hello all. I recently had a slight oil leak at the timing chain tension bolt which was fixed by the dealership. This is on my, less than 5000 miles, 2010 MCS. Since then the oil leak hasn't been an issue but it does seem that my car's ticking sound is louder than normal. I did get a second opinion from a local Mini/BMW shop.

Just the other day I noticed an issue for the first time and it only happened twice within 2nd and 3rd gear. My car was warm, well warmed up and when i applied a decent amount of throttle to the gas pedal it seemed to hesitate drastically and than kick back in. almost as if the motor and power burped and came back. it only happened the one time. is there a specific reason behind that? could the timing deal have anything to do with that? thanks.

 

I doubt it was anything related to the timing chain; sounds more like the high pressure fuel pump (HPFP) skipping a beat to me.

 

ah, yes. it only happened the one time but where i seem to be having issues with this timing chain deal i figured i'd check. i really haven't worried or thought about it all that much where it only happened that once. i figured it was just a hicup. thx.

 

Well, it may be a passing thing, or it could be the early signs that the HPFP is going out (which is far from unheard of on the Cooper S...). You'll just have to keep monitoring it.