04 timing chain got me...what next?

[oinkjackson]

OK Stupid me...I bought this car six months ago with a little more than 60,000 miles on it. I didn't even think about checking or replacing the timeing chain. Now the car is sitting at the dealer's lot and they want $5000 to put a new engine in it, a thousand more dollars than I payed for the car! So, what is the best option, rebuild the engine, replace with a used engine, or look for a different car? I don't know how severe the damage is. What are the chances that the pistons are still ok and I can just do a valve job? Thanks for any and all advice you can provide. What is this mistake, of not replacing the timing chain in time, going to cost me?

[petrified.rabbit]

take it from the dealer. Bottom dollar= you need a $400-600 valve job, and a $400 timing belt job. then add $ for the labor to do a "head gasket".. Total should come out to $1200-1500.

or find a used engine and get it installed for about $1500-2000

[thehunterooo]

Timing belt, no chain. First step is to get it out of the dealership and into a local shop if you have one. I would not go back to the dealership. The damage 99% of the time includes the valves and such, sometimes it is more extensive. A re-furbished head on eBay goes for roughly $400, so that is the best route if the shop wants a lot for a valve job. Beyond that though is a guess, someone would need to take it apart and see what is wrong. If the damage is more extensive, another engine can be had for very cheap (eBay, CL and other junkyards and such will be a good source) you can get a nice engine for well under $1000. Overall though, it will cost quite a bit (a LOT less than the stealership) I would say around $2000 at another shop would be the total cost if things are really bad, but that is a guess. You could sell the car if the costs are too high, either way it is going to hurt

At least when you fix it, you should be good for another 60,000 miles after that

[thehunterooo]

damn you rabbit, you beat me to it while I was typing!!!!

[thehunterooo]

we were close on prices though.....

[petrified.rabbit]

it does not have a minimum number of words required there college boy. type less, answer faster.

[oinkjackson]

Thanks for the quick replies. OK, I got it out of the dealers's before they could rape me. Now, I might attempt to pull the head myself but can't find a repair manual for the Aveo in any of the local auto stores. Is it that hard to do it yourself?

[petrified.rabbit]

have you ever done anything like that before?

[oinkjackson]

I've pulled two engines out of different cars, had them machined by someone else and replaced them. But, it was around twenty years ago and cars have changed alot since then. There's alot more extra stuff under the hood now and it's much tighter and more sensitive with all the electronics.

[Daox]

After you unplug the electronics its not that different. Just make sure ya unplug everything before you pull it out! Its really not that difficult. I bought my Aveo with a snapped timing belt and put a salvage yard engine in. I thankfully only paid about $500 for the engine and only needed to get a few things (including a trip to the dealer to do a relearn procedure).