Hey Scotty, we have a 2003 Chevy Cavalier with 85,000 miles on it (it was my late mother in law car). It has the 2.2 gen engine in it and I have told that engine has timing belt tensioner issues because of low oil lubrication. Is there an additive I can add to oil to help? Thanks! Ron Hoskie ABQ NM
Interesting car. 20 years is a lot for a cavalier, though that’s obviously very low miles. (FWIW, my mother put 250-300k on 2 different cavaliers, so they weren’t necessarily bad cars).
Not sure why someone would say that. The timing chain (I believe, not belt) tensioner is apparently a common failure on those engines. I doubt oil lubricity is the issue, assuming she was using the specified weight oil. Maybe since the car was getting so few miles it was going a long time between oil changes. Who knows.
But to directly answer your question, there is very little enthusiasm from others on this board for oil additives (other than maybe for a few engines that are particularly prone to sludging). Any API certified oil of the correct weight should be fine, assuming it is changed frequently.
Which is all I would suggest. It sounds like you intend to keep it running a while longer. If so, I would be especially aggressive with oil change intervals. Just use Walmart or Costco or Amazon oil and change it every 3000 miles.
Good luck!
I'm impressed. I had a Cavalier as a rental over 20 years ago and though practically new it was already falling apart. Per the rockauto.com database the Cavalier does have a timing chain, not a belt.
Is there an additive I can add to oil to help?
No.
Most additives == Snake Oil.
