Help! I'm having trouble installing a new timing chain.

[romeomike]

The only advice I can offer at this point would be to remove the adjusting arm and either work on it off the vehicle or replace it.

Adios for now,

RM

[vegaskyle]

You have to loosen that one, but there's another 13mm bolt that is hidden under the G in Gatorback in the photo. You have to loosen the "hidden" one so you don't break the "teeth" on the 19mm nut or more usually on the adjusting arm.

I got both of those but it still wouldn't move. I'll take another look at it when I have some daylight and patience to work with.

[romeomike]

You have to loosen that one, but there's another 13mm bolt that is hidden under the G in Gatorback in the photo. You have to loosen the "hidden" one so you don't break the "teeth" on the 19mm nut or more usually on the adjusting arm.

[vegaskyle]

Congrats on getting your engine to rotate as it should. With all the work you invested in that, it's possible to forget to loosen the 13mm bolt at the other end of the adjusting arm on the power steering pump.

I recently changed all the accessory belts on my 91 318i, and the hardest for me to get on was the AC belt, for what that's worth.

Merry Christmas when your BMW gives you the time to enjoy it,

RM

I'm glad it's done. It wasn't any fun to be ripping into the timing case for the second time in two weekends. Not to mention last weekend was nice and sunny and today was cold, windy and rainy. I finished in the dark trying to hold a flashlight under my chin. May be part of the reason I didn't get the belt on, wasn't too patient at that point.

Is this the 13mm bolt you are talking about? Right in the middle of the picture. (Picture from http://zoso.no-ip.org/cars-318i.html)

[romeomike]

Congrats on getting your engine to rotate as it should. With all the work you invested in that, it's possible to forget to loosen the 13mm bolt at the other end of the adjusting arm on the power steering pump.

I recently changed all the accessory belts on my 91 318i, and the hardest for me to get on was the AC belt, for what that's worth.

Merry Christmas when your BMW gives you the time to enjoy it,

RM

[vegaskyle]

BOOOOM FIXED!!!

I removed both timing case covers, everything still looked good. I then took off the cam sprockets, chain, tensioner, crank sprocket and lower guide. I didn't see anything that looked out of place. I took the harmonic balancer/pulley assembly and put it on the crank and tried to turn it by hand. Low and behold it moved! I then took a rag and wiped out the lower part of the case before putting the crank sprocket back in and found a piece of the old chain guide about the size of my thumb nail. I reinstalled everything and it cranked over by hand no problem. I guess that little piece of plastic was interfering with the crank sprocket in some way. Hard to believe it was enough to keep me from being able to make it budge.

Only other issue was not being able to get the power steering belt back on. I loosened the screw on the bracket but the pump wouldn't move. The bracket that holds the spark plug wires on the side of the valve cover also broke. Other than that I'm just happy to have this car back on the road.

[vegaskyle]

I would think not. The motor would still turn over.

Im going to southern utah university. after christmas if you dont have this cleared up ill stop by on the way up there and take a look at it haha why not

I appreciate the offer. Hopefully I'll have it figured out by then but I'll let you know.

This weekend I'm going to tear it all down and start over. If I can't get it figured out then I'll take it as a sign I need to pull the motor and start on a 2.1L stroker (prob not a great idea seeing how a timing chain swap may prove to be beyond my abilities but whatever.)

At this point I feel like the chain must be binding up on something. It turned over before, the timing is dead on, the tool didn't break off in the bell housing, not in gear, and the plugs are out.

[Dj Buttchug]

I would think not. The motor would still turn over.

Im going to southern utah university. after christmas if you dont have this cleared up ill stop by on the way up there and take a look at it haha why not

[vegaskyle]

your plugs are out right? Trying to turn a compressing engine over by hand is fucking hard. I don't see your flywheel binding.

Did you take off the cam gears. With buttchug as the timing may be wayyy out of whack.

The plugs are out. It doesn't give an inch, not like it would be if it were compressed. The timing is dead on.

Don't pull the cams.

Pull off the upper and lower timing cover to check the chain. If you got it up over both cam gears, then it's unlikely that it's binding.

That is the next steep.

Do you think there could be a problem with #1 and or #6? Could it have gone together wrong?

[KenC]

Don't pull the cams.

Pull off the upper and lower timing cover to check the chain. If you got it up over both cam gears, then it's unlikely that it's binding.

[Dj Buttchug]

i say pull the cams completely and try to turn it over.

[Falcone]

your plugs are out right? Trying to turn a compressing engine over by hand is fucking hard. I don't see your flywheel binding.

Did you take off the cam gears. With buttchug as the timing may be wayyy out of whack.

[vegaskyle]

flywheel jammed somehow (which you checked already)
so far out of time that the valve train is touching a piston.
jammed up timing chain

did you remove the cam gears from the cams or did you remove the cams with the gears all as one piece??

I just took the gears off the cams (followed the e36 bentley). I can't see how its out of time. The arrows point up, the lobes point at each other, the squares at the back are dead parallel to each other. I marked the gears and bolts and put everything back as it was.

I'll pull the bottom cover and see whats what. I sure don't want to deal with the AC compressor and bracket again. If I didn't live in vegas I'd toss that thing.

The only other thing is the flywheel. Is there any way to see if something is binding?

I appreciate all your help.

[Dj Buttchug]

its possible it would give some. the only other thing i can think of is that your off time and a valve has come in contact with a piston not allowing the motor to crank over.

from my experience the chain would get caught in between teeth and would bind up.

its gotta be one of three things.

flywheel jammed somehow (which you checked already)
so far out of time that the valve train is touching a piston.
jammed up timing chain

did you remove the cam gears from the cams or did you remove the cams with the gears all as one piece??

[vegaskyle]

check the lower timing case. sometimes itll get jammed up in the guides too. It happened to me several times when I was building my engine.

If it ends up checking out there I honestly have no idea... :(

I don't think I have a choice but to tear down the whole thing and start over. How does the case get jammed up in the guides? I figured with the locating dowels it would stay clear of the guides and chain.

The plug on the bell housing was missing and I thought maybe something got jammed into the flywheel when I locked it. That theory went out the window because the first time I locked the flywheel it was 180* off TDC and I had no problem turning it after that.

If the chain on the bottom guide was the problem wouldn't it give a little? Right now it feels just like it is still locked. It doesn't budge.

Thanks for the help.