[giraffewt]

Disclaimer: If you want to DIY, take your own responsibilities.

Car is 2013 BMW 328i. ~90k miles, N26, 7k OCI, auto start/stop was coded out 5k miles ago, I drive moderately.

Problem

One month ago I found the the teeth of the timing chain guide were cracked using an endoscope from the oil cap. Was afraid it would cause more damage. Dealer quoted me $5k+ and indy shop quoted me $3.5k+. To me it does make little sense to spend 35% - 50% of the car's value to fix it. I went through some timing chain DIY videos and decided to do it myself.



Steps

Most of the steps are mentioned by other DIY videos and posts. (I mainly referred to fcpeuro's video.) I spent hours watching different videos and posts to make sure I understand each step and buy the tools before I start.

I am not going to post step by step guide but rather point out what I found are missing/not clear from the videos in here.


1. Oil pan removal/install

This is a tough one and different people have slightly different way to do it.

First of all I had to remove the engine mount&bracket on the driver side to get access to a few bolts. Even before that I had to remove the charge pipe to get access to the bracket. Other than that there are 2 bolts fasten the lines from the transmission onto the oil pan on my car. They are hard to remove because there is little visibility and room to work on. I had to push the socket hard through the plastic clip around them at the right angle to get them off.

To remove/install the pan I jacked the transmission almost as high as I could and use an engine support bar on top as a safety measure. I also loosed 6 bolts of the subframe and pried the subframe down for half inch to one inch.

By doing all of the above I had barely enough space to wiggle the pan out/in after quite a few tries.






2. Engine front main seal

It's hard to remove it and even harder to install it correctly without BMW special tools. In some video people hammered it into place from underneath. In my case my EPS is in the way from underneath so I had to do it from above. But there are coolant pipes in front blocking the hammer for the lower/passenger side potion of the main seal. I used a long extension bar and borrow a hand to hammered it from the driver side. Need to be very careful as you don't want to damage it while hammering. Eventually the main seal is not perfectly even but acceptable. I would strongly recommend to buy the BMW special tools or at least remove the coolant pipe in front of it. Or just do not change it?


3. Engine crankshaft bolt

The torque on it is tremendous! For the same reason of the coolant pipe in front of the engine front main seal, it made my job even harder! There is just little room/angle to turn the braking bar (of course with a strong long extension). I found it is easier to do it from the passenger side (yes, through those coolant pipes! I broke a sensor harness and glued it back.). It took me the whole morning to remove it and another one to install. Again I would recommend to remove the coolant pipes.

4. Vacuum pump

There are 3 bolts holding it. Because it's so close to the firewall there is little space to work on. You can buy Torx wrenches or a low profile wrench to hold the Torx bit. With the right tool it should not be hard. But it gave me a hard time with the tools I have.

5. Wire harness/clips

This is an interesting one. There are some wire harness/clips around the engine I was not sure how to remove but did not want to force it. Eventually I broke a clip but it was not a big deal.


Timing chain & oil pump chain

The timing chain guide teeth were broken as I saw from the endoscope. But other part of the guide looks just fine. The timing chain was stretched a bit. But the oil pump chain was stretched even more given its short length.





Before & After

The engine is noticeable quieter after the change. (Not by a lot, given the engine is loud anyways.) I did not notice the whine noise. Before I noticed maybe a little.

Thoughts

Before this project I did engine/transmission/rear diff oil change on my car. Replaced the oil pan on a Camry (piece of cake comparing with this car).

No doubt it's the hardest and most time consuming project I'v done so far. I budgeted 2 weeks, 2-3 hours a day on the project and it took me 2 weeks. Other than that I spent hours watching videos and posts on how to do it, oftentimes in the middle of the project. I'd like to do it slowly and correctly. Most important thing is safety as I spent lots of time under the car. I used a pair of ramps + rack stands for the car. And engine support bar + a jack for the engine/transmission. I also need to think how to keep the load reasonable as I leave the car in the garage over nights.

Even with all the cautions, I still broke my EPS motor because my jack slipped. (I just replaced the EPS with a used one and that may worth its own thread.)
But I am glad the engine is smoother now and I don't need to worry about its timing chain. I want to keep the car as long as possible.

