Member
New to the forum and hoping to get some feedback on a question regarding the timing chain guide.
I am replacing the head gasket on my 96 E36 329i and after I pulled the head I'm noticing that there is a decent amount of play with the timing guide (the one that is a lever on the exhaust side that the tensioner presses against). With the head on, the play would of course be limited to the 1" channel within the head. There is enough movement (~1/2ish inch) that it could conceivably touch either side of the hole it goes through. I would expect a fully tensioned guide with the chain running to the camshaft to keep this relatively steady. Nothing seems to be broken from what but i can see, but I don't have the timing cover off.
I did want to see if this is normal and I'm overthinking it, or if this amount of play necessitates pulling the timing cover and replacing the guides.
Thanks!
I did try the search, and I didn't see much, but I'm not going to claim I'm a forum expert. Apologies if I missed something.
Wagon meister :)
BMW Tech Expert
Welcome to the Forum!
You can be looking at the hydraulic tensioner failure here. Take a close look at the guides, if you see grooves worn into them, it would be best to replace them.
Darin
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M-Flight Member
Member
Not a problem. The tensioner bears against the back of it but doesn't engage it in any way. There is plenty of slop in the pivot which allows the fore/aft movement you describe.
With everything buttoned up there are no forces at play to make it want to move in those directions.
Unless the guide is worn out leave it alone.
If you can leave two black stripes from the exit of one corner to the braking zone of the next, you have enough horsepower. - Mark Donohue
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