Hi All,

Well, the nightmare happened. I was driving my 2008 Clubman NA last week and the engine suddenly shuddered and died. I pulled the air pump off and cranked the engine to see if the cam was turning, and it's standing still. I assume the timing chain snapped. Mine is the N12 Prince engine, and from what I've been able to research, this is an interference engine, so there's likely damage to the valves and possibly more. \

First question would be: how much damage should I expect, and what would need to be done to repair it at this point? Is there likely damage to the pistons and rods? The head itself?

Second question is just opinion-based. Is this worth fixing, and if so, are there things I should do a certain way? Try to find a used engine, upgrade certain components, etc

For some background, I do a lot of the work on my own cars - right after I bought the Clubman about four years ago, I replaced the clutch myself. So I'm not shy about digging into the car. And the car itself is in nice shape. About 140K miles, body and interior in very good condition.

Just basically at a loss for what to do and looking for advice and opinions. Thanks for both.

Nick

 

No experts chiming in?

Sorry to hear this, but if you pull the valve cover off you should be able to see the state of your timing chain and yes if it snapped there's likely more damage.

You changed the clutch yourself which is not the easiest job in the world so you may be able to resurrect the engine with minimal outside help. Given a) the state of the used car market at present, ie nuts b) the overall condition of your clubman and c) the campaign to save the manuals, look into the cost of fixing it.

Let us know how you get on. I've found this forum very good at helping me with my very amateur mechanic status.
cheers
MacMini34

 

as mentioned above, remove the valve cover and check the timing chain. if the car cranked and the ex cam didn't move, then this could be the classical top guide breaking and the chain getting out of the sprocket. often times, the head would be fine (I was lucky on few minis), otherwise, you're looking at bent valves at worst.

 

pull the valve cover and if no timing chain, pull the head and see how much damage is present.

What happens when the chain breaks is it usually takes out the torque to yield bolts that hold the cam sprockets on. What happens then is the timing chain piles up at the bottom where the crank sprocket for the chain is. This locks the engine up solid, until you pull it apart.

With the head off, you can see how much damage (if any) was done to the piston crown and you will be able to tell which (if any) valves were bent.

There's a slim chance that the timing chain locked up the crank before the valves were damaged, but a very very small chance. More likely the chain skipped a tooth and the valves smacked the piston crowns and things went to total pot after that.

But the first step is to pull the valve cover and see what's what.......then decide if you want to go deeper or just cut your losses and walk away.

Just and FYI: 140K (assuming miles) is pretty much asking for timing chain issues on this design, more so if it doesn't have the "upgraded" timing chain tensioners installed (it's longer and takes up more slack than the original).

My personal opinion is that they should be changed roughly around 100K (miles). My Wife's 09 Clubman (N12) is laid up in the garage right now, waiting for me to tear it down and do things like timing chain, valve seals, etc. It's got a tick over 140Kms on it, so it's right about time on my personal mini maint calendar. We lay it up for winter, so it all works out.

 

Well, I finally got the time to pull the valve cover, and the chain sure did snap. There's also what looks like a sheared metal piece between the cam gears, can anyone tell me what that is?

The interesting thing to me is that it cranks fine. When the car originally stalled, I tried starting at again and the engine sounded exactly like it does when you're starting it, except for the part where it doesn't start. I would thin the chain would pile up around the crank sprocket and cause resistance.

In any case, I suppose the next step is to pull the head and see exactly what I'm dealing with, here. If anyone has any suggestions on how best to proceed, I'm all ears.

Thanks,
Nick

 

Dang... That hurts. What I've always been afraid with the timing chain :/
I even had the dealer told me once that they don't change timing chain when I asked how often one might change it.
I'm no expert at that level though I would think the chipped metal is from the chain flying off at the moment it snapped.

I hope you find answers. Best of luck!