McLaren MP412C Engine

McLaren MP412C Engine

Author
Discussion

Rotrax

Original Poster:

51 posts

190 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
Does anyone have any information on Camshaft Chains breaking?


tuffer

8,849 posts

267 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
No but is sure sounds expensive.

Rotrax

Original Poster:

51 posts

190 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
£50K is being quoted!

RamboLambo

4,843 posts

170 months

Wednesday 26th July 2017
quotequote all
Be very unusual for a chain to break. Haven't heard of anything unless you know of an isolated incident

Thorney

408 posts

260 months

Thursday 27th July 2017
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Not something I've heard of.

Backdraft

22 posts

188 months

Thursday 27th July 2017
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Sounds like a replacement engine is being quoted for. If this is something you are having to pay for it is worth getting it in to check if it can be rebuilt. Most main dealers just want to replace major components. As with the leaking gearbox seals where they want to change a complete gearbox...

Jumpingjackflash

589 posts

179 months

Thursday 27th July 2017
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£50k is shocking. I would contact McLaren Customer Service and ask for a contribution. They are trying to build a reputation and good residuals for the cars. I know someone who needed a new BMW M6 Engine and BMW paid 80% of cost.

If you need to pay for it yourself I would try and source someone who is familiar with racing engines and ideally Nissan racing engines. The Engine is a Nissan VRH unit.

All the Best

ChrisW.

6,290 posts

255 months

Friday 28th July 2017
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How is the cam chain tensioned ?

Worth checking for those that still have cam chains intact ?

Rotrax

Original Poster:

51 posts

190 months

Saturday 29th July 2017
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The car's now with the McLaren Service centre in Bristol and the owner, who's a friend of mine is waiting for a full report before deciding how t proceed.

Thanks for all responses, which I've fed back to him.

I'll update when we hear more.

jakesmith

9,461 posts

171 months

Sunday 30th July 2017
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I'm not sure if there are any specialists for Macca or if it is too small / new / niche for a 2nd tier service sector to exist, but the poster above who mentioned that it is a Nissan engine & to find a specialist (pending a goodwill offer from Macca) was bang on the money. I was in SMDG the other day & they had just rebuilt a California engine for £13k. Ferarri wanted £50k to fix as they only wanted to swap the unit out.

Xpuffin

9,209 posts

205 months

Sunday 30th July 2017
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McLaren will have no interest in repairing the engine, even if it's repairable.
Hence the quote for a replacement which will be the only option your friend will be offered.

MclaesLaren

123 posts

93 months

Monday 31st July 2017
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No, it is a Engine from Ricardo Plc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLaren_M838T_engine

And trying to swap it by 3.rd party will result that ML will discontinue to upgrade your ECU. Controlled by ML and not by any reseller.

That´s why I am hesitant to buy a second hand ML since only ML can perform service. Gearbox, 28k €, Engine 50k €.

Sarnie

8,041 posts

209 months

Monday 31st July 2017
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MclaesLaren said:
That´s why I am hesitant to buy a second hand ML since only ML can perform service. Gearbox, 28k €, Engine 50k €.
Thats why you buy one with a warranty....

isaldiri

18,523 posts

168 months

Monday 31st July 2017
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£50k sounds very expensive if it's not with a gearbox included. I have the numbers somewhere for both gearbox and engine that I can't find but I'm very sure it isn't 50k (2014 numbers but inflation hasn't been that high!). A few engines have been replaced afaik but haven't heard of a chain breaking I have to say.

The Surveyor

7,576 posts

237 months

Monday 31st July 2017
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MclaesLaren said:
No, it is a Engine from Ricardo Plc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLaren_M838T_engine

.....
As the article says, the Ricardo engine is based on the architecture of a Nissan race engine. If McLaren and Ricardo aren't prepared to consider repairing the engine (rather than replacing it) the OP's friend will need to consider a specialist. These guys do a lot of hill-climb race engines (http://nicholsonmclaren.com/) but there will be others.

Also as above, another reason to buy and maintain the McLaren warranty on older 12c's.

As another thought, if the original engine has failed is there an opportunity for an upgrade? The car's value is going to be impacted if the engine is replaced, so why not look at an upgrade to 650s spec?

isaldiri

18,523 posts

168 months

Monday 31st July 2017
quotequote all
The Surveyor said:
As another thought, if the original engine has failed is there an opportunity for an upgrade? The car's value is going to be impacted if the engine is replaced, so why not look at an upgrade to 650s spec?
Lack of cooling. when the 650 was released there was definite reference to increased cooling capacity and the 12c can and will overheat on track in very warm weather as it is.

The engine replacement though is pretty much like gearbox replacement, it's a plug and play unit sent from Woking and the powertrain is designed to come out without a lot of fuss. The cars are mass produced and not collector cars either so the whole matching engine number thing like Porsche GT cars shouldn't apply in the same way I'd have thought. If gearbox replacements aren't considered to impact the car's value, the engine should be much the same?

DaveOrange

882 posts

209 months

Tuesday 1st August 2017
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I take it the car does not have a warranty?


MclaesLaren

123 posts

93 months

Tuesday 1st August 2017
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Replacing the engine is a big issue whereas there is no support from ML regarding ECU and other car electronics. Woking has the ECU Control software and it´s not handed out to others than ML resellers.

So, when you swapped or repaired the engine you might face that the car will not perform to 100% since ECU need upgraded software.

Your engine's computer will definitely have a code/s stored in the engine's computer memory bank. Entering new flash is not done that easy since most ECU has encrypted Flash-memory. And, yes, ML has that too.