Stuck between the proverbial rock & hard place

[ChevMali99]

Here's the story - My 2009 Chevy Traverse needs timing chain work, no codes yet.

Got a timing chain kit off the net and went to my personal mechanic, who seems to be apprehensive, about working on them. He gave me a song and dance that went like this, "well, you know, I'm really busy... it's really a big job, gotta pull the engine down, take this & that out... I'm gonna charge you $1200". Fine, no problem but after 2 days the Traverse never got in a service dock, so got took the car out. Believe me, he is a good guy & got no issues with him.

Moved on to another local joint which I am not a fan off because of the usual auto-shop bs. "Well you know, gotta put the car on the diagnostic to see what else is wrong... it may not just be the timing chain... who knows? It may not even be the problem... But whatever it is it's gonna run you a couple of THOUSANDS because we have to pull the engine down".

Chevrolet got involved and on top of giving me a similar answer, they added the fact that the car is 12 yrs old with over 130k miles, thus is out of warranty.

Decided to contact several car buying companies both on line and over the phone, and not only are the offers ridiculously low, $3000 was the best offer, but they expect you to pay for the tow!

So, here I am! Pondering again what to do with this car? Do I, wait my mechanic out for lean times, kiss the ring and shell out the top dollar for repairs, or take the massive L and sell?

Make no mistake - I understand the incredible difficulty that is replacing the chain but - Come on!

[maxwedge]

How did you determine the chain is worn, not usually a maintenance item.

[ChevMali99]

Originally Posted by maxwedge

How did you determine the chain is worn, not usually a maintenance item.

Hi!

To be fair, it is hard to imagine the chain is worn because, well, it's a chain. Likely is a tensioner but honestly I cannot imagine ANY shop going through the trouble of taking the engine apart to test out tensioners.

Having said that, this is how I arrived to that determination.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9g0OP9Zydk&t=7s

[maxwedge]

Hmm, take off the belt see if anything changes, could be the balancer.

[Stealthee]

Originally Posted by maxwedge

How did you determine the chain is worn, not usually a maintenance item.

On certain years it is, and the 09 Traverse had a recall because of worn/stretched chains.

[maxwedge]

Hmm, ok, so the odds are that is the source of the noise. What a pita job!

[ChevMali99]

Originally Posted by maxwedge

Hmm, ok, so the odds are that is the source of the noise. What a pita job!

... And that's where I am. Fix (mechanic or dealer) or sell?

Another car, one that I'd like, newer and whatnot, will run me more than 7k, considering the shortages caused by floods and The VID! If I choose fix, I'd be essentially buying the car again...

... who knows? is a tough choice.

[ChevMali99]

New Developments on this:

Finally got around to taking the car to the dealer, to my pleasant surprise the repairs were not unaffordable for dealer work. In fact, according to them, the problem is not the timing chain but a tensioner. So, of course they found more stuff to fix, motor mounts and some worn engine sealer. Fine - no problem. Fix it.

Later, got a call from a sales rep inquiring if I'm interested in upgrading. I replied, "I'm listening. The car is in your shop, review it and come back with a number. If it makes sense, we can discuss".

Any ideas?

[ChevMali99]

Closing this out:

Happy to report the dealer did a great job fixing the truck but on top of that, I was utterly shocked at the amount of money they offered for it! Too bad it wasnt enough for me to accept it.