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Thanks. Some shots are decent, and others not so much. It's a learning process to know what shots to get and how to get them. I think it can only get better from here!

@@therusteegarage Oh man, we all started off as crap filmmakers. Practice makes perfect. You will learn something with every video.

LOL thank God we won't have another 4 years of sh!t

Thank you for the questions. I will make a video in the near future and answer.

I don't think the sockets are rated for impact use, but I have used them on my 3/8" and 1/2" impacts without any problems.

The main repair was to change the timing chain and sprockets because the previous owner had attempted it and didn't get the timing correct upon reassembly. I was worried about the condition of the valves and that is why I pulled the head, so I could inspect everything. It is possible to pull the head without taking the timing cover off but you will have to take the cam sprockets off. It's a little tricky to do it that way. You'll want to make sure cylinder #1 is at TDC before you start tearing it down and you'll need to wire or zip tie the cam sprockets to the chain , or mark everything really well so you don't mess up your timing. But to answer your question, it's been running for 3 1/2 years since the repair (still running today) and approximately 30K - 40K miles. The new timing chain should be good for 80K - 100K miles, probably even longer. I hope this helps.

Yes it is! There are 2 small bolts, I think they are E10 (external torx), that go thru the head to the timing cover. There is usually a puddle of oil right where the bolt heads are, so you may not see them at first. Good luck!

@@therusteegarage awesome, thanks!

The one in the video was just stuck. Spray it down with soapy water to pinpoint where its leaking. Good luck!

There's a cotter pin on one end that you take out and then use a punch and hammer to take the pin out.

It purr's! Sorry the last few years have been a little rough in my personal life. I have been working on the rest of the videos. The latest video is here: th-cam.com/video/uL4K0hx28VI/w-d-xo.html

Thanks for the question Alex. When you go to put it back together you want to make sure the #1 cylinder is on top dead center(TDC) and then the exhaust timing mark should be in the 10 o'clock position and the intake should be in the 2 o'clock position. Does that help? Let me know if you need more help.

@@therusteegarage but what if I get it slight off like 10:50 o clock or 11:10 you know what I mean?

Alex I just read the thread and realized that I made a typo in my reply. The exhaust sprocket needs to be at 10 o'clock not 11. There should be a place on the cam shaft where you put a wrench on it and then you can turn the cam so that it will be in the right position. If it is not in the right position it won't run right and possibly damage the valves.

The valves may not be damaged. When I tore into my saturn the intake cam was lined up with the wrong mark. It was in the correct position, 2 o'clock, but was lined up with the triangle, exhaust mark, instead of the diamond intake mark, and there was no damage to the valves. So in hindsight, what I wish I would have done is just reset the timing. What you could do, is put a new timing chain on and before you put the timing cover and everything else on, you could hook up your compression gauge and roll the engine over by hand. I hope this helps.

@@therusteegarage I found the plastic guide was broken in 3 pieces and one of the guilds bolts was sheared off the other was ground down from the chain rubbing on it. I put a new timing chain kit in and found some of those special guide bolts. I check the compression and 30, 60, 30 and 00 # and they would not hold the compression and leaked down immediately. So I am going to get the car in the garage ( I was working on it outside where the tow truck dropped it) and pull the head in a couple days. Did you do any work on the head after you removed it?

Nice work! Yes, I pulled all the valves and inspected them. Then chucked each valve in my cordless drill and cleaned/polished them with oiled sandpaper starting with 120 grit all the way up to 1000 grit. Then finished with mother's polishing compound. Then I reseated all the valves using valve grinding compound and checked them for leaks just like in this video. It sounds like you may have to replace some or all of the valves but you won't know until you pull the head. For the head, I pressure washed it first and then cleaned it all up with wire wheels, brushes, and sandpaper. Berryman's carb cleaner works really good for removing the carbon buildup. If you do pressure wash it you'll want to make sure you blow it dry with compressed air so the steel parts, valve guides & seats, don't rust. And depending on where you live and how much time it will take you to complete the project you may want to spray some WD40 on the valve guides & seats to protect them from rusting. The gasket mating surfaces on the head are going to have gasket residue on them and what I think is the best way to clean them up is sanding them. There are 2 ways to do it. The first way is to make a sanding block out of MDF board with white melamine because the melamine is really flat and smooth. Check this video out: th-cam.com/video/HyKN52HD6RU/w-d-xo.html The 2nd way to sand the head is to get something really flat and smooth like a piece of glass from an old window, an old mirror, or even some steel from a table saw or joiner table. Then glue the sandpaper to the surface and place the head on top of the sandpaper and start sanding. Check this video out: th-cam.com/video/9KauqWsaNsQ/w-d-xo.html The most important thing to remember is that whatever surface has the sandpaper on it is the surface that you will transfer to the head. I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions and good luck!

