MG3 Timing Chain Saga, It Gets A "New" Engine. Part Two.

The MG3 that broke 4 valves in the last video gets a second hand engine. What could possibly go wrong?

[@gazzafloss]

Steve, the more I see of the Chinese timing chains the better I appreciate the rubber timing belt and "clearance" engine of my '99 Mazda. Timing chains used to last the life of an engine, (maybe get noisy, but), not so these days.

[@pistonbroke]

This one shouldn't have gone again if it was done properly the first time. Seems these days there are a lot of timing chain failures on a fair few makes and models. I don't know what these designers are thinking sometimes. BMW, Ford, JLR ingenium engines all suffer with chain or belt problems.

[@turnerairlie]

​@Piston Broke Garage is that why used Discovery Sport are so 'cheap' 2nd hand (in Australia)?

[@simonbromhall7977]

​@@pistonbroke your good at what you do wish you could sort my mums mg3 out

[@johncoutts9237]

Jesus this takes me back to my rover 800 dealership days with decokes and adjusting clearance S happy days

[@brentsmith5647]

Brilliant man love watching and learning thank you ❤️👀👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@markbrittle3127]

Hi Steve thanks for showing the tappet really interesting I’d asked my local MG dealer and they said they were hydraulic 😆reason I asked is mine seem to be a bit noisy now and then having had a fair few Rover cars with K series it was common on them clearly not the case with the MG I was just told to add lifter treatment won’t be doing that then 😃 Enjoying the videos 👍🏻👍🏻

[@pistonbroke]

If it's rattling it's usually the chain, nothing else goes wrong with the 3 engine, well not from what I've seen anyway.

[@stevewaghorn2029]

Are the chains on these engines made by the same people that make the ones for GM and VW?, seen a lot of engines where the chains fail before a timing belt would need replaced. Chains used to be a non service item.

[@pistonbroke]

I don't know who makes them. I don't know what's going on with timing chains these days, they're made of chocolate. A lot of high end stuff (bmw, merc, jlr) all suffer with chain failure. It shouldn't happen.

[@grahamforster9812]

You seem to love the big jobs. Bit of advice if possible got my heads off discovery 3 /body off.. The turbo to exhaust manifold does not have gasket . but they sell a kit with one would you put one in or put back same as original. P.s 5 broken glow plugs this job keeps get bigger and bigger . But watching your videos have help so much. SO BIG THANKS.

[@pistonbroke]

They don't have a gasket as standard. If you still have a genuine turbo then clean the mating faces and refit wihout the gasket. Land Rover don't sell a gasket as it's not supposed to have one. I've seen aftermarket face fit turbos and they can blow at the joint, hence why you can buy a non standard gasket.

[@grahamforster9812]

@@pistonbroke many thanks

[@roversteve53]

When I watch videos like this with all the wires and pipes to disconnect in tight spaces, I walk pass my Range Rover classic 300 tdi and pat the bonnet, hope the cold is better soon .

[@pistonbroke]

This one is quite simple compared to a lot of modern stuff.

[@jonathanedwards3702]

Hi Steve, I am trying to change the engine on my MG3 1.5 but i can only find engines that have two cam sensor (15S4C) as the top next to the oil cap, whereas the engine i have (1S4U) only has one on the rocker cover. Do you think it may be possible to still use this as I am struggling to find an engine that runs! Thank you for taking the time to read this

[@pistonbroke]

Pre 2016 engines are like rocking horse doo doo. I have spoken to someone that used the later engine and just left the exhaust solenoid in but not connected and it worked fine. Not tried it myself though.

[@jimmy6754]

Love the video mate, I know a lot of machinics give out about the job with parts and delivery of stuff and other stuff,ups and downs with every job, but I would love to be a machinic, I also like the way you use that micrometer, I'm a fitter tuner by trade and the click wheel at the back, alot of people don't use it right,and they get the wrong readings, A1,👍see you dragged the heist out🤣🤣👍👍👌

[@pistonbroke]

Yep, I've seen people wind them up tight and it goes way out of calibration. Yeah hoist this time, I'm not struggling with a trolley jack again, dam near lost it last time, if it wasn't for the driveshaft holding it, it would have fell right out.

[@christopherlyons21]

Did you move to a new workplace. Don't see them two dogs. Great work.

[@pistonbroke]

No, this is where I work weekdays. The garage with the dogs is my mates place where I occasionally do some work for him or myself. I haven't been over there for quite some time.

[@rabk5702]

Excellent work top notch Tec 😁😁👍👍

[@pistonbroke]

Thanks 👍

[@brentsmith5647]

Brilliant video thank u 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@swiftsilentdeth4498]

Very interesting and great to see content about this car. I have a 2019 mg3 which revs high and for a long period when starting from cold. The revs will not sit steady until the car is driven for 10 mins. Have you ever come across this?

