Bought my R53 a month ago... with a modified engine from M7.
I was very happy with it until 2 days ago, the car did not start after I park it on street and went to have dinner for an hour.
Then I had to tow it to a repair shop and the mechanic first told me the car has NO MORE engine oil.
After the mechanic opened the valve cover, he found that the timing chain has broken......
And he told me I have to change the engine..............
Do you guys think it is possible just to change the chain?

 

I would imagine that if you find a broken timing chain and no oil in an engine there's probably additional damage in there somewhere. I mean, it didn't [I]just[I] lose all its oil, its been running low for a while now. You could just replace the chain and sell the car, but if you like the car I'd recommend a new engine. Just putting a new chain on is a possibility but be prepared for additional damage to show up later.

Val

 

anyone had experience on issue like this?

 

Buy an engine from a wrecking yard and have your mechanic install it.

Dave

 

Like what? What exactly do you want to know? I'm sure there have been a few broken timing chains over the years, it is a wear part after all.

And I'm sure a few people have run their engine out of oil and ruined it....

It's possible that the chain broke and made a hole thru which all the oil leaked out, but surely you would have seen the puddle, right?

So what are you looking for here?

It sounds like you ran the engine out of oil and the chain broke due to lack of lubrication. When was the last time you checked your oil, or changed it? If it was a few days before the event that could mean one thing, if it was months or years ago, that would probably indicate something else. Has it been making any noises the last few weeks when you drive it, any warning lights coming on?

Looks like you need a new engine, bottom line. If the car is nice and you like it, buy a new longblock or a good used engine and motor on. If it's a stick, that's a good time to replace the clutch too.

If the car's not in good condition, well, it's not worth much with a blown engine as much as it costs to fix one these days.

I know you can't be happy having just bought it and all, but there's no way to know what was "modified by M7" and whether the engine was in good shape or completely thrashed from the tiny bit of info you've given us.

 

is it the blue car? best bet would be to pull the head to establish the damage.

 

If it was run with very low/no oil to the point that the chain broke, then you will probably also be dealing with worn out bearings. Whether they are worn to nothing now, or are just close to it you will be facing severe engine damage.

Just replace the motor if the car is worth it to you.

 

He just bought the car on May 3rd...... Wonder if he found those blue lugs yet...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post3504849

 

how long usually does it take to run out of all the engine oil? well.. the only thing I did to my car recently is smog checking it...

 

yea..almost one month, not even one yet.

 

Just came back from the mechanic... He showed me the broken timing chain and told me that R53 has a known issue of eatting up oil really quick in high mileage... I hope changing the timing chain would solve the problem.. or else I need to get an used engine :\

 

If the car was truly completely out of oil your engine is toast. There is no rational reason to throw a new timing chain in it to save it because that will be the least of your worries. However, if it was just really low on oil like to the point where no oil showed up on the dipstick, you have a chance at saving it by replacing the timing chain and putting fresh oil in. Ask your mechanic which it is and then make your decision. I know my mom used to have a jetta 1.8T that we were driving and the oil light came on and it turned out to be low on oil by like 2.5 quarts so we filled it up and drove it another 40k trouble free miles until she sold it

 

Nothing showed up on the dipstick and no oil light came on whatever...
One quick question... is our engine interference or non-interference? Does it matter this case?

 

it might be saved. ask your mechanic to try to drain the oil and see if there is any. Our engines are interference so if the timing chain snapped while the car was running you're going to have valve damage

 

Does valve damage mean there is no hope on the engine?
btw, where did you get the information that R53's engine is interference? Not doubting but I just want to know where did you find the information because I searched all over the internet but still couldn't find a clear answer for that

 

R50, due to higer co.pression is def interferance, the r53 usually not...so no hard and fast answers..
short answer to your question... get a different motor.
low oil/no oil and broken timing chain...do not throw good $$ after bad...even if there was minimal dammage, going through 5 quarts of oil in a month is a big issue.

 

How do you know it used the oil fast? Did you have a mechanic look at the car before or after you bought it?

 

I bought my mini with a blown engine. Same sort of problem, hole in oil pan, engine seized. I bought an engine from a wreck and installed it. Been driving the car a few weeks now. Very happy so far really cool car.

 

I drive an 2004 R53 as well, our pistons are completely flat indicating that our engines are non interference, your valves should be ok. If you could work on your engine yourself it would be a huge advantage..

I'm really interested to know what happened to your engine. How many miles are on your car? Do you know if synthetic oil was used in the past?(most people who are not familiar with minis tend to pump 87, and use conventional oil alllll the time). And what mods did the previous owner install that was from M7?
If you dont know just take a picture of your engine bay and post it here.

 

The mechanic told me that r53 is one of the few cars that will burn oil quickly after higher mileage... He said it is an error by the manufacturer...
I only pump premium 91 all the time.
The only thing I am suspecting now is that... There's a possibility that they didn't change the oil as they thought that was too frequent and just charged the last owner...

 

Good luck with that. how much did it cost u?

 

Didn't have a mechanic look at the car before because the condition looked so perfect...
And I think even I brought it to the mechanic he won't find any problem because there is not any observable damage...

 

Did you ever check the oil level when buying it and afterwards?

 

Well, I guess the upside is it still looks perfect!

 

I didn't since he just changed the oil 2 weeks before I bought the car...
He used royal purple synthetic oil.