BTW - I have the timing tools/engine hook/engine support bar for sell at discount. PM me if you are interested in SF Bay Area/San Jose for pick up.

[Eddamoo]

Great pieces of information here - thanks for going through the 'gotchas'.

Im surprised at your price quotations. Lots of places in the UK offer it for a fixed price - typically around £1100-1500 for the auto (including tax) so less than half the price. I guess thats just down to more competition!

[ooshnoo]

Good info. However, I’m having trouble seeing the damage to the chain guide in the pic. Is there a way you could point it out so I know what to look for possibly?

[giraffewt]

Originally Posted by ooshnoo

Good info. However, I’m having trouble seeing the damage to the chain guide in the pic. Is there a way you could point it out so I know what to look for possibly?

The guide joint is the most fragile spot. Not easy but it’s manageable to check using the endoscope from the oil fill cap.

[TriniGT]

Another point to note when using the open chain is to ensure you crimp the joining link properly, you cannot just fit the link cap and hope for the best, you need to get the crimping tool that applies the right pressure to flare the links that keep the link cover in place, you don't want this to come lose in the engine.

[Chamonix]

So if I have the timing chain/tensioner in my son's N26 engine replaced (at a dealership ) will these loose nylon pieces from the old tensioner put the rest of the motor at risk?
Are they likely to be floating around in the motor somewhere?
His N26 2015 328i Xdrive has only 72,000 miles on it. Timing chain is suddenly "noisy" but motor will still turn over. Car is going a-la flatbed to BMW dealer later this week.

[Billfitz]

They should have all fell into the oil pan, disposed of when the pan was pulled

[erickonphoenix]

giraffewt Do you know what your oil change intervals were, and oil you were using? I've got this on the schedule at 130k miles.

[Chamonix]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

They should have all fell into the oil pan, disposed of when the pan was pulled

Thanks,

Finger crossed, maybe BMW USA will pay for some/ all of the work under the CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT N20/N26 TIMING/OIL PUMP DRIVE CHAIN?

Edit :This 2015 SULEV car is in a California Emission State, Vermont, which extends the warranty "emission-related components or systems" for "materials or workmanship" to 15 years/150,000 miles. Car has 72,000 miles on it.
Hope I can talk BMW USA into covering this though I don't see the Timing chain/tensioner for N20/N26 in the list of covered components.

[Billfitz]

The settlement offers varying degrees of compensation for 7 years or 70,000 miles from the original date placed in service. Beyond that you're SOL.

[wesjordao]

Originally Posted by giraffewt

Disclaimer: If you want to DIY, take your own responsibilities.

Car is 2013 BMW 328i. ~90k miles, N26, 7k OCI, auto start/stop was coded out 5k miles ago, I drive moderately.

Problem

One month ago I found the the teeth of the timing chain guide were cracked using an endoscope from the oil cap. Was afraid it would cause more damage. Dealer quoted me $5k+ and indy shop quoted me $3.5k+. To me it does make little sense to spend 35% - 50% of the car's value to fix it. I went through some timing chain DIY videos and decided to do it myself.

Attachment 3140686

Steps

Most of the steps are mentioned by other DIY videos and posts. (I mainly referred to fcpeuro's video.) I spent hours watching different videos and posts to make sure I understand each step and buy the tools before I start.

I am not going to post step by step guide but rather point out what I found are missing/not clear from the videos in here.


1. Oil pan removal/install

This is a tough one and different people have slightly different way to do it.

First of all I had to remove the engine mount&bracket on the driver side to get access to a few bolts. Even before that I had to remove the charge pipe to get access to the bracket. Other than that there are 2 bolts fasten the lines from the transmission onto the oil pan on my car. They are hard to remove because there is little visibility and room to work on. I had to push the socket hard through the plastic clip around them at the right angle to get them off.

To remove/install the pan I jacked the transmission almost as high as I could and use an engine support bar on top as a safety measure. I also loosed 6 bolts of the subframe and pried the subframe down for half inch to one inch.

By doing all of the above I had barely enough space to wiggle the pan out/in after quite a few tries.

