Printable Version | Subscribe | Add to Favourites
New Topic New Poll New Reply
Author: Subject: BMW - disaster!
Jenko

posted on 26/10/16 at 02:45 PM Reply With Quote
BMW - disaster!

So, my pride and joy 2011 320i coupe would not start on Monday evening when I left work. It sounded like the starter motor was whizzing around but not engaging. To cut a long story short, it was towed to a local garage who diagnosed a broken cam chain tensioner.....with a high chance that as it was spinning with the cam chain not driving the cam shaft, and a high chance there will be some bent valves!...

Engine has done 58,000 miles, fully serviced.....Im gutted, this will at best cost 2k for a new tensioner and the associated bits...at worst the engine is knackered and it needs a new one!....I can't believe they can design a car that destroys itself if a plastic tensioner breaks!....

Just venting by the way :-)


[Edited on 26/10/16 by Jenko]

[Edited on 26/10/16 by Jenko]

[Edited on 26/10/16 by Jenko]





MY BLOG - http://westfieldv8.blogspot.co.uk/

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
ian locostzx9rc2

posted on 26/10/16 at 03:03 PM Reply With Quote
I'm afraid I have seen it a lot yes normally 2k to 4K Bill they are crap and bmw just fob you off
Valves bend cams can snap and crack plastic parts go in the sump oil ways can knacker the oil pump the list goes on .if it's been serviced by bmw all its life and with that mileage I would speak to bmw garage and or customer services good luck .

[Edited on 26/10/16 by ian locostzx9rc2]

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
loggyboy

posted on 26/10/16 at 03:30 PM Reply With Quote
Not being too old, or high milage, and If fully serviced to BMW spec and being a 'premium brand' - surely worth engaging BMW for some good will labour/parts discounts. If not, its amazing what some social media can do for your cause.





Mistral Motorsport

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
ashg

posted on 26/10/16 at 03:39 PM Reply With Quote
fix it yourself. pull engine out, get the head off replace the bent valves fit new tensioner and chain refit engine.

cost to fix is just time all you need is

valves
headgasket set
chain kit with tensioner
fluids.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQpQIi7gI_U

video of how to do it. its in french but you get the idea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmwZvA8ip6U





Anything With Tits or Wheels Will cost you MONEY!!

Haynes Roadster (Finished)
Exocet (Finished & Sold)
New Project (Started)

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
britishtrident

posted on 26/10/16 at 04:02 PM Reply With Quote
You should assess how much damage there is before considering starting any major work, the best way is a cylinder leak down test.
Leak down testers are fairly cheap and some like the Bergen one will work with a very small compressor.
My guess is because it was a tensioner failure most of the valves will be damaged.





[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
sdh2903

posted on 26/10/16 at 04:39 PM Reply With Quote
Happened to my sister in law. Same year car. Maintained as per the book all at main dealer. It went 3 months out of warranty. Bmw didn't want to know. No goodwill or parts discount. 3.5k to fix in the end.
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
rusty nuts

posted on 26/10/16 at 05:20 PM Reply With Quote
Sadly , not uncommon , I've never been a fan of BMWs
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
fazerruss

posted on 26/10/16 at 05:54 PM Reply With Quote
You may be lucky. My wife's 2004 318i had a similar problem. The car boke down on the up ramp in a car park. Engine would turn over but not fire. AA came out and said possibly cam position sensor fault. It was recovered home for me to have a look. The hydraulic tensioner had failed causing the timing chain to slip 180 degrees. But I think because it was the n42 engine with valvetronic variable valve timing the valves must have been nearly closed when it happened.
I fitted a new tensioner, reset the timing and it fired straight up.
Cost of parts = £17

I wouldn't have another BMW though.

[Edited on 26/10/16 by fazerruss]





"if assholes could fly this place would be an airport"

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
02GF74

posted on 26/10/16 at 08:19 PM Reply With Quote
That is bloody disgraceful. Who would design an engine with a plastic part to save 50 pence that when fails causes thousands of pounds of damage.






View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
britishtrident

posted on 26/10/16 at 08:31 PM Reply With Quote
All manufacturers variable timing engines are not 100% bullet proof, only one I any real confidence in is the Honda system which is relatively simple.





