I need to replace the timing chain on our R55 2009 Clubman S. I'm at the step where I need to lock the crank, but I can't see a hole in the flywheel for the locking tool (yellow arrow in pic). I can hold an inspection mirror up and rotate the crank through 2 full cycles and never see an indentation pass by the window.

I did use an OutMotoring single-mass flywheel when I replaced the clutch a few years ago, could the flywheel be missing this hole, or am I missing something else?

Thanks for any suggesions!

 

Uh oh, if you looked through the hole with a mirror and did not see a hole then yes i am afraid your flywheel does not have a timing crank lock pin hole in it. I just did my timing chain on my 2013 N18 S and luckily my clutchmasters aluminum flywheel had the crank lock pin hole.

I am not 100% sure how you will proceed but i have seen some info about it on this forum, youll have to do some searching. Sorry i am of no help...yet..

 

I hate to be a critic and my color vision isn't perfect but that arrow sure looks green to me. LOL

Hope you get it figured out.

 

I'll take another look tonight and see if I can spot the alignment hole. If it's really not there, I need to time the cams to the crank. How about this:

1) Set #1 piston to TDC and lock crank with this Crankshaft counter hold tool. I'm not actually sure if this can be locked in place, but some type of equivalent tool that would hold the crank at TDC.
2) Adjust cams with the writing up as per the manual, and adjust to final position with cam lock tool.
3) Finish as usual

 

Oh no, it does sound like your flywheel has no timing hole. You can “guess” where it should be, but if you’re trying to set the timing, it just won’t be 100% accurate.

Outmotoring has been selling the flywheel kits from JMTC, who designed their flywheels without the timing hole. JMTC really has some shady products…

 

Do NOT set the #1 piston to TDC! The timing on these engines is set with the crank at 90°, or all pistons at the same height.

 

Alright, I could measure piston height and find the middle value, then confirm that all 4 pistons are at the same height before setting the cams.

 

You do have to make sure the #1 piston is either going up or down, I can't remember which direction though

 

The problem is once you release the crank main bolt there is nothing preventing the crank from turning. So my thought is that when you go to tighten the crank bolt, even with the counter hold tool attached, initially there will be no contact between the crank hub and the crankshaft therefore allowing it to potentially spin when initially tigthening the crank bolt.

What might work is if you torque the crank bolt down before attaching the inlet and exhaust sprockets allowing you to correct any movement that occured before torqueing up top. You could put in the guide bolts but not the tensioner so you could still get the sprockets on. I'm not sure i would even risk it though. Honestly, if i were you i would drop the tranny and replace the flywheel with one that is correctly made. Maybe see if outmotoring would at least give you a discount on a new one because of what youre going through. It's complete BS that these companies made flywheels without this crucial piece of the puzzle that all stock flywheels i'm sure had. What would make them think they could leave that hole out when engineering their flywheel? Unless they didnt know what it was for. YIKES

 

I have no idea if this makes sense, but could you not just drill a hole in the flywheel through the port once you have the crank set at 90 degrees. I am not sure about shavings though.

 

Man. I'm going to see if Outmotoring will give me any consideration to buying a new clutch flywheel kit that has the guide hole in the flywheel. What a pain.

 

If you still have to original order number, I would give them a call and get someone on the phone to explain the situation

 

If I do get a replacement flywheel and clutch, is the pin in the flywheel sufficient to hold the crank still while tightening, or will I also need the #119280 tool listed above?

 

You will still need the crankshaft counter hold tool, unless you wanna snap the pin off and have it floating around in your clutch/flywheel area. The crank main bolt requires 50nm plus 180 degrees of torque. The flywheel lock pin won't survive that

 

I literally did this the day before yesterday. No signs of any damage to the crank lock pin. 🤷

 

That's great to hear, i personally wouldnt do it though. Seems risky. I'd rather just use the proper tools.

 

Subject to argument, but I believe the #1 piston has to be on the compression stroke.

 

Piston #1 needs to be on the upstroke or compression stroke when setting timing, but personally, I wouldn't try it without the proper locking tools. Long ago I had an early OSG clutch / flywheel that didn't have the locking hole. I eventually found a scrap flywheel at a friendly dealer, took it along with the OSG part to a machine shop and had them drill a hole where it belonged. Worked great! PITA but it saved me lotsa grief when rebuilding the engine. Also, I'm told by experienced mechanics that the crank holding tool is NOT required when torquing the crank bolt --- the locking pin is sufficient. I tried it and it worked. If you still want to use the tool, I'll sell you mine for slightly over shipping costs. Message me if interested.

 

Thanks, I have the camshaft locking tool. I've resigned myself to pulling the engine and putting in a new flywheel/clutch and then timing chain. I did the clutch in the car once, and once was enough for me.