Hi everyone. This is the first time. I've actually posted in any forum. Everyone has been very informative on other threads and I'm really hoping someone can help me out. I brought an 07 Cooper s with known mechanical issues. On start up the engine sounds like it's "chugging" I have a yellow half engine light and it will only Rev to 2k rpm if that. Will not drive. Also have red oil pressure light intermittent. Oil and filter has been changed and is at correct level. I know this info is rather vague so here is a YouTube video of the issue. Someone please help. Nearest dealer is 40 miles away and I would need to have it towed to get a diagnosis.

 

Has the timing chain been replaced? How's the compression? Any oil leaks, at turbo, turbo lines, and oil filter adapter? Do you know if the intake and exhaust ports have been cleaned?

 

Thanks for your swift reply. No Oil leaks to speak of. I do not know the history of the car other than what they told me when I bought it. I pulled the valve cover and looked at the timing chain and top guide. Chain is tight and there are no broken pieces. I was going to pull the oil pain to check to see if there were any pieces of plastic in there as I have seen in previous posts and YouTube videos where there have been timing chain guide pieces stuck to oil pump. However I am recovering from surgery and I couldn't get the last bolt out without pulling the exhaust manifold and getting that out of the way. I am not a mechanic and this is a project car. Only paid $2500 for it. As for intake it's not clean by any means but no more build up than I have seen on my other cars. I have also replaced the hpfp as that was an issue they stated on purchase. This has not changed the symptoms so either this fuel pump is bad also, or that's not the issue. Car starts first time and will run without stalling. Just shakes and sounds like hell.

 

It probably wouldn't hurt to replace the timing chain and do the cam timing adjustment procedure. When you pull the pan off remove the cover for the pump housing. It's the only way to see if bits of plastic are lodged in there. I found a bunch in mine. But my upper guide disintegrated. I would also clean both intake and exhaust ports. It will in the end be time well spent.

 

Thank you. I will give that a shot and we'll go from there. I'll post an update. Thank you very much sir.

 

If it's a project car you might as well and manual cleaning is no big deal. Just time and cleaning supplies. The timing chain kit can be had from vendors here and the cam flywheel locking tool set. I think a kit for the chain is around $150 and tools around $250 to $300. Tools you'll use many times. I have issues with the Bentley manual, but between it and here you should be fine.

 

Have you scanned for the trouble code?

 

Only trouble codes it gives are throttle codes.

 

What are they?

 

I honestly don't remember bevause I had a friend read them. I know one of them was position sensor.

 

Do NOT replace the cam chain and guides until you've done a compression check and determined cause of the intermittent loss of oil pressure. The fact that the motor shakes means that one or more cylinders is not firing. Since you have no misfire codes, that suggests very strongly the motor lacks compression on at least one cylinder.

It is pointless to invest the labor and expenses of a cam chain replacement if the head and/or entire motor may need to be rebuilt.

The shake and lack of oil pressure suggest rather strongly that the motor needs a complete rebuild. If you are lucky the shake will turn out to be a cracked exhaust valve and the low oil pressure due to an obstructed oil pump intake.

Is the valve cover still of the engine? If so please post pictures of the interior of the cylinder head. I'd like see how clean/dirty it is.

Best of luck getting it on the road!

 

These were the only two pictures I could get after pulling the intake manifold. Working on pulling the exhaust next. I have not done any cleaning yet. What are your suggestions?

 

Thanks. Yes the cam cover is still on the engine. I posted pictures of the intake side of the engine. I just took the intake off today and I couldn't really get very good pictures. As I said to someone else who replied to my post, I am not a mechanic and this is purely a hobby and something that I hope I can fix and learn along the way. This is also the first car that I've worked on to this degree and as such I'm more willing to do extra things without worrying too much about messing anything up. (Nothing to loose at this point) I am working on taking the exhaust manifold off but it is slow going due to shoulder issues. I'm not opposed to pulling the head if needed although I'd prefer to exhaust every other avenue first. Once the exhaust manifold is out of the way and I can pull the oil pan then ill check for blockages.

 

Like thefarside said, compression check and leak down check first. You can get the tools from harbor freight for cheap. You need to know if there is something catastrophic with the engine.

 

Clean them. Mine were worse the first time I cleaned them. Looks like they've been cleaned at least sometime in the past 10 years. Do the compression test also. Intermittent oil pressure problems can be tricky. If you don't find a compression issue look for oil leak signs. Places that leak are the oil lines and oil adapter housing to engine block.

 

If it's the cam position sensor, buy a new one. I had to replace mine once. It does make the engine run pretty bad. Invest in a code reader. It's a pretty essential tool.

 

Hey guys. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has replied. It's awesome that people take the time to help novices like me. With that being said I'm coming to yall with an update. I went to autozone to rent a compression tester. Low and behold they don't have the adapter that you need for a mini so I'm fixing to head to harbor freight. However. I showed the guy at autozone the video posted above and he said it could possibly be a blown turbo. Does anybody have any suggestions or comments on this. I pulled hoses and the turbine does have slight forward and back movement. Would this be enough for the engine to be running as it is? I pulled spark plugs and they are very carboned up but not to the point that they aren't making a spark. With a flash light I was able to see a little into the combustion chamber and it's black as the Ace of spades in there.....off to harbor freight. Will update you after I perform test. Thanks for helping this newbie out.

 

There shouldn't be any play in the turbocharge wheel, either axially or radially. the turbo relies on close bearing tolerances to seal the oil in the pedestal bearings, there are no oil seals in the turbocharger.

 

So with that being said I'm probably looking at turbo rebuild/replace?

 

Compression test results as follows. I ran the test twice on all cylinders for 10 cranks.
Cylinder 1
150
Cylinder 2
145
Cylinder 3
155
Cylinder 4
160

 

It may not be even, but you have compression.

 

If the turbine spins freely, you will probably only have an oil consumption issue, I don't think it is causing your poor running problem. I guess it depends on how much play there is.

 

There doesn't seem to be much play at all. I guess that will be the next thing I need to do. Just trying to get it at least working and drive able then the upgrades can begin.

 

On to the next part of problem solving. Although not sure what comes next hahaha

 

Clean those ports and replace the cam position sensor.