Timing Chain DIY Questions for r55/r56 N14
 

I'm digging in on a DIY timing chain replacement for the wife's 2008 Clubman S.

I've worked through the Bentley and have gotten as far as removing the serpentine belt so far.

Looking ahead raises some questions.

Does the engine need a jack stand or engine hoist once the passenger side engine mounts/brackets get removed?

What sockets do I need for the camshaft sprocket bolts? Are they female torx 'E' types?

Are folks skipping replacing the crankshaft seal? I can't find a source for the seal install tool, part number 11 9 601 or 119600?

I'm sure to have more questions as I progress.

Yes if you're removing the passenger side engine mount you'll have to support the engine somehow. For the crankshaft seal you can probably find something appropriately sized to drive it in with. PVC pipe is a common solution. Just make sure you drive it in to the appropriate depth. Take some pictures of the old one before you pull it out so you can see how far to drive the new one in. Sorry I can't provide much help on the other stuff as I haven't had to do the chain yet on our car.

They're Torx females, available at lots of places. You might want to buy new bolts for the cams. If you keep reading ahead, you'll see that you torque them on in two stages, one of which is to a certain torque, then you continue another 90 or 180 degrees. So, they're seriously tight, and MINI recommends replacing them.

I think a bottle jack is a better engine support than a jack stand because it can be raised or lowered pretty precisely. I couldn't figure out how to get a jackstand up snug to the bottom of the engine. They do make screw-type stands, but I couldn't find any.

Yup, my set of female torx sockets from amazon showed up last night. To celebrate I took the vibration damper off.

I also dropped the oil pan ... all over the floor unfortunately. It's gonna be interesting when I get to reinstall it with the gasket sealant.

My next challenge appears to be getting this pipe off. Pulling and yelling at it finally worked.

That pipe is just a connector between hoses, and thus connected to a hose below it, held in place by a hose clamp (that was kind of hard to get to). Once I loosened the clamp, I used a screwdriver and a pick to separate it from the plastic connector, and then pulled it off. It may be more accessible if you take off the air filter box first.

In fact, in retrospect, I didn't even remove the elbow hose that you've already removed. I went right to the lower hose clamp(s?) and removed it. The reason for the "(s?)" is that I might have removed the noisemaker ahead of time, too, since I'm pretty sure I had the air filter gone already, and that was a pretty easy thing to continue to remove. Basically, I took off hose clamps and their hoses until I could get rid of that pipe that's in the way of the tensioner.

What is the recommend mileage to change the timing chain for N18 engine?

While it's still under warranty. N18s aren't supposed to suffer from the timing chain problems experienced with the N14 engines.

Cheers,

Hans

PS. The hoses are off along with the old tensioner and the air filter assembly. I've got a chunk of the upper guide rail stuck behind the oil pump sprocket. I gave it up for the night when I started rounding the sprocket bolt.

I have a mystery on my hands. Why does the Bentley have me try to remove the belt tensioner assembly? One of the two mounting bolts doesn't have the clearance needed to be removed.

A mechanic friend and I were able to pull the motor mount and brackets off last night. I also learned that torque and lever arms are a great thing. We removed the guide rails and old chain before calling it a night.

What am I doing wrong? We got the new chain and guides installed but there doesn't seem to be enough slack between the intake and exhaust sprockets/vanos to mount them properly. Swearing at sure hasn't helped.

Edit: Mystery solved!!! Found a bunch of chain slack down on the crankshaft bolt. That's an hour of my life I want back.

Hans

How'd you do?
 

2 months since the repair and no problems, other than the occasional cold start. And ... The radio LCD has gone dark ...

I did a walkthrough video that the wife uploaded to her channel.

Mini Cooper 2009 clubman s
 

How did the repair go? I want to do it myself, I have the time but want to know your outcome.

The repair went fine and then the turbo started leaking oil so we traded 2008 blue in for a 2011 silver. You may not need too do the repair yourself. There's a class action lawsuit out there for the tensioner/timing chain repair. Since I did diy I don't think I'm eligible for the reimbursement - no dealer/third party confirmation of the failure.

- Hans

Sultans - DIY chain here: N14 engine https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ce-please.html


There is a class action here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...in-issues.html

timing chain wonders
 

Bought a 2007 mcs with 70,000mi. Previous owner took real care of it. No chain replacement. No chain noise...right now. Am I under the impression that replacing the timing chain is not an if it will fail, but when? Is the issue with tensioner, chain or both?
Would appreciate any input as we are getting into nice motoring months. don't want to get stranded.
Thanks all,
Keep looking up!
CP

It all begins with the tensioner which doesn't tension the timing chain properly causing the chain to stretch, once it begins to stretch it's only a matter of time. 40-70k miles is about average for timing chain failures.

So what you are saying is do timing chain and tensioner asap? Correct. From what you know is the oem kit supplied by some mini dealers for about $200 acceptable instead of the $350 genuine mini parts?
Thanks so much.

Bought my kit from ecs tuning, a new and improved chain tensioner, there are a few extra cam bolts you'll need because they are torque to angle and can't be reused and the gasket for the cam cover was recommended. If you're starting from scratch general tools were $350ish from amazon. EBay for the special cam locking tool.

The advantage of doing it before a failure is you avoid having to drop the oil pan and fish for chunks of the upper timing chain guide. Oh and not getting stranded.

WMW kit sufficient?
 

Friends,

I'm going to DIY the timing chain before something breaks. Been getting a bit of a rattle. I know this has been beaten to death but I can't tell from all the threads and comments if this kit from WMW is suffcient? http://www.waymotorworks.com/timing-...-cooper-s.html

ECS kit is over twice the price and doesn't include a new camshaft sprocket. Am I missing something?

Specifically, can someone confirm that this kit has everything I need (including all replacement bolts), excluding tools?

Cheers,

this should be good. just make sure the tensioner is 82mm vs 78mm. you'll need the locking tool too.