I tried to lock the flywheel first but could never lock it at 90, put the cam locks on really just trying to see how they actually fit

 

was the car always running fine prior to you doing this project? I'm trying to see where is the missing link. If the car was "fine" and now you cannot set the timing using the took, then something is off, but at the same time ok!!!

 

I believe his car ran fine until the guide shattered and the chain came off the sprocket.

 

if that was the case, I suspect that his locking tool is either locking to the wrong hole OR it appears to lock when it is actually stuck and not inserted all the way in.

the locking pin is painful and the hole is tight.

so the next question is then, when the locking pin is inserted, does the crank shaft spin?

 

My suspicion as well. It was very hard to get into place correctly on mine.

 

If I get a chance after work I will try and take a pic of the pin inserted into the bell house bore before and after it drops into the hole in the flywheel. It is def locked when the pin is inserted, tried multiple times putting pin in and out and turning to see if it was locked or I was just feeling bumps or just catching the other holes edges. My pin wouldn't go in barely at all until I lightly sanded it and now it slides in and out like I would have expected it to, just thought that's what happens when you buy the cheaper tool set, also had to cut an open hole tab off my exhaust cam lock to clear the turbo.

Looking at the bolt heads and the axle nuts you can tell the axles have been removed and it would make sense if they replaced the clutch and misaligned the flywheel. I know the pic above shows a seventh hole on flywheel for guide pin on crank shaft but if that pin is removable then I feel confident that is my issue.
Biggest prob is I'm running out of room in my shop to put all the parts I've removed

 

 

When you put the pin, is the flywheel locked? Or it keeps turning? Mine used to go deeper.

Is it manual or automatic transmission?

 

Pics posted out of order for some reason, I believe the first one is in all the way, flywheel is locked in that pic crank won't tur, manual trans

 

any updates on your progress?

 

in the process of dropping tranny, had to buy a hydraulic gear puller to remove Lh axle from hub last weekend. After that all my free time has been spent at the lake lol this weekend I'll be changing a hot water heater in my dads attic, it's summer in Texas, might try and turn a wrench if I survive with any time or energy left

 

At one o'clock position you can see where some idiot put the flywheel on wrong and smashed the alignment pin into the flywheel 🙄

 

Wow...

 

Did some monkey install the flywheel and just tighten the bolts down? Or use a hammer to help the process? Calling the guy that did that a monkey is an insult to monkeys...

 

Is this what you're referring to when the flywheel doesn't line up? I believe i might be having the same issue. I started taking my engine apart to replace the head gasket, if that's the issue... only to fine that the timing chain needs to be replaced. Found a small piece of it in my oil pan when i dropped it.

 

This is the torque converter bolt. Keep spinning until you fine the right hole which should be perfectly aligned with the lock pin hole. If cannot determine which owhiit is, use straws in the pistons and when cyl1 starts to go up and cyl 2 starts to go down and meet at the middle, that's where the lock hole should be at.

 

Thank you for the reply, i really appreciate it. I have tried using some straws to place in the spark plug holes. Right now the writing on both cylinders are facing up when it is in this position. Is it possible the timing is off so much that i cant see the pin hole. I will try and spin it again with the camera located inside the hole to see if the flywheel is in the wrong location or something. Im just really worried that the flywheel is off. If i can help it i dont want to have to take that off as well and start digging into the transmission.

 

The flex plate is pretty standard and it fits only in one orientation. For now as you said, just spin slowly until you see the lock hole. Don't worry about the cams for now.

Side question, what prompted all of this?

 

So, when I bought the car two years ago i knew nothing about mini coopers. The people that I bought it from told me that they were the second owners. I don't think they knew much about mini coopers either because after having it for a while and leaning as I'm going, they didn't maintain it properly. Right after I bought it, I took it into a specialty shop that works on mini coopers to have the oil changed. A week later the oil housing gasket busted open, and I lost all the oil out of my car. When i opened it up, that is when i saw the inside of cylinders 1 and 3 had a good amount of carbon build up. fast forward a bit, started having codes for the intake vanos solenoid, crankshaft position sensor, and camshaft position timing over. Codes where P0011, P0012, P0013, P0014, P0015, P0016 and P0017. Replaced all of them and still was throwing codes. Was changing my oil every 3000 miles and it was starting to smell very burn. So finally decided to park it and start working on it. Here are a few pictures of what i had found...

 

Not a horror story just yet but it's odd that all if this happened after the shop touched it!

