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General MINI TalkShared experiences, motoring minutes, and other general MINI-related discussion that applies to all MINIs, regardless of model, year or trim.
Hello I was wondering if anyone could help me. I bought a 2008 Cooper S back in may it has about 85,000 mikes on it. I was driving 2 days ago and made a raffle sound from under the hood then it just shut off. When I opened the hood I saw a hole in the valve cover and a flat piece of metal sticking out. After getting it to mechanic he told me it was the timing chain guide and the motor was done. Anyone ever hear of this problem.
Yes. There was a class action lawsuit for this problem. Unfortunately the terms of the settlement extended the warranty period to 8 years or 100,000 miles. Your 2008 MINI warranty probably expired in 2016.
Did just the guide break? Or did the chain break also? If it was just a guide and the chain didn't jump timing you should be able to get away with just replacing the timing cassette.
as mentioned above, check the extent of the damage. do not start the car on any condition until you have removed all broken parts and turned it by HAND and check the timing.
Did your mechanic pull the valve cover and check the timing? If it slipped teeth, is probably toast. This is a common problem in the early second gen mini's, is why they extended the warranty. Would be worth a call into Mini USA and see what they say..
