Enjoying this helpful thread...about to do my 2008 Justa Clubbie (217K miles!!). Bentley indicates radiator support into service mode. Is this necessary, as I don't see a need to add so much extra work to gain frontal access, as it seems most access is needed from above and on the side? Thanks!

Second question: Does anyone know if the 'european kit' (timing components kit) is truly different than official Mini set, as I can find a 'european' kit on Rockauto for about half the price?

Third question: Most kits appear to have the crank sprocket, but none of the others. If I cannot detect wear (after 217K miles) on them I plan to leave them. As the exhaust one (Vanos?) is nearly $300, while the other is much cheaper, is it false economy and should I just pony up and replace both...what is everyone else doing?

 

You need to check out this thread, you would get far better help here. There is a lot of non S models in this thread as well.

 

Been there done that (posted in the thread even). It's a DIY on a Justa with 217K, so I need answers to my questions above. Thanks.

 

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You don't need to put it into radiator into service mode. There is enough room without it. I didn't change my Vanos units when I did my N12

 

sorry, just realized this was an older thread

 

I know this is an old thread but I came across it via Google Images after having a nightmare setting up my timing at the end of a rebuild.

I'd like to say thanks to Czar for the photos at the beginning of the thread. Unfortunately I used a cheap copy of the timing tool which didn't do the job! Lesson learned. After following Czar's photos using the position of the drives on the cam rear-ends, I managed to get my timing almost spot-on (I think I'm a chain link out) and the car runs fine for now. Something to sort after my summer holiday.

Just FYI, the reason for the rebuild was a broken piston/rings on cylinder 3!

Thanks again Czar!

 

What was the reason for the piston/ rings breaking? Tune?

 

Just what appears to be the standard disintegrating piston and ring situation. Seems quite common according to the forums. I do have some parts upgrades and a DNA 223bhp remap.

 

I wouldn't say common, there are only a few members that have had the rings/pistons failure and half of them were running tunes with larger turbos. Now the timing chain and HPFP failures is quite common.

 

Hey everyone. I came by a good deal on an 08 Clubman S. The previous owner tried to get his death rattle fixed by some bush league mechanic who mistimed the car and probably bent a bunch of valves. The car never started after receiving a new timing chain. I bought the proper timing tools and got a manual. I rotated the engine to align the cams, noticing that at several places in the rotation, the engine seemed to seize, as if the pistons are striking the valves. With a little wiggle, I managed to turn it past that point. Finally got the cams aligned and realized that the pistons aren't all level (as expected). So I loosened the tension on the chain and tried to align the engine correctly to lock it and realign it to re-test compression, but I can't for the life of me find the timing hole on the flywheel. The PO did say they replaced the clutch (a few times). Could the new flywheel maybe not have the crankshaft locking hole? If this is the case, does anyone know of a way to lock the engine in the right spot? I can get the cylinders pretty darn close by putting a special measuring stick I made, but I wonder if that's close enough...

 

I have been struggling with this problem for 3 days. I have all the tools in place (camshaft, crankshaft, and tensioner) but every time I set everything up and rotate the engine, I get valve interference on the first rotation. Is it posible to put the flexplate on in the wrong position? Or can the intake and exhaust camshafts be swapped? I can't figure this out!

 

simple way to check: pull your plugs, get the engine put your crank lock in place, and then stick something into the left or right two spark plug holes. The pistons should be at the exact same level, and whatever you stick down into the cylinder should go in to the same depth.
I have the same question: is it possible to put the flywheel on incorrectly and screw up the position of the crank lock hole?

 

What's weird is that I never took off the flexplate on mine so it should not be an issue. But here I am with my engine on the stand and no idea why things are going wrong. I have the etchings on the camshafts pointing up with the locking tool installed, the crankshaft lockpin in place with all cylinders at the same height (the book with my tool said to check the height on 2 & 3, but all are the same), the tensioner installed hand-tight, but as soon as I lock the sprockets in place & rotate the crankshaft, I get interference after 3/4 rotation. I just some pointers. I have to assume that it's my error.

 

Well, checking 2 and 3 will not tell you anything, in fact, it may give you a false sense of security as on all the inline 4 cylinders I've ever worked on, the inner two are at the same height, as are the outer two. Look up a picture of the crankshaft or check out this link http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/cro...-28_600x0w.jpg You won't find a picture of anyone's engine, as anyone that ever takes a pic has their crank locked when the head is off. Check cyls 1 and 2 or 3 and 4 against each other.

