[jeddo45]

Hi all

I took my car to my indy to diagnose an issue. At around 2.4k RPMs there is a very noisy rattle that comes from the front end of my engine. It goes from 2.4k RPMs to about 4k RPMs and goes away while I'm on the gas. However if I am coasting down the RPMs at anything above 2.4k RPMs, you could hear the rattle. Hopefully I explained this well enough. (It's not wastegate rattle for sure.)

My indy is saying its a timing chain guide that is broken. It's apparently a common issue with the N54 but he said it's not worth it to fix because of the high cost. He quoted at least $3k. He said I'm fine to beat the crap outta the car. Nothing is going to happen. He actually said it would be more cost effective just to drop a lower mileage engine in the car.

I want a second opinion (or honestly however many I could get). Has anyone else experienced this? It's a really annoying rattle that makes driving the car un-enjoyable. The part is cheap. I guess it's just labor intensive?

Thoughts? Appreciate the help. Thanks.

[alpinec1984]

are you sure your serpentine belt tensioners are pristine? That sounds a lot like what you describe, although the tech may very well be right.

[LimpBimmer]

I'm dealing with this on my N43 at the moment
You're right, it's labour intensive work, but there are also a lot of new parts involved - of the complete job is done properly, then a whole load of gaskets have to be replaced, the subframe and sump have to come.off, and a.load of fixings have to be replaced.
It's likely a full days job for a garage to do, so at least 8 hours labour, plus parts which they'll charge you several hundred dollars for.

[lookalikehuuh]

So I have seen some timing chain guide failures on N54s but mostly on high mileage examples that are using the HPFP Helix overdrive adapters. Are you using a similar thing that causes more than normal vibration on the timing chain?

I don't recall seeing too many issues with timing chain guides on N54... although BMW does seem to have chronic timing chain issues with nearly all 4 cylinder models due to their inherent imbalance. Which makes sense why LimpBimmer is having issues, since he has a 4cyl engine that was never sold in the US.

For $3K I would definitely get a 2nd opinion from another reputable shop.

[jeddo45]

Originally Posted by alpinec1984

are you sure your serpentine belt tensioners are pristine? That sounds a lot like what you describe, although the tech may very well be right.

I had all my tensioners and belt replaced around 5k miles ago

[jeddo45]

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

So I have seen some timing chain guide failures on N54s but mostly on high mileage examples that are using the HPFP Helix overdrive adapters. Are you using a similar thing that causes more than normal vibration on the timing chain?

I don't recall seeing too many issues with timing chain guides on N54... although BMW does seem to have chronic timing chain issues with nearly all 4 cylinder models due to their inherent imbalance. Which makes sense why LimpBimmer is having issues, since he has a 4cyl engine that was never sold in the US.

For $3K I would definitely get a 2nd opinion from another reputable shop.

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

So I have seen some timing chain guide failures on N54s but mostly on high mileage examples that are using the HPFP Helix overdrive adapters. Are you using a similar thing that causes more than normal vibration on the timing chain?

I don't recall seeing too many issues with timing chain guides on N54... although BMW does seem to have chronic timing chain issues with nearly all 4 cylinder models due to their inherent imbalance. Which makes sense why LimpBimmer is having issues, since he has a 4cyl engine that was never sold in the US.

For $3K I would definitely get a 2nd opinion from another reputable shop.

Nope. no overdrive adapters no mods in any way shape or form to this system.

I'm sitting at about 113k miles and it's never been serviced.

[jeddo45]

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

So I have seen some timing chain guide failures on N54s but mostly on high mileage examples that are using the HPFP Helix overdrive adapters. Are you using a similar thing that causes more than normal vibration on the timing chain?

I don't recall seeing too many issues with timing chain guides on N54... although BMW does seem to have chronic timing chain issues with nearly all 4 cylinder models due to their inherent imbalance. Which makes sense why LimpBimmer is having issues, since he has a 4cyl engine that was never sold in the US.

For $3K I would definitely get a 2nd opinion from another reputable shop.

Originally Posted by lookalikehuuh

So I have seen some timing chain guide failures on N54s but mostly on high mileage examples that are using the HPFP Helix overdrive adapters. Are you using a similar thing that causes more than normal vibration on the timing chain?

I don't recall seeing too many issues with timing chain guides on N54... although BMW does seem to have chronic timing chain issues with nearly all 4 cylinder models due to their inherent imbalance. Which makes sense why LimpBimmer is having issues, since he has a 4cyl engine that was never sold in the US.

For $3K I would definitely get a 2nd opinion from another reputable shop.

Yeah it's definitely new to me. never heard of this issue until it happened to me so needless to say I'm bummed.