Update n daily whip.....
about 2 months ago, developed a P0341 code. which was cam shaft timing, bank 1 out of range.
motor had 3500 miles at the time.
I traced every wire from the connectors to the ECM to verify that it wasnt wiring related.
I swapped both cam actuator solenoids (one at a time) and determined it was not a cam solenoid (common ecotech issue)
I swapped both cam sensors one at a time and determined it was not a cam sensor.
pulled valve cover and swapped hydraulic tensioner because that could have been it.
after 3 weeks, took it to the dealer.....told the service manager on-duty all this, he seamed to be making notes
1.5 days later, skippy at the dealer says, the P0341 code is always a cam sensor. so I explained the troubleshooting that I had done, explained the bag of parts that were tried that was on the floor of the passenger foot well and asked him to verify that it was the sensor.
2 days later...... its not the sensor, not the wiring, not the ECM flash. potentially its a bad camshaft (highly unlikely) or a bad VVT sprocket.
they quoted $1200 in labor and $375 in parts to swap the VVT sprockets.
I paid the $85 diagnostic fee and said I would swap the VVT's in under 4 hours and under $150
order take off VVT sprockets from ZZP (ecotech tuner) for $99
order timing cover gasket and timing bolts from Summit racing for $30
this past weekend, was on pace to have the sprockets swapped in under 3 hours when one dropped bolt that managed to fall into a 1" x 2" oil return hole and drop past the windiage baffle into the sump turned the weekend into 2 days of swearing.
to pull the oil pan, the motor must come out of the car. you must then remove 20 bolts and use a razor knife, separate the bonded oil pan from the motor pain rail.
not relishing a 16-20 hour ordeal of pulling the motor, pulling the pan retrieving the bolt, etc
spent 2 hours looking on-line at images of the oil pan. there are two scalloped holes in the corners big enough to pass a bolt thru
so a trip to ACE hardware to buy neodymium magnets. 2 hours of attempting to walk a bolt up the inside wall of the oil pan to one of the scalloped openings to allow me to use my flexible magnet retriever tool to snag it thru the 1 x 2" opening...... success after what may have been 200 attempts
buttoned everything up and am driving the car as the truck transmission ate itself 30k miles after GM replaced the torque converter. good thing I argued with GM customer service on an extended warranty for the transmission. parts are on national back-order
there were 3 things wrong with the engine.
- VVT sprocket was hyper-extending due to a manufacturing defect.
- timing chain was 1 tooth off on the cam (could be from my swapping hydraulic tensioner, could be from the dealer digging in the engine
- intake cam sensor worked, however the signal was marginal and at high RPM would not keep up
moral of the story....
- man made things fail
- new does not equal good
- every 4 hour project is one misplaced/dropped/broken bolt away from a 2 day ordeal.
Now on to fixing other things.
- I've always thought those cars would look cool with a vintage can-am style paint scheme.
