Timing chain cover
Link to other parts of the project
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?p=14015375#post14015375
The timing chain cover sits at the front of the engine behind the vibration damper. In it is housed the coolant pump at the top, and at the bottom is where the crankshaft pokes though to connect to the vibration damper.
To remove the timing chain cover, it is an easy task if the engine is removed, and both the head and the oil pan are removed. The cover is jammed between the head and the oil pan. If the engine is in the car, it is possible to remove the cover without removing the head. It requires the oil pan to be off, and hence the engine supported from above. The three bolts that hold the head to the cover can be removed from above after the valve cover is removed. The vanos and timing assembly can stay in place.
Why would you need to remove the cover? If you need to get the crankshaft out, or there is something wrong with the timing/oil pump chains then you would need to have it off.
Removing it is a simple process once the head, oil pan, and vibration damper have been removed. Initially, the coolant pipe that goes into the back of the timing cover needs to be removed. There are two there. The top one goes into the head, and should already be gone. The bottom one goes into the timing chain cover. They are both a pain to get out. They both have two O Rings that are really jammed in there.
At the front on the cover there are a load of small bolts that need removing. Remove all of these, but leave the top two in there loosely. The cover is still held on by the two dowels. These are not like others on the engine, they are like a nail that has been hammered in there. You can't just pull the cover off. The Bentley manual talks about tapping them out from the front. This has the issue of you then having to fit them into the cover again prior to installation. It's much easier to tap them out from behind. They stay in the cover ready for installation.
When the cover has been removed, this is what it looks like from inside.
The chain guides can be easily removed, however, if they are like the guides on this car, the tabs that hold them on will break when you try to remove them.
Once the guides are off, the chains can be easily removed. Also the sprocket that drives both chains can slide off the crankshaft. The sprocket is one unit. It is reversible, and can be put on the other way around no problems. When the vibration damper is fitted, the sprocket is held between the crankshaft and the vibration damper.
Here is another picture just for information. I had said in a previous post that there was no requirement to hold the timing chain up when the timing sprockets (up the top connected to the vanos) are removed. This is the reason why. There is a lip on the timing chain cover that doesn't allow the chain to fall of if it is loose at the top.
Link to other parts of the project
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?p=14015375#post14015375
The timing chain cover sits at the front of the engine behind the vibration damper. In it is housed the coolant pump at the top, and at the bottom is where the crankshaft pokes though to connect to the vibration damper.
To remove the timing chain cover, it is an easy task if the engine is removed, and both the head and the oil pan are removed. The cover is jammed between the head and the oil pan. If the engine is in the car, it is possible to remove the cover without removing the head. It requires the oil pan to be off, and hence the engine supported from above. The three bolts that hold the head to the cover can be removed from above after the valve cover is removed. The vanos and timing assembly can stay in place.
Why would you need to remove the cover? If you need to get the crankshaft out, or there is something wrong with the timing/oil pump chains then you would need to have it off.
Removing it is a simple process once the head, oil pan, and vibration damper have been removed. Initially, the coolant pipe that goes into the back of the timing cover needs to be removed. There are two there. The top one goes into the head, and should already be gone. The bottom one goes into the timing chain cover. They are both a pain to get out. They both have two O Rings that are really jammed in there.
At the front on the cover there are a load of small bolts that need removing. Remove all of these, but leave the top two in there loosely. The cover is still held on by the two dowels. These are not like others on the engine, they are like a nail that has been hammered in there. You can't just pull the cover off. The Bentley manual talks about tapping them out from the front. This has the issue of you then having to fit them into the cover again prior to installation. It's much easier to tap them out from behind. They stay in the cover ready for installation.
When the cover has been removed, this is what it looks like from inside.
The chain guides can be easily removed, however, if they are like the guides on this car, the tabs that hold them on will break when you try to remove them.
Once the guides are off, the chains can be easily removed. Also the sprocket that drives both chains can slide off the crankshaft. The sprocket is one unit. It is reversible, and can be put on the other way around no problems. When the vibration damper is fitted, the sprocket is held between the crankshaft and the vibration damper.
Here is another picture just for information. I had said in a previous post that there was no requirement to hold the timing chain up when the timing sprockets (up the top connected to the vanos) are removed. This is the reason why. There is a lip on the timing chain cover that doesn't allow the chain to fall of if it is loose at the top.