MINI Cooper Forum banner

R56 Cooper S Chain Tensioner Death Rattle

4K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  hassanov 
#1 ·
Hi All,

After making myself paranoid by doing too much research online, AFTER, id bought an R56 Mini Cooper S, 56 plate; I came across the chain tensioner issue and after listening closely to my engine on cold starts, convinced myself I had the problem. Booked it in at Mini Stratstone in Harrogate for a full service and asked them to also look into the chain tensioner issue.

They serviced it for me, said it had been low on oil. They were very good and helpful and I bought some oil from them after they advised me that it uses a lot and needs to be kept on top of. But with the chain tensioner issue I felt kind of fobbed off. They said they didn’t think anything was wrong with it but if I still thought there was an issue in the next few weeks, bring it back and drop it off the night before for a cold start test.

Convinced there was still an issue, I carried on surfing, came across a garage in Leeds called Mad4Mini and gave them a ring. They said they knew about the issue and fix a few of them so bring it in. Had it booked in for Saturday morning, brought it down and they opened her up and sure enough, there was a problem. They were very good and showed me everything and explained it. Chain tensioner and the timing chain both need replacing, something was moving which should not have been and something on the other side of the engine was up about half an inch which should not have been bolted down, which needed doing. Not the worst he’s seen he said but it certainly needed some work. Going to cost me just short of £600 and got it booked in for next week. Hopefully it will be all sorted and sound much better, I’ll report back how it goes. Also hoping I’ll get it covered on the warranty, but either way this is a job that simply has to be done. Certainly annoyed that Stratstone in Harrogate never bothered to look though.
 
See less See more
#3 ·
i had exactly the same issue with blackburn, they changed the oil and said they changed the tensioner. i wanted the chain and guide rails changing too. I'm sceptical as they said they did the service for me, i have been on holiday for 2 weeks and now the car says it needs a service. makes the dealer ship look pretty poor.
 
#11 ·
work done

Followin gon from the work I had done a few days ago at mad4mini in leeds, they did a great job, very happy. It sounded very bad before but now it sounds so much better and isnt jerky around 2000rpm anymore, very happy, recomend mad4mini to any mini owners up North in the UK.

Heres my car from thier facebook page:

Cant link yet, havent made 15 posts :(

heres the desc anyway:
This 2006 R56 s is suffering from death rattle - broken timing guides resulting in a timing jump and poor running - new chain and guides ready to be fitted
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top