[DIYwhynot]

In the process of planning to drop the power train cradle in my 09 Enclave. Doing this in my house garage. Saw several videos. Looks like I can raise the front end 26-30" to clear rolling the engine our the side wheel wells using furniture dollies.

To the point...

What to replace if I decide to do this?? Where at 136K. I have the sewing machine rattle at cold start and believe my cam actuators require replacement. No engine lights on DIC, or pending. Have oil leak under the power steering reservoir on the radiator side of engine down low. Believe this to be timing engine cover seal (could be the oil filter adaptor plate however)

Items already done...
- Waveplate
- CV shaft replaced on one side and the other I did the boot before the joint failed
- plugs
- coils done between 40-70K
- water pump at 50K under warranty
- a/c seals around 60k under warranty
- power steering upper rack seal bracket ~ 80k under warranty
- brake master cylinder around 60k which leaked into booster
- front struts ~110K
- PVC hole mod
- power steering pump under warranty
- engine mounts @ 70K

I"m sure there are more items.

Not getting into why I"m dropping the engine in this post. Thats in another location.

Planning to replace
- timing chains via kit w related seals and guides
- chain job will correct rtv seal on timing cover
- My LCA bushings are cracking. plan those here
- 4 cradle bolts w cradle bushings
- Steering rack bushes to get rid the the annoying thud every time we turn the wheel under low speed conditions (issue since 35K)
- both valve cover gaskets.
- oil pick up gasket located inside oil pan.


The obvious re-alignment and A/C evac and charge (I do those myself in the garage - story for another post. The self alignment is an interesting story. I've confirmed my adjustments are as good as 2 other shops here in town I camparred against)

I'm not throwing codes for timing or engine stuff. So was planning on leaving the 4 cam solnoids/sensors. I believe I can replace those later if they fail w the engine in the car - unless someone says its a pita and I should do it now.

Going to install a raybestos external tranny filter like I did on my f150 while I"m at it


Oil filter adaptor and/or seal?

THere was mention a while ago about steering pump return line to be replaced w a larger one? Do it here? is it worth it?

Certainly will look over suspension quite closely at this point. Any other bushes known to fail after 100K?

My valve stems are getting carboned up. Did the top engine cleaning after I took and posted pix on this board - added to Rbarrios's posts for tech back up a while ago. Will certainly see the valves again here and then can validate the top end cleaning is snake oil or not. Maybe good for me to get the brass or stainless bristle bushes on a drill and reem those bad boys out at this time as well. I have a hand held sand blaster. Not sure if I should get walnutshells and do it that way.

Thoughts? Planning job for January if my reasoning is proven true to pull the motor in the first place

 

[rbarrios]

WOW!

You did say water pump was replaced at 50K, and youre now at 136K.
If you do remove engine-- I would just go ahead and replace the pump anyway.




But Chris Bruno on this forum-- dropped the engine cradle in his really nice garage...
and used furniture dollies..

 

[DIYwhynot]

Hello RB!

Thats the exact video I saw! That'll be me in January. I'll need to pull it out the drivers side however due to my garage set up.

Roger that on water pump.

Going to do serpentine belt (is tensioner a good idea?)

Planning to replace timing chain quides - does this make sense?

I've had some thunking while driving and believe its the cradle bushings - is this a common thing w this mileage? Did the wave plate years ago but did not replace the 4 cradle bolts. I think they are yeild bolts and was planning to replace

Cam actuator bolts were recommended to be replaced by parts guy yesterday when I was getting prices and p/ns. Said there's loctite on the threads.

Thnx

 

[rbarrios]

I have not seen the tensioner be a problem ... though I think I did see 1 post on the tensioner being a little difficult to remove.

In regards to timing chains.... Its a job Ive never done.
But if youre in there-- wonder if its just better to buy the kit and replace it all?

When I had a thunk- it was the front bushing.
This was replaced at 101,000. Tell tale sign-- black oil dripping from the front mount.

