Thanks for the info 👍 I ❤️ My 2004 SATURN Ion Coupe. 2.2 5spd Purchased New 2004... I'm at 346000 lately. 😁 1st clutch lasted 255000 miles. Auxillary fan every 3 years is about the only hassle. Brake cylinders 3rd set 2020. 3rd belt... Same timing chain. Oil leak lately, valve cover gasket. Guess, I'll have at look at that timing chain. 👍 Original AC running cold. 2nd Alternator 2015.
Exactly what happened ion my wife's 04 Ion. Plastic timing guides broke and caused slop in the chain which bent all the intake valves. At first I thought it was a broken timing chain. Fixed that and still no compression. I told her to prepare to have it hauled to the junkyard and I thought she was going to cry. She loves that car. So instead I tore it down in our driveway. Pistons just had slight indentations. Cleaned everything, New intake valves, head bolts and gasket kit. All in all about $500 doing the work myself and she was back on the road. So yes - get the timing chain and guides replaced. Don't wait!!! Our car now has 233k miles.
I ❤️❤️❤️ My 2004 SATURN Ion Coupe too. Purchased New, I'm at 346000. 1st clutch at 255000. Seriously DEPENDABLE vehicle. 😁 Can get an 8' ladder inside & shut the trunk. Auxillary fan is a repeat bs about every 3 years... Get OEM, the China ones are JUNK.
@ 2:15. I didn't know that those piston thingies under the cams bent . Buy a good used motor for around $600 oil, filter & A freeze $50.00. Charge another $600 for a 1 day job , that's right a 1 day job 2 if you're slow or inexperienced ! Pull it out the top NOT the bottom like all the books say ! I've even did one with a 5 speed through the top. It was tight but it came out & went back in .
I leased a 96 Saturn SC2, Blew the engine getting on the freeway (was told timing chain "slipped" due to me mis-shifting the engine). They handed me a big bill to fix it , I handed it back, pointed at the "transmission: Automatic" on the details page and walked away from that car. Best lease ever! :P At Least the plastic bodies on the 90's series were cool, someone sideswiped me once, and I didn't have a scratch afterwards.
We had some cars way that had timing belts that were interference. But on the other hand a timing belt swap is rather easy. My 2.3 has a non interference engine with a belt. Push down the tensioner and replace the timing belt. Simply beyond easy and can be done in around 10 minutes
That would be nice. This engine's chain job would take about 4 hours and with barely enough room to even get a serpentine belt off so it wouldn't have been fun. I might I just pulled the motor if I had to have done the job.
Hahahah he said the car is scrap send it here to Cali I’ll give you 500 for it put a motor in it and call it a day I have an 06 ion and just out a used motor in it and runs great scrap it hahaha fix it better than a car payment
Where is he pulling these numbers from? Go on Summit racing or Jeggs. Cloyes BOTH Cam and balance shaft timing sets around 200 bucks complete premium top end gasket set 130 bucks, rebuilt cylinder head 300 350 bucks. In fact you can pick up a rebuildable / parts core engine no warante at a bone yard for 350 bucks. You recondition rebuild that head and any needed and switch parts over. I have done dozens of complete rebuilds on ECOTEC engines. Without machine work at most I have a grand into it.
Ikr, he 's like, 3 grand but do it yourself and you could probably get by with 2200. I'm like whaaaaa??? Ever hear of a machine shop? You don't have to port and polish it. (tho I'm doing mine myself then having the machine shop do the rest of the head work, then install myself) Just buy all the valves off Amazon or whatever along with a head set, which will come with the seals you need for the machine shop as well and have them resurface it too. Probably cost you with chain set as well no more than 800 to $1000, that's you doing the bulk of the labor.
I have a 05 Saturn ion. I bought it new, and have had nothing but problems with it. It only has 98,000 miles on it, but it’s crap.. at 100 miles the mass airflow sensor died, this was bad because they did NOT warentee the issue. Then just about everything in the front suspension does at 35,000 miles, had to put 2 sets of injectors on it, the infamous key cylinder 3 times, the bcm once, the float for the antifreeze level, now sometimes I crank it, and the power steering doesn’t work., and the gas pedal (it’s electronic assist) gets out of sync. Not to mention the seals in the doors have worn out bad enough that I just drilled a few holes in the floorboards to let the water drain.. no use putting money in a car that horrible... the sad thing is, I know I’m forgetting things... btw thanks for letting me know the timing chain can get loose like that and jump timing.. I thought that was the 1 thing I wouldn’t have to worry about, because it was not a belt.... oh well, wishful thinking..
