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2003 Grand Am Crank no start 2.2l ecotec

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05GXPBeast

Donating User
I have a 2003 grand am with the 2.2l ecotec engine. one day a couple months ago i started the car and it sounded like it wasnt going to start for a second but it fired up. The idle was really low at first and slowly built up to normal idle. i drove the car to work and parked it. But when i went to leave it was just cranking over and over not even trying to fire. It has spark, fuel pressure, and the timing chain is not busted. The lifters also look fine, nothing broken. the plugs look fine but dont seem very wet. Also all the Pistons are moving and it has compression ( I dont have a tester to check actual numbers). What am I missing here?
 


It sounds like the injectors aren't firing. Spray some fuel or starter fluid into the throttle body and see if it fires up and shuts off.
 
Bad News. I took the valve cover off to take another good look and this time I noticed the timing chain sagging. It gets tight and then loose again. it also jumped timing a little bit. Im pretty sure the tensioner is shot. Ive got my fingers crossed that the valves will be ok.

https://youtu.be/c-7qq1fYCwQ
 
More bad news. The top bolt for the main chain guide snapped somehow, which caused the chain to break the tip off the guide. I wasn't sure how to get the broken piece out, so my solution is to weld the broken bolt to the back of the plug.
 


I know welding the broken bolt to the plug isn't ideal. But I dont know how to fix it without pulling the whole engine out.
 
UPDATE: Welding the broken bolt isn't going to work. But I found this bolt online that is exactly what I was trying to make. Apparently this is a very common in the 2.0 2.2 and 2.4 engines. If you know anyone who has this problem show them this listing. This bolt saved me alot of time.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/152558859307
 
The car is back together and runs great. I highly suggest this new front chain guide bolt fix to anyone who has the 2.2 or 2.4 ecotec engines. It saved me the trouble of having to pull the head and drill out the broken bolt. And it eliminates a major weak point in the timing.
 
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