hello everyone,

just picked up this 2008 Manual SS. My daily got hit by an uninsured motorist a week ago and since insurance is so expensive I didn’t pay for rental car coverage. Don’t think the other guy will cover a rental car and shop said it would be at least a month to get fixed (undrivable). Bought the SS yesterday from a 17yo who’s dad is a dealer and has been in the family for 4 years. Car has 170k miles but was actually really clean and pretty well taken car off. With dealer plates they didn’t need to fix all the check engine lights etc but they recently had replaced timing chain, water pump, and turbo. It’s scorching hot here in Texas and the coolant stayed around 197-205 in traffic on the way home yesterday. A/C runs ice cold and everything else is pretty solid for the most part.

Plan on getting the rest of the maintenance items done such as bushings etc and fresh fluids. Boost is capped around 4psi if the gauge is working properly and I’m working on finding a new intercooler and hot side piping bc I’m sure I’ll find a boost leak once i hook up a smoke tester this week.

Excited to have this his as a cruiser. Always liked these and kept a look out for panel a panel wagon with no windows and a manual but this popped up Friday and it was meant to be. Don’t know if I will be able to keep it long term once my car is out of the shop but we will see!

 

How can a 17 year old sell a car that belongs to a dealer?
a. at 17 contracts are not enforceable
b. dealer tags means dealer owns it

That is a lot of replaced parts for low mileage, yes 170K is low for a 2008. What CheckEngineLight codes?

 

I just ran my Autel and have a bunch of sensors firing codes MAP, knock, cooling fan relay etc. Going to go through my printer list and start chasing them down. TPMS is lit up as well and i doubt the newish tires have sensors in them.

 

Post your codes here and we can guide you to the right places. Multiple codes usually indicate a low voltage battery, 12.4 volts static is a dead battery. Have it load tested.

 

Nice score! You'll want to figure exactly what you have, whether it's been tuned, what mods, whether it even has the original motor.

Quick test is put it in 3rd and at about 3000rpm, open it up and see where the boost goes. Stock should go to about 15 psi if you can get any leaks plugged. Not that there's anything wrong with an intercooler upgrade, but there are cheaper easier mods that will do more.

 

Whoa just went through some searches and despite being on many other forums, you guys are beasts when it comes to helping and providing info. I've already sent links to my cell and printed information off. Kinda what i came up with based off searches and yalls past inputs

P0036 - may have old sensors(make sure not bosch), checking 33 fuse, and wire condition with ignition on - will use my volt meter
P0243 - found a BL3Z-9k378-A ford solenoid on amazon for cheap
P0480 - cooling fan, car did not get hot in traffic but going to check relays and wiring etc.
P0332 - knock sensor, going to check wire above alternator - see how much knock sensor is off
P0106 - MAP sensor - i bet there are leaks in the system somewhere between MAF and intake - makes 4lbs boost currently
P2199 - IAT sensor - may not have any but i think this might be related to issue with MAP above
P0606 - I didnt know the ECM was under the hood in kind of a hazardous location for water so hoping I don't have to replace but will look for a stock tuned ECM etc online - ECM swapping is new to me. ESC light due to this?

and lastly
P0017 - crankshaft/exhaust camshaft position. I guess I will pull a cover off and see if the exhaust position jumped a tooth but hoping there is some easier fixes I can write off first before going that route.

Car runs pretty steady minus lack of boost so hoping i don't have to reset the timing.

Thanks again guys

edit: I cleared the codes bc it looked like codes had never been cleared so will drive around and see what pops back up. so far only p0243, p0480, p0106, and the p0017 are still showing after flash.

 

Boost tops at 4-5lbs and car has no mods.

 

P0017 is an emergency. While theoretically the solenoid valve or actuator could cause this, it almost always means the timing chain has jumped. You have been lucky. Do not start it Do not crank it, do not let a mechanic crank it, until it is fixed. If it jumps additional teeth, the result will be bent valves. Even limping to the shop instead of towing would be a gamble. Countless crached valves are due to failing to head P0016/17. You have been warned.

If the seller recently replaced the chains, they may have bungled the job. If they installed with the exhaust can sprocket a tooth or two off (I don't really know how many teeth off will cause damage, maybe only two for all I know,) that would explain the code, and why it hasn't crashed the valves yet. Or the tensioner is defective or installed incorrectly. If the dealer sold this car with the P0017, shame on them. They likely knew they were selling a time bomb.

If you have researched this, you know it's pretty easy to remove the valve cover and check for timing chain tension and get a peek at the front guide.

Next chain job I'm going to try this: https://zzperformance.com/products/z...ng-chain-guide




Apologies but I don't remember the source of this pic. Pretty sure it was here.

 

Before you spend time and money on sensors check all fuses and King Kong the bolts in the underhood fuse box.
If they really did replace the timing chain they got it off a tooth. Else the chain is bad.
The MAF and IAT are the same module, frequently gets forgotten or dislodged when the air filter is changed. Make sure it is securely plugged in.
Almost all of those codes are CIRCUIT related. I.E.: fuse, wire, connector, sometimes an internal short circuit.
Since all of that work was evidently done by clowns, I would examine every connector under the hood be sure they are plugged in and no pins are dislodged.
If it comes to replacing the ECM you can get preprogrammed units on ebay. They are mostly plug and play. A new one requires a trip to the bank and a GM dealer.

None are as bad as you might think.
Read the full name or description of OBD2 codes and then look it up for the actual MEANING, which rarely is in the name.

Fuse #25 on the BCM is the ECM fuse.

 

Hey Guys! I really appreciate the feedback so far. Was out of town and got really bad cold/plus busy at work so finally got a chance to dive into the car. The a/c in my shop broke and its 121 degrees real feel here in Dallas so been rough but fun. I'm currently in the middle of putting in a 4th bmw 4.4 v8 with timing chains done and blew the motor on my vette(machine shop has it but i pulled it out) so this actually is a little more enjoyable bc its not such a PITA.

Anyways I attached a small video to show what play I have in the chain. Also I don't have any wrenches bigger than 15mm at my house so going to shop tomorrow to get some big ones to rotate the cams clockwise or something to try and turn the crank in order to see how the cam sprockets line up. Yall might be able to tell with pics i took.


Edit: Having trouble attaching pictures/Video and will get them on here shortly.

Replaced the PVC "intercooler" with a used ZZP - checked it with water and no leaks. Dried it out before i put it on


One of the coils was broken in half. Need to get a quality replacement and so far im seeing AC Delco(12638824) for $43.33 on GMPartsDirect - hopefully can find something local


Spark plugs were in tact and not really in bad shape but going to replace them while i have them out. Will search for recommendations and gap.


Supposed to be at 10 & 2 but havent turned crank to check. Looks like they will be. The guides look in good shape but the chain doesnt have marks like the timing chain kits do.


The exhaust and cam sensor are both powerworks brand so not sure if they are just crappy and giving me the code. They werent clogged with metal or anything.

The fan fuse (green 40amp box) is out and there is a relay wired in its place with a trigger wire going all the way into the 10amp wiper fuse behind the radio. Super weird and thinking maybe the wiring from the fuse box or something is compromised.

The recirculation port on the intake tube wasnt connected and there are 2 feeds from the rear valve cover the passenger side one was hooked up to the turbo and the driver side one was just hanging loose so i figured it goes there.

Took a while to get a video up but here is a link to the slack in the timing chain - not sure if this is too much?