N42/N46 Chain Replacement DIY Complete Guide PART #1: Removing chain, Guide rail, Seal & Timing
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- Опубліковано 21 січ 2020
- Detailed DIY guide for replacing timing chain, chain guide rail and front main crankshaft oil seal on an E46 316ti BMW with N42 engine.
Plastic chain rail guides get brittle over time and can break which can cause the chain to jump a tooth on the chain sprockets.
Some of the symptoms of broken guide rail or jumped chain are long crank when engine is cold, hesitation, unresponsive low range operation when cold and increased fuel consumption. Engine will have very low compression when cold.
This procedure will be very similar on other BMW vehicles with N42 or N46 engines: 3 series (316i, 318i, 320i, 316ti, 318ti, 318ci), 1 series (116i, 118i, 120i), X1 series and Z4 series with 1.8/2.0 litre engines.
You must read and understand the service manual before attempting this procedure!
Part numbers:
- chain: 11317505608,
- rail guide: 11317512520, 11317505608,
- chain tensioner: 11318685091,
- VANOS bolts: 11367500574,
- crankshaft bolt: 11237503107,
- oil pan gasket: 11137511224,
- oil dipstick tube O-ring: 11437529257 ,
- oil pickup tube o-ring: 11417507756,
- front radial seal: 11117511395,
- VANOS solenoid o-rings: 11367546379, 11367506178,
- valve cover gasket: 11120032224,
- VALVETRONIC sensor connector flange gasket: 11377502022
Complete parts catalogue: www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select
Tools:
- N42/N46 crankshaft front oil seal tool: tinyurl.com/u7uo595
- N42/N46 timing toolkit. ebay.to/2HR8C9s
- N42/N46 holder and balancer toolkit: tinyurl.com/u4tcd9d
- engine support bar: tinyurl.com/qlkmdhn
Service manual:
- www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e4...
Disclaimer:
BimmerZen assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. BimmerZen recommends safe practices when working on vehicles and or with tools seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of BimmerZen , no information contained in this video shall create any expressed or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not BimmerZen. BimmerZen assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. BimmerZen recommends safe practices when working on vehicles and or with tools seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of BimmerZen , no information contained in this video shall create any expressed or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not BimmerZen. - Авто та транспорт
Ako gledas komentare, svaka cast Slovenac, dobar video, dobar engleski jezik, kad nesto covjek voli onda I dobro radi, ja se ne bavim time ali volim, samo naprijed i mnogo srece. Pozdrav od bosanca
Hvala! 👍💪
Love it ! Great video and very easy and detailed instructions !
My compact engine looks like there was a bomb, i think every plastic is broken. It is nice to see clean engine.
Best video guide, congrats!
Hi Bimmerzen.
I must to thank you for your videos..it was a real support for me...I was changed my valve steam seals and the timing chain successfully. I have a n46 1.8 vvt. engine .
My best wishes for you.
@@The_green_finger I used a locking tool kit for this job..It was a 50 dollars, and everything it was worked verry easy.
Changed my chain and valve seals using ur guide! Great succes
Could you help me setup inpa on my laptop ?
I have recently bought an 2002 e46 318CI with N42B20a that was siting for quite some time, like 2 years and after some time chasing misfires and rough idles/ rattles at startup I started assuming that something is not right with the chain so I looked trough the Oil cap and picked the chain with the small Alen key and guess what, thing had slack for exporting
I'm gathering all the tools and parts slowly hoping to bring it back to life.
Greetings from Serbia👋 keep up the good work.
Great explained. Waiting for the rest. I have a valvetronic 316i 1.8 e46. I guess the procedure is the same. I also want to change my vanos seals when i ll change the chain. I ll love to see that. Great details. Keep it up.!
Tnx!
Me too
Thanks very helpful ❤️
Good video!
just to let you know, the reason you are experiencing this is, you should always start to fit both camshaft tools first and that would have highlighted the fact that then, you would not be able to fit the vanos tool and that again would confirm timing out due to either vanos failure or chain jumped !
I hope this is a good way to explaining things !
PS: I bought your self made valve compress tool and look forward to use it and in my case, i bought my E90 320i 2005 with miss-fire and thought first ignition coil ? turns out my intake camshaft was snapped between 3rd and 4th cylinder and yet she drove me almost two hours home from the location of purchase :-))
Wow, snapped? And what were the symptoms? Hesitant startup, stalls while trying to start after a red light, rattle noise between 1500-2000 rpm? I have the exact same car and I'm currently experiencing these symptoms.