Anyhow, it seems to be an NA cooper which is a bit less problematic than the S model.

Once you put the car in service mode, everything would be easy to reach.

The oil in the back seems to be from the chain tensioner which they seem to back themselves out or get loose.

 

Looking at the first pic, I'm guessing the exhaust valve stem seals and possibly guides are shot --- looks like oil has been leaking from the top, probable cause for the oil smell you reported. The second shot of intake valves shows what appears to be a crack or very deep scratch. You might need a second opinion before spending much more time / money on this head. A good Mini repair shop (indie, not dealer) should be able to look at it and give a good estimate.

If you need guidance on removing the head, the Bentley manual has pretty good instructions, torque specs, and photos. Then for timing, here's a link to a BMW Repair Guide --- much better than Bentley --- https://bmwrepairguide.com/category/mini-r56/ Then, since you're new to Mini's and a DIY'r, here's a link to our illustrated parts list ---https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select very helpful for locating part numbers and locations. The fifth pic shows the sub-frame unbolted --- hopefully that's you, putting it into service mode.

Keep us posted and best of luck ---

 

Yes, I too found it very odd that all of that happened right after the shop touched it, but it doesn't sound like the previous owners really knew how to take care of mini coopers. It is a 2009 mini cooper r56 model. Not turbo. I have the car in service mode at this point. just need to get the pin lock in the fly wheel. If the cylinders are off once the pin has the flywheel locked, do you just move them into the correct position and then put the camshaft locking tool on?

 

Thank you for the links, i really appreciate it. Yes, I have already put the car into service mode and pulled the subframe forward. unfortunately, I am doing all of these repairs and research myself because I'm not able to afford to take it into a shop at this time. I was hoping I would be able to when I first got the car, but I can't. Plus, I love learning how to fix and repair things on my own. So, any advice or help is greatly appreciated!

 

Only way cylinders can be "off" is if the flywheel is installed wrong, and it has a guide pin to ensure correct installation. It's possible for the guide pin to missing or installed wrong, but highly unlikely.

A little bit of 4-cycle engine info --- the crankshaft makes two complete revolutions for each one full rev of the cams. Therefore it's possible for the cam lettering to be "upside-down" or facing the bottom instead of up. You can either make another full crank rev or loosen the sprockets and rotate the cams, depending on what you're doing and why you're in there.

A caution for a newbie --- this is an "interference" engine meaning that pistons can contact valves if timing isn't set correctly. To prevent this contact, NEVER manually rotate the crank more than a few degrees if the chain is off (or sprockets loose) and cams installed. Once the flywheel is locked, all pistons will be at the same height, about halfway down the cylinder and out of the way of lifting valves. When doing a teardown to fix a broken chain, both piston and cam positions are unknown. Before rotating the crank to lock the flywheel, both cams should be removed, or at least loosened enough to prevent valves from opening. Usually a broken chain results in bent valves anyhow, but this caution will prevent more damage.

Another caution --- when setting timing and locking flywheel, never rotate the crank CCW. This will disturb the Vanos setting (it's spring loaded internally) and cause repeatability issues when checking the timing adjustment you make. If you miss the locking hole, don't "back it up", make two more full crank revs.

And finally, you seem to be confusing "cylinders" with cam shafts. Cylinders don't have markings that face up or down. Cylinders don't move into the correct position. Yes, I'm picky, but it's hard enough to offer online advice without having nomenclature errors. You could argue that cams are cylindrical, therefore can be called cylinders, but thats a bad idea when both cams and cylinders exist in the same product, and are totally different from each other. Sorry if this offends you, but terminology errors can lead to bad advice. This is a real problem when language differences are involved. I was in a similar position eleven years ago, when I bought my Mini. Learned a lot, real quick.

 

Thank you for the information. I do apologize for the incorrect usage of terminology. I definitely appreciate any help that i can get at this point. I do understand in regards to the difference of the cams ans the cylinders. I just think the way i worded it made it confusing so i do apologize. Im still a newbie learning lol. I do have a question in regards to you explaining the cam lettering to be "upside-down" or facing the bottom instead of up. Now that i have been able to lock my flywheel this seems to be my issue. I am trying to replace the timing chain and housing, along with the serpentine belt and oil pan gasket. I do have a new head gasket but im not sure how far i shluld dig into it now at this point because i found a piece of the housing of the plastic timing chain housing. If the lettering on the cams is upside down, then how do i correct that?