01 BMW X5 4.4 rough idle, misfire codes P0021, P1341,P1351,P1357,P1353,etc Help

**bimmerfan620** · 12-10-2015, 10:03 PM

My wife called me this morning and said her car was chugging at the light and every time she was stopped, but when she would start driving it seemed to smooth out. So when I got home from work I hooked up the scanner to it and it pulled all of these codes which are in the pics attached as well.

P0021 - A camshaft position timing Over-Advanced? or system performance Bank 2

P1341 - Multiple Cylinder misfire with fuel cut-off

P1351 - Misfire cylinder 5 with fuel cut-off

P1357 - Misfire cylinder 8 with fuel cut-off

P1353 - Misfire cylinder 6 with fuel cut-off

P1355 - Misfire cylinder 7 wth fuel cut-off

P1349 - Misfire cylinder 4 fuel cut-off

I did some research on the forum and through google and found it could be a bad cam position sensor, so since my problem with the timing is stating Bank 2, I tried switching the CPS sensors back and forth to see if I the codes would change from bank 2 to bank 1 but no difference. after clearing the codes, and starting it up it flashed the SES roughly 30 seconds after idling with the same codes. I checked the intake boot between the MAF and throttle body or cracks and it is in great shape, checked the hose connections and they look tight and fine. I did notice that when the motor is running there is a whine which sounds like it is coming from the drivers side valve cover front where the timing chain and vanos is. I would like to think this is as easy of a fix of replacing the Vanos Solenoid which is juts below the cam position sensor but I have a feeling it is bigger than that. Any help with this would be very appreciative as being down a vehicle is going to be a problem.

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**HeliHover** · 12-11-2015, 03:36 PM

Any odd sounds when you start it?

How many miles?

Any recent maintenance?

**bimmerfan620** · 12-13-2015, 01:03 AM

I am leaning heavy towards jumped timing on cam gears as Bank 1 (passenger side) exhaust was normal out of the tail pipes, only misfires from bank 2 (drivers side) exhaust. I took the car for a short drive, even running it on the highway to near redline at WOT and it was running smooth with a small amount of power less than normal. Upon returning home and turning off the engine in the driveway, then starting the engine again I noticed I was getting misfires on bank 1 as well. There was also a whine from the front of the valve cover (timing chain/Vanos) area on bank 2 which almost sounds like a roots style supercharger.

It was then my conclusion that the timing chain guides had decided it was time to go. So to avoid destroying a perfectly running motor, I haven't started it again and plan to pull the timing chain cover off in the next few weeks after ordering the guides and cam tool kit.

**bimmerfan620** · 03-21-2016, 09:26 AM

It's been a while since i've posted a response and wanted to update for the record that the U shaped center timing chaing guide was what broke apart causing the timing issue and all of the codes in the first post to be thrown. as of last night I just got the Jesus bolt(crank damper pulley) off with heat and PB blaster as well as the lower timing cover finally.

I just ordered the bentley manual for the E53 X5 so it should show up in a few days. I am now at the point where I need to ensure my camshafts are in the correct position for TDC on the compression stroke.

I believe I currently have TDC set on the exhaust stroke as the cam lobes for #1 piston do not appear to be facing up and inward like the attached diagram shows.

currently at TDC - my intake camshaft on the drivers side (bank 2) is not aligned so that you could install the camshaft holding tools. the square at the rear of the camshaft is advanced which is causing me to think I need to turn my motor around 1 rotation.

For those that have tackled this procedure before on this motor is there any advice on actually locking the cams and removing the old chain/guides through to installing the new ones? Very concerned about getting the vanos gear set correctly as well.