I'm thinking timing chain is at fault, but it can really be anything in that group of parts so I'm not sure.
@@alexerz in my case the Brocken intake camshaft was still together in the cap and as I removed the cap the parts fell out
It is not for sure you have same outcome but if you put timing tools on and one of the side ( either front or back ) doesn’t fit? Then definitely you have the chain timing out
Great video i'll waiting for the other videos... i have a e87 and has the same motor n46 so is very helpful for me... how can i know when the vanos is in good condition ?? ... thanks a lot.
To be honest I don't have much experience with bad VANOS system. I would suspect that symptoms are slow/erratic throttle response, worse fuel economy and camshaft sensor related codes (2781 CDKPH - Camshaft sensor inlet
, 2782 Camshaft Sensor Exhaust, 2731 CDKENWS - Camshaft control inlet - VANOS , 27BB CDKANWS - Camshaft control outlet-VANOS).
Problem is... a lot of other faults can give you similar symptoms.
good information 👍👍👍
Good job 💪💪
nice and informative video. thank you for sharing. my n42b20 is still running strong, it’s actually a really great engine if it has been maintained properly; quiet, silky smooth and torquey. how many km are on this chain? mine has 156000 on it now and I upgraded to the dew revision tensioner when I bought it 3 years ago with 80000km. just curious how much stretch I can expect.
hehe wrote this before I finished watching...
@@FeeeshEP3 Yeah, thats why I compared the old and new chain and put it in the video:D It's a very long video and it's easy to miss...
N42/N46's can be great engines, it's bad maintenance and too long factory 25k oil changes that cause all the issues...
yes. I’ve noticed that a combination of short distance driving and long oil change intervals are destructive for this engine. well all engines, but this one particularly suffers. I would also recommend adding a cleaner of sorts on every second oil change. I use one from liqui moly, it’s been working well for me.
Hello, thank you for the complete and accurate video, it was one of the best, I had a question? Can it be done without opening the oil pan Changed the chain belt?
Thank you! It can be done if you have some luck and experience, but I would not recommend it. If you are not careful you can accidentally rotate the balancing shafts out of timing...
🙏🙏🙏🙏
hey! great videos explaining how to replace a timing chain, but i have a question.
I need to replace my vanos exhaust unit and nothing more so i was wondring how i should do it. can i just take off the top, take out the vanos solenoids , loosen the chain tensioner and then just swap out the vanos unit? or do i need to lock the camshaft and do other things to not mess with the timing?
thanks for help!
This is how I would do it... You will need the timing tool kit. Lock the cams with locking tools, lock the camshaft with the locking pin, make sure the front VANOS locking tool fits as well and is aligned to verify everything is in correct position. Remove top torx bolt on the plastic guide to gain some slack in the chain.Then unscrew tensioner, remove exhaust VANOS bolt and replace exhaust VANOS unit and REPLACE the VANOS bolt (they are stretch to yield single use only). Then screw back the torx bolt (10Nm), screw back the tensioner (65Nm), tighten down the VANOS bolt 20Nm + 180 deg. I am writing this from memory so take it only as a guideline. Read the service manual regarding the VANOS unit replacement procedure before doing this.
@@BimmerZen i will! Thank you so much for the help i really appreciate!
@@TheHowToGetGames No problem! I just spotted an error; " lock the camshaft with the locking pin " should be " lock the CRANKshaft with the locking pin".
Bro,great video. I was a bit worried to do it myself, but after watching your video is nothing difficult! On more thing is it only one hole on flywheel? I got the car where crankshaft bolt wasn’t tightened,so timing is lost. However I adjusted it and I can feel very healthy pressure in cylinders when tightened bolt, hope valves weren't bent.n46
Automaric transmissions have 2 holes in thw flywheel. One larger and one small for the locking pin. If you can't rotate the crankshaft after insering the pin, then you got the right hole.
@@BimmerZen I just saw this one video,quick question can you insert locking pin without removing subframe?
I want to set camshaft to tdc and crankshaft set by checking with screwdriver in cylinder 1 to make more or less tdc. I will check another video as well, thank you it is very useful
ua-cam.com/video/IYn7V3HUK9I/v-deo.html found this your video, man you are the star! Will follow your method to set crankshaft to tdc
@@vladvladimirovich912 Nice. Definitively try and insert the locking pin through the flywheel to be 100% sure you have it in TDC. You don't need to drop the subframe to do that.
The first thing in any vehicle!..: Lock the crankshaft first!! :D
@@Data4664 I think the problem is in the timing! Lock down the crankshaft at the OT than check the camshafts is in the right position! if the timing is correct and the fault code is stil on than replace the sensor! But becarefull!! bmw likes the factory sensor!!! Dont buy cheap sensors because bmw wont control it!
