Hi everyone....have a 98 sunfire GT 2 door (2.4L) with 235,000kms. Car has been making a rattling noise for awhile now when running. First had it in at my mechanic, and right off the bat hearing it he said i need a new timing chain and "rods" or something i forget what it was....had it in to another shop yesterday to have my AC recharged, and the guy told me whoever did the timing chain last messed it up. That the tensioner wasnt "reset" or "adjusted" or something like that....forget exactly what it is....but he said it making the teeth chew into something, which is the noise im hearing. Does this sound plausible? Im planning to have it done soon, but lots of $$$ in labour im told.

it is very hard to get to the timing chain, thats true. but i dont think that is totally what it is.

it sounds very wierd to me that the chain is loose and causing slippage. if that were the case you would notice lag time in your acceleration and the car wouldnt run right, maybe not at all if the chain was too loose.

the sound your hearing is most likely somthing inside the engine, such as valves or rods. make sure the car has a good amount of oil in it, and make sure your tranny is full also. fill everything with fluids then see if the sound continues.


either way i dont buy the "loose chain" story.

hope this helps



- Cameron (CaliforniaCavalier)
- www.csc-motorsports.com (my new NOR-CAL car tuning site)

yes oil was just changed a month ago (yes i do have a small leak), i have had no problems with the level though. Ok, MY mechanic had told me it sounded like i needed a new chain and rods...but i didnt know what he was referring to by "rods"....but the difference is MY mechanic told me if i didnt mind the noise, i shouldnt worry about it right now (was quoted 800$ CDN for timing chain, rods and water pump)....the other mechanic (when i had my AC tested) told me that the loose tensioner or whatever was damaging my engine and i need to get it fixed soon...wish i knew what it was as the 2nd mechanic wanted 240$ CDN (3 hrs labour) to take it apart and see what was wrong.... :-S

I'm not sure what was meant by rods that would be done on a timing chain replacement.
If your connecting rods are bad, I'd say don't worry about the timing chain & start saving up for a new motor.
But, from what I understsand, a bad tensioner could cause the problem you're having & the chain will "chew" into the timing chain cover & eventually cut through it.
I've never done a timing chain myself, but if the tensioner isn't put on right, it makes sense to me that this could be the problem. Though I would have thought you would have noticed it right away after having the timing chain replaced.
How long ago did you have the timing chain replaced?

i dont know when it was done, the previous owner did it, ive only had it a month or so...got it cheap...i just wanna know if the bad tensioner idea was plausible....dont want to spend needless money on labour to look at something that isnt bad LOL

I'm having the same issue and I'm 99% sure it is my tensioner because it never fully tightened the chain when I pulled the pin out of it whern I reinstalled it after replacing my water pump.

I have already ordered the parts to replace my tensioner and will be picking them up later today and will hopfully be installing them this weekend at my dad's shop

but I will have to agree that it is your tensioner.