fact it was perfectly fine. Sounds like they just assumed it was the chain because of the rattle. However from what I have read the Vec B only have the problem wit the chain due to the oil nozzle feed blocking. Vec C should be OK.

ASTRA2_2BADLAD

SHIT THE BED, i work at vauxhall and the service from your dealer is not on, you should kick up a fuss big time and demand it repaired and a refund for work carried out that was not needed, oh and the balance chain come complete with the new chain kit, aint had many problems at all with vectra c chains though???? Only on 2.2 engines with alloy cam cover seem to have chain problems, all engines with plastic cam covers are modified oil feeds etc walkthedog..

joey

Is the engine fitted to your car the original on it left the factory with, cos if it aint then chances are it might have an earlier engine fitted as a replacement. Also was it a VXL dealership that done the work?

al-b

had taking the car back last week, left it for a day and they said they had fixed the problem, think they said a guide or something like that had snapped, so got it back, it still made a slight nosie but not as bad as it is now, drove it back up to the dealers yesterday to let them hear it, and they said again its normal for the 2.2's to make a noise like this, but no way, my mate has a veccy b 2.2 and his doesn't make rattle like mine, its worse from cold start up, and gets a bit better when its hot, but not much, i think the they done the chain and that wasn't at fault, i tried all that patter with them, but they are having none of it, saying it was the chain that made the noise in the first place, so must be something else, put a engine flush in it they said, one garge said it could be the front pulley on engine, check for delamination of the 2 metal layers from the rubber insert, what the hell is that!!

just had a look mine is the alloy cam cover, dose this mean mine is the ealry type engine, all the numbers match up to all the docs i have

vocky

not sure when they changed the cam cover to plastic notsure.gif

my vx220 has an alloy cam cover and had the later type chain kit 🙂

al-b

thinking it could be a duff tensioner , means more work if it is!!

vocky

a duff tensioner makes the engine sound like a diesel :roll:

al-b

funny thing is,i was asked if it was a diesel today

familyman

Timing Chain Rattle - Take action now !

I have an Opel Import 2.2 Zafira Elegance 2001 (51) model.
Just hit the timing chain problem head on myself.
Had heard a slight rattle and after speaking to my local garage mechanic and checking on the web I decided to trade my car rather face the uncertainty of a battle with VX.
Would you believe the engine failed the day before I picked up my new car from the dealer.
It's now in VX dealer who quoted 4-6 hours labour to check what the problem is (£400?).
They say it may have jumped the cogs but will only be able to tell on inspection.
Will find out tomorrow what they say but have now armed myself with information found on this site (and a couple of others) ready for battle.
Thanks for all the information posted here. Much appreciated.
Really liked the car but this has really pee-ed me off.

If you hear that rattle don't wait until it hits you in the wallet.

JohnnyN

al-b said:
had taking the car back last week, left it for a day and they said they had fixed the problem, think they said a guide or something like that had snapped, so got it back, it still made a slight nosie but not as bad as it is now, drove it back up to the dealers yesterday to let them hear it, and they said again its normal for the 2.2's to make a noise like this, but no way, my mate has a veccy b 2.2 and his doesn't make rattle like mine, its worse from cold start up, and gets a bit better when its hot, but not much, i think the they done the chain and that wasn't at fault, i tried all that patter with them, but they are having none of it, saying it was the chain that made the noise in the first place, so must be something else, put a engine flush in it they said, one garge said it could be the front pulley on engine, check for delamination of the 2 metal layers from the rubber insert, what the hell is that!!

just had a look mine is the alloy cam cover, dose this mean mine is the ealry type engine, all the numbers match up to all the docs i have

The front pulley that they maybe referring to might be the one that tensions the ancillery belt. My pulley is wearing and I think Daz had a problem with his being noisy too.

:roll:

Daz

Ure right john,my aux tensioner pully is a tad on the noisy side...need to get it done really b4 it decides to fail on me..