I do recall seeing a post on the cradle bolts being the yielding type and required replacement if theyre removed.

 

[DIYwhynot]

Researched part numbers. Be aware that I went to my local dealership to confirm part numbers using my vehicle's vin. THen I went on line to collaborate on some reputable GM dealership sites (the ones I have been ordering from for years). I was getting different p/n's. Will have this sorted out of course, but just do your homework on parts. I'm not posted p/ns until I get the parts in and I know they actually fit

Pricing:

~$195 for OEM timing chain kit (3 chains/tensioners, crankshaft seal and the 4 cam sensor/solenoid seals, valve cover gaskets and water pump gasket (interfaces w front cover and block only, not water pump directly)

Timing chain guides (have to buy six additional to the above kit if you want them all replaced) are about $10-15/ea Total of $78 for all six

Cam actuators are $55 for exhaust - both identical

Cam actuators for intake. R & L specific $62

Intake manifold gasket $19 (I've had this on and off at least 9 times - reused each time)

Serpentine belt $33

Serpentine tensioner $65

Oil pump pick up seal $3

Oil filter adaptor seal $3

LCA rear bushing $125

LCA front bushing (2 peice) $23 + $19

Ball joint $60

Steering rack bushing $7

Cradle bushings and bolts $196

Apparently the diagrams show doughnut seals on top of each spark plug tube. I'll get those along w RB's recommended waterpump and gasket

Here's a question? Timing? Old days were timing gun and rotate dizzy to adjust. How do we set timing in modern cars? Do the sensors do it for us?

 

[DIYwhynot]

Cars at 167K. Engine not pulled, but thank god I didn't, more problems w this car. Car's been a paper weight in garage for past 6 months. Took it to junkie, they only offered $500. KBB private sale value assume all works is around $6K. Looks like I'll pull the cradle after all next week and see if I can get it going again.

had been getting shuddering between gears. No tranny/engine/body codes during this time as its been getting worse. I pulled the TECHM. 3 membranes were failing - interesting, no tranny codes detected from my $200 bosch reader. Maybe a gm scanner would tell me more?. Bought/installed the membrane kit and no change. but it could still be the TCM electronics failing? I think the membrane brand was sommes?? From what i'd been reading, sounds like shudder caused from torque converter??? As I recall, shudder seemed to occur 25 and 45MPH range. I think I started a post on this. But I bought a tranny from at 2011? w less than 100k a while back. Assuming this has good wave plate. Will reuse valve body and TECHM from the 09.

I mothballed the car 6m ago bc a po497 light was coming on. I couldn't pass DFW EPA inspection. Not illegal to drive. And the AC compressors been blowing oil out the shaft seal (charged it a few times to limp a little longer). I didn't want it to seize and throw the serpentine belt on top of all this.

Downloaded the 08-10 service manual - thnx for the links Rbarrois

 

[rbarrios]

Around 144K, I noticed when i shifted from Park to Drive- it would take up to 3 seconds to engage.
Never got a CEL.
But I knew that meant the laminate discs in the TECHM.
I replaced them.
Shifting back to normal.
But yeah- I never got a CEL in regards to trans delayed engagement.

 

[RocketLaw]

I am the LEAST mechanically inclined, I'm certain, to post here. But my wife's 09 Enclave lost all its oil (with no indicator light/temp indicator) and on a cold start, busted something inside one of the cylinders. So it's a front drive brick.
I threw a FIX code reader on it, trying to see the specifics on the cylinder and got nothing on that BUT....!!!!
HER TRANNY had been "jiggly" the last few years and eventually would fall into LIMP MODE (we never knew that was intentionally engineered).
Anyway, the FIX - the only time the Enclave ever threw an accurate code (to me or any shop) - indicated the1st and 2nd transmission solenoids.
Oh, well. Too late. Not feeling an engine/tranny swap, even though we've REALLY enjoyed the car.

