I was driving home today, and all of a sudden noticed a loud tractor-like sound coming from the engine bay from my '06 R53. I drove about 5 miles home, and immediately took these two videos.




From the bit of research I've done, it seems to be the chain tensioner. I'd like to start troubleshooting, and thought I'd ask here first. I'm thinking about replacing the tensioner, since it's cheap and seems like a very easy repair.

 

Think youv answered your own question! Iv done this on mine plenty of times (problem car) its really easy, just remove the plug on the rear of the motor to get it out. Dont drive it tho, i made that mistake. It skipped timing.

It could also be the chain guides that have snapped.

 

Your diagnosis seems reasonable and the video FWIW would support that. The only reservation is that the tensioner doesn't typically suddenly fail mid-drive. Needless to say, get it looked at immediately. Where are you located?

 

I have had mine fail whilst driving. Although my car had alot of problems contributing to it. If the oil is really disgusting this can creat problems with the tensioner

 

Diagnosis from a video is just guessing. I'd take it apart and check it over, could be as simple as a timing chain tensioner, but could be a broken guide or stretched chain, or none of the above.

 

Thanks! It did turn out to be just the chain tensioner. I had kind of a problem finding the bolt for a while, so here is a shot of it in case anyone needs it:


@waymotorworks: I saw that your price for the tensioner was $25 cheaper than my local dealership!

 

That is really good to know. The previous owner put on 54,000 miles, and just had the regularly scheduled oil changes. When I bought the car, the oil level was somewhat low, and the owner didn't even know how to check the dipstick.

 

Wow. Think i had the same issue with my previous owner. They hadnt put oilin and caused the piston rings to get knackered, £2500 engine rebuild thanks to them