2009 aveo5 Lt 1.6 question about cam sprockets (timing)

So, I got this car, backstory is something like it was over heading with oil in coolant, not water in oil, had head gasket changed, ran but was pouring water, so then it was towed. Then i come along to help swap tires, find out its gonna get scrapped, i get it for free after seeing a missing hose clamp, thinking easy fix. The last dude to work on it left all sorts of stuff loose and what not. Anyways, it cranks but won't start, I determine spark, start going through it. Compression is funky. Oil and gas in intake. I see the timing marks aren't lining up. Is there supposed to be a key our something other than the bolt in the center of the cam to engage the cam shaft? The shaft has a notch in the end, the sprocket has a veer shallow notch, but nothing there. Did the last guy lose something? Some kind of washer? Just to be clear, this is unlike any cam sprocket I have seen before. The bolt that goes through it has a sleeve for isolating oil that is pumped into the hub for timing adjustment. I don't know much more than that.

Really? Nobody knows anything? Or nobody want to take the time to help me out? This is frustrating. Even the service manual shows the old style ofsprockets. I can't seem to find anything out I wanted to get this running door my g/f, so she can have her own car again. Guess I'll just have to tsell it.

First off, if you are looking for a quick or easy fix I don't think that is possible. You might even need to buy some special tools to align the cam shaft and sprockets per the last video I listed.

2009 is the first year for variable valve timing so if you are looking at an older repair procedure, Yes the cam sprockets will not look the same.

You said the compression is funky. Funky is not much help. What are the exact compression numbers? The compression should be around 150 PSI or what ever that converts into bars. The main thing they should be all about the same.

You should know if the timing belt wasn't installed correctly, broke or slipped while the engine was cranked or running, most of the time most of the valves will be bent and will have to be replaced, maybe you will have to replace the pistons too. You might be lucky because the engine wasn't actually run again after the head was put back on the block.

Many newer engines(more than half made) are grouped as "interference engines" meaning if the valve and crankshaft synchronization is off, a valve or valves could be open and the piston/s will hit the valve and bend the valve and possibly damage the piston or connecting rod.

Yes an interference design seems dumb but that is what engine designers and maybe government emission standards lean towards. I would design non-interference engines but my vote doesn't count.

Watch these Youtube videos.

2009 Chevy Aveo head gasket replacement Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrTS3M2OIyc

2009 Chevrolet Aveo head gasket Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjRp0IrllQg

I an not certain this video exactly applies but the engine is similar
Camshaft gear adjusters replacement on z16xer z18xer Astra H, Zafira B, Vectra C p0011 p0014 noise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QEZ8YGgQ_4

thanks for your reply. Your videos were helpful. I simply can't believe there is no key or something. That blows me away. Freaking nuts! That's some engineering. Doesn't seem very robust. I can understand the need for interference though. With the needfor emission control, and American's need for power, if you have seen extra space in the combustion chamber just for the"? valves you would lose compression and power. And the shape of combustion chambers of modern cars are designed so the af mixture gets as complete burn possible in the least time possible so as to prevent any unburnt fuel being wasted. But I digress. I'm pretty sure the engine is toast. Cylinder 2 and 3 are only 30 psi, the other two are 120,150. Plus I think there is a leak between 2 and 3 . I'm just going to part it out I think.

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You can buy or rent a cylinder leak down compression tester and determine where the compression it should have, where the air is going. If the leak is another bent valve and only the valve/s then the fix might be low cost. Those compression results tell me something is messed up, most likely bent valves or seriously out of time cam shaft.

A neighbor owns a highly successful import repair shop. I think it was 10 or 15 years ago he ran into his first camshaft and sprocket without a key way or alignment pin. The repair manual showed a camshaft locking tool and said to put the crankshaft at top dead center. He didn't have the tool but managed to get things back together with the help of another friend using the telephone. The Internet was relatively new then.

I myself had an old early 1970's Subaru to work on when I worked for a new domestic car dealership in the late 1970's. The crank gear that turns the cam gear was pressed on to the crankshaft. The engine had fair to good compression in 2 cylinders and bad or no compression in the other 2 cylinders. It took me a long time to realize the compression sequence was out of sequence. The ignition firing order was correct but the compression events didn't follow the firing order. I took the engine apart and somehow discovered the crank gear was out of time. The gear on the crankshaft didn't have an alignment pin or key way, which was all new to me. The gear was on so tight our press didn't even budge it. We took the crankshaft to a machine shop that did earth moving equipment repair. They even had to put a great amount of force to remove and install the gear on the crankshaft. I don't remember how we determined to align the gear on the crankshaft but I know we didn't have any alignment tools so maybe there were faint alignment marks on the crankshaft and gear. When I got the engine back together it ran perfectly.

I never had a 2009 and newer engine apart so I can't give concrete advice. I am just going by what you describe and some Youtube videos anyone can watch. There are some dumb Youtube videos and some with truly amazing and talented Youtube videos. The one I linked seems like a very good one/two. I fix a bunch of stuff all because of Youtube videos.

I'm probably too late here... I don't frequent the forums as much as I used to since I don't have any Aveos anymore.

The variable valve timing is kind of funky and takes some getting used to, but it's actually easier to deal with in the end. Lock the cam into place with the special tool aka flat bar, make sure the crank is lined up to it's right timing spot, belt goes on, and cam bolts get tightened back up. Fewer things to deal with than making sure the crank and two cams timing marks stay on.

If you have low compression and a possible leak, you probably have bent valves from the timing being off along with a possible blown head gasket from it overheating (again?) from when it was pouring water from the hose clamp. These engines are really pretty simple and you could have the head pulled, valves replaced, and back together with a new head gasket and head bolts in an afternoon. I've done 3 or 4 of them now. You can get a whole kit with valves and all the gaskets/bolts for under $100. If you were to go that route I would have a machine shop check the head for any warping first.

Anyways, like I said I'm probably too late but here's an excerpt from the repair manual for the variable valve timing belt replacement. Hopefully it helps someone in the future: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bhy...ew?usp=sharing

thanks for the input guys! If I can find such a kit for such a price, I may actually keep it. ALL the searching I did, I could not find that particular excerpt. Thanks for that. I just wonder, will I have to do the learn procedure?

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I like DRG2003's advice. I think he is spot on.

This camshaft tool kit might work. I was looking for something similar for a (USA 1.6L 2008 version engine) and ordered the tool kit in the link I posted. It didn't work for my 2008 but it might work for the 2009 and above engine. It is only $21. Some of the same Kent Moore part numbers show up when I did a Google search and found the $21 kit. (MK-6628, MK-6340)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/7PC-Engine-...8AAOSwPGpbGJ1e

The following tools are way over priced but maybe they are what you need. I would try the above tool kit. I am cheap when it comes to tools that only get used a few times.

If the above tool kit doesn't fit the bill, these are some of the tools listed in DRG2003 link.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?LH_C...=true&_fosrp=1

Here is another post about setting up / aligning the camshaft sprockets and timing belt.

https://www.justanswer.com/chevy/78r...installed.html

https://gm.oemdtc.com/3944/p0011-p00...pontiac-saturn