Hello

Very simple, after you have done the timing of the camshaft gears and before final tightening the bolts on the gears. The tool should be inserted through the opening for the tensioner. Screw the main body of the tensioner tool until it stops against the opening. Do this until hand tight. You then take the threaded spindle and turn it in until it contacts the sliding rail for the chain. The threaded spindle takes an 8mm socket. The perfect tool to use is a small torque wrench, which can give a torque of 0.5mm. In the absence of a torque wrench, you will have to tighten the spindle while at the same time observing the chain on the gears as it moves the gears to the left. Tightening the chain and removing unnecessary slack. 0.5nm is a very , very light torque, so be careful not to stretch the chain too far by pulling tightly on the spindle. After it is done, torque the cam bolts, remove all locking tools and rotate the engine twice, with the tension tool in place. Finally, return the engine to TDC, reinstall all locking tools, only then you can remove the tension tool and install the tensioner. Hope this helps.

I was thinking for a moment there your #4 injector was delivering too much fuel at idle, but you said you switched without luck. I remember once we had a similar problem on same engine, it was discovered that the signal wire to injector 4 was mixed with injector 3, they are very close together. You could have problems with the hydraulic lifter, the springs or the levers as well, whatever it is it's confined to #4. Did you reseat the valves on the head? I'm not too sure what effect removing the VVT Sensor connector would have on the engine and it's values. Never done that before. Once you are out of idle phase, the values will tend towards zero, so it's low speed related. I'll think about it and come back to you. The ticking sound could also be an exhaust leak at the manifold. Worth checking.

It is on the right side of the engine (standing in front) beneath the starter motor. It is protected by a blue plug. Use a light and some patience and you will find it.

@@Anton3051 got it thank you, however I have a new problem as stripped the head on the plugs that you take out to get to the timing chain bolts,,, any suggestions on getting these out, I was thinking weld nut onto stud!

@@richardcockburn512 have to think about it. Tomorrow

Si', lo hice, las levas están configuradas en el pistón No 1. Está asegurado por la herramienta de leva. Míralo de nuevo. Siento haber tardado tanto, tuve que traducir.

The other video is. It's similar but follow the other video.

@@Anton3051 which other?

@@JustCause968 I have two videos on youtube. Bmw n46 cam timing.

BAUM Tools or you can find it online

Just contact me when you are ready.

@@Anton3051 I have sent you email on the email provided on your KZbin channel. Thank you!

@@SagaSynthetics send to. Letsrideeuroauto@gmail

Hi! Do any of you still have them? Also looking for a deeper understading 😁

Thank you. Yes I did forget to mention that.

No they are not. While the timing procedure may be similar, the tools are not.

Cannot be diagnosed by guess. You need to take your car to a proper BMW specialist who would be more than capable of diagnosing your problem. You have already spent good money on bad diagnosis. Put an end to it before you find yourself in a bottomless pit.

@@Anton3051 thank you will do so.

I do not understand

Do not understand what you mean by shoot. If you used the special tools and followed the instruction then all should be well. Go back and check please

I did use all the tools, it is a bit hard to explain. The camshaft can rotate a few degrees freely in the vanos toothed gear and when rotating the engine you can see the camshaft rotate faster than the gear at some points. It makes a weird and loud clicking noise like a spring

@@mitchellbrink81 I have no answer for that. The spring effect could be coming from the scam unit, if you say it rotates a few degrees before turning the can. The unit itself may be defective. Look at the exhaust valves when you turn the engine slowly and observe if they are opening.and closing without problems. Your intakes will not open and close much as they are under the influence of the adjusting motor and eccentric shaft but still observe them just to rule out any problem in that area. Next make sure that you pinned the crankshaft at TDC in the correct hole under the starter. If you went into the wrong hole you will have problems with the chain.and the can unit may attempt to move a few degrees before becoming hard to turn.

mitchell Brinkie, If the camshaft is rotating independently of the cam gear then your cam bolt is loose/broken. These are one time use bolts that stretch when installed, once removed they won’t stretch next time or will snap.

snivesz32 Thanks for your response. Eventually found the problem, very stupid tho. Oil filter was installed incorrect which made that no oil pressure was being build. And so the VANOS gears would skip internally.

A little white cream sludge on oil stick. Apparently correct oils have been used, vanos etc. Temperature of engine is good.

send the video so I can see and hear

there is a difference, send me the last 7 digits of the VIN.

@@Anton3051 hi AG30410

I mean same tools

@@baboukhechine204 not really

2C45 is an oxygen sensor code it will not cause the problems you are now experiencing. The 2A88 will, it suggest a cam shaft crank shaft correlation problem. Could be the exhaust adjustment unit, the solenoid, the camshaft, the basic timing. To start you may want to recheck that the static timing is correct. Timing pin in the hole under the starter. cam shafts locked on the head. Camshaft sensor wheels locked at the front. I cannot say for certain if ISTA/INPA can tell you if your timing is off, perhaps but I have never had to do that. Check the basics again first.

