Timing belt or chain?

i just bought a 97 malibu 3.1 liter. Does this motor have a belt or a chain? Also how do you check the trans fluid? There is a fill cap, but no dipstick!

i just bought a 97 malibu 3.1 liter. Does this motor have a belt or a chain? Also how do you check the trans fluid? There is a fill cap, but no dipstick!

it has a chain. and unless you leaked tranny fluid, no need to check it, just change it every 50K

I had my transmission rebuilt on my '97 Malibu. You are right there is no dipstick. The layman customer cannot check on the ground. You have to get the car up in the air and open the drain on the side of the transmission, pour some transmission fluid in from the top and let it drain out until it stop and then close the side drain. (This is a transmission specialist/mechanic told me.) Who was GM engineer that came up with this stupid idea?

I had my transmission rebuilt on my '97 Malibu. You are right there is no dipstick. The layman customer cannot check on the ground. You have to get the car up in the air and open the drain on the side of the transmission, pour some transmission fluid in from the top and let it drain out until it stop and then close the side drain. (This is a transmission specialist/mechanic told me.) Who was GM engineer that came up with this stupid idea?

All new vehicles reguardless of maker do their cars this way. The theory behind it is that since you have an automatic and you don't need to change the fluid until every 30,000 miles it will be a "sealed unit". So be greatful that it at least has a fill whole. I know on vehicles like My VW or Rodeo, the automatic models are "sealed" and you have to drop the transmission pan to get the fluid out, needless to say it is a messy proccess.