Hello
really struggling with getting the crank hub nut off bought a tool and it snapped how did you make that tool ? any ideas as cannot find one ?
What where the dimensions of you tool and what did you make the circle bit out of? Videos been great help thanks mate
What kind of tool did you use?? Can you paste a link?
Luckily my father made this tool for me from a piece of pipe and a piece of scrap collar. He has a lathe so he could machine the collar to the right dimensions and make the holes for the bolts. I will measure the dimensions when i'm back at my garage.
Not to sure but it only had 2 pin holes being a universal one just bought a bmw one so fingers crossed it will work thanks for the reply also appreciate it
How did you locate new vanos bolts as the kit I bought didn’t come with new ones?
great video, do this steps are the same for a headgasket replacement?
If you are not changing the chain, then you don't have to remove the oil pan and you don't have to suspend the engine from above. You will probably want to replace the valve stem seals as well, so you also have to follow the procedure on how to remove the VALVETRONIC assembly (ua-cam.com/video/WJZ4e_Ku_Yk/v-deo.html) and remove cams.
@@BimmerZen the seals are quite new, were replaced by the previous owner. but the negine is overheating and i think it's cuz of the headgasket. i am in the middle of the teardown procces. i am curious if i have to take the cams out, or can i leave them on the block and just lift the whole asambly , any advice?
how did you resolved the problem with the vanos unit with intake camshaft ... how did you align both together?
I first inserted exhaust camshaft locking tool and untightened exhaust VANOS bolt, then I rotated crankshaft just enough to insert the intake camshaft locking tool and then removed intake VANOS bolt.
@@BimmerZen thanks a lot, i really appreciate your videos and answers
Hi mate my 318ci has 84000 on the clock it runs great, should I replace my chain and tensioner soon or leave it. It's a big job to undertake when there is no issue.
I suggest you replace the plastic chain rail guides and tensioner if it is not the latest design.
@@BimmerZen thanks so much for your help, it's very appreciated. 👍🏴
Hey Bimmerzen, thank you for video. My n42b18 had some strange knocks when i pushed brake even a little, when removed bottom solenoid it seems that vanos chain hit it and scraped of a whole 0,4mm inside of solenoid, any ideas how/why?
Did you check for broken chain rail guide? Also check chain tensioner.
@@BimmerZen thank you, I am going to as I am only starting out, but the engine is pretty cooked out with oil that was not changed, I have inserted NGK plugs and it started to run better, changed filters, soon I am changing the chain with tensioner and related, pouring new oil and running through the LIQUI MOLLY engine flush praying for that to be better, then checking compression if no more knocks in engine, and working on body
Got BMW 316i 1.8l 2003 for 800€, I believe the knocks were the ones that made the owner anxious and they look as a pretty easy fix and matter of money/time
Do you have the drawing or measurements for the crank shaft pulley holding tool? I could make one myself cause it dose not seem very complicated.
Here you go: bimmerzen.com/files/N42_N46_Crankshaft_holder/N42_N46_Crankshaft_holder.zip
Essas medidas servem para fazer ferramenta de travamentos das polias dos vanus ?
Does the oil sump need to be removed for a timing chain replacement?
When the crankbolt is removed, the oil pump sprocket is no longer attached to the crankshaft. This means that balancing shafts that are driven via oil pump can get rotated out ouf position. If you are really carefull and you know exactly what you are doing, then you probably can do this without removing oil sump.
Thanks! Will there be a part 2? And when will it come😊
Part 2 is coming soon. I'm 75% done with the editing.
BimmerZen fixed my valve stem seals also with your guide! With succes ofcourse.
Thanks legend!
@@appelmoes94 Great to hear that!
Hi,
I would like to know the different between N42 & N46 , and how their HP is so different with the same engine displacement. 1995 cc.
Thanks
Too much good
All very well going for Febi or OEM but why are the guides not made of steel so that they do not fail?
Plastic is much cheaper:)
Did u fully remove the subframe or only lowered ? Thanks
You have to remove the 4 bolts and drop it all the way down, but it can still be attached to the controll arms. Check out part #2 for more clear view
How many hours of labour would you charge for a job like this?
I have another question how do you know that the problema was the timming chain system? ... Because my motor is trembling and loses power... And already check the coils and injectors and changes the spark plugs and everything is ok
I measured compression when it wouldn't cold start and it was very low (80 psi instead of 170-ish psi). I then removed the valve cover and discovered that intake cam is out of alignment. That meant that intake valves were slightly open on compression stroke. I did not have this cold start problem ever since I replaced the chain and did the timing.
