96 corsica "chattering"

I am bewildered by a chattering noise that doesnt seem to interfere with power/performance on my 2.2 w/85k miles. I recently replaced a/c clutch assembly and stopped an unrelated noise. I am fixing myself, and assume this problem happens to others. I encountered this before and I believe it was timing gear/chain related, I am uncertain however. Anybody want to send me in right "do-it-yourself" direction? I can hear valve train, it is sound. I focused on lower end, it is also sound. No leaks, doesnt overheat, still economical and starts well. slightly rough idle
but power "curve" is smooth at all throttle. That freakin chattering just dont want to quit, it almost disappears at around 35-40 mph just before gear change, and returns, even at idle. Reminds me of an old vw rabbit diesel! I checked all external pulleys for loose or wobbles and they are good. It does seem to be coming from that area of engine.Anybody relate?

How often do you change the oil in that engine? Those are notorious for broken timing chains because of neglecting to change the oil at the right intervals. The oil passageways that lubricate the chain are a little small and it the oil is not changed when its should be they get clogged and restirct the flow of oil to the chain. This causes premature wear on the chain and it starts to "flop around" and hit the side of the timing chain cover, making a sound similar to a loose lifter. Unfortunately that means the chain must be replaced, otherwise it will end up breaking and leave you with a completely fucked engine. If you have a mechanics stethoscope you can find out where the noise is coming from pretty quickly just by poking around the engine. That sounds just like a loose timing chain though.

That was my first guess, i even had new tensioner cover/ tensioner in my hands and changed my mind. I recently chaned oil 500+ miles ahead of schedule to no avial. Looks like I have another weekend project. Thanks for reply. That timing set flopping is still quiter than just gear driven, I am not too worried about losing chain entirely just yet.
My repair will be new cover w/tensioner and gear /chain set.

My repair has changed for anyone familiar with problem. I took belt off and wiggled tensioner in different ways, there is a flop that sends a rather strong internal type sound, as if it came from within engine. I will post again after repair.My guess is the dragging a/c over some miles overdid tensioners ability.

I have changed my mind yet again! A new head it is! The sneaky sound revealed itself after an oil change, Now it sounds like "the lemon" 198* ford escorts and its head problems.I avoided all gm/ford
american front wheel drive 4 cylinders for the very problem i am encountering now, for years. Reviews I found on web about this year car aren't exactly truthful. I assumed it to be better than old flaws because of them.I was mistaken. Buy them cheap if ya want one! it is what they are worth !
I may keep a head in the trunk just in case!
I cant wait for -25 degrees and pretend my car is reliable!

What kind of oil did you use?

I use castrol gtx for cars over 75k. My 87 subaru is still running and i believe that is a reason (never had engine repairs @ 162k). If revealing
loose tolerances just needs my favorite oil, I am glad this happened. There was a graying tint to the last dribbles of old oil and I knew what that meant....
I was a "chevy enthusiast" easpecially with small block v8's from ground up. The "old" means to search for problems are working for this car too.I spoke to a friend whom had similar problem on small gm, for peace of mind after such an engine racket he went through the whole thing (rod and main berrings, timing set, oil pump AND new head)
.At 85 k I am hoping to just get head replaced. ( hear no lower end probs).Hey, how can i get an oil guage in this 2.2 without losing dummy sensor light? :banghead:

Oil pressure guage? There aer two kinds of sensors, one os for the dumy light, its either on or off. Theres another one for the guage. You can pick up a full cluster out of a JY car that has tach, Op, temp gauge, and voltmeter. Just make sure its from a car with the same style interior, and same engine and it should work fine. Youl have to grab the oil pressure sender unit off of the donor car and run a signale wire for the tach to work right. Other than that, its plug n play.

I am getting chattering and skip in the engine on my 1995 corsica,and it is most likely timing chain and probably that tensioner.I never done something like timing chain and have bought Chiltons manual.Seems very simple by looking at everything.I just wonder if that tensioner could be adjusted without taking timing chain out or else.Also how do you remove crankshaft balancer midlle screw and what other three smaller screws are for?TRhanks/

I just found this old post of mine. The engine blew unexpectedly. I gave my last 4cyl GM car away never to have again. :nono: