Have an 02 LX-7 - rattle under the hood, getting worse over time - probably first noticed around mid-90's - read a bunch about it - thing of course it's the timing chain tensioner...
What's the going rate for a dealer to fix?
What if I don't get it fixed? Actually I know the answer to that... but...
How long can we speculate a rattleing, 130K out timing chain might go?
What's the average you all have been experiencing?
10 hours or more of labor depending on what they do while inside. I would trade the truck myself since with a 130k on it I would recommend complete chain and gear replacement with water pump and all related gaskets/seals. Thats a $1200 in parts and a $1000 in labor.
Minimum would be the tensioner, waterpump and related gaskets/seals, still $1000 labor and $500 parts. Jasper engines (Google it) can probably get you a new engine for $3000.
What oil are you using? I know some Australian owners on another forum have reported improvements depending on what brand oil they use. It might be worth a try. There was also a recent thread indicating the rattling can also be valve train related and a decent hard drive at high revs can help clear restricted oil passages.
Regarding the chain problems that seem to arise on the Suzuki V6 engines, there is a common denominator that is always overlooked. The point we all miss is that this is a design fault. Let me explain: Back in the 70's & 80's. Renault.Peugot and Volvo had the B27 V6 and that had 2 long chains driving the cams. These chains also had problems. Go to the 80's and Suzuki develop the 2.0 V6. (Yes there is an H20!!) It grew to 2.5 &2.7 Sizes but also has a long chain to drive the cams. So what is the problem? It is not that there are chains involved, or that they are long. It is that both used single row chain. Should have used Duplex. The harmonic combination of: Long chain & multi cams cause fluctuating stresses and the chain hates it. Sure some tensioners were suspect at being able to do their job however the problem would surface at some stage anyway. There may well be an hour related factor here too.
You talk of mileage here, however it maybe more time related. Round town running is more hours-less miles. Open road the reverse. Regular service helps but probably not as much as one would expect.
Higher engine speeds (open road) also help by evening out the cam pulsations effect on the chains.
Further to my previous post, there are some other factors that must be taken into account.
Firstly: chains seldom "stretch". They wear in the pins. Now consider that 1-2 thou wear in each pin extrapolated over the total length (say 100 links) = .1-.2" This is alot and requires a tensioner to move a considerable distance to counteract this wear.
Secondly: Suzuki and Mazda were buddies when this V6 came to be. The design is very similair but Suzuki went chain whereas Mazda used a belt. One wonders why. Maybe to get around design infringement or because of the percieved belt weakness. At least belts are easy to change!!!
should ALWAYS run 5 or 10w-20 in the xl7.. This will stop the tensioner issue..
No, you should run an oil that's suitable to the ambient temperature where the vehicle is being operated. The owner's manual has a comprehensive graph with oil viscosity vs ambient temperature.
5 or 10W20 doesn't even rate a mention in the owner's handbook.
Quote:
"For temperatures above -20 C (-4 F) we highly recommend you use SAE 5W30."
I use slightly thicker oil because (going by the graph) the 5W30 is only rated to 30 C and it regulary gets to over 40 C here. 10W40 is rated from -20 C to just under 40 C and is what I'll be using from next oil change.
Timing chain rattle at 130K - question please...
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