Bmw N20 Engine Issues

[dave14x28]

Good to hear.

And I agree with your statement that it is not if, but when.

Which begs the question - when should I expect to have to do it again?

I'm taking it for granted that the new & improved parts are just that, but not assuming it will last 200k miles!

[GTA_G20]

Originally Posted by dave14x28

Good to hear.

And I agree with your statement that it is not if, but when.

Which begs the question - when should I expect to have to do it again?

I'm taking it for granted that the new & improved parts are just that, but not assuming it will last 200k miles!

I'm about to have mine done. Mechanic told me over the phone. Open your oil fill cap. You will physically see your chain and the guides. If they are brown guides. They need to be replaced. Second take a flat head screw driver and attempt to move the chain. It should be tight and have little to no play. If it does. Change

[dave14x28]

sounds like good advice from your mechanic!

I have checked my chain slack at it has ranged from fairly tight like you'd expect to loose enough to lift it up by about the thickness of the chain. That much slack concerns me, and the fact that it changes tells me the old tensioner is not up to the job.

turns out though that the brownish orange-ish color is just from oil exposure over time. There's a YouTube video from 2012 by EuroCarNews that shows an N20 assembly line, and whaddya know the guides are sparkly white just like new ones today.

so the new ones are going to turn the same color eventually, too. I just hope they don't get as weak as quickly. I never would have thought an engine with a timing CHAIN instead of a timing BELT would still need a 100k mile service interval to change it!!

can't wait to see my old ones out next week - I'm expecting the plastic has gotten very weak compared to new ones.

Also want to see any physical differences in new vs. old - I've heard they've reinforced some things differently, and maybe the plastic is a different kind or a better grade of the same kind (but that won't be obvious).

[dave14x28]

on kiloTHREE's earlier post in this conversation - what's most interesting about these other engines is - I see different materials being used, even in the same engine. Some look like they might be metal, some are definitely metal with a plastic liner. Some are still all plastic but look beefier.

So it may not be the plastic's fault that BMW made their guides too light-weight, and made the chain skinny to reduce weight and friction, and then backed off on the tensioner force to reduce friction also. A "perfect storm", a recipe for disaster.

I almost fell out of my chair when I read the part in BMW's N20 technical training manual about the variable displacement oil pump. Maybe "everybody" is doing it these days too, but how complicated!!! And then the pressurized oil is used to actuate the variable valve timing!! Talk about highly engineered... impressive, but they outsmarted themselves and cut some things too close.

[dave14x28]

Originally Posted by GTA_G20

...I'm about to have mine done...

Post if you can about what was worn or failed and what wasn't, and how many miles. Just curious. Thx!

[GTA_G20]

Originally Posted by dave14x28

Post if you can about what was worn or failed and what wasn't, and how many miles. Just curious. Thx!

Dropped mine off at the shop Friday. 283,000 kms.

What I know is :

the valve cover or gasket is leaking. Symptom is smoking at idle and burnt oil smoke in cabin

Timing chain stretched. Rattling at idle and seller It got it from told me it needed to be replaced. Removed oil filler cap and checked slack on chain(lots of movement using a flat head screwdriver to test)

Parts list currently is :

Timing chain kit,chain guides,oil pump chain and chain guides, tensioner.valve cover gasket,oil pan gasket.oil and filter.and sealer

While you're in there parts :

spark plugs , carbon clean/walnut blasting

[Gamb1t]

283k km! Wow! That's impressive. I think at that mileage, the above maintenance/repairs are reasonable.

[dave14x28]

Originally Posted by GTA_G20

Dropped mine off at the shop Friday. 283,000 kms.

Parts list currently is :

Timing chain kit,chain guides,oil pump chain and chain guides, tensioner.valve cover gasket,oil pan gasket.oil and filter.and sealer

While you're in there parts :

spark plugs , carbon clean/walnut blasting

If it's not too late:

At that mileage, consider coils in addition to plugs? Especially if plugs are in bad shape, which puts even more demand on the coils.

Also I had my two VANOS "solenoids" replaced, as they appear to be one-time use "torque to yield" bolts that hold the sprocket to the camshaft. Plus they're quite complex, with orings and moving parts to advance/retard the timing.

Also I had the accessory belts replaced (regular PS belt and a serpentine belt).

[Teutonic]

Originally Posted by GTA_G20

Dropped mine off at the shop Friday. 283,000 kms.

What I know is :

the valve cover or gasket is leaking. Symptom is smoking at idle and burnt oil smoke in cabin

Timing chain stretched. Rattling at idle and seller It got it from told me it needed to be replaced. Removed oil filler cap and checked slack on chain(lots of movement using a flat head screwdriver to test)

Parts list currently is :

Timing chain kit,chain guides,oil pump chain and chain guides, tensioner.valve cover gasket,oil pan gasket.oil and filter.and sealer

While you're in there parts :

spark plugs , carbon clean/walnut blasting

You are one lucky guy thats for sure. What year is your X1?

[GTA_G20]

Originally Posted by Teutonic

You are one lucky guy thats for sure. What year is your X1?

Funny thing is I bought it at this mileage. It's a 2012. Mileage never bothered me maintenance does. Oil changes etc. the chain should have been replaced already I know but it also should have failed if no oil changes had been done. So I paid next to nothing for it and have a very reasonable repair bill to have it running. Will post more once I get it back

[BimmerTKO]

Hey Teutonic, what an insane journey you've been on. I can't believe this. How could this be covered in the U.S. and not in Canada? Just blows my mind (no pun intended) simply from a safety perspective!

Thank you for sharing. I do love the X1. Bought it and am happy with it, but this creates anxiety for me knowing it may happen to my car any day.

Check this out, maybe you can recover some of the costs with this Canadian class action lawsuit: https://www.strosbergco.com/class-actions/bmw/

[Teutonic]

Originally Posted by BimmerTKO

Hey Teutonic, what an insane journey you've been on. I can't believe this. How could this be covered in the U.S. and not in Canada? Just blows my mind (no pun intended) simply from a safety perspective!

Thank you for sharing. I do love the X1. Bought it and am happy with it, but this creates anxiety for me knowing it may happen to my car any day.

Check this out, maybe you can recover some of the costs with this Canadian class action lawsuit: https://www.strosbergco.com/class-actions/bmw/

Thank you for the thoughts. I know all about class action lawsuit.
BMW paid in the end all the expenses.