I'm going to do my timing chain in the next couple weeks (or more likely FOR the next couple weeks - I'm not fast).

MINI just isn't going to help me on paying for this (see https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...than-mr-t.html)

I've ordered the parts, but now I need to locate the timing tools. Does anyone have experience with the toolsets found on eBay? They're quite a bit cheaper than the last time I'd looked ($110 vs. $300). I take it they're not OEM tools, but if they work, why spend?

Here's an example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-N12-N14-MINI-COOPER-TIMING-TOOL-SET-/261456248201?hash=item3ce001bd89&item=261456248201&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr

 

Answering my own question, since I eventually ordered one and used it.

It's a workable option, though I found I had to modify it a bit to get it to work with my 2008 S.

First off, here's a video of using the tool for reference:


That's not me. I don't play piano.

I also wasn't so lucky that mine just dropped into place so easily and bolted together. I had the following issues:

1) The crankshaft lock pin didn't quite fit the hole. It's a little tight maneuvering anyway with the exhaust in place, but I couldn't get it to go in past 1/16th of an inch or so. I had to take an emery cloth to it for a minute or so to reduce its diameter very slightly. Then, it went in and effectively locked the engine.

2) The EX-side cam lock had a little outcropping with a half-hole in it to the right. It hit the turbo and there's nothing I could do to get it to fit. So, I took a grinder to it and removed most of the half-hole. It fit after that.

3) With the EX cam at 90-degrees, the IN cam was rotated counter clockwise about 4-5 degrees. I had to rotate it clockwise to get it to 90. I used the tool itself to do that, which made mating the two halves of the tool tricky. I eventually loosened both sides from the head, then focused on getting the center bolt threaded, then tightening all three.

4) There's a chrome piece that you install in the center, that points to the other two pieces. I assumed it would contact them, and re-inforce the center joint, but it doesn't. It sits about 1/16th inch above them. I really have no idea what the hell good that piece is doing, but I'm leaving it there.

Other than that, the tool works and apparently does what it is supposed to do. For about $200 cheaper than the MINI-branded tool, I'm good with it.

 

This is excellent info. Thanks for sharing

 

so did you finish the job....all went well?

 

No, I'm doing it at a snail's pace, little bit at a time. There's a lot of tear-down before you get to the actual timing chain. The instructions are pretty much, "Dismantle entire vehicle. Put back together with new timing chain." Yesterday, I suffered through wrong directions in the Bentley manual (you DO need to unscrew the hood locks from the transport before removing it) and the lack of a 30mm box-end wrench to rotate the drive belt tensioner.

I'll let you know how it went when I'm done, though.

 

How's the job going? Don't suppose you have a list of tools you've used so far?

Wife's 2008 Mini S Clubman just chewed up the upper guide to the Timing chain so changing the timing chain, etc. is my immediate project. I ordered the Cam Locking Tool from Promini two days ago. I only saw the jtc version on Amazon after Promini shipped, rats.

I'll be picking up a 30mm wrench.

 

Good luck, it's a pretty lengthy job, but doable. The JTC tool did the job just fine, with a little wrestling. On my 2008 Cooper S, the exhaust side of the tool didn't fit, and had to be ground down. There's a little half screw hole there that juts out and hits the turbo. I have no idea what that thing is for, but it wasn't needed for using the tool at all, so I took it off with a bench grinder.

The 30mm wrench I got from Sears in a kit with some others, including a 22, which is useful in a couple places, including the tensioner.

The other custom tool needed for this job is the holder for the crankshaft while you loosen the crankshaft nut. It's $100+ from various places, but I just made my own from a 2"x2' piece of aluminum (probably 1/4"). Aluminum is really easy to drill and cut, and it wasn't difficult to get it right. The thing to understand is that 2" is JUST undersized, so one of the three holes you'll drill will be right at the edge of the metal, and probably just intersect the edge of the tool (meaning, it won't be a perfect hole.) The center hole that goes around the hub I cut with a jigsaw and a narrow blade. It's not precision work, but you still have to be close. I undercut the hole size and used a file to adjust it to fit.

Otherwise, there were some Torx bolts that needed female sockets that I didn't have. Pretty easily findable at an auto store. I could have benefitted from a set of deep sockets, too, but was able to get by without them.

I also needed a lot of soap to wash my mouth out with because I cursed a LOT during this procedure. My personal preference is for Lux, but I found Palmolive has a nice, piquant after-dinner flavor - heady, but with just a touch of mellow smoothness.

 

Not an unusual discovery for Mini DYIs.

 

Thanks mslatter. I didn't quite understand about the female torx until last night and ordered a set from amazon.

I can't swear around the house. Kids have a swear jar and i'll be damn if I contribute to it.

 

--that's another quarter, Hans...

 

Make it $.50. I ran into 2 inaccessible bolts trying to get the oil pan off. Looks like I'll be removing part of the exhaust pipe tomorrow unless some kind of flexi adapter might work.

 

Yeah, that's how it goes with this car. You'll be disassembling it quite a bit even for seemingly simple repairs. That big ol' bolt on the V-clamp right in the middle of your picture - mine was rusted so badly that I had to cut it off. The nut didn't even look like a nut any more. A multi-tool with a carbide blade did the job pretty well, considering the confined space I was working in.

 

[QUOTE=mslatter;3938154]Answering my own question, since I eventually ordered one and used it.

It's a workable option, though I found I had to modify it a bit to get it to work with my 2008 S.

First off, here's a video of using the tool for reference:


That's not me. I don't play piano.]

THANK YOU! I bought the exact same tool in Ebay, but with a different name on it, EWK, with no reference to JTC. I was having an awful time trying to figure out from other sites which way the parts go on, and what that fourth chunk of molded metal is for (ballast, apparently ). Mine has the half-hole you ground off, which isn't there in the tool in the really helpful video.

Your tip on using an emery on the crankshaft lock will be useful, too, I'm sure!