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      08-11-2022, 09:36 PM   #67
Tommy68
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N20 N26 Timing Chain Guide Check Using 0iiwak Bore Scope With Front and Side Camera.



https://www.amazon.com/Oiiwak-Waterp...f_=as_li_ss_tl

This may be the best solution for checking timing chain.
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      08-17-2022, 11:21 AM   #68
AF4iK
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My car is at 90,000 kms and has been making the whining noise for some time. In the last few thousand kms it has gotten noticeably louder.
Note, the motor was replaced a week after I bought the car (used) a few years ago. The replacement motor had 25K less on it so really the motor has about 65,000 kms.

I checked the timing chain through the oil filler and it feels tight as a drum. I'm barely able to budge it with my finger. There is a bit of scoring on the chain and the guide is a dark orange.

If it weren't for the noise I wouldn't be too concerned but it's gotten pretty loud to the point where anyone I drive by will turn their head.

I just hope it lasts long enough for me to get rid of the car.
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      11-27-2022, 05:43 PM   #69
Whitecrane
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I hate to revive the thread but here I am. I read every page beginning to end, and I'm concerned. I own two of these cars. A 2015 228i and a 2015 X1. Is there concensus the problem is a tensioner and that replacing it will get you a new design that doesn't fail? Is there any agreement that visual inspection by camera endoscope is useful?

Can't afford an engine swap right now lol.
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      11-27-2022, 06:36 PM   #70
Opie55
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Whitecrane View Post
I hate to revive the thread but here I am. I read every page beginning to end, and I'm concerned. I own two of these cars. A 2015 228i and a 2015 X1. Is there concensus the problem is a tensioner and that replacing it will get you a new design that doesn't fail? Is there any agreement that visual inspection by camera endoscope is useful?

Can't afford an engine swap right now lol.
First, pretty much everybody agrees the problem was addressed by early 2015, so it might depend on your production dates. But more importantly, in my view anyway, is that there was some earlier change made as well in late 2013. I learned of this timing chain issue shortly after I bought my 2014 X3 in early 2017 and read every thread I could find on it. By then there were numerous reports of failed X3 engines, but every single one was a 2013. I raised that observation in threads at the time, and people said that maybe 2014s did not have enough miles yet. Whatever sense that may have made by early 2017 (not much), it makes no sense now. It is impossible that in several model years of identical cars that virtually all reported failures are in one year. Here I am nearly 6 years later and I just got home in that same X3 and have mostly forgotten about the issue.
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      11-28-2022, 09:15 AM   #71
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Opie55 View Post
First, pretty much everybody agrees the problem was addressed by early 2015, so it might depend on your production dates. But more importantly, in my view anyway, is that there was some earlier change made as well in late 2013. I learned of this timing chain issue shortly after I bought my 2014 X3 in early 2017 and read every thread I could find on it. By then there were numerous reports of failed X3 engines, but every single one was a 2013. I raised that observation in threads at the time, and people said that maybe 2014s did not have enough miles yet. Whatever sense that may have made by early 2017 (not much), it makes no sense now. It is impossible that in several model years of identical cars that virtually all reported failures are in one year. Here I am nearly 6 years later and I just got home in that same X3 and have mostly forgotten about the issue.
Mine has a build date of 4/15, and needed replacing last year at 97k mi.
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      11-28-2022, 11:07 AM   #72
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gav1ndica View Post
Mine has a build date of 4/15, and needed replacing last year at 97k mi.
Every issue that can happen to a car will happen to some cars regardless of whether there is a known "problem." But how many 2015s that have had the failure have you seen reported vs. the dozens of 2013s?
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      11-28-2022, 02:29 PM   #73
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Opie55 View Post
Every issue that can happen to a car will happen to some cars regardless of whether there is a known "problem." But how many 2015s that have had the failure have you seen reported vs. the dozens of 2013s?
I'd be inclined to attribute the stretched chain and brittle, cracking guides to a known manufacturer's fault rather than sky fairies. Especially on a vehicle with immaculate maintenance and regular 5k OC. Other N20's with the 4/15 build date have reported this issue as well, and are included in the 100kmi warranty extension by BMW concerning this very problem.
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      11-28-2022, 11:28 PM   #74
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Both of my cars were built in 06/2015. June. I guess I'm safe? I wouldn't mind replacing the tensioner as a preventative measure but you guys are telling me it was the guides, not the tensioner. So I don't think I should do anything apart from listen carefully to the engine when I start it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gav1ndica View Post
Mine has a build date of 4/15, and needed replacing last year at 97k mi.
Did your engine blow up when you needed the chain replaced? How did you know the chain was bad? Was it making the noise?

Some have suggested that more frequent oil changes help the chain keep proper tension. Any truth to this? Sounded very pie in the sky to me.
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      11-29-2022, 01:35 AM   #75
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gav1ndica View Post
I'd be inclined to attribute the stretched chain and brittle, cracking guides to a known manufacturer's fault rather than sky fairies. Especially on a vehicle with immaculate maintenance and regular 5k OC. Other N20's with the 4/15 build date have reported this issue as well, and are included in the 100kmi warranty extension by BMW concerning this very problem.
Not attributing anything to sky fairies. The fact is that the number of 2013s reported to have the chain failure is waaay out of proportion to what it would be if three model years were identical.
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