 

[DIYwhynot]

Bored staying home during onset of covid. scrubbed diagrams for part number identification. imo, most difficult part of this project id correct p/ns. ordered most parts spring/summer 2020.

car sitting as paperweight in garage since 2019

began tear down 3 months ago. currently, cradle is out w tranny removed, now i. reassembling and putting back together.....

adding a series of “assembly” posts w p/n’s and any issues i had

the enclave manual was great. most everything came apart intuitively. used manaul mostly to obtain torque values and clarify any assembly orders of operations. thnx to all who got it out there for us.

most p/n diagrams were top level. not very detailed on internet. several larger parts had readable numbers from the car. i had to toggle between rock auto and dealership sites to feel comfortable enough to order. occasionally i’d call dealership for a p/n clarification for a seal or something small. saved 40% online oem parts, definitely worth it

discovered my air compressor impact was undersized and not getting enough air. removed quick couplers (air restriction) shortened the hose to 15’ and upsized impact wrench (discovered this problem when removing crank pulley on my jz supra engine prior to this tear down). had no problems removing bolts on this gem vehicle. a texas car. no salted components.

removed the engine same as the vid barrios posted. dropped cradle on 2 $20 harbor freight furniture dolly’s.

a standard 2 car garage stuffed w 5 engines, 7 transmissions, shelving, tools ect. not a lot of room to work in. and kept one of my 80’s cars in the other bay most the the time. i had a clearance concern how high to lift car to slide engine wo hitting garage door opener on ceiling. front wheel well measured 33.5” from inner fender wall to ground. needed 12”-14” more or so to slide motor through drivers wheel well w rear wheels on ground. dropped engine cradle 4” down to rest on dollys. used 4 hydraulic jacks, one at each subframe mount, to lower cradle.

only fundamental problem i broke 4-6 connector harness locking snaps disconnecting harnesses. heat and age.

 

[DIYwhynot]

cradle frame bolts andy bushings

rearbolts 2x 11609933
rear lower mount 2x 15116585
rear upper mount 2x 15938130

front bolts 2x 11609932
front lower mount 2x 25944112
front upper mount 2x 15938129

i greased the lower mount and left in freezer for an hour. used blow dryer to heat subframe to widen tol on frame hole. used weight of cradle w some wacks w a sledge to press them in.

old lower bushings seemed ok. compression set and mild cracking

not sure if these mounts were cause of random clunking, but question eliminated

 

[DIYwhynot]

starter

since starter pita to get to, we had to perform multiple engine starts to get rid of sewing machine rattle, i replaced the starter. used oems plentiful. got a 25k starter off an 2015 impala

original starter p/n 12601721 to enclave

12645298 used from impala

various other p/ns cross reference - fyi

since i removed the oil filter adaptor, i left the exhaust manifold in place and skipped messing w the manifold studs. starter slid right out. giving access for flywheel-converter removal

 

[DIYwhynot]

starter.... the power cable to the starters red wire insulation was so heat soaked, it cracked right off. worried about an electrical short someday. i rewrapped a w a good quality 3m electrical tape. then wrapped w foil heat shield material

 

[DIYwhynot]

lca and bushings

i drilled out the rivets to the ball joints. reassembled using 15863690 ball joints PITA. just buy the entire lower arm. there was .020” of slop w the replacement bolts and the original lower arm. i’m concerned to about realignment of camber

larger arm bushings (front) encased in metal 22782459 2x. had some cracking on the bushing. imo, worthy of replacing

smaller bushings pressed into arm (rear).
outer 25798013
inner 25798014

these were definitely worthy of replacement. the rubber was no longer connected to the attached sheet metal sleeve. i didn’t press these out. sawzalled the rubber out. then used sawzall to lightly slice the old sheet metal collar to remove. greased new bushings and soaked in freezer for an hour. used blow dryer to heat. arm and tapped them in

 

