It's About That Time Again, Timing Chain Making Noise
 

As the titles says, my Timing Chain is starting to make noise again. It still sparatic right now. Cold starts only (cold engine that is). Usually goes away after 1 min or less of running.

I know there are a lot of timing chain kits out there. WMW, Outmotoring, ECS all have their own kits. It would seem that some of these kits have different parts. Which one out there has best kit? Should I get the one with the most amount of parts to replace? Or is that over kill?

Also has anyone ever tried Cryo treating these chains? This would be my cars 3rd Timing Chain set and 5th timing tension (From what I can tell on the carfax report I have saved from when I bought it). I figure if I have the chain cryo treated maybe it will last longer than 20k miles.

My car already had the lastest parts installed when the recall was released so there is no hope for warranty coverage on this one.

Bump for input on who has the best kit or whether or not Cryo treatment is a good idea/helpful?

In any kit you buy make sure you use the final 5th Gen redesigned tensioner which is 82 mm in length, it's much smoother than any Gen before it!

Engine runs smoother huh? Thats a interesting side effect. I didn't think it ran too rough for a 4 cylinder, but I'll take what I can get.

Also, has anyone out there taken the step to Cryo treat the parts at all?

I believe that he meant that, as he has commented before, the plunger on the tensioner operates much more smoothly in and out than the previous iterations. (Not sure if that was comparing to a worn one or a new one, though.)

I compared a new 4th Gen to the final 5th Gen 82 mm long tensioner, the plunger on a new 4th Gen still felt like the plunger was scraping the tensioner walls, not smooth at all! The new 82 mm longer version was extremely smooth, I had one of those installed. The dealer at the time sold me the wrong or older 4th Gen tensioner, when they went to install it they told me it was an old part number, so they swapped it out and installed the newer 82 mm longer tensioner.

You could easily push it in with your thumb!

11317607551 is the newest 82mm long and part of our full Timing chain kits. 11317597895 is the older one 78mm. :)

ECS, I have a question about your kit. Is there any particular reason why the Camshaft Gear (11367547955) is not included in the ECS Timing Chain Kit? Just curious. I've seen it included with other kits.

No problem, we mimic the dealership replacement parts & hardware, also this is what they used in the R56 S 07 -08' timing chain replacement TSB.

Well that would make sense. Thanks ECS!

I would always buy from a Forum Supporting Vendor.

Customer service is hard to come by these days, so when one of them steps up like ECS to take time to answer questions... its worth buying from them.

Just for the record, I noticed ECS has replied to this thread and I have not purchased anything from them... yet, but will in the future.

When I ordered my chain replacement... the noise I discovered was not the chain but the vacuum pump. It would send noise all the way through the cam so it sounded as if it was resonating inside the chain cover. I tore all the parts down to find my chain was okay, tensioner working properly and by removing my vacuum pump altogether, the noises I had were gone!

Cryo Treatment
 

Hello,

Detriot Tunning sells a kit that's Cryo treated. However, they don't state the part numbers and which manufactured they use for cryo treatment. If you call them I'm sure they could elaborate on that matter.

I decided to order from ECS to guarantee the appropriate part number. I also used NitroFreeze to cryo treat my timing chain as well as the tensioner. (Nice people, talk to Jordan Andersen @ NitroFreeze.)
Chain Tensioner - #11317607551 82mm
Timing Chain - #11318618317

I actually haven't installed the kit yet...

Question:

Should I be installing a 78mm tensioner or 82mm on a fresh install?

correct me if I'm wrong, I believe the most recent tensioners are as follows:

• 11317597895 for the 78mm
• 11317607551 for the 82mm

MCS has 75k and this will be the 3rd time for the timing chain replacement.

yep,

11317607551 newest part on the full timing chain kit. Latest part is 11317607551 5th gen

Thanks

Curious question here, what year is your MCS? I'm almost to 77k so a very similar mileage.

2008. built on 12/07.

Just an FYI.

The newest timing chain I believe is 11318618317, same one used in the N54. According to IWIS, they have a new coating on the timing chain pins called TRITAN. I don't know for a fact whether this specific chain has this coating. It's all speculation at this time. Could anyone verify if this applies?

Curiouser and curiouser. My car was built 09/07 so a very late '07 Model.

I would also be interested to know if the new chain part number has the coating as well. :nod:

This week, I took my 2012 JCW clubman (N14) with 34k miles in for a minor cold start rattle. I didn't think it was that bad, but my warranty was running out and I wanted to get it checked out. I left the car overnight and sure enough, rattle confirmed, timing chain was measured at 71mm, and everything was replaced. Bits of the cassette were also removed from the oil pan. Based on this thread, it looks like I have the latest chain and cassette part numbers. Does anyone know if these newest parts "cure" the problem?

I purchased my car used with 12k miles, and changed the oil every 5k miles. I bought a Craven dipstick at the time of purchase and check the oil regularly. I burn maybe 1/4 to 1/2 a quart between 5k intervals and the engine has always run very well. Although not unexpected with the N14, I'm pretty disappointed that my chain failed, even with religious care.

Is chain failure to be expected in another 30k miles even with the newest parts? I bought the Mini "Large" extended warranty while I was at the dealer, so I should be safe, but still ...

Here is my invoice:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...6fcf443bd.jpeg

Most people that had the latest chain update and tensioner kit have said its smooth and quiet. After they do the timing chain you should be pretty quiet. That's pretty low miles for it to be done. Sounds like the top T section and cassette came apart.

my god, the Mini is a POS

Yes, the engine is much quieter and smoother, which is a plus. Hopefully it will last.

Nice job posting the same sentence in every thread in this sub-forum. I do not think my Mini is a POS. The N14 timing belt issue is well documented, and I was well aware of the issue before I purchased my JCW. Every used Euro car has its share of issues -- it's just a tradeoff you need to accept. Otherwise go buy a boring Toyota or Honda.


I love the performance and handling of my JCW, despite its known issues. I plan to enjoy it for a few more years before I move on to my next car.

That's great news. Thanks