Hi everybody.
2013 Paceman with 35k miles. I ran the car to redline one day and at the next stoplight there was a bad rattle. It ended up getting a new timing chain tensioner. Before then and since then, there is alot of noise from the timing chain area for a few minutes upon start up when it's really cold out. As in 20 below or colder. It has a pan heater, so it's not a completely cold start but it still rattles. Is this typical or might we have something else wrong? Timing chain guides? It does quiet down nicely once the engine warms up a bit.

Thanks for your input.
John

 

Probably top chain guide has given up. Me, I would not drive this car until inspected and chain and guides replaced. It is not just mileage that effects them, the plastic guides will degrade over time and red line will perhaps have been too much for them. IF she jumps timing gear teeth you are looking at a catastrophic failure.

 

Okay. Thanks for the information!

 

Just curious what viscosity grade of oil are you using up there during the winter?

 

Hi RedSky. It gets 5w30. Though recently while trying without success to find a proper block heater, I was advised by a Canadian BMW dealer/parts manager to switch to 0w30 for a little better cold start circulation. I will probably do that very soon.

 

Not the only solution, but one of the first thing mini checks:
Disconnect the vacuum line from the top of the vacuum pump. If the sound goes away; you have no problem. (According to them)

 

Thank you Christopher! I will look into that.

 

Absolutely!
I guess the vacuum pump can make noise on a cold start due to the loose tolerance within the mechanism.

 

You said you had a rattle at the next stoplight. Replaced the tensioner, but now you only hear the rattle at (super) cold start up and a few minutes after? Or did you already have the rattle before the redline incident?

The occasional redline shouldn't kill a car unless you're tracking it every weekend (or matting it every stoplight) and really running it out. 35K miles is pretty low for a failed timing chain guide set, but since you're in an area with extreme low temperatures and presumably no heated garage they might be rendered extra brittle, reducing expected life.

In any event, if you wish to err on the side of caution (and do some fun, knuckle-breaking winter wrenching), thinking (a) pull the valve cover (have new gasket ready), maybe snake in a bore scope and start looking for guide and chain damage; (b) finding none, consider dropping the pan as well (another gasket) and looking for bits of things that shouldn't be in there - guide chunks, bearing material, etc...

Hopefully you find only dirty oil.

In the mean time (or whenever ambient temperatures finally climb above 20*F) try and run the 0W30 like the Bimmer leaf says and see if that helps.