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I'm looking to soon replace my timing chain on my VS ecotec. It's done 290,000 now and when I remove the drive belt so I don't hear the supercharger whistle, you can hear the chain slack. Anyway, it's my 1st ever Holden V6 as i have always had V8 Ford and Holden, would it be wise to purchase a oil pump repair kit? Being a moving part, I assume that there be wear and tear like the chain and be out of tolerance?


Anyone had any wear issues with the oil pump when replacing the timing chain?

Stock lasts a lot of km we run a stock used pump with 500hp at the tyres plenty of oil pressure .If yours is in good condition and not badly scored up in the pump just keep running it

Timing chain itself will be ok, most likely the chain tensioner is worn out and as already mentioned the oil pump should be fine.

I do find the stock chains stretch a fair amount with age, it doesn't cause any issues though other than retarding the cam a bit which isn't a bad thing if you like the power band shifted up the rpm range a tad.

When I replaced the one in my VR the power curve moved down in rpm with the correct factory timing and the dyno run showed it to be the case. So it comes on a lot earlier now but does run out of legs at 4700rpm. I do think a high K V6 runs better overall because of the retarded timing from the chain slack they typically have.

OK thanks to everyone for their response, my power steering rack is leaking, the sump is also leaking so I thought it be perfect time to replace the timing chain. How do you check for balance shaft bearing wear? If it's OK, is it worth removing the balance shaft gear to bypass it as the timing cover is off and I see it's a bit of work replacing the bearings.

you could, it might be worth plugging the rear bear oil feel hole and deleting it all together and then you can upgrade to a double row chain. But if you do that make sure you get a machined oil pump cover to clear the double chain.

I don't find the bearings on the balance shaft wear much so I doubt you need to do anything. The engine is a lot smoother with it installed. if you delete then a rebalance of the engine is a good idea, they tend to shudder with a delete and no rebalance around 1700rpm. With a delete and full balance they are pretty decently smooth without the shaft. They also rev up a bit faster due to the removal of the rotating mass in the balance shaft.

vlad01 wrote:you could, it might be worth plugging the rear bear oil feel hole and deleting it all together and then you can upgrade to a double row chain. But if you do that make sure you get a machined oil pump cover to clear the double chain.

Double the gasket or...

I would do double row if I fitted a performance cam and a rebuild. I know mace has a machined oil pump cover to suit the double row setup.
Anyway I got a crow single row for a good price today. Crow cams recommend me to use a new tensioner if I got forced induction which I have.

Thanks to everyone for their response.

The oil pickup, does the ecotec have any o ring where it is bolted to the motor?
How is the pump primed? Vaseline packed in the cavity then put the gears in and pack that too?