@@therusteegarage Thanks for the tips, I hope to get the car into the garage tomorrow. I live in Washington State the wet side! I'm also near 77 years old so that don't help either. I was a gear head and hotrodder in early 60's worked for my Dad in his shop till I left for the Navy (machinist Mate). I have a decent shop and most tools needed as I worked as a mechanic till I was 39, heavy equipment, forklifts and cars and trucks. But I grew tired of pulling wrenches and went to back to school and became an Xray Technologist. But I still help others with repairs off and on like this Saturn Ion. I cuss a lot about my aches and pains while doing these jobs but when they are up and running I feel a great sense happy accomplishment.

It sounds like you have a lot of experience and know how! I'm sure you will get the job done! Keep me updated.

Yes, the project is finished and I have all the footage. The last couple of years have been pretty crazy and I had to put TH-cam on the back burner. However, I will make finishing this build a priority.... or at least high up on this list! Thanks for asking!

It purr's! Sorry the last few years have been a little rough in my personal life. I have been working on the rest of the videos. The latest video is here: th-cam.com/video/uL4K0hx28VI/w-d-xo.html

Thanks for the question. Yes I did finish the rebuild and am driving the Saturn everyday... and no the videos are not finished yet. Should be coming out with the rest of them soon. You are 100% correct on the cam gear positioning and the only other thing I will add is that the exhaust mark is the triangle and the intake is the diamond and the two gears are interchangeable.

Thank you for the interest and I apologize for the long wait. Here is the link to the next video in the series, enjoy! th-cam.com/video/FSo8_djPsK0/w-d-xo.html

It is 99% the same. The 2.2 GM ecotech is a really common engine used in Saturn's, Chevy Cavalier's and Pontiac Sunfire's. Whatever changes they make from year to year are usually small things like the imprint on the valve cover or slight design change on the plastic intake manifold.... stuff like that.

Thank you for the interest and I apologize for the long wait. Here is the link to the next video in the series, enjoy! th-cam.com/video/FSo8_djPsK0/w-d-xo.html

Hey Roger, appreciate the comment. The timing sprockets are tricky because they are the same sprocket, they're interchangeable. The difference between them is that you use the diamond mark when the sprocket is on the intake cam. And you use the triangle mark when the sprocket is on the exhaust cam. Check this video out. th-cam.com/video/WYivvyXQK9Y/w-d-xo.html It took me a little longer than I wanted it too because I was filming, even if the video is not that great, it still took some time to set up the camera and get my shots. But it took me 2 months and there were lots of interruptions during that time. Yes it runs, I actually have all the footage that I'm editing and making into videos. On your Saturn, I would start with checking the timing. Watch the video in the link above, it's a very good timing chain video. Stay tuned! I hope this helps. ~Rusty

@@therusteegarage It's alright, I already changed the chain and 3 guides and tensioner. After pouring all back together it had no compression do now I know I gotta either re-do the head or another motor.

Do a wet compression test. Squirt some oil or WD40 in the spark plug holes and then re-check the compression. If your compression stays the same as before that verifies the valves or head are leaking. If your compression is higher, then you have worn out piston rings. What the oil does, is temporarily helps the rings to have a better seal against the cylinder wall. Assuming your compression stays the same, that can mean a few things; 1.) Timing issue, verify the timing 2.) Damaged valves - burnt, melted, pitted, not seating or bent 3.) Damaged valve springs 3.) Cracked head, blown head gasket. However, if you have 0 compression on all cylinders, more than likely it is a timing chain issue. If it's off by one tooth it won't have any compression. If you have no compression in cylinders 2 and 3, it's probably leaky valves and possibly a blown head gasket. Was it overheating prior to changing the chain? Let me know what else you find out.

Thanks for the comment Brant!

You are welcome. Thank you for the comment, I hope it works for you. If you get stuck, take a few pics of it and post the links in the comments so I can look at it and give you better advice. Good luck!

Only For Gamers Dude literally same happened to me 😂 That’s why I’m here. Sucks not being able to ride, especially since my bike is what I always use. Did this work for you??

whats up Rusty. I have the same issue with a 2004 saturn ion i picked up myself. bad exhaust valves. i want to try and fix this myself and take the heads off, but seems almost to hard for me as a do it yourselfer.

Hey David! Thanks for the comment. I understand exactly where you are coming from an I think it really boils down to; 1.) Do you have the time to learn and the time it will take? 2.) Do you have a place where you can work on it out of the weather? 3.) Do you have enough tools to do the job? As you can see in my videos, I am in a tent... I do have a torpedo heater tho. And I have pretty basic tools, although I can build special tools as I need them. For your Saturn, do a compression check and record the pressure. Then squirt some oil or WD40 into the cylinders thru the spark plug holes and re-check the compression. This is called a wet compression check. If your pressure stay's the same, you just verified the valves are leaking. The valves could be leaking because the timing chain skipped a tooth or 2, or the valves are damaged or need to be re-seated or some other timing chain related issue. Turn the crank pulley until the notch on the pulley lines up with the timing mark on the timing cover. This will put the first cylinder at Top Dead Center(TDC). Take the valve cover off and check the timing marks on the cam sprockets. That should give you enough information to know how to produce. Good luck, I hope this helps and just take your time and go slow. You got it! ~Rusty