If you have rough idle, then I would also check for vacuum leaks.
Could be the vanos solenoid valves
Can you replace the tensioner without doing the chain for preventative maintenance?
Yes. Original chain tensioners are weak and will cause the chain to gain slack. Plastic chain rail gets brittle over time so the slack causes it to break. New tensioner will help the rail to last longer, however it might still break eventually...
You removed the crackshaft hub, but what about the oil pump chain? Does it fals down or how is that?
Oil pump chain held up by its chain rail guide. It should not move too much out of position. You still have to align the sprocket to get the central bolt in
@@BimmerZen Ok, thanks! My engine makes a screeming sound from oilpump side, i gues the chain is at it max zo i have to replace the oil pump chain
hola amigo yo a mi BMW hago todo igual pero al acelerar y soltar el acelerador baja las revoluciones y la cadena suena como si estuviera suelta , instalo la herramienta y sigue en punto porque seria ?
Hi, have you got the service manual in PDF format because the link is broken. And have you some measure for the tool you use to loose the crankshaft main bolt to make my own tool ?
Great video with a lot of explain
Change my head gasket noe not starting any more 🤔😠... Was starting for 1 min and stop not fuel coming through injectors. Please can you help me?
Is your fuel pump working? You should hear it prime for a couple of seconds on key on position (but not every single time - it has some sort of interval). You can also check for fuel pressure on the fuel rail valve... If all this is good, then you might have a timing/sensor issue. Check for codes for camshaft/crankshaft sensors,. I think that if DME does not get correct signals it wont energize injectors.
Will this be the same procedure for the N43 (European)?
Yes, very similar: www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e87-116i-sha/repair-manuals/11-engine/11-31-camshaft/IGhSGGT
But you will need the N43 timing tools.
@@BimmerZen Thanks!
I want to know the name of the piece that comes out at minute 13:27 of the video and a page where I can find it to buy it
Oil pick up pipe
Hi how long its took to complete it, i need to do it but don't have any garage
If you are doing this for the first time and you don't have much experience on the N42/N46 engine then it would take you about two days or 10-16 hours. It also depends on the tools used. For example, I have developed a special tool for compressing the springs that makes this job much easier and faster: bimmerzen.com/store
I also broken the same position of this guide rail after I change all valve stem seals.
Same ;x
Are u based in the UK and do you have a garage
What brand socket wrench and sockets are those?
ID Tools. Nothing special, but the set covers most of my needs
O ja cie pierdole, chłopie, za chuja bym sie tego nie czepił, podziwiam cię! =O
Can you re-use crank bolt?
Manual states that it needs to be replaced, it's a stretch-to-yield bolt...
I got rough idling and it feels like my car have no power under 3500rpm.. no faults in dme car always start never broke down .. and it feels like i am driving a corsa 1L
Did you try scanning the car with INPA? Some generic bluetooth scanners don't know how to scan N42/N46 ecu, so you dont get any codes...
BimmerZen I got inpa and ista d nothing just a secondary air fault and didn’t come back
@@RE-so1ml Did you check fuel trims? You should do the easy checks first, like fuel pressure, check VANOS solenoid o-rings, vacuum leaks, coils and sparkplugs, etc.
Btw, my car also didn't have any codes when the chain jumped a tooth and it was also low on low end power, totally unresponsive when cold... so it is a possibility.
Is this a good engine, I plan to buy one?
Not the best, not the worst. Try to get one that had this replaced:
- valve stem seals,
- plastic chain guides,
- VANOS solenoid orings,
- vacuum pump seals,
- CCV separator.
And oil changes were done every 15.000km and at least once a year. Good baseline indicator of the state of the engine is to observe idle operation while engine is up to temperature; if it shakes like a diesel or hesitates on quick gas pedal acceleration, then don't buy it.
Hi does it Ben valves if it jump thee
ua-cam.com/video/lfXQMHYGZLA/v-deo.htmlsi=B4g_3fkeXmXHZZmw
Is it possible to replace a chain without special tools?
You need at least the timing tools. Other tools, like crankshaft handle and balancing shaft timing, you can improvise like I did. You will also need to support the engine from above.
@@BimmerZen My mechanic did it without timing tools. It accelerates slower now. I suspect that timing chain is not installed correctly and OBD scanner reads vanos and camshaft sensor errors.
@@agrizic It's quite possible that your engine is out of timing if he did not use the timing tools. DME will detect if your cams are out of position and set codes.