[@pistonbroke]

Not something I've seen before so I wouldn't know without looking at the car

[@urbancyclist4280]

Will the same engine fit in and work with 2 sensors where the cam shafts are .a mine has one and all the ones for sale have 2

[@pistonbroke]

I've heard it will. Never tried it myself though. Leave the exhaust solenoid in place but leave it disconnected.

[@michaelcarydakis790]

how many km till this needs doing

[@exploringsydneyandbeyond9059]

I have the later 2021 mg3 bought new which shouldn’t have timing chain issues , with 5,000km full synthetic oil changes and driven respectfully what would be a rough life expectancy I should achieve on these engines from your experience , thanks in advance . Love your videos .

[@pistonbroke]

They're good engines, very good in fact. Serviced properly they will easily exceed 150,000 miles. Highest mileage one I've seen is 170,000 miles.

[@exploringsydneyandbeyond9059]

@@pistonbroke wow , Thankyou for such a quick response, currently watching part 3 , thanks again , I absolutely love my little mg3 , always believing in proper maintenance, quality oils and filters and driving nicely , using power when needed but without flogging the little engine , thanks again .

[@theun-personing5674]

Alright dude, grand job as always. May i ask if you know the dimensions of the flexi pipe. Mine is leaking and mot due soon. trying to find out anything online is a chore. Would something like 45mm diameter and 200mm length be in the ball park?

[@pistonbroke]

When I get a chance, I'll measure one.

[@jonnyduncan7056]

Top work, but normally, you'd do a water pump at the same time as the timing chain?

[@pistonbroke]

Why? You'd only replace it if it's driven by the chain. No need to take it off and as I said in the video, it spins freely and it's not leaking. I'm trying to save the customer money. It's costing enough as it is without replacing parts it doesn't need.

[@lyndengrant1657]

I do like your videos involving the MG3 as I've got a 2013 model which I've had from new and is dealer serviced plus by myself. I was wondering if the timing chain replacement is part of the MG service schedule one year? I've checked the head size of the adjuster and it's bigger than 17mm so I take it it's not the uprated chain although the car starts and runs fine and has 50k miles. I do hope that replacement engine runs ok as it sounded like a diesel on the video!

[@pistonbroke]

No it's not in the service schedule. It's supposed to be service free but there were issues with the early versions.

[@lyndengrant1657]

@@pistonbroke Thanks for letting me know about the timing chain on the service schedule as this year will be it's 10 year service! You definitely have seen a good mix of problems with them! Did you ever go down the route of a remap for your 3?

[@pistonbroke]

No I haven't got around to it. Ended up taking the sports exhaust off and putting the standard one back on. It failed it's MOT on emissions. Lambda reading too high because of the bigger bore causing it to suck air in. Rag over the tail pipe would have brought it down but the tester wouldn't do it.

[@lyndengrant1657]

@@pistonbroke Interesting regarding the exhaust as I've got a Scorpion stainless exhaust on mind and it gets through its MOT ok. Like you found they have an improvement over 4k RPM but still no rocket ship! Bring on the MG4 twin motor XPower edition if ever we will see one!!

[@pistonbroke]

X power is coming out later this year but you didn't hear that from me!

[@AndreiDomingosDelatorre]

Tengo problemas con un MG se sale de punto la cadena que estará pasando

[@geoffoliver6788]

How many miles had that Slope engine done? Even the flywheel looks like it will be cattle trucked soon with those hard spots. I know they have problems but I shall stick with PSA diesels !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@pistonbroke]

I'd rather have one of these over anything with a PSA engine in it.

[@anthonyockelford1667]

Looking forward to the next update!!

[@BBS_Robski]

how do you rate them swivel sockets Steve ?

[@pistonbroke]

Brilliant. Much better than using a seperate swivel because if the socket comes off the bolt it's not going to fly off and smash you in the face.

[@BBS_Robski]

@@pistonbroke I don't suffer the socket in the face because the Snap on Impact UJ I use has a pin detent (not ball), I just liked the look of the swivel sockets & probably don't really need them anyway...... you know what it's like with tools 😀

[@pistonbroke]

You do need them, you just don't know it yet.

[@BBS_Robski]

@@pistonbroke PMSL that could well be true !

[@billb3444]

Great video Steve. Always hated working on the floor/deck in my job. Those shear bolts on the ECM are a bit overkill. Take care of your health mate you got to drag that body around for quite a few years yet. Thanks for posting it. 👍

[@jimmy6754]

What do you think of that dewalt gun? If you can do a video on diy tools to buy for a diyer that would go good to viewers I think👍

[@pistonbroke]

Dewalt gun is brilliant, tons of power and if you're not carefull it will snap bolts. It's heavy though.

[@jimmy6754]

@@pistonbroke I've done it already change a wish bone🤣🤣🤣

[@scotty6346]

MG Chinese crap, Buy at your peril!! 😂

[@pistonbroke]

Far worse cars out there. I've had an MG3 for 4 years and had no trouble with it. The ones that slag them off are the ones that have never owned one.

[@swiftsilentdeth4498]

I've had nothing but problems with my MK2 and always a battle with the local dealer to get stuff sorted under warranty.