Attachment 3140595

Attachment 3140596


2. Engine front main seal

It's hard to remove it and even harder to install it correctly without BMW special tools. In some video people hammered it into place from underneath. In my case my EPS is in the way from underneath so I had to do it from above. But there are coolant pipes in front blocking the hammer for the lower/passenger side potion of the main seal. I used a long extension bar and borrow a hand to hammered it from the driver side. Need to be very careful as you don't want to damage it while hammering. Eventually the main seal is not perfectly even but acceptable. I would strongly recommend to buy the BMW special tools or at least remove the coolant pipe in front of it. Or just do not change it?


3. Engine crankshaft bolt

The torque on it is tremendous! For the same reason of the coolant pipe in front of the engine front main seal, it made my job even harder! There is just little room/angle to turn the braking bar (of course with a strong long extension). I found it is easier to do it from the passenger side (yes, through those coolant pipes! I broke a sensor harness and glued it back.). It took me the whole morning to remove it and another one to install. Again I would recommend to remove the coolant pipes.

4. Vacuum pump

There are 3 bolts holding it. Because it's so close to the firewall there is little space to work on. You can buy Torx wrenches or a low profile wrench to hold the Torx bit. With the right tool it should not be hard. But it gave me a hard time with the tools I have.

5. Wire harness/clips

This is an interesting one. There are some wire harness/clips around the engine I was not sure how to remove but did not want to force it. Eventually I broke a clip but it was not a big deal.


Timing chain & oil pump chain

The timing chain guide teeth were broken as I saw from the endoscope. But other part of the guide looks just fine. The timing chain was stretched a bit. But the oil pump chain was stretched even more given its short length.

Attachment 3140657
Attachment 3140658
Attachment 3140659

Before & After

The engine is noticeable quieter after the change. (Not by a lot, given the engine is loud anyways.) I did not notice the whine noise. Before I noticed maybe a little.

Thoughts

Before this project I did engine/transmission/rear diff oil change on my car. Replaced the oil pan on a Camry (piece of cake comparing with this car).

No doubt it's the hardest and most time consuming project I'v done so far. I budgeted 2 weeks, 2-3 hours a day on the project and it took me 2 weeks. Other than that I spent hours watching videos and posts on how to do it, oftentimes in the middle of the project. I'd like to do it slowly and correctly. Most important thing is safety as I spent lots of time under the car. I used a pair of ramps + rack stands for the car. And engine support bar + a jack for the engine/transmission. I also need to think how to keep the load reasonable as I leave the car in the garage over nights.

Even with all the cautions, I still broke my EPS motor because my jack slipped. (I just replaced the EPS with a used one and that may worth its own thread.)
But I am glad the engine is smoother now and I don't need to worry about its timing chain. I want to keep the car as long as possible.

BTW - I have the timing tools/engine hook/engine support bar for sell at discount. PM me if you are interested in SF Bay Area/San Jose for pick up.

Thank you so much!!
Very completed information!

[kemosabe]

Just changed the timing with a new one. While engine on idle, i open the oil cap and see timing chain slightly moves side to side through plastic guide. Is this movement normal ?

[Billfitz]

Normal.

[andy2000]

Doing a timing chain on my n20, got an after market kit, while comparing the new parts found everything to be a close match except for the main guides, parts guy says its the right kit, unsure if I should get a genuine kit or find another alternative, any feedback would be appreciated.

[sdotnick]

How can i confirm if my timing belt was replaced? I checked with the bmw dealership via Vin# and they say it doesn't show. Is there any other way I can check?

[sdotnick]

Did you notice the plastic pieces braking off during your oil changes?

[sdotnick]

Are you planning to do this repair yourself?

[tm5809]

Originally Posted by andy2000

Doing a timing chain on my n20, got an after market kit, while comparing the new parts found everything to be a close match except for the main guides, parts guy says its the right kit, unsure if I should get a genuine kit or find another alternative, any feedback would be appreciated.

I'll be honest... The aftermarket one looks beefier.

[nicholasvred]

Thanks for sharing this! I just bought a '16 328i GT and reading about the timing chain stuff had me a little worried. Since mine is a 2016, I should be safe from the worst of the issues, right? Still might just take it to a shop eventually for peace of mind.

[Billfitz]

The most likely culprit wasn't the chain but the chain tensioner. Your 2016 has the upgraded chain but the tensioner upgrade didn't happen until after mid August 2016. Check your date of manufacture.