[Mckaa]

BMW 123D

BMW 123D

Hey all,

I’ve got a 2008 BMW 123D with 190k on the clock. It’s been pretty reliable until this past year. I started getting battery discharge messages occasionally, which I figured was because I wasn’t driving it much and only doing short trips. Then, I got a DPF warning. Recently, the crankshaft pulley broke, and the tensioner belt came off. I had these fixed, along with the AC compressor and some of the tensioners.

There’s still a rattle from the a tensioner(I believe the drive belt tensioner), which might be due to a aftermarket part. The garage also mentioned the timing belt is going, but I hadn’t noticed any issues with it before.

My question: Is it worth fixing? The car has been super reliable since I got it at 70k and I’ve kept up with regular servicing. Since COVID, I drive it a lot less but would rather keep it than buy something else. It’s fuel-efficient and pretty speedy.

Any advice?

[Rich_D]

This is the wrong area of the forum, you'll get better help & advice there...

https://www.1addicts.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=244

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by Mckaa

BMW 123D

BMW 123D

Hey all,

I’ve got a 2008 BMW 123D with 190k on the clock. It’s been pretty reliable until this past year. I started getting battery discharge messages occasionally, which I figured was because I wasn’t driving it much and only doing short trips. Then, I got a DPF warning. Recently, the crankshaft pulley broke, and the tensioner belt came off. I had these fixed, along with the AC compressor and some of the tensioners.

There’s still a rattle from the a tensioner(I believe the drive belt tensioner), which might be due to a aftermarket part. The garage also mentioned the timing belt is going, but I hadn’t noticed any issues with it before.

My question: Is it worth fixing? The car has been super reliable since I got it at 70k and I’ve kept up with regular servicing. Since COVID, I drive it a lot less but would rather keep it than buy something else. It’s fuel-efficient and pretty speedy.

Any advice?

The first time you'll notice a problem with the timing chains (or guides, or tensioners) is when it fails and the engine eats it's own valves. Other than that it's just a little bit of noise.

Take it to another reputable bmw/independent garage to verify the fault. If they agree, it's an essential repair if you want to keep the car.

Note that there are various issues with the various years of N47 engine - some need the whole crankshaft to be replaced, others just need the guides and tensioners, etc. Worth doing your research. Also only use genuine BMW parts for the repair, and make sure they're the latest revision.