How many of you have this on your engines? When I started my M20 rebuild, I noticed the wires for both pulse sensors and the oil pressure switch were haphazardly crossing the front of the engine. This didn't seem like the BMW way of doing things. When I got the upper timing cover off I found the remnants of a broken clip in a keyhole slot in the cover. Turning to RealOEM I found there were indeed supposed to be two clips on the cover...but wait, there's more! There was also supposed to be a little wire guide that fits into the clips. BMW calls it a cover, but those who've been around aerospace would call it a raceway.
I ordered up new clips and a raceway from BMW and noticed a couple of things right off...first the clips and the raceway were made out of pretty thin plastic. If the wires were put in place once and weren't disturbed, it would probably be OK. But one of the wires is the cylinder ID sensor, which is replaced when you put in new plug wires, and the whole thing needs to be removed when you replace the timing belt. You also need to remove the fan pulley to really give you access to the raceway without breaking it. Most flat rate guys would just break it, along with the clips, which is a shame because the raceway is pretty cool. It has 3 little channels for each of the 3 wires it protects, and the wires go in a particular order that is logical. If a mechanic feels guilty about breaking it, they might just throw on a couple of zip ties...but that's just so...inelegant!
So check your engines for this small but vital set of parts, and while you're at it make sure the rubber seal is intact on the left side of the timing belt cover...another easily overlooked piece.
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