??? My 2004 is the opposite from what You describe about Yours. You live up north where it COLD, or what? I'm in Texas, so the auxillary fan works its ass off. I'm at 346000... 40,000 the first year. 100 miles in Texas is 20 miles anyplace else. 😜 I'm careful WHO I let touch My vehicles & I watch. Ignition thing was just not plugged in all the way... Found that out long before the recall. I do not take My vehicles to dealership mechanics. 🙄 I always check the work. Have caught morons NOT changing the oil & they never full the wiper fluid even if I remind them. Prorate every set of tires. These days I change the oil... No One knows how to drive a standard anymore.
Its funny how im curious about these issues even though i never had this problem with my 03 chevy. My new car has this engine and i think its fine as a daily as long as you stay particular about the oil. Im a little suspicious if they handle synthetic all that well.
I have a 07 ion 2, I keep getting reduced engine power, I paid $600 to a mechanic to fix it, he did the timing and it still did the same thing, I then checked the code and changed the accelerator pedal sensor, same thing, mechanic is useless... anyone know what my issue could be? Btw, 5 months after timing replacement I have to re do it because it jumped, like I said, worthless mechanic
Did you ever fix it? My guess is low compression or leaky head gasket between cylinders or something odd like this. I also have an 07 Ion 2 and I keep loosing power on the 3rd cylinder, its all just leaky seals and gaskets and it also needs a valve job apparently.
NO , you can do it . Do not pull it from the bottom pulling engine cradle & trans. Pull it out the top. Take off your accessories & crank pulley . It will be a little tight but it will come out . I've even pulled GM V8 FWD engines from the top .
Yes, for about two days it had kicked up the check engine light and was idling super rough I was told. I think if he had stopped there and brought it over we would have done a simple timing chain replacement. Guess he learned the expensive way this time.
Ha, good joke on the beers. I wish I could do that but not this one. Two new cams alone are $400, plus the vales were all bent. Really I would have had to get a new top end. A rebuild one came out to over 1.5k assembled with new valves, rockers and cams. Then add the bolts, water pump, timing chain and idlers and gaskets and fluids. Might have been more then 2.2K. A rebuilt motor was only $3.5k but for a car with so many miles and we only paid 6k for it 5 years ago. It paid for itself. We found a real nice 2015 for $10k with only 40,000 miles, great buy.
what about pistons I am sure that at least one piston is damaged enough to be replaced ? is there enough room underneath to pull the oil pan and replace one ,or do I need to pull engine out ?
It has been easy to work on really. We did a clutch replayment about 3 months ago and it wasn't to bad for a front wheel car I thought. Most parts are easy to service but I'm thinking the timing chain job would have changed my mind. It was super tight in the front of that engine. It is off to the scrap yard now however.
Another ? I'm around his age & could, Taking my time " have had that car running in a few days. 2 or less if I changed the entire engine. While you'd likely still be coming off of your meth or MJ or telling your mommy that you didn't want to go to school that day.
It was a joy to work on most of the time. And it was very reliable for 7 years. Not bad for the kid's first car with an original used purchase price of $6k. Came out to less than a grand a year with very little mechanical problems over those years. Maybe he got lucky. He has since replaced this Ion with a 2013 Mazda 3 so I'm more worried now. HA.
I had a 07 Ion for eleven years with no problems except the transmission at one point that only cost me $380 to repair (some shops were trying to screw me, one shop even said $3000 "at least" 🙄. The mechanic told me something was wrong with my timing chain and I needed to get it fixed soon, which I already knew. Literally the day I decided I was going to take care of it after a cold start and hearing how horrible it sounded, I was sitting in it letting it warm up and BAM! The chain snapped. This wasn't to long after the mechanic that repaired the transmission told me it sounded bad and to get it fixed
Thanks for the info 👍 I ❤️ My 2004 SATURN Ion Coupe. 2.2 5spd Purchased New 2004... I'm at 346000 lately. 😁 1st clutch lasted 255000 miles. Auxillary fan every 3 years is about the only hassle. Brake cylinders 3rd set 2020. 3rd belt... Same timing chain. Oil leak lately, valve cover gasket. Guess, I'll have at look at that timing chain. 👍 Original AC running cold. 2nd Alternator 2015.
I have a 2004 saturn ion with 353,000 all original engine and 5speed transmission. Synthetic since I got it used with 110k.
Exactly what happened ion my wife's 04 Ion. Plastic timing guides broke and caused slop in the chain which bent all the intake valves. At first I thought it was a broken timing chain. Fixed that and still no compression. I told her to prepare to have it hauled to the junkyard and I thought she was going to cry. She loves that car. So instead I tore it down in our driveway. Pistons just had slight indentations. Cleaned everything, New intake valves, head bolts and gasket kit. All in all about $500 doing the work myself and she was back on the road. So yes - get the timing chain and guides replaced. Don't wait!!! Our car now has 233k miles.
