Hi all,

I'm in the middle of my first major engine tear down on an N14 and have a couple tough situations I was hoping someone could help me out with.

First problem:
The camshaft locking tool I bought blocks the end head bolts on the driver side, I was able to loosen them but can''t get them out. I already ordered a new timing kit and my plan is to take off the old one and put the new one on. I was going to turn the cam in to the proper position for the new camshaft locking tool by hooking up the intake vanos and old fastener and turning the cam with a ratchet. Does anyone see any issue with this damaging the vanos or throwing off the timing?

Second problem:
I think I somehow managed to lock the flywheel in the wrong position/I don't think the engine is in the 90 degree position. I thought the pistons should be at the top of the cylinder? Can someone confirm if I messed this up?



And if I am in the wrong position, is there any issue with me just unlocking the flywheel, re-installing the crank hub and turning the engine over by hand to the correct position and then re-locking the flywheel?

all help is appreciated and thanks for your time.

 

I have not worked on an N14 yet, but generally cylinder 1 and 4 should be at TCD and 2 and 3 should be at BDC. There is no way to get all cylinders at TDC. Rotating the flywheel should take care of that issue.

I'm not following your first problem clearly, but you should be able to turn the cam as needed to get the proper timing marks to line up.

Be sure you clean out your cylinders and everything else before you put it back together. You have a lot of junk in that first one.

Nik

 

Thanks for the reply but I think the timing is kind of unique for the N14 and I'm definitely going to be cleaning everything up before it goes back together.

Just to clarify some things, I am using the Bentley manual to help me with this work. All that it says is to "secure the crankshaft in the 90 degree piston position" with special tool 119-590, I have used this tool and it is properly inserted. it also says to "Verify the engine is in 90 degree position by viewing piston position" but doesn't explain any further than that. If there are two indents that can be used to secure the crank then I guess I could have mixed that up. The picture above doesn't show cylinder 4 but it is the same height as the other cylinders if that helps.

 

Get a better manual, I found the Bentley completely useless for my rebuild. I'd recommend a cheap Haynes manual.

 

If you're gonna replace the timing chain, you don't need to lock either the cams or flywheel until you start re-assembly. Then, tighten the head bolts BEFORE installing the cams. That way the tools won't be in the way. If the cams are already installed before the head is mounted, lock the flywheel first then install the head. Then position and lock the cams, and lastly install and adjust the chain. This process worked quite well for me when I rebuilt my internals.

The flywheel has only one locking hole, and it's at 90 deg away from TDC --- all 4 pistons will be at the same height --- half way between top and bottom --- no possibility of valve interference.

Someone else posted several months ago that the manual they used said nothing about the chain tensioner tool. As a result, they had lotsa grief with timing and had to set it several times before getting it right --- using the Bentley manual instructions. Use Haynes at your own risk --- I use nothing but Bentley and RealOEM's illustrated parts list!