glad to help

 

Beautiful work and beautiful documentation. Take a bow, you are THE MAN.

 

My pleasure. I figured with a little bit extra effort, I could leave a bread crumb trail for me and others. I really am glad I did this job - makes me happy to be an SRX owner again.

 

Well, I've completed my first 1000 miles since the repair. Still running quiet and smooth, much better MPGs, much more at ease not thinking that the chain is about to let loose. No leaks, so I guess the radiator epoxy wasn't a waste of money or time. Gonna change the oil soon, will post pics of the crud picked up by the filter.

 

The Three Hour Oil Change

Gonna change the oil soon, will post pics of the crud picked up by the filter.

OK, so I took some time changing the oil.

First, made sure I had high quality parts and oil. No more Fram, no more dino oil, even if it is the very excellent Mobil 5000. So AC Delco PF2129F and six quarts of Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic 5w30:

Used my new (Christmas present from the oldest son) oil change tool. Now I don't have to take 3 different wrenches under the car with me:

Then used my Matco 1/2" mega ratchet (found it under the front seat of my son's car when we bought it used) an extension and a 15/16" socket (you can also use a 24mm):

Pulled the OF housing cap - pretty clean:

The housing adapter, where the filter lives next to the block, was pretty clean. Always make sure your relief valve is working properly by gently depressing the plunger and making sure it glides up and down. Oil goes from the outside of the filter toward the core. If your filter gets plugged, this valve opens and lets oil (albeit dirty oil) into the engine. If this valve sticks open, it can cause low oil pressure on starts.

OF looks decent, but not a big fan of the wavyness of the pleats:

Used a boxcutter to separate the filter media from the core. There was an area where the pleats were stuck to the core from excess glue:

Lots of junk in the filter - some bits of factory sealant from the timing cover, some metal flakes, lots of sludge, a few bits of orangish plastic from the old chain guides. Nothing to cause alarm:

One last look to make sure still sealed tightly from the timing chain replacement:

So buttoned it back up and smoothly purring again. Now for a full-length OCI.

 

THAT is what I would call smooth and quiet!

 

Great Write up!!!
Going to tackle this tomorrow, believe I've got all my parts, tools, supplies together. I do have one question: Did you use gear puller to get crank gear off?

 

I do have one question: Did you use gear puller to get crank gear off?

No, crank gear slides off once the crank pulley is out of the way. Hope it goes well, take plenty of pics, I'm interested to see how much sludge, especially on the inside of the timing chain cover. How many miles? What symptoms?

 

Great write up. I've also been hearing a noise coming from our 3.6 that might be the timing chain. This write up may come in handy. What manual would you recommend? What would you estimated the time and cost of a DIY timing belt replacement would be?

 

What manual would you recommend?

I used Alldata DIY online, and the factory manual off fleabay.

What would you estimated the time and cost of a DIY timing chain replacement would be?

Depends on your skill, how much help you have, how badly you want to clean the inside of your engine, whether you are taking pictures of everything to post on the interwebs, and if you have kids/wife/girlfriend that needs attention. I would budget 3 weekends, working 5 to 6 hours a day, two days per weekend. But then I try to clean all my tools and put them up after every session. Jamming, I imagine someone who knows what they are doing could knock it out in a single weekend. I think some here have.

 

Well I have a fair amount of wrench time (mostly suspension, brake, and transmission related) and I have a buddy who's also mechanically inclined. The car is my wife's daily driver and she just wants it fixed and has given me the "I don't care, just get it done" card. I guess with those 2 things, I may be able to knock it out in a weekend if I start on a Friday after work. I just need to make sure I figure out everything I need (parts and tools) ahead of time to cut down on making runs to the store.

 

Well, between this thread and the one you've already posted in (the one with "tons of pics" in the title), you should have all the information you need.

 

Great, thanks. I just searched on fleabay for a factory service manual and the cheapest I could find was $105+ shipping. Do you think I could get away with the Alldata version alone or does having both come in handy?

