My 2007 XL7 currently has 80 000 KMS or approx. 50 000 miles. My engine light came on a few weeks ago but would only come on for a short time then go off for a period of time. I checked the code and it came up as a P008, something to do with the crank or cam shaft timing. But since the light was not staying on permanently I thought it might just be a problem with the sensor itself. About 2 weeks later the light came on and stayed on. The truck seemed to be running fine and have not noticed any lack of performance. I brought it to the Suzuki dealer this morning to find out that the timing chains need to be changed. I was told that this is a problem/flaw with these motors. The parts have been ordered and my vehicle will be spending 2-3 days next week. This is all covered under the powertrain warranty. I did ask if I should expect the same problem 80 000 KMS later and they said probably not since they are replacing the parts with what is suppose to better quality parts from Suzuki. I am not impressed at all with this problem and I will probably get rid of this vehicle by next year. I have lost confidence with this vehicle!
Timing chains a MAJOR problem!!
Rickard
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To install the first 2 chains the dot on the crank gear must line up with the mark at the bottom of the case.
Near the 6:00 position.
And the flat cam tool on those cams.
Near the 6:00 position.
And the flat cam tool on those cams.
finished putting everything back together today. engine mounts gave us more trouble than anything else. Timing parts went in pretty smoothly. We were constantly checking the diagrams.
Added oil, coolant, and power steering fluid. Primed the fuel system and started it up on the first try. Engine sounded bad and dashboard says "oil pressure low. Stop Engine." My guess is sludge and dirty settled at the bottom of the crankcase and gummed it up.
I'm going back in the morning to drain the oil and change the filter. I may do it twice.
Should I go remove the oil pan and clean that out too?
Added oil, coolant, and power steering fluid. Primed the fuel system and started it up on the first try. Engine sounded bad and dashboard says "oil pressure low. Stop Engine." My guess is sludge and dirty settled at the bottom of the crankcase and gummed it up.
I'm going back in the morning to drain the oil and change the filter. I may do it twice.
Should I go remove the oil pan and clean that out too?
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Oil pan is a huge job as well. Timing cover would need to come off again.
Try fresh oil first.
If that doesn't work then yea you'll need to tak off the covers anyway. Good time to double check the timing.
Try fresh oil first.
If that doesn't work then yea you'll need to tak off the covers anyway. Good time to double check the timing.
Maybe the oil pump lost its prime..
spin the engine over with fuel and ignition cut...
... Philip
spin the engine over with fuel and ignition cut...
... Philip
I did this the first time. Pulled fp relay and primary ignition, cranked the car 3x for 5 seconds
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You were able to spin the engine freely a couple times before putting the covers back on yea?
So we definitely have no oil pressure. The car has only been started 3 times. and run for about 5 minutes. When I pulled the oil filter off, there was no oil. I mean that the filter element was completely dry. It was a brand new filter. Also, we put fresh Pennzoil Gold oil in after re-assembly. Car has run 5 minutes, zero miles. We drained out the fresh oil and it was filthy.
Looks like you're correct lumpylarry, I'm going to pull the oil pan and check the timing while I'm at it.
Right now I'm thinking clogged pickup screen, Should I be looking for a bad oil pump too? Any way to test the oil pump while the timing cover is off?
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I have never seen an oil pump fail on these engines. They are a pretty strong pump.
But there is first time for everything.
I HAVE seen the pick-ups completely plugged though.
If you have a borescope camera you may be able to see without pulling the pan.
But there is first time for everything.
I HAVE seen the pick-ups completely plugged though.
If you have a borescope camera you may be able to see without pulling the pan.
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So I'm contemplating doing this job. I am wondering how much of the upper engine has to be removed in order to replace the chains/tensioners?
My g'fs 07 has classic symptoms of chain strech/bad tensioners. In our case, the car is less than the 100K, but is over the 7 year time mark. So no warranty for me, and I did attempt to escalate to Suzuki america, but they didn't want to even talk to me.
I asked the dealer to give me a quote for the work and they quoted about $1300, which included ten hours of labor and $250 in parts. I was expecting much more for this job. I have decent mechanical skills, and this is second vehicle, so I don't have to get it done quickly. I am a bit nervous about messing around with timing and such.
Please advise!
My g'fs 07 has classic symptoms of chain strech/bad tensioners. In our case, the car is less than the 100K, but is over the 7 year time mark. So no warranty for me, and I did attempt to escalate to Suzuki america, but they didn't want to even talk to me.
I asked the dealer to give me a quote for the work and they quoted about $1300, which included ten hours of labor and $250 in parts. I was expecting much more for this job. I have decent mechanical skills, and this is second vehicle, so I don't have to get it done quickly. I am a bit nervous about messing around with timing and such.
Please advise!
Timing chain problem
This might or might not help you but I drove my XL7 35k miles before the chain finally broke. Check engine light came on at about 100k miles and finally broke at 137k miles while starting it. Engine is a piece of crap. I always changed the oil when the oil life monitor got down to about 20% oil life left. Engine burned oil, about a quart every 1000 miles and it was down to 500 miles just before the chain broke. The reason I did not fix it was because at that time it was over 2k to replace the chains. This was when these engines first started showing this problem and Suzuki wanted a fortune to replace the chain.
This might or might not help you but I drove my XL7 35k miles before the chain finally broke. Check engine light came on at about 100k miles and finally broke at 137k miles while starting it. Engine is a piece of crap. I always changed the oil when the oil life monitor got down to about 20% oil life left. Engine burned oil, about a quart every 1000 miles and it was down to 500 miles just before the chain broke. The reason I did not fix it was because at that time it was over 2k to replace the chains. This was when these engines first started showing this problem and Suzuki wanted a fortune to replace the chain.
Timing chain replacement....AGAIN!!!
So, My check engine light came on....AGAIN! one issue I'm having is the fuel celanoid, which is an easy fix...but I'm getting the timing chain code again as well. Maybe 20,000 miles into the new ones I had replaced about 15 months ago. In any case, I'm torn on what to do. Whomever quoted $1500 to replace the chains, I want to know who they are going to, because that is just the quoted labor on my job. The parts are almost $700.
Should I get them replaced or get rid of the car?
The dealership said they are knee deep in Suzuki recalls right now, but because mine is over 100,000 they will not longer cover anything.
So, My check engine light came on....AGAIN! one issue I'm having is the fuel celanoid, which is an easy fix...but I'm getting the timing chain code again as well. Maybe 20,000 miles into the new ones I had replaced about 15 months ago. In any case, I'm torn on what to do. Whomever quoted $1500 to replace the chains, I want to know who they are going to, because that is just the quoted labor on my job. The parts are almost $700.
Should I get them replaced or get rid of the car?
The dealership said they are knee deep in Suzuki recalls right now, but because mine is over 100,000 they will not longer cover anything.
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I'm curious, when people have trouble with a car and they say they are going to "fix it and get rid of it"... how does one get rid of a problem-plagued car? Do you sell it? To another person? If so, do you tell them all the problems you had and that you are getting rid of it because it is unreliable and you think it will break down again soon? :huh: Do you tell the buyer, "this car is such as POS I will take $50 for it, good luck" ?
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