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Over the weekend I was hearing a terrible rattling/grinding noise in the front of the car, tonight we were inspecting, adding oil and found this plastic Under the oil cap, I’ve had the car for about 4 months, we’ve done one oil change on it about a month ago (my boyfriend is quite car savvy) but this is stumping him as to what this is or came from. Any guesses?
Yeahp, timing chain guide. You really don’t want to drive around with that piece broken. Park the car, and start collecting pennies for a timing chain job….
+1 for timing chain guide. Curiosity: How is/was the car running when this timing guide fragment was discovered?
At this point, the timing chain is not at proper tension and will likely jump a gear (even at idle).
Since someone is technically savvy amongst you and has a decent work space (ideally a well lit garage), then this job is a doable (DIY). There are many threads and YouTube videos that detail the process and the inexpensive specialized tools (Amazon) and hardware that are needed (e.g., timing chain tensioner, unless you know it's new). One statistical word: it is recommended NOT to use an impact gun to tighten the crankshaft bolt because as the bolt is incrementally twisted with high torque by the impact tool, the chain "slap" increases the possibility of damaging the nylon rails parts #1 and #2. I use "statistical" because one DIYer may not encounter broken rails with an impact gun like I did. A smooth loosening or tightening motion of the crankshaft bolt with a torque wrench/breaker bar reduces/eliminates the possibility of cracking the chain guide.
For the first timer: The total work time is about 4 hours to remove the chain as shown in videos (that will make the job look faster than reality) and about 4 hours to reassemble (8 hours total). After this first time, the entire job takes 4 hours total -- you know the order to do things and what to do. This is a great opportunity to start to familiarize with the MINI.
Please let us know how this turn out to complete this thread, because I am curious to know the extent of the damage involved and who ultimately did the repair.
For example,
Were the bolt holes holding part #11 and #12 to the cylinder head stripped out?
Has the timing chain tensioner part #4 failed?
Are the nylon guides (parts #1 and #2) broken?
Are sprockets #7 and #8 loose, broken or missing teeth?
On the bright side:
Other tasks that benefit from knowing the steps needed to do a timing chain replacement:
Water pump replacement (you'll know how to work in a small space and this will be a straightforward repair)
Oil pump gear/chain replacement (rare, but there are reports about this needing to be done)
Last edited by keduMINI; Apr 27, 2022 at 10:25 PM.
Thank you everyone! All were helpful, I have ordered a new replacement kit and my boyfriend is going try and fix it first.. will go to a shop if unsuccessful. Will post on how it went!
Embarrassingly the car was running fine.. it was just making an awful noise.. I drove it on a 3 hour round trip on Easter, and at one point on cruise it accelerated going up hill and the “half full check engine” light came on for about 30 seconds and went away (cruise control went off during that time too) other than that.. it was normal.. hopefully I didn’t **** it up