 

Oh, sorry, just saw this. I think you already finished, but for others, yeah, I think you could.

 

Thanks. I'm still waiting on parts actually. Autozone's computers were indicating that the kit was in stock and ready to ship a week ago when I ordered. However they just came in stock yesterday so I won't get the parts until tomorrow.

I did order that factory service manual though. I may still get the Alldata though if I need any instruction beyond what's contained in the manual and the few threads on here (I doubt I will though).

I see that on your Shutterfly you have an image of your ebay cart with tools you stated were the necessary minimum. After doing the job, do you still think they're all needed? If not, what's the bare minimum I can get away with?

 

I see that on your Shutterfly you have an image of your ebay cart with tools you stated were the necessary minimum. After doing the job, do you still think they're all needed? If not, what's the bare minimum I can get away with?

I never checked the oil pressure, and I didn't use the flywheel lock. But if you don't have a killer impact, you will need the lock.

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Quick question: what did you use (besides copious amounts of patience) to clean off the baked on oil and grime on the valvetrain, oil pump, and block behind the timing cover?

Blue can easy off and zep orange degreaser. Don't let the easy-off sit overnight, just 30 mins or so, and make sure you get it all off. It will discolor plated metals.

 

Quick question: what did you use (besides copious amounts of patience) to clean off the baked on oil and grime on the valvetrain, oil pump, and block behind the timing cover?

 

I just finished up the job last night and everything is running great. It took me a while to get it started but I realized that the throttle body connection wasn't fully clipped and the maroon retaining clip on the fuel injector harness connector was broken off and allowing the connection to become loose. I fixed it up with a zip tip (gotta love 'em) and it fired right up. Thanks for the help. This thread was just as valuable (if not more) than the factory service manual.

 

Thanks for the help. This thread was just as valuable (if not more) than the factory service manual.

Thanks. I have worked with the people who validate the information in factory manuals. It's a tough job. Comments like this make the extra time and effort I took to document the steps worth it.

 

Just a followup on this repair, and I am afraid it will be somewhat controversial.

After a few weeks I started getting some noise again with startup. Much reduced, but still more than I liked. I resolved that on my first oil change I would replace the oil filter cap, which has an anti-drainback valve in it. The noise has disappeared.

I am now wondering whether there really ever was a design issue with the timing chains. Maybe the real problem was the excessive wear introduced because of a worn out drain back valve. Essentially, this failed component would force the engine to have a "dry start" every time, allowing chain tension to be more slack than it otherwise would be for a crucial few seconds on startup. So, while I don't consider 160K miles to have been a "failure," I can't help but wonder whether it was the supplier of these caps, and not the timing chain engineers, who let GM down.

I am curious - as to those who have had their timing chains replaced, did it also include part number 12583470?

And for those of you who are experiencing excessive chain and/or lifter noise at startup, I would seriously recommend replacing this part before doing anything else. Think of it as a $33 diagnostic tool that could end up saving you thousands of dollars.

 

Hmmm.. This could be the best post yet!

The anti drain back valve is supposed to keep the oil in the small passages in the engine block instead of letting it drain out to the pan. Once oil pressure increases, the valve opens to let the oil drain out. First, I would say this goes a very long way in explaining the difficulty in getting a good oil level reading on the dipstick. In addition, if the valve failed open for any reason, it would starve critical engine areas of oil. The reasons a valve may get stuck open are valve failure, but also build up of dirt or some type of obstruction.

I don't know if or how this would affect the timing chains. Can anyone else jump in?

 

Great write up on the chain DIY. It is interesting if the anti drainback might contribute to the noise/premature wearing. If I had one of these I'd be changing that part asap... I switched to oil filters with anti drainback(if available) many years ago just because of dry start. People that haven't seen an engine apart before might be amazed by the dino oil film, but in truth takes a very short amount of time for them to look like this, some engines quicker than others. Again excellent write up, I feel I could do this without issues using just your thread.

