Timing chain jobs on ze German cars?

Anyone done a timing chain job DIY on a MINI Cooper or BMW or any of the weird german/french engines?

I've had the imfamous chain rattle on the MINI for awhile and BMW/MINI checked it out said everything's in spec just keep oil in it. Now a few months later i'm getting more rattle and CEL codes for timing out of spec. Car is parked needing a timing chain. Dealer quoted me $2000. I can get the OEM part kit for under $300 and the special tools for an extra $100. I don't really trust any shade tree mechanics to work on this car and don't want to tow it anywhere so i'm thinking of doing this at my house.

I talked to a tech who told me the problems are: there are no keyways on the gear sprokets, they are held by torque alone, there are no timing marks, and the job is completed off TDC at some specific degree, these are the reasons you need the special tools. Beyond that it's like a basic belt/chain job if you've done them before.

Anyone have direct experience with this, or know a good mechanic who handles these things? I'm planning on doing it here, but i'm really nervous about this engine especially the VANOS variable gear as I have no experience. I don't want to get over my head, but i've done a handful of Honda and Miata belt jobs so i'm pretty sure I could handle it. Thing that scares me is there is virtually no writeups or youtube videos that walk through the process, so I don't have a reference like I did when I was planning the other jobs.

Thanks.


Edit: I just remembered and i'm calling ACE Miatas now to see what they have to offer.

Update Ace is quoting 800 + parts, throw in the water pump which has a small leak and I was going to replace anyway, that comes out to 1400 vs 500 in my drive way. Those guys at ACE are good people i'm not going to get a lower deal than that.

So yea I think that's substantial enough to gamble with a French timing chain myself. Wish me luck, lol.

Good luck! Take pictures and scribe anything you can before you take it apart.

When I had my Mini, It blew a head gasket at 55k miles. I found a former Mini tech that had moved on to a Mazda dealership, and he came and did the work at my house for 1/3 what Mini wanted. That said, he had left Mini for Mazda several years ago, and I don't know if he has worked on Minis since then... He may not be skilled on the latest gen.

Edit- I PMed you his old contact info.

If the Germans didn't build stuff this way, we would be speaking it.

Argentenian Madness (Tomas) here on the forum is a Mini Tech. Might give him a call. BTW - I think this Saturday is the DIY day at MOD.

The motor in the Mini is French (assuming R56).

Did you have the TCT recall done?

The service records indicate the tensioner has been replaced under warranty at 29k with the old shorter one. I bought the updated long tensioner quick fix, but when I pulled it out of the engine it was the same part as the 'updated' long tensioner. So I guess the answer is yes.

Either way BMW says there are no open recalls on this car, as far as I have read on forums there havent been any official recalls on the tensioner for any of the cars.

Good luck. Don't forget to post updated pics.

So is the problem the chain or the tensioner? I did the timing chain on my 325 and it wasn't horribly difficult just time consuming. I actually did it a few times and I can say that yes the special tools do help and make a difference. My car had a single VANOS so it was not a complicated to set as the doubles, but I'm sure it is not hard if you follow procedure and have the right tools.

If you have not done this yet, I have a friend that just left Mini of Arlington earlier this year, and would probably be able to help you out. If you need me to check, let me know, I will see if he has any spare time with his new gig.

Thanks yea i'll post when i'm ready. At this point i'm about to close on a house with a better garage and will be moving this month. I'm planning on limping the mini over there and parking it until a time slot opens(after moving, not sleeting, etc). I have all the parts and special tools, but couldn't have happened at a worse time. Well I guess it could, I still have carpool/train/miata/inlaws toyota to drive until then, plus i'm buying a house...first world problems.

Finally got the job done and went on a celebratory drive Saturday night. I spent 2 weekends on it. Overall, it's a bitch of a job, but not as bad as I thought. Anyone who can follow specific technical specs shouldn't have a problem. And you CANNOT do this job without buying the special cam locking tools. I'll post all the pretty pics later.


For now, here's a problem I made for myself. When I was doing the nervous inaugural crank, the engine would not turn, acted like a dead battery, which wasn't surprising, probably left the dome light on. After jumper cables didn't do anything it hit me...oh crap did I took the locking tool out of the flywheel right...nope. *Forehead smack* it was the end of a very long day and I was ansy to have this massive job done. I forgot that I reinstalled all 3 tools to recheck timing after rotating and the pin was still locking the flywheel.
(this is a special pin tool that locks the flywheel in 90*BTDC position through the bell housing)


Anyway car fired up, no problems. I've driven it about 30 miles no problems, BUT...the starter is now approx 2x slower. Every start cranks like a dead battery. I can't imagine that I would have overheated the starter, but with the push button start you can't just stop cranking like with a key, it held on the bound engine for about a full second. All total I only attempted cranking like 3 times before I discovered my mistake.


Would firing up the starter on a completely locked engine cause any lasting starter damage? Before I connected the two ground connections I sanded and de greased them, but i'm wondering if due to the amount of dis assembly that something knocked the starter ground funky.


Any ideas? I posted on NorthAmericanMotoring but so far haven't had any replies so I copied it here. When I get time I might start measuring voltage and resistance on the starter if it's easily accessible, but I really don't know much about starters, especially on european cars. Mainly i'm wondering if i've damaged the starter to a point which it could leave me stranded one day.