I ❤️❤️❤️ My 2004 SATURN Ion Coupe too. Purchased New, I'm at 346000. 1st clutch at 255000. Seriously DEPENDABLE vehicle. 😁 Can get an 8' ladder inside & shut the trunk. Auxillary fan is a repeat bs about every 3 years... Get OEM, the China ones are JUNK.
@ 2:15.
I didn't know that those piston thingies under the cams bent .
Buy a good used motor for around $600 oil, filter & A freeze $50.00.
Charge another $600 for a 1 day job , that's right a 1 day job 2 if you're slow or inexperienced !
Pull it out the top NOT the bottom like all the books say !
I've even did one with a 5 speed through the top.
It was tight but it came out & went back in .
Nothing ever costs that much when you do it yourself! Over priced bulshit, I have repaired this issue for under $300 shopping right
I leased a 96 Saturn SC2, Blew the engine getting on the freeway (was told timing chain "slipped" due to me mis-shifting the engine). They handed me a big bill to fix it , I handed it back, pointed at the "transmission: Automatic" on the details page and walked away from that car. Best lease ever! :P At Least the plastic bodies on the 90's series were cool, someone sideswiped me once, and I didn't have a scratch afterwards.
Very interesting stores. Thanks for sharing Dave.
Don't those cars have a Rev Limiter ?
I think they do & will not go much over 4K if you hold your foot to the floor.
If my rocker rollers are still intact could my head still be good?
That's too bad,. It looks like he changed oil regularly any way. Chances are pretty good that the pistons are shot too.
Yes, he did keep good maintenance. Yes, I too believe the pistons are toast. The whole thing goes to the wrecking yard today.
Todd Harrison, you get a like and subscription from me today, because I didn't know Colonel Sanders is also a Mechanic. 😅
We had some cars way that had timing belts that were interference. But on the other hand a timing belt swap is rather easy. My 2.3 has a non interference engine with a belt. Push down the tensioner and replace the timing belt. Simply beyond easy and can be done in around 10 minutes
That would be nice. This engine's chain job would take about 4 hours and with barely enough room to even get a serpentine belt off so it wouldn't have been fun. I might I just pulled the motor if I had to have done the job.
Hahahah he said the car is scrap send it here to Cali I’ll give you 500 for it put a motor in it and call it a day I have an 06 ion and just out a used motor in it and runs great scrap it hahaha fix it better than a car payment
Well, that sucks! sorry to hear this.
Thanks. He's in a used 2013 Mazda 3 but has payments for the first time in years. That's what a job is for right? HA.
Where is he pulling these numbers from? Go on Summit racing or Jeggs. Cloyes BOTH Cam and balance shaft timing sets around 200 bucks complete premium top end gasket set 130 bucks, rebuilt cylinder head 300 350 bucks. In fact you can pick up a rebuildable / parts core engine no warante at a bone yard for 350 bucks. You recondition rebuild that head and any needed and switch parts over. I have done dozens of complete rebuilds on ECOTEC engines. Without machine work at most I have a grand into it.
Dealer, LIST + .
WHERE IS this ? Are u talking about the whole bottom of engine ?I have saturn and would love to rebuild my engine .
Pffft I found many donor 2.0-2.4L Ecotec's through Pick-n-Pull's website network US nationwide and Canada, they had them for $150-200 USD.
Ikr, he 's like, 3 grand but do it yourself and you could probably get by with 2200. I'm like whaaaaa??? Ever hear of a machine shop? You don't have to port and polish it. (tho I'm doing mine myself then having the machine shop do the rest of the head work, then install myself) Just buy all the valves off Amazon or whatever along with a head set, which will come with the seals you need for the machine shop as well and have them resurface it too. Probably cost you with chain set as well no more than 800 to $1000, that's you doing the bulk of the labor.
Where's the fried chicken?
Shawn Nichols that would be his great grandpa lol
I have a 05 Saturn ion. I bought it new, and have had nothing but problems with it. It only has 98,000 miles on it, but it’s crap.. at 100 miles the mass airflow sensor died, this was bad because they did NOT warentee the issue. Then just about everything in the front suspension does at 35,000 miles, had to put 2 sets of injectors on it, the infamous key cylinder 3 times, the bcm once, the float for the antifreeze level, now sometimes I crank it, and the power steering doesn’t work., and the gas pedal (it’s electronic assist) gets out of sync. Not to mention the seals in the doors have worn out bad enough that I just drilled a few holes in the floorboards to let the water drain.. no use putting money in a car that horrible... the sad thing is, I know I’m forgetting things... btw thanks for letting me know the timing chain can get loose like that and jump timing.. I thought that was the 1 thing I wouldn’t have to worry about, because it was not a belt.... oh well, wishful thinking..