 

A little more research - what I thought was the anti-drainback valve in the filter cap is listed as a replaceable part, no 25014612, called a bypass valve. There is a second bypass valve in the oil filter adapter itself, that is no longer available. So I guess I could have saved some bucks and pulled and replaced the one in the cap, but I like having one I don't have to worry about falling out. I think I can make up a tube and check the old valve, which I am beginning to suspect is stuck open from either sludge or failing timing chain bits. It's supposed to be closed until 21 lbs, so if I blow lightly on it and it passes air, I guess it is stuck. Sure wish I had time to tinker with this thing full-time. Nevertheless, the engine is still starting quietly.

 

I finally solved the problem with the oil consumption on my 2006 SRX......2013 RX350, Satin Cashmere; LOVE IT

 

View attachment 92826 I finally solved the problem with the oil consumption on my 2006 SRX......2013 RX350, Satin Cashmere; LOVE IT

Lol, too funny

 

Looks like a Kia.

 

: "Looks like a Kia"......Fancy word for Jealousy; I am stuck with a Cadillac...lol

 

So let me get this straight, The antidrain valve is supposed to keep oil from draining out of the filter housing when the engine is shut off, correct? So when I change the oil filter, the housing should be full of oil, kept there by the antidrain valve when the cap is removed right? Question two, which of the two valves is the antidrain valve, the one in the cap ( which I suspect is the plugged filter bypass) or is it the one in the filter housing? According to the parts book, the valve in the housing is not available seperately, the whole housing has to be bought.

 

I have the same questions. One consideration, if the one in the cap has an anti-drainback feature, opening it allows the oil to drain. But I am leaning toward these are both bypass, as the parts illustrations indicated, and that my noise was chronic low oil pressure due to partial bypass - the filter was definitely picking up junk, and there was never any junk on the "clean" side of the element.

All I know is the noise is gone.

 

Jealous of a Lexus? Now that's the funniest post I have seen in a long time :lol:

 

Ya, right;...just keep making your LIST of crap to fix on your Cadillacs............poor suckers!!!!!!!!

 

I have had my share of problems on Cadillacs. I have had problems with every single car I have ever owned. That includes American, Japanese, and German. And honestly, the American cars, overall, were the ones I had the fewest problems with.

My two bosses are set on Lexus. Between them, they have owned nine of them. And most of them went to the dealership for repairs. Lexus is not perfect. If anything, their quality is getting worse.

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I will say this with certainty; Cadillacforums is hands down the best automotive forum on the internet. There are ALOT of long time members here (myself included) who no longer own Cadillacs, yet still frequent this forum. The camaraderie here blows all the others away.

 

I have had my share of problems on Cadillacs. I have had problems with every single car I have ever owned. That includes American, Japanese, and German. And honestly, the American cars, overall, were the ones I had the fewest problems with.

My two bosses are set on Lexus. Between them, they have owned nine of them. And most of them went to the dealership for repairs. Lexus is not perfect. If anything, their quality is getting worse.

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I will say this with certainty; Cadillacforums is hands down the best automotive forum on the internet. There are ALOT of long time members here (myself included) who no longer own Cadillacs, yet still frequent this forum. The camaraderie here blows all the others away.

Well said ... I enjoy this forum more than any others. We have a 2011 Honda Odyssey and I also belong to that forum. Night and day.

 

Can the bypass in any way be cleaned or fixed or is it always a cap replacement?

 

I assume you read this:

A little more research - what I thought was the anti-drainback valve in the filter cap is listed as a replaceable part, no 25014612, called a bypass valve.

And are really asking, "Has anyone actually either removed and replaced or removed and cleaned the bypass valve. Good question. Bueller?

 

So I pulled the bypass valve like this:

Found a PCV coupler that it fit perfectly in:

Used this setup to check its opening pressure:

Consistently was between 15 and 20 psi.


http://youtu.be/Iixg4wqvHjk