whats the cheapest way to check the chain guides to see if they are the updated ones? I can bet that after 164000 miles, it must have been replaced , so I dont want to spend $1907 at this mechanic if I dont need to.

I heard somewhere that over time, pieces fall into the oil pan. Is this correct? would it be cost effective and accurate to remove the oil pan and look for pieces of the guide ?

anyother way that will cost less than $100?

Other than having it show up on the service records, the answer is *probably* no. Don't bet on anything at 164k. My car's guides were original at 209k, and DougQ45's guides were original and intact on the 2 Q's he's owned, I believe, with quite a few miles on them as well. There are other examples from other members, I'm sure. If the guide (typically only 1 of 4 fails) falls apart without getting caught in a chain, then the risk becomes that of having a loose chain jumping because of too much slack and of it cutting a channel into the engine block.

It has been proposed, but not attempted as far as I know, that it may be possible to use a borescope to go in from the oil check cover to look at the guides. Not a lot of clearance between the covers and the block, and you have to get from the port on the passenger side all the way over to where you can see the driver-side guide. This procedure would be difficult at best and would probably cost over $100 just to remove everything in the way of the cover.It seems a small enough borescope could be used quite effectively to look inside the oil pan via the oil drain hole, but what would that tell you? Pieces in the pan don't guarantee the guides haven't been replaced, and no pieces in the pan doesn't guarantee they have.

It takes about 6-7 hours to remove the oil pan, clean it, and reinstall.The only cost effective way [to check the guides] is to pull the front cover and if you do, then have all the parts on hand to complete the replacement....$1200.

If we find the guides have been changed we just call the customer and ask what he wants usually just clean and reseal [of course replace the front main seal] and charge $670.

If you don't want to tackle the front cover R&R and are OK with assuming some risk, check the color of the RTV sealant on the front cover. The original is a light blue I've never seen elsewhere, any other color means the cover has been off and they "probably" replaced the guides.

The question is when was the cover off as until around 1995-96 the dealers/parts warehouses still had the old design in stock.

A Q would have been in warranty till 96 and all work would have been in the computer data base thereafter............very few independents in US would have done such work even today!