Yeah.....
I paid over $6k last year to get my timing chain guides replaced. In the last couple months I was getting the (chain slap) sound. I ordered a new tensioner(thats real easy to replace) and took it apart expecting it to be broke. To my disbelief.. it was fine. I thought about the guides being messed up, but thought it was impossible since they were just changed a little over a year ago. Anyway... I took the oil filter out.. and it was caked in aluminum flakes.
Next step... dropped the lower oil pan and found a bolt from the oil baffle laying there(with threads on the threads)..a little pin that holds the guide to the block(sheered from the bolt) and a little piece of guide. OMG.
I immediatly started ripping the front of the motor apart. Baggin and taggin all the bolts. We took the first timing case cover off and we saw it. One of the main hex bolts that hold the guide in place was COMPLETELY backed out. It must not have been torqued all the way or something. We poked it with a screw driver.. and a huge chunk of guide broke off. I was devistated. Soooo.. We finished breaking the front of the motor down. All guides but one were completely shot. The other pin bolt was also sheered off but was still stuck in the guide so it never fell out. Not that it would have mattered anyway. The only guide that was good was the one the tensioner pushes on.
So... I am real understanding and usually don't cause drama or whatever. If something isn't fixed to my liking... I will usually finish the job myself. I was planning on buying the parts untill I was cleaning off my vanos.. and I notice a piece of ear from the cam gear broken off inside. When I looked up the price to add it to my list... it was $1k. Too much. So I put all the broken pieces in a box, along with photos of the bolt backed out(you cant get a tool on it where it was at when I took the photo).. and went down to the dealer. I showed the service manager my box of parts... and he was pretty shocked. Without hesitation he offered to pay for the parts. He also asked if I wanted them to do it. Not this time I said. Just let me have the couple "special tools" and if I need instructions.. print them out for me.
So.. here I am putting the car back together. It wasn't that bad. Especially because we had everything bagged and labeled. That is untill it was time to time the car. It took SOOOO many tries. But it never would come out right. We thought we had it.. put the entire car back together... and drove it.. just to get fault... Cam B bank 1 too ******ed.
We had to take it all the way back down to the valve covers. Also take out that Vanos. (These SC'd M5's have WAY more under the plenum so its more time consuming..) Anyway.. We still couldn't figure it out untill.... We realized that in order to check the timing.. you need to position the cams into their intitial position. Witch means.. you need to install the vanos...then set the cams.. then you need to re-pressurize the vanos and pull the cams into position. Its not set the cams... then turn the motor a few times and check. It doesn't work like that. Well.. it still wouldn't line up. But we figured out the vanos splines have to be ALL the way up the the vanos while the car is at top dead and the cams set. Every time we rolled the motor.. you could watch those splines suck in. We had to figure out how to keep the splines in place while setting the cams. Well... anyway.. we got it. Car was finished today. I went back to the dealer to return the special tools... and the techs were REAL impressed.
So as a form of my appreciation for them not offering to come out and help... and also "real" appreciation for the use of tools and print outs...
As I was pulling out of their service area....
I dropped the clutch and did a pretty heavy smokey burn out. Not just the burn out where you hold the rev at 5k... no I would rev through 3500-6500... "Rap.....RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAP....RAP,RAP.....RRRAP. For a good 45 sec or so.
Smoked out the whole shop. 20-30k sq ft. Pretty funny. Then drove off.
Lesson learned........
6k was a rediculous amount of money for this job. For the techs who have done vanos and cams before.... its crazy. Especially on a stock M5. My car has a ton of extra stuff like the blower, blower bracket, all the injectors anf fuel rails, and intercooler under the plenum...ect. If I had to do it again... 4-5hours to rip it down.. then maybe a day to put it back together. No big deal. I feel like a stock M5 would only take 1-2 hours to rip down.
In these photos you can see how well the oil filter actually works. One side full of crap.. the other side barely anything.
Also.. if you look right infront of the screw driver you can see the backed out bolt.(I think caused this whole thing. We lock tight'd(blue) all the guide bolts this time.
Then on the photo where you can see the entire chain... Look closely at the Inlet cams gear. You can see the broken tooth.
Then finally... all buttoned up.
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