how do i know if the timing or timing belt is out on a 1999 Chevy Tahoe?

Question

how do i know if the timing or timing belt is out on a 1999 Chevy Tahoe?

Answer 1

On a 1999 Chevy Tahoe 5.7 liter engine they use a timing chain that spins the camshaft which opens and closes the intake and exhaust valves, the timing chain is oil lubricated and is made of metal and is a lot stronger than a timing belt, but they do eventually get worn also the gears also wear and over time ( 100k+ ) they do stretch and become loose,which will effect what is called cam timing ( the opening and closing of the valves in precise timing as the pistons come to top dead center so that the pistons do not hit the valves and also for optimum air fuel charge,combustion ,and exhaust , more or less horse power and performance ) usually at 100 k the stretch and wear is not enough to cause any real noticeable running problems, but some performance lose still not really noticeable because of the gradual small loss over period of time driving.But as the slack in the timing chain becomes bad enough it could jump time anywhere from one tooth to several teeth, at one or two teeth jump the engine will still run but not very good and will lack power and hard to start etc.also you should know it is still not very common for the chain to jump even with 150k-200k but it can happen and does. a person can check chain slack with out opening up the engine.What i doe is remove the serpentine belt, mark the crankshaft dampener with white chalk where you can see the mark and use a socket & ratchet and turn the dampener clockwise a little bit look at your mark and then lightly mover dampener backwards just the amount it takes till you feel resistance the amount of free movement back and forth with out any resistance is the amount of chain stretch.Specification is 1/2 inch any thing over that could use a new timing chain and gears but still would not cause any real noticeable running problem.Now another indication of how to check for timing chain stretch is with and good computer scan tool, also it is how you set ignition timing on those engines,with the scan tool you need to check the data parameter for cam retard raise engine to 1100 rpm and cam retard should be 0* plus or minus 2* if the reading is like -15* and no one has moved the distributor the timing chain is most likely stretched ( also a little bit of distributor gear wear but mostly chain stretch ) when the cam retard reading are out of spec it can cause cylinder misfire's also can feel a slight jerky feel at cruising speed but the engine will still run and start pretty good and timing can be adjusted to compensate just adjust distributor till cam retard reading on scan tool reads 0* at 1100 rpm.that's how you check timing & timing chain on a 1999 5.7 Chevy Tahoe

Answer 2

Yeah, DW is right. I hope you don't pay whoever that was that said it's a belt. If you're engine is running, you probably don't have a timing issue. The only way you MIGHT have a issue with the chain is if you have well over 300K miles on that thing. You should include some info on what symptom(s) you're trying to diagnose. I'd suggust checking with a timing light if you're really curious, but I wouldn't go spending the money on one if you're not sure what it is or how to use it.

Answer 3

You can hook up a timing light, with the marking on the damper marked with a white chalk, start the motor and monitor the mark on the damper with various speeds of RPM, and see it the timing mark swings back and forth, if a noticeable amount, you have slag in the timing chain/gears.

Answer 4

im assuming your having a misfire. motors need fuel, air, spark and compression to run. If any is wrong, it will run poorly. Before you pull out your distributor, double check you are getting spark, and then double check the firing order(plug wires from distributor to spark plugs in correct order if thats all correct, pull each spark plug one at a time and see if any of them are wet or burnt. If so, it could be a fuel injector issue. If all ok: bring it to a mechainc, its not going to be fun to figure it out from there.

Answer 5

It has a chain and it wont go out

Answer 6

the engine turns over really easy....

Answer 7

it wont run