??? My 2004 is the opposite from what You describe about Yours. You live up north where it COLD, or what? I'm in Texas, so the auxillary fan works its ass off. I'm at 346000... 40,000 the first year. 100 miles in Texas is 20 miles anyplace else. 😜
I'm careful WHO I let touch My vehicles & I watch. Ignition thing was just not plugged in all the way... Found that out long before the recall. I do not take My vehicles to dealership mechanics. 🙄
I always check the work. Have caught morons NOT changing the oil & they never full the wiper fluid even if I remind them. Prorate every set of tires. These days I change the oil... No One knows how to drive a standard anymore.
good ! i got one , cranking no go!
Make sure to burp it fully and prime it correctly. Read manual for help.
Reminds me of the earliest Toyota Corolla (1970s) timing chains that would stretch and stretch ... until ...
True, wish we had caught this one before it detonated like this but it is over now. Off to the wrecking yard.
Its funny how im curious about these issues even though i never had this problem with my 03 chevy. My new car has this engine and i think its fine as a daily as long as you stay particular about the oil. Im a little suspicious if they handle synthetic all that well.
How many miles did it have
Junkyard that head & get a timing chain kit baby $300 🤩
But no rust on the fender
I have a 07 ion 2, I keep getting reduced engine power, I paid $600 to a mechanic to fix it, he did the timing and it still did the same thing, I then checked the code and changed the accelerator pedal sensor, same thing, mechanic is useless... anyone know what my issue could be? Btw, 5 months after timing replacement I have to re do it because it jumped, like I said, worthless mechanic
Did you ever fix it? My guess is low compression or leaky head gasket between cylinders or something odd like this. I also have an 07 Ion 2 and I keep loosing power on the 3rd cylinder, its all just leaky seals and gaskets and it also needs a valve job apparently.
Are these 2.2 ecotec engines hard to change on a Saturn Ion sedan with a auto for a D.I.Y.
I agree. Too much work for a DIY shop.
NO , you can do it .
Do not pull it from the bottom pulling engine cradle & trans.
Pull it out the top.
Take off your accessories & crank pulley .
It will be a little tight but it will come out .
I've even pulled GM V8 FWD engines from the top .
Those engines have had that problem since day 1 they have had a recall back to 2001 look it up another g.m junk failure
Probably had symptoms prior, right?
Yes, for about two days it had kicked up the check engine light and was idling super rough I was told. I think if he had stopped there and brought it over we would have done a simple timing chain replacement. Guess he learned the expensive way this time.
$2200??? A rebuilt head $300, Top end gaskets + head bolts $150, Timing chain set $150 w/ water pump, 2 six packs of Guinness $20
Ha, good joke on the beers. I wish I could do that but not this one. Two new cams alone are $400, plus the vales were all bent. Really I would have had to get a new top end. A rebuild one came out to over 1.5k assembled with new valves, rockers and cams. Then add the bolts, water pump, timing chain and idlers and gaskets and fluids. Might have been more then 2.2K. A rebuilt motor was only $3.5k but for a car with so many miles and we only paid 6k for it 5 years ago. It paid for itself. We found a real nice 2015 for $10k with only 40,000 miles, great buy.
what about pistons I am sure that at least one piston is damaged enough to be replaced ? is there enough room underneath to pull the oil pan and replace one ,or do I need to pull engine out ?
Just lazy to do it....I did mine 300 in parts and the know to do it...then sell it...get 3000 for it...
I've only worked on one Saturn, but wasn't a fan of it at all.
It has been easy to work on really. We did a clutch replayment about 3 months ago and it wasn't to bad for a front wheel car I thought. Most parts are easy to service but I'm thinking the timing chain job would have changed my mind. It was super tight in the front of that engine. It is off to the scrap yard now however.
Yet another lazy and unskilled baby boomer.
The valves and rockers are shot; but the pistons are reusable 95% of the time
Another ?
I'm around his age & could, Taking my time " have had that car running in a few days.
2 or less if I changed the entire engine.
While you'd likely still be coming off of your meth or MJ or telling your mommy that you didn't want to go to school that day.
Probably best the engine grenaded. The Ions are awful, awful cars.
It was a joy to work on most of the time. And it was very reliable for 7 years. Not bad for the kid's first car with an original used purchase price of $6k. Came out to less than a grand a year with very little mechanical problems over those years. Maybe he got lucky. He has since replaced this Ion with a 2013 Mazda 3 so I'm more worried now. HA.
I had a 07 Ion for eleven years with no problems except the transmission at one point that only cost me $380 to repair (some shops were trying to screw me, one shop even said $3000 "at least" 🙄. The mechanic told me something was wrong with my timing chain and I needed to get it fixed soon, which I already knew. Literally the day I decided I was going to take care of it after a cold start and hearing how horrible it sounded, I was sitting in it letting it warm up and BAM! The chain snapped. This wasn't to long after the mechanic that repaired the transmission told me it sounded bad and to get it fixed