Quote:
Originally Posted by Multibeemer
Doru,
I have a question for you. Since the piece that fell into my engine ispart of the chain tensioner, do you think there's much risk of the chain skipping a sprocket on its gear as a result of turning the engine, given the slack on the passenger side of the chain? I turned it VERY slowly as you recommended, and watched the chain carefully as I was turning it, and I'm pretty sure it didn't jump a tooth, but someone on an E39 forum who has had a lot of experience with timing the cams on an M62 feels that the risk is significant enough to warrant having to re-time the cams, which is a nightmare I don't want to get into if at all possible, especially since I've learned that I can probably retrieve my part by simply removing the lower oil pan. So, the last thing on earth I want to do is spend upwards of $200 in tools and parts to remove the lower timing chain cover to confirm that my chain didn't skip a tooth. What would you do if you were in my situation? Thanks.
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If you don't find the tensioner with a magnet in the upper oil pan, then either:
a.) It dropped in the lower pan, and that is easy to tackle (the worst part is to take the lower re-inforcement shield off)
b.) It's still in there, but it's made out of non-mag metal?
I don't think the cams are out of timing. For that, the chain has to skip a sprocket tooth, and you would notice that right away. Not impossible, but there are 2 chains - one on the left side, one on the right side, so one chain is still in tension, and should keep everything tight.(relative). That was one reason I told you to go slow. One side of the chain is "sloppy", but you don't want it to slap & skip (the "sloppy" part of the chain has one side tensioned, and one with slop when the tensioner is removed). if skipping, normally you should hear & feel it right away. If it was smooth, I wouldn't worry, but again, you're your own judge.
Try to find out if it's magnetic (you could remove the other side tensioner and test - but don't let this one fall in there...), and if it is, then it should be in the lower oil pan. The problem would be both sides of the chain with slop...very, very careful.
GL