BMW 1-series Timing Chain snapped

BMW 1-series Timing Chain snapped

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Discussion

nct001

733 posts

134 months

Sunday 24th September 2017
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rallycross said:
iSore said:
. The problem has got worse with every generation - the N43 was the nadir and the N20 is just starting to show signs of it.
It's good to know whats really going on with these, I generally avoid buying any with the 177 bhp 2.0d years 2008-2011, and any N43 petrol 2009-2011 but whats your view on the lower bhp 2.0 diesels and are the later 2.0 cars still having problems with chains (4 cyl)?

Best advice buying a used BMW is go for a 6 cylinder petrol or diesel they are far superior than the trouble prone 4 cyl models. what a shambles from BMW.
Not necessarily the six cylinder is same as n47 but with two more cylinders and they still can go... tech rebuilding a x5 3.0d told me this...

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

256 months

Sunday 24th September 2017
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iSore said:
B47's seem okay on the chains so far, but are having major dramas with the EGR valves jamming open causing melted manifolds and even fires. N20's not immune to chain problems, a few have had snapped guides.

But they're not bad to change - I'd do them at 50k.
You know things are getting stupid when you're advised to change a timing chain more often than many belts!

I changed the chain and tensioners on my Civic Type R at ~135k miles simply for peace of mind as they are prone to stretching, but the parts that came out showed no significant signs of wear and looked like they'd do another 135k. This is on an engine that regularly saw the 8500RPM red line.

Bimmer57

1 posts

74 months

Saturday 22nd September 2018
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Hi, sharing my experience with my BMW 1 series timing chain snapping. My timing chain snapped in March 2018 when I was driving on the motorway at 70mph. I looked online and found out that I had the n47 engine which should have been recalled, however mine never was. I rang my local BMW dealership and they confirmed that my car was on the recall list but it was never carried out.

After days of going back and forth with the dealership, they agreed to cover 75% of the costs, leaving me to pay around £850. This was unaaceptable as it was their fault my car was never recalled. So I wrote an email straight to the CEO of BMW in Germany, the following day I received a call from the UK head office agreeing to cover 100% of the costs. The things they took into considration were: The fault, the cars age and mileage, service history and ownership history. My car was 10years old with 90,000 miles and a full BMW service history. The fact that I had full BMW service history helped.

Don’t let the dealerships bully you into paying a contribution, that’s how they make their money. My dealership claimed that as I had not contributed, I had no warranty. The head office gave me 2 years warranty on parts and work carried out. Hope this helps.

Edited by Bimmer57 on Saturday 22 September 21:32

DailyHack

3,185 posts

112 months

Saturday 22nd September 2018
quotequote all
Sorry to hear about your 1er lunching it's chain, but a full BMW service history will probably mean 15/20k oil services...am I right in thinking this?

As this has been proven to exacerbate the problem further, no engine especially a roller chain setup should go more than 8/10k between oil services, 20k is ridiculously long, hense why many other manufacturers have dropped them (Mazda had series issues with long intervals, then changed them), BMW themselves have dropped them a little because of this.

I've driven X2 N47 engine vehicles and have one now, a 318d 2012 @ 100k, oil has been changed every 8k religiously since I aquired it @50k.

My other was a 118d 2008, again religiously changed oil every 8k - sold this @178k last year.

Check out Honest John website for more information buddy

AppleJuice

2,154 posts

86 months

Saturday 22nd September 2018
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61 plate will be using a N47D20 lump which does have a reputaton for snapped timing chains.

Edt: already covered!

Deep Thought

35,839 posts

198 months

Saturday 22nd September 2018
quotequote all
DailyHack said:
Sorry to hear about your 1er lunching it's chain, but a full BMW service history will probably mean 15/20k oil services...am I right in thinking this?

As this has been proven to exacerbate the problem further, no engine especially a roller chain setup should go more than 8/10k between oil services, 20k is ridiculously long, hense why many other manufacturers have dropped them (Mazda had series issues with long intervals, then changed them), BMW themselves have dropped them a little because of this.

I've driven X2 N47 engine vehicles and have one now, a 318d 2012 @ 100k, oil has been changed every 8k religiously since I aquired it @50k.

My other was a 118d 2008, again religiously changed oil every 8k - sold this @178k last year.

Check out Honest John website for more information buddy
yes

Oil changes @ 8-9K are key and weekly checking / topups of oil.

fxman

69 posts

80 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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Deep Thought said:
Oil changes @ 8-9K are key and weekly checking / topups of oil.
A weekly top up would suggest you have a leak.

I haven't changed oil in more than 6-7 years owing to low mileage driving and too busy. No chain problems here. But mine's a 3 series.

underwhelmist

1,860 posts

135 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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fxman said:
A weekly top up would suggest you have a leak.