@@Anton3051 Thanks for reply. This morning I had very very rough start and the engine shutted down for three times after dropping rpms below 500 in few secs after start, 4th time i held the rpms at to 2k and then it lasted. Then engine ran very smooth, no limp mode, no engine light, good consuption. In INPA I found the adaption of output cam 57,8 (shall be between 58 to 80) and input cam 109,5 (115-137). Could this problem be caused by bad adaptations or bad software? Previous owner bought "chiptuning" to increase kW and nm and I did not erase the old adaptions after repairs, only resetted throttle body and let VVT be taught (ignition ON for 10s). Thanks for any advice before taking valve cover off.

@@Anton3051 BTW if it was bad timing, the power and torque shall be reduced and problems would last even with hot engine, right? Or even limp mode?

@@honzaj995 values look good you should 'clear and reset adaptations after a repair like that.

@@honzaj995 did you do head job also? the n42/ n46 is notorious for cold engine starts and vibrations along with misfired. Once the basics check out fine you may need to turn your attention to ignition/injection for a cold engine. Also make sure the coolant temperature sensor is reading the temp accurately. Monitor through your diagnostic machine but check basics first.

I do not think so, never came across a stretched or defective chain in all my repairs. Just 'go back and check everything pretension the chain to 0.5nm with cam units bolts hand tight. Make sure as well that you have the cams locked at the rear, If this is all done then you should be OK. Let me know the outcome.

Also place all of the slack from the chain to the tensioner side, meaning you must pull up on the chain when installing the intake unit to remove all slack between the intake unit and the crankshaft sprocket.

@@Anton3051 Thanks for the quick response. I've redone it all about half a dozen times now and it's still really tight.. What seems to be happening is when I remove the exhaust cam locking tool from the back after setting timing, the exhaust cam turns slightly away from the inlet cam, which is what is causing the chain to become really tight between the cams. The flywheel is locked with cylinder 1 at TDC but the exhaust cam doesn't sit perfectly flat, I have to turn it with a spanner slightly to fit the locking tool.. is that normal? I redid valve stem seals so the cams did come out so it's possible I've not put things back correctly. Any ideas?

@@alexgibson7369 It is normal to use a spanner or similar to move the cams into position. The problem could be the quality of the tool used to lock the cams. I have seen some tools with excessive clearance at the point where the cam is held, this allows for movement away from the intended point. If you have the cams set correctly they should not move when the tool is put in place. Further there should be no clearance on the exhaust side between the cam fixing tool and the head surface. On the intake side between the tool and the head surface. The tools should sit flat. Further if the both tools are not secured to the head in the centre they will tend to lift. Check again and let me know.

@@Anton3051 I think the tools are ok, there doesn't appear to be excessive clearance. They sit flat and were screwed down to the head. I've noticed that the exhaust valves on cylinder 2 are slightly open when cams are locked, which is why this cam wants to rotate backwards when the tools are removed, resulting in tightening of the chain. Should any valves be compressed at all while in TDC? I've possibly done something wrong when reinstalling the cams or maybe this is all normal and I'm just being paranoid about the chain being too tight?

send me your email. send to [email protected]

No need to remove the sump. You can purchase the open chain with a link from BMW, however you will have to thread it through. I hate that job. You can buy the closed chain in which case you will have to remove the vibration damper and the central bolt securing the hub to the crankshaft. You can make a holding tool to arrest the hub and prevent the engine from turning under the force required to loosen the central bolt. DO NOT TRY TO DO THIS WITH THE TDC PIN IN THE FLYWHEEL. Once that is done remove the chain with the chain guide. Replace the guide as well. It is simple.

@@Anton3051 thanks for the speedy reply, the problem is the guide rail broke and I think the chain has stretched or slipped so I am going to replace the whole lot, I've got the timing tool set, do you have any vids of the complete process of replacing chain?

@Emilie DiFolco sometime today I will send you pdf of procedure.

@@Anton3051 can you send it to [email protected] please. Thanks again

will do

90 ° twice is 180°. The bolts are tightened twice at 90°.

Used for dismantling the levers and springs. If they are not damaged in any way, leave it alone.

Anton3051 Yep, 90 degrees plus 90 degrees = 180 degrees. So, unless I'm mistaken, what I'm seeing you do is: - install locking tools, camshaft adjustment unit bolts (snugged up only) and timing chain pre-tensioning tool (to 0.6Nm) - take each camshaft adjustment unit bolt up to 20Nm, then add 90 degrees of tightening - remove chain pretensioning tool and install the real chain tensioner - remove camshaft locking tools - rotate crank two revolutions, to put cams through one revolution - reinstall cam locking tools, in preparation for; - the second 90 degrees of tightening of each camshaft timing actuator mounting bolt ?? (though we do not see this last step in the video) Is that about right? Or is it OK to simply do two 90 degree tightens on each camshaft adjustment unit bolt, without rotating the engine between each one? You've got me wondering! :-) Thanks.