[DIYwhynot]

oil pump

installed after removing timing chains

p/n 12640448. no issues. torqued to spec

came w main drive timing chain guide in place

replaced bc it was cheap and i was there. i didn’t want to have oil pressure problems supplying the new cam phasers

 

[DIYwhynot]

brake system

redid front brakes before i took car out of service

replace master cylinder. 84158419

replaced bc first one failed around 70-80k. then leaked into booster. this is a purely replace now that it’s got 90k on it andy i dont trust this gm part since it failed so prematurely before

we had this work done by the dealership way back when under warranty. a couple of years ago, we had a vac leak. discovered cracks on the check valve caused when mechanic removed it from vacuum booster during warranty repair.

this check valve is just one of many examples i’ll highlight as i go through this as to why i will go out of my way to not support the dealerships. neighbors of mine are a father /son mechanic team. father was at ford, son at toyota. they explained warranty work they get paid less than normal repairs. they also gave good point that oil change was billed out at 1/2 hour. now it’s ten min or less. their hourly rate has been going up, but billable time has been reduced, forcing mechanics to speed through jobs to make income . i’m just passing on what mechanics are telling me. i have empathy for the mechanics.

 

[DIYwhynot]

engine mounts

front mount replaced once before 70-80k. clunking and leaking oil. replaced again as it failed again p/n 25840452. this part i would just plan to replace every 70k from my experience.

rear mount. replaced w front years ago. not sure if it had failed at that time. replaced again just to be sure. this one was clean and don’t believe it failed. p/n 25840450

tranny mount was original. never replaced. clean. no oil. replaced anyway. p/n 84006114

upper mount strut. has replaced before bc it was torn. i replaced again, had some cracking this time around. p/n 25840458

no issues

 

[DIYwhynot]

oil pan

removed oil pan to replace pick up tube seal. assumed this could contribute to sewing machine rattle getting oil to cam phasers.

did not mess w pick up tube. cleaned out pan. bottom of oil pan had very, very little sludge only detectable along casting features. ran 1/2 dino and 1/2 synth oil. key is i change oil between 3000-5000 miles. i assume that’s why it’s so clean.

oring had lost its compression. was gum rubber an could easily scrape away w finger nails. cracked apart when i removed it. definitely a part to replace!!! old version was a rectangular ring cross section design

new seal 12691267, 12615569. cross section thinner w positioning ribs

 

[DIYwhynot]

oil filter adaptor plate

had major oil accumulation all around this area and ac compressor. continuous oil leak leaving large slicks where ever my wife parked. replaced the plate seal just to be sure. and it gave me access to remove starter wo removing the exhaust manifold

seal 12687466 metal gasket. i put some rtv on this to be sure

oil pressure sensor is attached to the plate. read posts people would have oil pressure problems. hard to get to. cheap part, i replaced it. p/n 12635957

no issues

 

[DIYwhynot]

alternator

my experience is alts fail between 160-200k. this one was oil soaked. oil collects on slip ring causing debris to stick am driving wear faster. i bought a used acadia one w 50k to cover my bases. oem is denso. i’d rather has this than a rebuild anyday.

apparently, there’s a rubber dampener like the harmonic balancer has on pulley. some of the rubber had light cracking. i’m sure the pulley was fine for a while but deteriorating.

i’ll remove the back plate and inspect to brushes/slip ring later to see if i’m right later on.

2015 used alt 23279588

 

[DIYwhynot]

oops. alt came out of a 2016 w 27k - denso oem. ebay $65. apparently this 170 amp model has seen several platforms over many years in service. easy to find.

i just removed the backplate and brush assembly. brushes measure .280”. my experience rebuilding these, new is around .275-. 300 from other denso models i normally work on. slip ring has a very slight wear from the brushes = no wear channel. pulley dampening rubber is perfect. i’ll call this a good buy

imo, these alts produce lots of amps to support the electronics. if ur up there in miles and plan to keep, shop around while the gettins good for low mileage examples