Good thing you're doing the sensible thing and checking it by hand. The numbskull that worked on this car last didn't, otherwise he'd have known he F'd up the timing. I'm just hoping that the pistons aren't dead and that I can maybe salvage SOME of the valves. But more, I'm hoping to figure out a way to do actually time this thing without having to pull the whole damn engine

 

Remember, the crank makes two revolutions for every one rev of the cams. This means the pistons will all be at the same height twice. So, to ensure you have it right, without locking the crank, you should have the valve cover off to check cam lettering.

About 4 years ago, my OS Giken flywheel didn't have the locking pin capability. Apparently they didn't know about it. They started adding this feature right after mine was delivered. So, yes, it's possible your flywheel doesn't have it either. Instead of buying a new flywheel, I found a scrap one from a dealer to use just for timing, when rebuilding the bottom end --- they get replaced often.

The OEM crankshaft has a keyed positioning feature for the flywheel --- very difficult to install an OEM flywheel wrong. http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=11_3919 It's possible that there's a "universal" flywheel out there, but it's not likely to have the crank locking feature too.

If the engine is questionable due to a previous owner, or faulty repairs, you should tear it down to inspect for damaged pistons, valves, etc. Check the flywheel at the same time.

Another cause for "tight spots" when turning the crank by hand, is pieces of chain guide caught in a sprocket --- another reason to do a thorough tear-down / inspection.

 

does the locking pin go through that crank sensor signal plate (piece 7 in the diagram)

 

Piece 7 IS the flywheel. Better illustration is elsewhere on this site. Piece 6 is a dowel pin (key) that fits securely into piece 1, the crank. Notice the hole pattern is symmetric for 6 bolts, with a 7th for the dowel pin. Loose the pin, and the flywheel can be mounted in any one of 6 different orientations, screwing up the crank locking feature position --- another reason to disassemble and inspect.

 

Looks like you edited while I was replying ---

The crankshaft locking pin will fit into a hole in the back side of the flywheel. This hole does not go completely thru the flywheel, and cannot be seen in these illustrations.

Piece 7 is ID'd as an "impulse sending wheel", not a flywheel --- my error. I don't remember how it fits to the flywheel. Take it apart and let is know?

 

I've been looking for head gasket sets to pull the head off, but almost none of them come with a new head gasket. I went online and read a bunch of articles where people have reused the metal head gaskets with no problems on 400hp+ cars. This head gasket alone is $100... I'm not sure how I feel about this, anyone have a concrete reason why I shouldn't reuse?

 

Just an update my situation. Turns out there was a small piece of plastic from the previous timing guide that was caught in the chain that caused my "stuck" position. I changed all the timing components but somehow I missed this piece in cleaning the block. Anyways, my valves weren't hitting the pistons, it was the chain link getting stuck on the sprocket due to this small piece of plastic that wedged into the chain. Once removed and re-cleaned, all is working well. Only lost 70+ hours cuz I was afraid I was going to bend a valve. Everything is working properly.

 

This is exactly what I'm afraid of. I don't want to pull my head only to find that the valves are okay and waste $300+ on bolts and gaskets. Did you have to drop the oil pan to find your piece? What do I have to tear apart to find all the pieces that potentially fell down into the engine?

 

Head gaskets are separate 'cause they're available in 2 different thicknesses --- your choice. Re-using an old one is risking leaks --- compression, oil, and / or coolant. Not a risk I'd be willing to take, given the amount of labor involved, to save a hundred bucks.

 

Yes, I took off the oil pan and plastic cover for the oil pump. Found a small piece of plastic in the oil pump strainer and then I looked at the chain and found my culprit.

 

I can't believe the poor luck this mini had... The guy who did the clutch put the flywheel on wrong, putting the crank-lock timing hole 90deg off. Then, the guy who tried to fix the chain failed to check the placement of the cylinders as well as to crank it over by hand. Had to pull the whole engine/trans to get to the flywheel. This is by far the hardest, most cramped car I've ever worked on. I hope the flywheel bolts aren't TTY (one-time use), or I'll be REALLLY peaved...