Hello, apologies if I did not do my homework correctly. I've been lurking a bit after purchasing a used 2010 Clubman S for the misses.
Long story short, she suffered from the dreaded timing chain issues. Local shop quoted 7k to replace it, so I thought screw that, I can do that for less. And I could; I have a beautiful new timing chain installed. Purchased a $200 torque wrench to make sure I got all the torques correct, etc. Worked over a week and diligently followed the FPC Euro tutorial.

However. One little snag, and I think it's my own fault. I *thought* I properly locked the flywheel with the little tool provided with the cam locking set. But, in hindsight, I'm not so sure as the car refused to start after replacing the timing chain.

The car will turn over, and tries to fire up, but it will not.

Things I've done:
- Replaced timing chain;
- Replaced spark plugs;
- Removed oil pan to get rid of all the 1,000,000 pieces of plastic;
- Used all new seals;
- Used all new torque bolts where applicable;

Needless to say, I'm pretty disappointed after spending all that time. Learned a lot, though, so it's not completely wasted.

I would appreciate pointers on how to fix any timing issues that may have resulted from my efforts to fix the car. Any ideas?

 

Was the car running fine before the timing chain replacement? If so, as much as you prolly hate to hear this, I think you need to repeat at least some of the process ensuring the flywheel is locked.

I had a hell of a time with with the flywheel locking. I bought a cam locking tool off Amazon, and it turned out I needed to grind down the housing (see circled in image) so it would actually lock the flywheel. I just rolled it along my bench grinder a little bit at a time and tested until it actually snapped in. I used a small mirror to make sure the flywheel hole was lined up by having my kid rotate the engine via the crankbolt while I watched.


EDIT: I was wrong. Just popped out to the shop to double check. It wasnt the body of the locking tool, it was the pin I ground down. I removed the original image and am replacing it with a quick shot of my crappy grinding job. If I run a caliper around it, its anywhere from 7.3 - 7.5 mm diameter since it wasnt exactly done a lathe.

 

Apart from the rattle of death, the car was running fine indeed. The whole top part of the chain guide was broken off and in pieces in the oil pan, oil pump etc. Took hours to clean up.
I used the exact same tool indeed. I thought it was locked, but I suspect that when I tightened the crankshaft hub bolt, the block moved.

Luckily, I found this guy with a . I'm going to order to torque-to-yield bolts and try to get it timed properly again. I'll update the thread if I succeed, so others may learn.

 

Good luck my friend!

(I edited my post prior to this one with an update. It was the pin I ground, not the body)

Also, do you have a programmer to reset the adaptations?

 

Ahaaa, perhaps I should do the same. I think I may have the same kit. Did you also have to cut part of the locking kit at the exhaust side? It interfered with the turbo.

It would explain a lot, btw.

I don't have a programmer specifically for this car. I have several OBDII tools. What would I need to reset and where can I find the programmer? (I presume Amazon, so if you have a SKU that would help)

Here is how it looks right now. According to the YT video I posted earlier, these straws should be at the same height (indicating that the pistons are aligned). I think I messed up pretty bad.




And, btw, here is a pic of what it looked like before I changed the timing chain and guides. The top guide was in shatters in the oil pan/oil pump, as were the metal parts that broke off. And it still ran

 

My kids car is a base / N12 / non-turbo, so I didnt have any issues with the tool and the exhaust.


I have a OBDII scanner as well (BlueDriver), however you'll need a BMW/Mini specific scanner to reset the adaptations. TBH, I dont think its required, as the car will re-learn the adaptations but I picked up one of these just to be safe.



Oh man. I sure hope that your valves didnt make contact with the pistons!

 

So, here is an update. I can declare victory!

Long story short, here is what I did:

- Ordered new camshaft bolts for both intake and exhaust
- Loosened said bolts
- Loosened timing chain tensioner
- Rotated the crankshaft until the pistons were at the 50% position (note: pistons 1 and 4, the outer two, were in an upward motion). I used the straws to monitor their position
- Once the pistons were at 50%, I had no trouble at all to insert the locking pin into the flywheel. It fit like a glove. I measured it with a caliper, and it was exactly 7mm in diameter (my kit came with two, the other one was larger)
- With the block now locked and the camshaft sprockets loose, I manually rotated the camshafts until they were in the correct position
- With the camshafts in the correct position, I used the camshaft locking tool to keep them there
- The new bolts arrived today. First, I swapped the exhaust side bolt (the shorter one) and tightened it (20nm + 90 degrees)
- Then, I tightened the timing chain tensioner
- Then, I tightened the intake side bolt (the larger one) and tightened it (20nm + 180 degrees)
- After that, I reassembled the rest and took out the locking pin

It took quite a few cranks, but eventually the engine started. I made a little test drive, and once the engine was warm I took it to the freeway and hit 90mph without any issues.

All in all, I spent ~$450 on parts and $1,000 on tools. It took me roughly 7 days, with half of that time going back and forth buying more tools as I needed them. As I said earlier, local shop quoted me $7,000. They probably would have been able to do it within a day as they would have all the tools necessary. So, in my book, I saved $5,550 by doing it all myself. Plus, I now have all the tools and knowledge necessary to do it again if needed.

Wifey is happy. Looking forward to my reward tonight :-)