I haven't changed oil in more than 6-7 years...
eek Doesn't it degrade with time, regardless of mileage?

to3m

1,226 posts

171 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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fxman said:
A weekly top up would suggest you have a leak.

I haven't changed oil in more than 6-7 years owing to low mileage driving and too busy. No chain problems here. But mine's a 3 series.
The BMW tolerances for oil use seem to be pretty slack. My 330i has used some oil, despite there being no obvious leak, to the tune of about 1L/1,500 miles. I thought this was a bit much, but apparently even 1L/1,000 miles is acceptable! - which seems ridiculous, but if that's so, what can you do? Fingers crossed it was just due to the rather hot and dry summer we had.

(I've had two BMWs previously, a 320d and a 330d, neither of which used any oil at all.)

I expect only a few people drive 52,000 miles a year, but 26,000 miles a year is very plausible, so a topup per fortnight, and checking each week probably wouldn't hurt.

Anyway, whatever, but this might suggest that if you have a BMW that requires manual oil checks, and you don't do them, then perhaps you should.

fxman

69 posts

80 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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underwhelmist said:
eek Doesn't it degrade with time, regardless of mileage?
Donno. I think degraded oil runs more smoothly. My belief is if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

fxman

69 posts

80 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
quotequote all
to3m said:
The BMW tolerances for oil use seem to be pretty slack. My 330i has used some oil, despite there being no obvious leak, to the tune of about 1L/1,500 miles. I thought this was a bit much, but apparently even 1L/1,000 miles is acceptable! - which seems ridiculous, but if that's so, what can you do? Fingers crossed it was just due to the rather hot and dry summer we had.
Just because it's not obvious doesn't mean no leak. It's there alright. Mine leaks a litre 1.5 to 2k miles. I caused the leak when I pry-bar'ed open the engine cover and bent it a bit at the corner. So the oil seeps out and goes over my AC compressor.

to3m

1,226 posts

171 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
quotequote all
It's possible, and maybe even more likely than that. I just took it to my usual garage when it needed the oil changing, told them it had been using some oil, and let them decide what needed doing. The engine bay was completely dry, apparently, so the decision was to do nothing.

If there's really something wrong with it, it will only get worse over time, I'm sure, so eventually the problem will become obvious...

anonymous-user

55 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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AppleJuice said:
61 plate will be using a N47D20 lump which does have a reputaton for snapped timing chains.

Edt: already covered!
Come back British Leyland all is forgiven.

anonymous-user

55 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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DailyHack said:
Check out Honest John website for more information buddy
Using HJ for car advice is a terrible idea, it’s chock full of “bloke in the pub”, “common sense innit” garbage.

The BMW timing chain debacle was a design flaw.

DailyHack

3,185 posts

112 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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Never had an N47 engine use any oil, but changing oil @8/9k it probably doesn't give it any chance to loose any.

Mr2Mike

20,143 posts

256 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
quotequote all
fxman said:
Donno. I think degraded oil runs more smoothly. My belief is if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
scratchchin Troll or genuine ignorance?

joropug

2,588 posts

190 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
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I have an f30 n47 (2013) so most of the issues are resolved but for safety I got my oil done early on the first service in my ownership despite it having s free service at BMW I could have used if I'd waited. Reality is itll cost a few hundred extra over the course of 3 to 4 years having a shorter interval but feel so much better knowing the oil is clean and running well.

DailyHack

3,185 posts

112 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
quotequote all
joropug said:
I have an f30 n47 (2013) so most of the issues are resolved but for safety I got my oil done early on the first service in my ownership despite it having s free service at BMW I could have used if I'd waited. Reality is itll cost a few hundred extra over the course of 3 to 4 years having a shorter interval but feel so much better knowing the oil is clean and running well.
If your planning on keeping it yes your very wise, I get the cheapest LL04 spec oil and dump and repeat at my mates garage, does the job.

Problem comes when ex-lease vehicles come out of the BMW network and think a BMW FSH is a good thing, I look between the lines and try and see receipts for interim services, these are very few and far between, but they do exist.

gforceg

3,524 posts

180 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
quotequote all
Mr2Mike said:
fxman said:
Donno. I think degraded oil runs more smoothly. My belief is if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
scratchchin Troll or genuine ignorance?
It gets better. He went on to say;

" I caused the leak when I pry-bar'ed open the engine cover and bent it a bit at the corner. So the oil seeps out and goes over my AC compressor."

Sounds like his motto is "If it ain't broke, break it"

Thats What She Said

1,152 posts

89 months

Sunday 23rd September 2018
quotequote all
gforceg said:
It gets better. He went on to say;

" I caused the leak when I pry-bar'ed open the engine cover and bent it a bit at the corner. So the oil seeps out and goes over my AC compressor."

Sounds like his motto is "If it ain't broke, break it"
If it aint broke, keep fixing it til it is.