Firstly ,im sorry for posting this in the wrong section ,(probably) anyway the reason im angry is that my mrs whom shall remain nameless has been driving her 02 mini cooper r50 ? around with only the smallest amount of oil in it for a few weeks ,no I didn't check it , so now even with oil in it it sounds like a bag of spanners ,there is a very slight tappet noise coming from the top which im not so fussed about ,but the problem around what I presume is the timing chain is a little more concerning ,its like a rumble fairly low ipitch and not constant but every 15 seconds or so I can leave the engine running walk 20 ft and still hear it ,hopefully its not so serious ,hope and praying !!! the car still goes well and its not effecting the overall running ,timing chain tensioner ??? please take the time to give us an opinion thanks chaps
:cornut: I can't help you so I'll just 'bump' you and keep you near the top until one of our mechanical gurus comes along. GOOD LUCK! Jason
Sorry to say, but the damage has been done. No oil kills engines. You may get lucky & find it is only one part that has been damaged, very slim chance. Good luck. :fingerscrossed:
I'm sorry but it does not sound good. How low was it? Did the oil light come on? If it was low but still had enough oil to be picked up by the pump you may be ok. If you have not changed the oil do it immediately. When you change the oil check it for metal shavings. If the noise is a hard thumping it may be your main bearings. Do not run the engine till it is checked over. If the car has good oil pressure then it may not be to bad. But if you have damaged the main or rod bearings and contune to drive the car you will do major damage. Best be on the safe side. Good luck let us know how it turns out.
update hi chaps thanks for help ,good oil pressure runs well ,just nagging noise still there ,however no oil light didn't come on ,Mrs is going to get someone to look at it today I hope ,well she better :mad5: by the way does this 02 cooper have the same type of timing chain tensioner as the cooper s ,as I've seen a u-tube video on replacing it ,and im hoping this may have failed thus causing the noise ,yes clutching at straws:mad2:
Yes the 02 Cooper timing chain & MCS timing chain are the same. At least they look that way to me. How many miles on your wife's Cooper?
:cornut: Correct me if I'm wrong but the R50-52-53(Pentagon/Tritec engines) didn't have the 'dreaded timing chain oiler failure' and subsequent timing chain failure with eventual total engine failure. This problem was on the R56 Turbo Charged(Prince engine) of which you don't have(but I do and had to have it replaced under warranty. Margi is an 08 R56 BRG MCS/JCWm). Jason
the R53 CAN have a timing chain tensioner issue (know from experience) and it is oil-pressure controlled so it MIGHT have been your problem. But if your oil pressure is now normal and you still hear the noise the tensioner might have gone. If you replace the "usual" one and still hear the noise - check the other side. (you'd have to ask Way of Way Motor Works if you want more details than that...)
Thanks for the reply ,I was trying to describe a screw in plunger type of tensioner ,I presume its like a piston type thing , so it screws into the block from the outside ,but where can I find it on the block ??? ,been to a good mechanic today and he said engine sounded ok to him ,im not being paranoid there is a rumble and I want it gone !! any help really appreciated chaps
Not to be a downer, but lack of oil could cause scoring of the tensioner leading to it not working as it should.
There is a screw plug on the rear of the housing containing the timing chain, beside the oil filter housing. The chain tensioner is under this plug. Parts 6 & 7 below: This is on the far passenger end of the block, where the belt is, etc. The plug is down low, to the right (passenger) side of the oil filter housing. You can't see it from the top side, but you can reach down and feel it. You can most easily access it by removing the wheel well liner. Just did mine this past weekend.
Great info Paul. One correction, all of those pieces are on the drivers side of angry man's MINI. Right hand drive on the other side of the pond. :wink:
Hi ,I don't suppose anyone could tell me a part no for the chain tensioner on the r50 cooper engine ,please dig deep and help please ,
If I wasn't using my phone standing in some ones garage I'd go to realoem.com and look up the info. It's in the engine section for an R50. I'd even hazard to guess some one will do just that and post a picture of how the assembly along with the part number.