I thought that the chain was normally good for the life of the engine? And that timing belts need to be replaced, but timing chains are good for the life of the engine?
A timing chain can last the life of the car but that depends upon how often the oil is changed and how often the oil level is checked and kept up to the FULL mark.
What about spark plugs? You changed the coils but never mentioned the plugs. Old spark plugs can kill coils. Just my opinion, but new coils should always get new plugs at the same time.
Was the engine running smooth at the time the CEL came on and died? I have to assume it was not and you were continuing to drive it: which brings up why? I still have other questions but…
I replaced all 4 spark plugs and replaced coils as it started failing. Now showing all 4 engine miss fire, I am hoping this is less expensive coils I bought it in Amazon… 4 coils for 50$. It started failing
Ok4450 when I started first attempt it shook and wasn’t moving and after i started again It ran smoothly but when slowed down it was little shaky and continued to drive and check engine light flashed and it stopped at red light.
incorrect…as @ok4450 points out timing chains typically last the life of the car when oil changes are done on time and the oil level is kept full. I just changed the valve cover gaskets on my 09 Focus at 209k miles, the top of the timing chain looked fine and didn’t show any signs of stretching, teeth looked good too.
The starting, runs rough, and then ran fine upon a restart could point to a loss of residual fuel pressure while the car is sitting which could mean a failing fuel pump check valve. About 10 years ago my daughter’s Mitsubishi had a similar problem and it turned out to be the fuel pump. But keep in mind that similar symptoms do not mean similar causes.
The random misfire could also be due to a failing crank position sensor. That can happen without setting a code. I tend to lean towards this one but that’s only a guess from my vantage point.
The ran fine, slowed down, and was shaky could point to an Idle Air Valve or either of the above although I tend to dismiss the IAV part of this.
As for chains, I’ve never had to replace a chain on anything I’ve ever owned in spite of running all of my cars to 250k miles and far more. Even my long gone 87 Mercury’s chain was fine at 410k miles when I sold the car and it still ran well and carried 160 PSI of compression on all cylinders. The common denominator in them all is 3k to 4k oil changes. However, I do not know the maintenance history on your car.
Thank you for the info… I replaced oil regular basis… and i have been managing all by myself… all these issues started when radiator blew up and i had replaced it… this is what trigger all sorts of issue… until then this car was running fine… i want to keep this car as long as i can and drive…
I replaced coils and tried to start no luck… its cracking but doesnt start… I see engine shaking if I continue to hold the key in turned position but doesnt start… I have uploaded cranking audio and gif.
I agree with Nevada 545. I think your chain may be shot. The cranking sounds like your chain has jumped a tooth. As much as I would like to agree with everyone about changing the oil regularly and it’s true for sure, but a badly overheated engine(running it even for a few seconds very low or no coolant) will kill a timing chain. Senthil, you said yourself that these issues arose after the radiator busted open. If you crank the engine long enough the chain mày jump back and it would start and run and then just like that jump a tooth and quit and not restart. If you decide to put the money into it make sure you swap out the valve seals as well. While it was running it probably blew a little blue smoke when you first started it, those were the valve seals going bad. If you’re messing with the timing chain might as well get them too.
