Had my chains replaced on my 116d a few weeks ago. Had the same exactly noise for 4-5 seconds and then it would run normal, after some months the noise not longer go away so I stopped the car and replace the chain immediately.
I have the issue, 116d 193.000km. Glad I see this video because I was told it was nothing to worry about... Next days I'm hitting the BMW dealer straight before everything breaks. Are there any issues related on using the car with loose timing chain for some months?
Recently bought a 2007 X3. The previous owner experienced a timing chain fail at 160K. BMW replaced the engine at nil cost. New engine is on 47K now so hoping to get another 90/100K which will see me out. By the way that car is in absolutely super condition and drives like new.
Good to hear that BMW replaced the engine in it for free, just keep the oil changes fairly frequent (every 10k miles or sooner) and the chain in the new engine ought to last the life of the car. They're great cars when taken care of
I have a question, recently bought a BMW 320d with a N47 . You can hear the chain rattle when the car is hot and cold but it’s not so violent. Should I worry about it ?
If you can hear it you should probably get it changed, if you can hear it when the car's hot it's even more likely to be the actual chain that has stretched rather than the tensioner not working properly. I don't think you should leave it too late, at that mileage it will probably need doing in the next 50k miles anyway
I currently have my car at a mechanic shop changing the timing chain of a Bmw F20 2013 and i came across your video while looking for how they do actually change it
@@aak9042 currently living in Spain so the total was 1100 euros (timing chain kit + oil, coolant and filters were changed and there was some kind of gasket that needed to be replaced
I've started having this with my 2009 N47 engine. Noise is only there when engine is cold. Goes away after it warms up. How difficult is it to change these changes yourself...I mean are they easy to access to hidden under loads of stuff? Thanks
They're very difficult to change, buried right at the back of the engine, ideally the engine needs to come out of the car. Not the easiest job to attempt at home
@@louier9033 leave it to ze germans to put the timing chains on the rear of the engine. Anyone who has even a glimmer of a thought about service puts that in the front.
@@peterjohnson9438 ironically it was meant to never fail.. that is why they put it in the back, regardless though if you are an amateur even if in the front that aint job for you, so many thing can go wrong, you can miss stuff etc. I would leave to professional
The sound difference is very minimal but I can hear it. Before timing chain replacement, every engine tick is different pitched, one is louder another is quieter etc... After service, engine tick sounds a lot more linear and consistent. Can I ask which timing chain kit did you buy? Febi, FAI or another one?
Hi, I can't say there was any noticeable change in vibrations from the engine when the timing chain was changed. Vibration is in the nature of most 4 cylinder diesels, they are not the smoothest engines in the first place.
I had this exact same noise, turned out to be a heat shield hitting the exhaust, the strange thing was only did it like this when I first started up at idle
Dude same, my 440i makes a weird sound at start ups, almost like a fan hitting something underneath my car n then slowly fades away.. only on cold start ups tho
I imagine it would slow the wear on the chain, especially if your oil hasn't been changed in a while, but if it's making this noise it's stretched enough to already be weakened, so I wouldn't wait too long to get the chain replaced
@@louier9033 Thank you! I've spoken to a mechanic and they seem hesitant to do it as they're saying that a lot of the time if they haven't been properly serviced the tensioner mounts become worn and never really go in right and they can still make the noise, would you agree as this has made me consider whether to get it done or not? Apologies for the simple explanation.
@@deanwalker2824 Honestly, I don't want to claim to know enough to be able to give a good response to your question, but if your mechanic reckons that your noise could be solved by just changing those, I'd be interested to hear whether that fixes it. Unfortunately I didn't get to speak to the mechanic who replaced my timing chain when I picked the car up, so I can't say which specific part was causing my noise, but it could well have just been that too
I have this same noise but not on start up I only have it when the cars revs are between 1-3k revs at idle it’s fine on start up it’s fine at higher rpm it’s fine
Still sounds like bad timing chain, I think on earlier N47 engines it did typically only rattle above idle. At least in your case you can demonstrate the noise to a mechanic and they might be able to tell you for sure
I like BMWs but really hate this chain replcement thinng.I just bought a 2015 F10 525d Xdrive,at low mileage.But I am scared for this chain problem.I thought timing chain is superior to timing belt.
Isn't this the engine with the plastic timing chain tensioner? Was meant to be a service item but so difficult to get at they deemed it as life of the car. So many manufacturers make this same mistake that leads to big bills. Lots of pressure is put on them to deem service parts life of the engine to appease lease companies who don't want to spend out on expensive servicing. The classic was the Alfa 156 who's cambelt interval was moved from 36k to 72k to appease lease companies. This car was a huge success for Alfa as lease companies snapped them up. Sadly snapping of belts was the legacy for that car in lease car world.
Anyone know how long it takes to fit a new timing chain? Just trying to work out labour cost? Or if anyone has had theirs done i the UK, how much did you pay?
Mine was 6 hours labour but I know some places it's more than that, total cost including clutch + flywheel £1999 but just timing chain kit on its own would have been about £1200
@@ThatGuySupaHai I had it done at a BMW specialist recommended to me by my local garage that I usually go to, unfortunately you'll struggle to have the timing chain kit done for less than £1000 nowadays
@@louier9033 I don't know if I have a chain issue as it doesn't sound like a knocking noise or rattling, but sometimes on idle the car will start shaking slightly, do you know what this could be? Also sometimes when driving the engine / exhaust sounds way louder like I've got a V8 😂 then it goes back to normal?
I have the same noise on my Bmw f30 318d 230k/km.when I start the car I hear the noise 4-5 seconds and it runns normally Shoud I care about timing belt ? I baugut it when it was 180k/km Same noise....
@@Politicallyincorrect1984 clips 1+2 are with bad timing chain and 3+4 are with good timing chain, are you definitely sure youre listening to the right ones? If so try using different headphones/speakers, most people are able to hear it quite easily
Quite often with videos of people showing noise differences, I can't hear it, but there clearly is a difference here. The rattle that's present for the first 5 or 6 seconds upon starting the engine isn't there after the chain is replaced
