[felixh]

Recently I bought a BMW E91 with MT6 and a N52B25 engine through a private seller here in The Netherlands. All the maintenance had been done as far as I could tell, car drove very good and I have almost the full service history. The car currently has run 230.000 km's or about 143.000 miles.

After the purchase I had the car inspected and my garage told me that they noticed a weird engine noise which might involve having to replace the timing chain. This is what my garage told me: "There is a noticeable rattling/dragging noise in the engine. It could possibly be the timing chain. Further diagnosis is required."

There were some issues with the exhaust VANOS solenoid, which I replaced. I also changed the oil to Castrol 5W40, and changed the oil filter. Car has performed great on a recent road trip, but I still keep wondering if the engine noise is normal for such a car. As I understand the hydraulic valve lifters produce a ticking noise, which worried me at first. Should I be? But mainly the other sound which you can hear on video, the 'dragging' sound as my garage described it, concerns me a lot more. N52 timing chain issues seem to be pretty rare, but I would highly appreciate any feedback of you guys who seem to have a lot more experience regarding these cars and engines.

https://youtube.com/shorts/2CbIdTULoEg

[felixh]

I visited a mechanic today and they told me briefly that there is something wrong with the engine, the way it sounds, and it is most likely the timing chain which needs to be replaced. Even though it's a N52B25 with relatively low mileage it is unfortunately one of the few exceptions which needs a timing chain replacement (as well as a new steering rack unfortunately...).

[watchout-everyone]

Originally Posted by felixh

I visited a mechanic today and they told me briefly that there is something wrong with the engine, the way it sounds, and it is most likely the timing chain which needs to be replaced. Even though it's a N52B25 with relatively low mileage it is unfortunately one of the few exceptions which needs a timing chain replacement (as well as a new steering rack unfortunately...).

Can you try changing oil if you can at home and see if you see any plastic parts inside? If not, ask a mechanic to check for the pieces. I think that's maybe one way you can verify if something is off with timing chain.

For the steering rack, do you know if you need the entire steering rack or just the two tie rods? I think i have an issue lol

[felixh]

Appreciate the advice. I changed the oil about a month ago and kept the old oil for analysis. Are you referring to the chain guide potentially breaking and ending up in the oil? I’ll try filtering it through another tank to check for any pieces in the next couple of weeks. The car’s heading to specialist mechanics soon and I'm certain they will find the problem. They're very good mechanics but also unfortunately pricey because of this

For the steering rack, do you know if you need the entire steering rack or just the two tie rods? I think i have an issue lol

The garage I visited (recommended by a friend) said the whole steering rack needs replacing. They seem trustworthy but were quite busy, so they didn’t spend much time diagnosing it. I hadn’t considered the tie rods, but I've uploaded a video of my issues if that helps for comparison. I'll know more next week and will keep you posted!

[whyzee125]

Can't comment on the steering rack but that engine noise is definitely not right, even in the steering rack video you can clearly hear it. Timing chain guides seem like a plausible diagnosis.

[watchout-everyone]

Originally Posted by felixh

Appreciate the advice. I changed the oil about a month ago and kept the old oil for analysis. Are you referring to the chain guide potentially breaking and ending up in the oil? I’ll try filtering it through another tank to check for any pieces in the next couple of weeks. The car’s heading to specialist mechanics soon and I'm certain they will find the problem. They're very good mechanics but also unfortunately pricey because of this

The garage I visited (recommended by a friend) said the whole steering rack needs replacing. They seem trustworthy but were quite busy, so they didn’t spend much time diagnosing it. I hadn’t considered the tie rods, but I've uploaded a video of my issues if that helps for comparison. I'll know more next week and will keep you posted!

Thanks for sharing!

And yes I was referring to plastic pieces from the chain guide because my F10 528i ran into the problem few weeks ago.

For the steering rack, I think you can trust your mechanic and i only asked out of curiousity for any symptoms and really appreciate sharing the video. I don't think i hear any thumbing sound on mine but just mild vibration on the handle when driving around (recently changed control arms and wheel alignment).

Just fyi i was quoted near $4000 to change the timing chain + guides (it also includes gaskets to oil pan and valve cover) and this is USA.

[felixh]

Thanks for the heads-up about the timing chain guide from both of you. Also I'm sorry to hear you've had this issue on your F10 528i. My local mechanic estimated a repair cost of around 1000 to 1500 euros (roughly 1100 to 1650 dollars) to replace the timing components, not including gaskets for the oil pan and valve cover of course.

Does the vibration change with speed? There are so many possible causes. I had a similar issue on this car—vibration increased with speed, even though the wheels were properly balanced. It turned out there was play between the wheel hub and the rim, causing an imbalance. It's not something you'd normally think of (at least I didn't!).

Hope you get everything sorted out! I'll keep you posted on my diagnosis.

[watchout-everyone]

Originally Posted by felixh

Thanks for the heads-up about the timing chain guide from both of you. Also I'm sorry to hear you've had this issue on your F10 528i. My local mechanic estimated a repair cost of around 1000 to 1500 euros (roughly 1100 to 1650 dollars) to replace the timing components, not including gaskets for the oil pan and valve cover of course.

Does the vibration change with speed? There are so many possible causes. I had a similar issue on this car—vibration increased with speed, even though the wheels were properly balanced. It turned out there was play between the wheel hub and the rim, causing an imbalance. It's not something you'd normally think of (at least I didn't!).

Hope you get everything sorted out! I'll keep you posted on my diagnosis.

As for the vibration (possibly due to the steering rack or tie rods), i don't feel that the level of vibration is changing depending on the speed. Maybe it did but not the level i would notice much at this time.

I have a recall due air bag situation so i may ask BMW to check my steering wheel/tie rods when i take it in for the repair

[felixh]

Garage called me today and they finished their diagnosis. It seems that I am in luck (sort of), because the problem is a broken steering pump. I already noticed myself that the steering pump pulley was wobbly and tried changing it myself for an aluminum one (with no success, it was stuck), but apparently the pump itself is broken as well. This causes the awful metal scraping sound when the engine is running, as well as the horrible thumping/rumbling feel in the steering wheel when taking turns. Lesson learned; I should have taken the belt off and started the car as my first step in trying to diagnose this issue.

I fully trust this garage and it is unfortunate, but fortunate at the same time, that the other garage misdiagnosed the issue to be engine and steering rack related. This garage does charge a premium and they are specialized in high performance cars (AMG, M-sport, RS, Ferrari etc), but they are very good at what they do which might have saved me a lot of trouble and money as well. Unfortunately they only work with genuine parts, which is why the repair is quite expensive (2000 euro's for a number of things):
- New steering pump (750 euro's incl tax)
- Install of the steering pump
- Cleaning/Flushing the steering pump oil, there are metal shavings currently in the system due to the old pump.
- New ball joint for one of the wheels
- Probably new tie rods in de rear, dependent if they are rusted and stuck or not (they told me this causes issue for precise car alignment).
- Performing proper car alignment and wheel balancing
- Yearly inspection required in my country

Any questions or comments are welcome (and hopefully I've helped someone out in the future with this thread).

P.S. I hope you'll be able to resolve your vibration issue @watchout-everyone!