64k mile R56 S just got a new crankshaft seal and was about to have the oil pan gasket replaced when I found this lovely orange plastic in the oil pan. It has the updated tensioner on it, so I'm assuming Mini installed that and called it good when it really wasn't. It didn't sound rough, and no check engine light when parked but it's the timing chain guide, correct? Any chance they may have changed it and left the old broken guide in the pan?

The good news is that it hasn't self-destructed yet.

 

You pulled the oil pan and found this? Maybe left over from the original guides? Guess maybe they didnt pull the pan. Thats crazy!

 

Just trying to get the facts here. You bought this from a MINI dealership? Hoping those are left over bits from a bad one before. S doesn’t really stand for that, but used MINIs can be troublesome. Seems like those people who have bought new MINIs and loved and took care of them keep them forever. Others sell them and move on. Hoping you are able to enjoy your MINI for many years to come.

 

Yes, I pulled the pan today and found that! I hope they are leftover, and the timing chain guides have been done before, but I'm worried it's off the current guides. I think I need to pull the valve cover to get a better look.

It only has 64k miles. The interior and exterior look great, but I wanted to take care of all the common problems before using it. I changed the auto transmission fluid and filter. I replaced most of the common oil leaks with the Detroit Tuned Turbo Oil Line Super Kit. I fixed the hatch handle where the rubber wears out. I fixed the sun visors where they don't stay open. I just did the crankshaft seal. The water pump was done about a year ago by a euro shop.

No, I didn't get it from a MINI dealership; I'd be raising hell right now if I had lol!

 

That looks like pieces from the lower portion of the guides where the two halves lock together. I don't think you will be able to see that by pulling the valve cover. I would do the guides and chain. The tensioner alone doesn't fix worn guides.

 

Thank you very much for that information! I bet the previous owner had engine noise, the tensioner was replaced, which solved the noise, and they called it fixed without investigating further. Tomorrow I'm going to pull the valve cover and use an inspection camera to try to get a better look. If I can't get a visual of good guides I will be doing the entire job. I already ordered the tools, they will be here tomorrow and I will probably be ordering the entire kit chain, guides, etc, tomorrow.

 

mildensteve was right; it is definitely parts of the guide where the two halves lock together. I was able to pull the valve cover and get an inspection camera in there to see some of it.

Time to order a timing chain kit! Any recommendations? I was looking at https://www.detroittuned.com/mini-n14-timing-chain-kit/, but I think that might be overkill. Do I really need cryogenically treated chains and tensioners? Isn't the failure point the plastic guides? Or do the plastic guides fail because the timing chain stretches due to lack of oil/overheating, which causes extra pressure to break the guides?

This one is half the cost but doesn't come with all the additional hardware and isn't cryogenically treated https://www.ecstuning.com/b-febi-par...18618317s3~fe/ . Do I need to replace the hardware?

 

There have been pretty cheap OEM kits on ebay recently, like https://www.ebay.com/itm/264763860521

I guess you have a N14?
That one seems to include the crank bolt and also the sprocket bolts.

Don't forget to get the timing tools (cheap ebay stuff usually needs some slight love of a dremel, but easily doable), and a crank holder.

 

I would buy the kit from ECS. You really don’t want to have a cryogenically treated tensioner, as the treatment could have an effect on the spring.

 

Thanks for the responses. Yes sorry it is a N14
I bought the timing tools from Amazon for $50 cause they had good reviews. It looks like they fixed the kit so you don't need a dremel anymore but I do have a dremel if needed. I will purchase the crankshaft holder today cause I forgot all about that.

It looks like some people say the cryogenically treated parts is a bad idea and some mini shops, detroit tuned and way motor works sware by it. Anybody else think it's a bad idea?

 

I like the idea of cryogenically treating the chain and sprockets, just not the tensioner.

 

Thanks for clarifying. Detroit tuned definitely cryo treats the tensioner as well. I will check with Way Motor Works before making a decision.

 

Chad and Detroit Tuned have been around MINIs almost from the start of MINIs in the USA! They are a trusted MINI shop! Have helped many, many MINIacs.

 

First off if you found that plastic in the pan make sure to remove the oil pump pickup and pick out all the plastic in it as we find them blocked up partially all the time when you see broken plastic like that.

As for cryo treatment we offer our kits with or without it as an option. For the small difference in price I feel it's a good add on as the cryo should reduce the stretching for the chain and help extend the life of the parts. We cryo treat all the metal parts in the timing chain kit when we do it. We've talked to the metallurgist that does it about the tensioner and he feels that it won't have any negative effect on the tensioner or spring. But if we were heat treating them he said that would be a totally different story.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/timing...-cooper-s.html

We offer the Febi kit also, but it actually cost more than our OES kit and doesn't include all the bolts.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/febi-t...-cooper-s.html

 

Thanks for chiming in. Do I need to remove the oil pump pickup completely? I already cleaned the plastic out of the small mesh/screen filter.

I went with the WayMotorWorks timing chain kit, it was slightly less than Detroit Tuned, and they were much quicker to respond to all my questions. No bad feelings towards Detroit Tuned as I did purchase and install their turbo/oil line repair kit.

What I've purchased:

$225 - Timing Chain Kit - https://www.waymotorworks.com/timing...-cooper-s.html

$60 - Crankshaft Hold Tool - https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...YaAlBhEALw_wcB

$51 - Engine Timing Tool Set -
$20 - Fel-Pro VS50761R Valve Cover Gasket and Fel-Pro TCS46127 Crankshaft Seal - RockAuto

I already have:

Digital torque wrench with value and angle settings

Beam style torque wrench and socket adapters that I'm hoping will work for the pretensioner low 0.6nm torque spec. Anybody know of a better tool for this?

And a lot of other mechanic tools lol


Do I need anything else for this job?

 

Good thing you have a Dremel. Based on the pictures on Amazon you will need it.

 

Which piece did you need to use the dremel on?

 

0.6 nm is a little more than finger tight. Let us know if you actually can measure it. I ended up using calibrated fingers. The other thing you need is an 18mm socket to turn the crank and 4 equal length Kabob or chop sticks to help locate the neutral piston position.

 

This piece. I ended cutting off the little claw. It hit the turbo hard. The claw is for the N16.

 

I'll let you know if I end up being able to torque the 0.6nm. I have every type of socket you can think of so that won't be a problem. I will have to pick up some chop sticks/kabobs. I was doing this job in the garage, not the kitchen lol.

 

Yep, it still has that claw. Was that the only modification? Seems easy enough.

 

Make sure they are about 12" minimum. You don't want them to be too short. My wife is amazed at how many kitchen utensils work in the garage.

 

That was all. Air tool cutoff wheel took about 30 seconds. Your Dremel may take days. Fit check it first.

 

Thanks Steve I'll be able to knock those things out before I receive the rest of the tools/timing chain kit. Appreciate the help!