However: these engines are known to sporadically set camshaft error codes EVEN if the timing is OK due to some tolerances.
INPA gives more data regarding the errors and you can also see real time camshaft position. It even shows you error frequency which can give you more context on how serious this problem is. If positions are out of tolerances they will be in the red zone. You can install INPA and use ODB-USB cable to diagnose this.
If you only have generic OBD scanner, you can try clearing the DME errors. If the camshaft sensors errors come back quickly when you first drive the car, then you probably really have a problem with the timing. If the codes don't come back after the first drive, then its probably just the sporadic error due to tolerances...
The only way to be 100% sure is to check the timing with those timing tools by removing the valve cover.
@@BimmerZen Thank you! I've cleared errors and errors came back. I'll try with timing tools.
@@BimmerZen Problem is solved. Mechanic set timing with timing tools. Car runs great now. Thank you once again.
I writte from Albania and i dont know very well english hope to understand and to help me.I have one BMW 320d 1999.When its cold but no so much have long start after this start can turn off and turn on everything its ok.Nobody can solution for this in my place
Hi! I'm sorry but I have no experience with diesel engines so I can't give you any competent advice. The possible cause of your symptoms seem to be broad, so you will have to find somebody that has in-depth knowledge of your particular engine.
Why you not show how to lock the balance shafts
do you really need to remove the oil pan ?
Well... you can try to remove the center bolt and then reinstall everything back without accidentally rotating the balancing shafts... It might work, it might not. As far as i know, removing the oil pan is the only 100% reliable way.
@@BimmerZen that you for answering , i have learn good thing from you , keep doing this good job , we need to stay away from mecanics all of them de just want to steal your money.
@@BimmerZen I'm sorry i don't understand quite well, the balancing shaft can rotate even if the pin that lock the flywheel is inserted ?
@@biker2485 I would like to know this as well ? the fly wheel is locked so how can it rotate
What is the km of the car?
198.000km
Have questions about the video? Comment below and I'll do my best to answer.
Could you please help me? :( im looking for a 318 from 2008 I think it has the N46B20 and I couldn't find any information about it's reliability, should I get one with 80k kilometers (about 45k miles) and what should I look for if im inspecting one?
@@juanjosesilvagraos7391 i would not recomend N42/N46 engines at all. There's too many details to put it in a comment. I can make a short video on what to look for. ..
Yes please, i would really appreciate if you could make a video about it and also wich e90 3 series should I look for it I just want something reliable to use as daily?
Where did u put the pin for crankshaft?I can't see where it's located
@@z3ngaming600 The special dowel hole for the TDC setting is located on the intake side underneath the starter motor: www.newtis.info/tisv2/obj/4BWyVT7
On engines with automatic transmissions, there is shortly before the special dowel hole (1) for the TDC setting a large bore hole (2) which can be confused with the special dowel hole: www.newtis.info/tisv2/obj/CZexRi7
I have a problem - N46 engine. But tool will not sit flush on the edges. Can't insert a bolt. What could be the reason? www.upload.ee/image/12326208/0-02-05-d6091d5c19568e57f20eee68f5ce8409d261d707c1e673af38947a8e9957b97a_982a8f37.jpg
The bolts on the cams are loose / plates are loose.
If the vanos bolts are loose, try and slide the front locking tool left until it is flush with the edges...?
@@BimmerZen No it won't. It seems like tool is not right. It seems like holes are correct to each other, but not correct to length of the tool. Do you have a caliper? Can you be so kind to verify some of the measurements for me.I reverse engineered my tool in cad. I have numbered them so can answer by numbers . www.upload.ee/image/12334892/tool_diagram.PNG
@@arva1kes Sure, I'm just not sure when I'll be in my garage, it might be a couple of days. I even have a N42 just in process of doing the timing so I can check on that engine:)
@@BimmerZen Cool. Thanks. Mine sitting in the garage too. I can get some other things done like cat replace and wire fix on gear lever and rear hatch in the meantime.
Here is the video of my tool: ua-cam.com/video/bV7dVwKpeMo/v-deo.html
Here are my measurements: www.upload.ee/files/12351257/N42N46TimingTools.zip.html
It seems your tool is a bit different. Did you check your tool is meant for N42/N46 engines?
Can I get your number I got a problem with my engine I'm change the tension belt and my 318ci se 2003 oil light started Flickering IV added more oil but won't stop what could be the problem if a n42 oil light started Flickering
Hi, send me an email to bimmerzenchannel@gmail.com
That's an oilpump or suction pipe
it is not a proper way