R56 N14 valve job: questions and DIY notes
N14 valve job: questions and DIY notes
Folks,
I had blown exhaust valves on cylinder 4 last year, requiring an engine swap (another thread). Now, I finally have some free time to do the valve job on the old engine and, perhaps, drop it into a new R56 down the line.
I got the camshaft lock kit from eBay (works and fits perfectly), but ran into a bit of a snag locking down the crankshaft: the crankshaft timing pin goes through the bell housing and locks into the flywheel. Alas, my flywheel went onto the new engine now sitting in the car. So what's the trick for locking down the crankshaft in the old one that's sitting on the bench?
I would prefer not to screw up the timing after I remove the chain and the head.
TIA,
a
I had blown exhaust valves on cylinder 4 last year, requiring an engine swap (another thread). Now, I finally have some free time to do the valve job on the old engine and, perhaps, drop it into a new R56 down the line.
I got the camshaft lock kit from eBay (works and fits perfectly), but ran into a bit of a snag locking down the crankshaft: the crankshaft timing pin goes through the bell housing and locks into the flywheel. Alas, my flywheel went onto the new engine now sitting in the car. So what's the trick for locking down the crankshaft in the old one that's sitting on the bench?
I would prefer not to screw up the timing after I remove the chain and the head.
TIA,
a
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Joined: Mar 2011
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From: Northern NV
Folks,
I had blown exhaust valves on cylinder 4 last year, requiring an engine swap (another thread). Now, I finally have some free time to do the valve job on the old engine and, perhaps, drop it into a new R56 down the line.
I got the camshaft lock kit from eBay (works and fits perfectly), but ran into a bit of a snag locking down the crankshaft: the crankshaft timing pin goes through the bell housing and locks into the flywheel. Alas, my flywheel went onto the new engine now sitting in the car. So what's the trick for locking down the crankshaft in the old one that's sitting on the bench?
I would prefer not to screw up the timing after I remove the chain and the head.
TIA,
a
I had blown exhaust valves on cylinder 4 last year, requiring an engine swap (another thread). Now, I finally have some free time to do the valve job on the old engine and, perhaps, drop it into a new R56 down the line.
I got the camshaft lock kit from eBay (works and fits perfectly), but ran into a bit of a snag locking down the crankshaft: the crankshaft timing pin goes through the bell housing and locks into the flywheel. Alas, my flywheel went onto the new engine now sitting in the car. So what's the trick for locking down the crankshaft in the old one that's sitting on the bench?
I would prefer not to screw up the timing after I remove the chain and the head.
TIA,
a
For those who might be facing a similar puzzle, my solutions looks as shows on pics below. Pic #1 is that of a plastic molding I used as a template to get the wholes spacing and position just right. Pic #2 is a stamped steel bracket piece I bought at Home Depot and cut to the template from pic #1.
a
For those planning to pull the head - beware that once the cams a locked in place with the MINI special tool (I bought mine on eBay for $65 shipped), you will no longer have adequate access to the right-most (driver-side most) head bolts!
Therefore, you need to loosen and remove them before you lock down the cams and remove the chain sprockets. Else, you will end up doing what I just had to do, which is following the Bentley instructions until you are stuck with those 2 bolts, then get creative accessing those 2 head bolts with angled extensions. Still, the bolts will NOT come out (cam locks is in the way), so you have to attach the head to a hoist, then lift it incrementally as you continue to unscrew the bolts.
Alternatively, you could re-assemble and re-tighten the timing chain, then remove the camshaft lock, remove the driver-side-most head bolts, then start from scratch.
a
Therefore, you need to loosen and remove them before you lock down the cams and remove the chain sprockets. Else, you will end up doing what I just had to do, which is following the Bentley instructions until you are stuck with those 2 bolts, then get creative accessing those 2 head bolts with angled extensions. Still, the bolts will NOT come out (cam locks is in the way), so you have to attach the head to a hoist, then lift it incrementally as you continue to unscrew the bolts.
Alternatively, you could re-assemble and re-tighten the timing chain, then remove the camshaft lock, remove the driver-side-most head bolts, then start from scratch.
a
Last edited by afadeev; Jun 22, 2015 at 03:42 PM.
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