A right now thread

[Mr. Dazzle]

Sat in Trowell services on the M1 with a suspected broken timing chain. Well I haven't got one, my car has.

Finally got home just before midnight, having initially broken down at half four. It's about 50 mins drive from where we broke down to home, all things being 'normal', so that was a slight extension.

Top marks to the 4 year old baby D though, I was expecting it to be a nightmare but she was good as gold the whole time. The recovery truck also only had baby seat mounting points in the front seats, so she got to sit in the front cab for the whole drive. Highlight of her life so far I reckon

I just need to work out what to do now. Since lock down we've been down to one car - so now we're down to no cars Might have to buy a shit wagon to bridge a few weeks. I spoke to the BMW specialists this morning, they reckon timing chain too. It's a couple of hours labour to open it up and find out if it's a bit fucked, or proper fucked. It's some level of fucked either way so I'm wondering if it's worth it! Minimum bill is probably £1500 on a car that worth about £3k and they can't even look until Monday.

[Mussels]

How much for an engine swap from a crash wreck?

[slowsider]

Sounds like opening it up is good money down the drain

[636mick]

The previous gen 320d was notorious for timing chain failures, one of those 'when' not 'if' situations. This generation (F30) is supposed to be miles better.

Seemingly not.

I’ve got a 420d, 2018 F32, it seems there are quite a few suffering this. There’s a BMW group on Facebook and daily there are people complaining that BMW sad the problem was fixed!! Like you say, seemingly not!!

[KungFooBob]

It's pretty high miles iirc?

[Mr. Dazzle]

I could just about believe it's an electronics/sensor issue, if it weren't for the noise when you try and start it. Normally being a diesel it's got proper meaty 'chugs' when you turn the engine over and also the gearstick shakes. Now it's a slightly wheezy "wee-wee-wee-wee", which smacks of a big mechanical problem.

127,000 miles. I've done about 100k of those, nearly all of them were my 45 mile each way commute. So it's always been up to temp etc. when I've driven it and the oil etc. has always been changed on schdule.

[Taipan]

Friend of a freind had the same happen to his 320d. The garage had a look and estimated c£4k to repair it which was about the value of the car. He decided not to throw good after bad and paid them for the inspection and ebayed the car as it was and got £1200 for it iirc.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I've been offered £1500 for it from a couple of breakers already. I'm not 100% gonna do that, I just wanted a figure on the table to aid in my decision making.

Employee car scheme realistically looks like Nov/Dec before I'd actually get a (brand spanking, fancy pants top spec ) car. So i'm leaning towards just getting a £1500 car in the meantime. I'd get to keep said shit wagon as a second car then too.

I did look at short term lease/rent too, but it makes no sense financially. That'd be about £2k for a few months too, with no car to show for it at the end. At least if I buy a bit of a snotter I get to keep said snotter as a B car. Fair enough a shit wagon might cark it, but it might also last 5 years.

[mangocrazy]

I could just about believe it's an electronics/sensor issue, if it weren't for the noise when you try and start it. Normally being a diesel it's got proper meaty 'chugs' when you turn the engine over and also the gearstick shakes. Now it's a slightly wheezy "wee-wee-wee-wee", which smacks of a big mechanical problem.

I'm surprised it will still turn over. When my Beta engine ran with a loose timing belt and got its valves all tangled up, it effectively seized solid. Couldn't turn the engine forward or back.

If the timing chain has broken, all you'll be doing is turning the crank and pistons round, not the valvegear.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Well once the pistons have smacked the valves out of the way there's nothing to smack into any more. The lack of a timing chain also means its not trying to move bent valves.

I imagine the chain would just fall into the sump.

[mangocrazy]

Well once the pistons have smacked the valves out of the way there's nothing to smack into any more. The lack of a timing chain also means its not trying to move bent valves.

I imagine the chain would just fall into the sump.

Yeah, I thought some more about that after posting. My engine wouldn't turn over because the timing belt was still joining the valvegear and bottom end together, albeit very imperfectly. On yours it sounds like the two are entirely independent.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Bent valves wedged open would also mean no compression and hence no chugs.

Its possible the valves are open but not bent, but that seems very unlikely given that its an interference engine and it broke at 70mph/2000rpm.

[mangocrazy]

Bent valves wedged open would also mean no compression and hence no chugs.

Its possible the valves are open but not bent, but that seems very unlikely given that its an interference engine and it broke at 70mph/2000rpm.

If you get away with no bent valves, buy a lottery ticket...

[Noggin]

I was going to get up early (and go to sleep early!) to go for a longer walk to a small lake to take photos of Mont Blanc reflecting in the lake at sunrise.

Got distracted - but the first distraction is a happy one!! (Not that you!!!!) A friend messaged to say they are driving 'near' and is there anywhere they can stay and we can catch up

So , very late to sleep whilst messaging to sort a room and chatting with them (and took a while to sleep cos I was grinning like a loon!).

Having got to sleep after midnight and reset the alarm for 4.45am, the bar opposite kicked out at 2am - que drunk tourists (and as many locals I expect) making a tonne of noise for around half an hour

Didn't sleep well after that so binned the early alarm (no way am I going walking on 'mountain tracks' if I'm tired, not ideal, my balance isn't great when I'm not tired!!), although still woke before 7am.

There's some kind of temporary build going on outside from 7am, so I got up, cooked a croissant (one day I'll get it right ), had some healthy yoghurt and made a coffee.

Now sitting on the sortofsofa with the sun pouring in and chilling. Might snooze a bit before I get up properly and get going. Walking and swimming to do

[Trinity765]

Monday was a good day, came home feeling ready to start my life again and arranged to go back to work on Friday. Yesterday however, I came home feeling blue as we'd arranged my Mum's cremation and re-homed her lovely dog Bonnie. The re-homing went well, an old but mobile lady had just lost her dog and I know she will love Bonnie and Bonnie her and she had a lovely house very suitable for a little dog, but it was still a hard day.

Today however I'm going to be White Van woMan. Do not make me change speed or course

[Taipan]

On the train on the way home from a meal at The Narrow. Quite how Gordon Ramsay has the cheek to go around criticising other peoples restraints when this place is a filthy top is beyond me!!

Staff were lovely and some of the food was really nice but not all of it! Moretti was nice and the expensive wine has taken its toll but they didn’t have a free salad bar like a Harvester!

Heres me toasting Grrmlins offices!

[KungFooBob]

Trying to build my perfect Vans.

https://www.vans.co.uk/customizer.slip- ... 1a389b6a6f

[Mr. Dazzle]

Trying to build my perfect Vans.

https://www.vans.co.uk/customizer.slip- ... 1a389b6a6f

Mrs D and I both have custom made Converse high tops, she wore hers at our wedding and we both wore them tromping round San Francisco on our honeymoon.

AFAIK Converse don't do the customs any more, at least not in the UK. I didn't know Vans did a similar thing.

[KungFooBob]

Trying to build my perfect Vans.

https://www.vans.co.uk/customizer.slip- ... 1a389b6a6f

Mrs D and I both have custom made Converse high tops, she wore hers at our wedding and we both wore them tromping round San Francisco on our honeymoon.

AFAIK Converse don't do the customs any more, at least not in the UK. I didn't know Vans did a similar thing.

Neither did I until someone posted a pair for sale on Friendface.

[MrLongbeard]

Trying to build my perfect Vans.

https://www.vans.co.uk/customizer.slip- ... 1a389b6a6f

Pah, no swearing and no flames