So the long of the short is, I heard the rattle...yes the death rattle. Or so I thought. I came on here went through the forum and clicked through the youtube links, listened to several folks rattles that were confirmed to be the death rattle. I felt confidant that mine was not as bad as some others, but I didn't want it to break either and I have time now whereas I am about to go back to school and will not have time to fix this fairly soon. So I ordered all the parts and found the Cam/Crankshaft timing chain lock tool from another NAM member for sale. But today I started to tear down since my hours are limited every day only to find a perfectly intact top guide. and as far as I can tell the rails look perfect as well. Should I risk tearing this the rest of the way apart only to possibly f*** it up or just replace the leaking valve cover gasket and try to return/sell the tools and parts that I ordered and won't be using?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. The guide also appears to be a newer version based on my searches. The rattle is only at low idle and only when it first starts. I am beginning to think I misdiagnosed it and wasted a bunch of money on parts and tools.

 

I couldn't figure out how to edit original post on my phone.

The second photo is marks that appear to be old in the back of the head from a chain but as best I can tell not this chain.

I called mini before I started all this and they couldn't confirm if the timing chain had been replaced and said mine wouldn't be covered under recall.

 

depending on the mileage and since you already have what you need for the task, I think you should replaced it because sooner or later it will have to be done. Also, what seemingly may look like a perfect guide, it might be cracked and held in place! Also, for sanity check, remove the tensioner to see which version it is. the very first one was a two part tensioner, the second version was a 78mm and now the latest is an 82mm.

 

Thanks. I shoved a borescope down in and I can't see any damage to the timing change guides. I did check and this is the newest version of the tensioner, machined head and 82mm.

Are you saying even if it has all the newest version tensioners and guides that it will most likely need to be replaced? The car only has about 85k miles on it.

 

that's good news...since this is the new version and the guide might've been replaced a while back, you might still have another 50k before the next service...The problem lies when people don't keep up with the oil changes which in turn cause the infamous death rattle.

Also, keep in mind that the noise can also be generated from the vacuum pump. there is a youtube video of a guy who deleted it and shows the before and after noise/sound comparison.

 

Thanks again. Mine does sound similar to the vacuum pump video I found. Unfortunately,I wasn't smart enough to check that with a stethoscope before I took the car apart and now I have to wait for the valve cover gasket to get here since the old one was trash. I am meticulous about the oil changes. I have read too many horror stories and I had to drop $4k into it about 3 months into ownership because no one had ever changed the transmission fluid and it slipped and stuck. I work on cars but I draw the line at full transmission rebuilds especially on automatic newer cars. I will faithfully change the fluids in this car after that experience.

Any harm in pulling the vacuum pump off to see how it turns (resistance) and check o-ring status? while I am waiting for the valve cover gasket from ECS.

 

no harm. I am not sure if there is a video showing what a new unit should sound like, but there is a coupler that "rattles".

 

Thanks @MiniToBe. you have been a great help. I have watched several videos on the subject now and feel better versed on the subject.

The hold up now is after taking out the two bolts mine still seems to only want to budge about 1/2 inch, but remains stuck in the head. I know rule number one is if you have to force it, you are probably doing something wrong so I am trying to be patient with it til I figure out what hold up is. I will report back.

 

usually there is a bracket that hold the turbo water line, that could be in the way. The vac pump is just pressed in the head and wiggle pull won't harm. just make sure there isn't anything underneath it preventing the movement.

 

I had removed the bracket and pulled the turbo water line to get in out of the way already, but good advice as I suspect this would cause folks frustration. I tried a little more forcefulness with my wiggling and it came out; however, the oil that I shook and cleaned out of it was black and very mucky if that makes any sense.

I have put less than 10k miles on the car and in that time this will be the 4th oil change. I feel like I am taking good care of her, but its best abuses to the maintenance that I am constantly trying to clean up. I cleaned up under the valve cover as best I could, it was pretty dirty IMO as well. I will post pictures when I get back in the garage and if someone sees something this non-mini shade tree mechanic doesn't feel free to tell me. Thank you and I appreciate the knowledge that this forum