No load position is when there is no tension on the spring at the end of the shaft. Tension is when the spring is facing the intake side, no tension when the spring is at the exhaust side. The engines are small capacity and not turbo or super charged making them a bit lazy compared to your muscle engines or one that is blown. If you want to extract more power use the gears in manual mode to extract maximum power through the RPM range. You will feel a difference. I am sure the job was well done. Usually first turn of the key is what I expect.

No oil behind the cam unit to cam. No anti seize on bolts for the Cam. No sealant to the grooves of the crank seal. PTFE must be absolutely dry, as well as the crank area where it sits. Cam bolt torque 20nm joining torque then 90 degrees twice for each bolt. It is advised to use new bolts here. Crank hub bolt 300nm, again it is advised to use a new bolt. The upper chain guide ( way to the top by the cam units) should go on first without the chain so there should be no bolting issue. The chain is then pulled up and placed over the guide before installing the intake unit.

Give me a few minutes and I will get back to you. One question, you said you have no compression, did you check it with a gauge?

Can you tell me if you have compression and if you used a gauge to check it,

@@Anton3051 Sorry sir for late answer. No I didnt. I will do it tomorow.

So I changed timing chain today and car runs fine now.

Very good news, that's what it's all about.

Cams can go at any point. No timing marks just make sure you put intake unit on intake shaft and exhaust unit on exhaust shaft. The important part are the sensor wheels attached to both cam units. With the cams locked at TDC on cylinder #1 and the timing pin is inserted in the flywheel in the correct hole all that is left to do is mount the blue bar to lock the sensor wheel at the front. Tighten the tension tool at the exhaust side of the engine to 0.5nm, this will tension the chain. The bolts holding the cams must be hand right at this point so the tensioner can do its job. Once you are done with that, torque the bolts to 20nm and then to an angle torque of 90° twice for each bolt. That's it.

No thread locker please. very difficult to get valves to rock on this engine. #1 is discovered by placing the tool to the back of the cams. The rounded portion of the cam should face upwards, if the flat side is up turn again. About the motor just insert it and turn the worm gear by hand until it seats against the bracket. Tighten to 10nm. Make sure the eccentric shaft is in the no load position you can use a19mm open wrench at the back of the shaft to achieve this. Good luck and let me know when you start the engine.

you will have to first of all re do the timing along with a new top chain guide. Remove the oil filter and discard, shavings in the oil filter means that the filter most probably did its job by preventing shavings entering the lubrication passages. However, it could also mean that the filter due to the shavings prevented oil flowing to the main bearings and the camshafts. Can you identify the area of the knock? The broken chain guide would have caused excess slack on the chain which the chain tensioner would have attempted to correct but remember the adjustment of the tensioner is not infinite. Carefully re do the timing to make sure all the slack on the chain is gone and re start the engine. At the same time while the valve cover is off, take a look at the cam journals where it is possible to see and look for any shavings on the journals of exhaust or intake. Shavings there would indicate damaged cams and journals. We once had a similar problem but the main bearings and the crankshaft was good and undamaged. Also drain the oil out of the oil pan and look carefully for shavings as well. Here is something you could try, it is out of the normal practice so do not engage it for too long. If you are sure there is oil in the engine, clean oil, remove the oil filter completely along with the cover. Stand over the oil filter housing so you can observe it and have some one start the engine briefly. Observe the oil as it fills the housing (may make a mess). If it does you do not have a problem with the oil pump or debris blocking the screen on the oil pick up tube. That is good news if it is the case. Then after checking that there is no damage to cams and journals, replace the filter (new) and the oil filter cover and crank the engine to see if oil is present in the oil lube line on the exhaust and intake cams. If there is oil on the head, replace the valve cover and start the engine. If you are still knocking, well you may have to go further into the engine.

@@Anton3051 thanks alot for the advice I will have a good look before driving the car again

sorry for the late reply was unwell. No the sump stays in place. But if you are replacing the chain you will have to remove the front bolt and pulley.

@@Anton3051 hi can you tell me how i do the timing on this as this is as far as ive got ? ive got the timing kit and ive replaced the chain and guide please help me my email is [email protected] many thanks

use an 8mm socket and ratchet and just take up the slack on the chain.

@@Anton3051 thanks for your answer i will do it like that. do i need to do the balancing shaft? because in the TiS they are working also with the balancingshaft. and how is the crankshaft sprocket attached ? thanks

You lost me there, what is the balancing shaft?

At the bottom of the engine there are balancing shafts . You see it in the manual

www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e46-318ti-com/repair-manuals/11-engine/11-31-camshaft/41iXZ4y

send me you email address and I will send you a document.

@@Anton3051 [email protected] thank you so much, bro!

@@pavelhorak1888 ok will send in a while.

@Tarik Sont OK. I will do so at first opportunity. It is holidays here now. Thanks for the enquiry. Which country are you from?

which one do you want N45 or N46 or N43