[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
coyoteboy

posted on 26/10/16 at 09:06 PM Reply With Quote
I agree all engines are not 100% perfect. However I agree with 02GF74 - there are certain key "mission critical" items that should be largely over-engineered to ensure minimal risk of failure. This seems like one such item.






View User's Profile E-Mail User View All Posts By User U2U Member
Jenko

posted on 27/10/16 at 07:01 AM Reply With Quote
Well...Car has now gone to a specialist BMW Garage...I just need to wait and see. BMW apparently don't want to know about any cam chain tensioner issues as they have refused to acknowledge there is any issues with them...The internet would suggest otherwise!





MY BLOG - http://westfieldv8.blogspot.co.uk/

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
alfas

posted on 30/10/16 at 11:08 AM Reply With Quote
dont blame BMW, nowadays constructions from whatever car-brand are mostly done with a compromise of cost and longevity.

times are long gone where things last forever....

i see it in my job with machinery..."old" constructions lasted 40years with a minimum of maintenance...today΄s machines are shot or not a major overhaul after 10-15years

i see it with my daily runner...company leasing for 3 years (only me as driver)...3years and 120000km later, even visually they still look like a newish car, the cars have definatley suffered. ..i would never buy such a car on the 2nd hand market.

[Edited on 30/10/16 by alfas]

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Jenko

posted on 30/10/16 at 08:09 PM Reply With Quote
Don't blame BMW!!!!...Sorry man, but I squarely blame BMW!. And it seems Im not the only one...right across their engine range they seem to suffer with cam chain tensioner issues.

I had a call from the garage on Friday.....At the moment it's a new chain tensioner kit along with the drive sprocket...they can't see anything else wrong, but it's early days....bill currently sits at £1002!.





MY BLOG - http://westfieldv8.blogspot.co.uk/

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
britishtrident

posted on 30/10/16 at 09:10 PM Reply With Quote
Make sure they do a cylinder leakdown test as a a slightly damaged valve might no show symptoms for a few months.
If they don't have one cylinder leakdown tester they are very cheap off eBay the Bergen Tools one is good and only need a smal compressor.





[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
MikeRJ

posted on 30/10/16 at 10:56 PM Reply With Quote
Just as well it's not a diesel as BMW cunningly put the timing chain at the rear of the engine, so the entire engine has to be removed for access. They also fail regularly.
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
alfas

posted on 2/11/16 at 08:35 PM Reply With Quote
did you bought it in 2011 as a new car or later 2nd hand?
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Jenko

posted on 11/11/16 at 08:57 AM Reply With Quote
Bought the car last year in Aug second hand.

Anyway..update: It was shipped off to a BMW specialist, they checked everything and mentioned that even if the cam chain slips a couple of teeth it can effectively show no compression. Tensioner, chain and crank drive sprocket replaced along with a full flush of the oil system (they found lots of plastic in the sump). They also had to replace the secondary fuel pump as they found a crack in it (not related to the chain failure). Put everything back together tested it, re ran the diags and all is well. £1500 total cost.

Still bitter and twisted that a simple plastic item failure can cause this much hassle, and could have been worse.





MY BLOG - http://westfieldv8.blogspot.co.uk/

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
ian locostzx9rc2

posted on 11/11/16 at 12:06 PM Reply With Quote
You got away with a lot less than some lets hope it all ok now
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Jenko

posted on 22/11/16 at 02:46 PM Reply With Quote
Driving beautifully now.....problem is, Im paranoid about using it (irrational I know)..spent the weekend driving the wifes Sharon!.





MY BLOG - http://westfieldv8.blogspot.co.uk/

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
britishtrident

posted on 22/11/16 at 04:25 PM Reply With Quote
Best result possible :-) timing chains and variable valve timing systems are increasingly becoming a major issue.





[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
scudderfish

posted on 22/11/16 at 05:48 PM Reply With Quote
Surely there is a market for someone to make these bits out of something more substantial?
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member

New Topic New Poll New Reply


go to top






Website design and SEO by Studio Montage

All content © 2001-16 LocostBuilders. Reproduction prohibited
Opinions expressed in public posts are those of the author and do not necessarily represent
the views of other users or any member of the LocostBuilders team.
Running XMB 1.8 Partagium [© 2002 XMB Group] on Apache under CentOS Linux
Founded, built and operated by ChrisW.