Question about Chain Drives on the Diesel
 

I'm a V6 man as many will know, so have little experience of the diesel chain driven M47R engines.

My question is do the chain driven units need no maintenance or changing whatsoever in the life of the car?

I ask because the wife has just bought a 2012 Audi A1 1.4 Petrol TFSI which has a chain driven cam rather than the later model belt driven one. Looking on the Audi forums and honest John, it suggests that the chain drive can be troublesome and become loose or snap if not regularly checked and that the engine needs fresh oil every 12 months if its chain driven.

Are the Rover 75 CDTi's the same here then or are they much lower maintenance?

I guess from reading the web, you only hear of the bad cases, and that the vast majority of chain driven cars have no issues? :shrug:

Do our diesel 75s and ZTs ever need their chains replacing / checking / adjusting? Any experience on this would be great :bowdown:

The chains on the M47R rarely give any issue Paul, regular oil changes (As with anything mechanical) Always benefit.

No adjusting required, the spec says they are good for 250,000 miles, but as we know they go on a lot longer (Just ask Mike Noc) :D

Chains on the M47 are extremely reliable, unfortunately the issues with TFSI chains are well known

The change interval for an M47R timing chain is 250,000 miles, I've yet to hear of anyone doing that........for instance Mike Noc, and a couple of taxi drivers where their mileage is over double that.

However timing chain auto tensioners are known weak points on Mini, and Vauxhall, mainly due to the extended oil change intervals.

Normally speaking if there is any hint of rattle at start up, then expect to have to change it.

If she hasn't bought the car yet, take time to check it from stone cold, preferably after an overnight period.

Brian :D

I have pushed a couple of 75 diesels up into the high mileage range one I changed the chain at 400,000 miles the other I did not bother, I believe in regular oil and filter changes. Good oils today are good for 15 to 20k but filter technology is still the same as it was fifty years ago, and if you use an additive the increased flocculation of the oil will make it need to be changed every 5 to 10k as once the filter is full of trapped waste the waste then sits in the oil, until it is changed.
If you really want to be on the safe side a good local lab should be able to perform a test on a 30ml sample of oil for about £20. The result will tell you how contaminated and with what the oil is. Which will tell you when you need to change it.
Then again seven litres of oil and a filter every 10k is able to be done from £25 upwards depending on the oil you use.
Alan


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I often send lube oil samples to Caterpillar in Desford for analysis from oil changes performed on large generator sets.

They are able to tell from that, exactly what components will be required on the next pull down of the engine at a 3000 hour service......brilliant really :D

On my own cars, regardless of the manufacturers set oil change intervals, it's every 8000 miles, or six months for a lube oil and filter change, and twelve months irrespective of mileage for a fuel and air filter change.

A wise man one told me this "you look after the oil, and the bearings will look after themselves", this advice has stood me in good stead over the million and a half miles so I've driven so far :cool:

Brian :D

Brian you and I work the same way I aim for 7.5 k for my oil and filter change, and I will confess to using top quality oil every time and an additive every 4th change.
Regardless of mileage the oil is changed every six months.
A useful tip if you hang around the pits for F1 or endurance racing the guys in the lube centres like Petronius and Mobile will usually give you a mass spec print out for free. Hope I have not cooked my goose by saying this.
Alan


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A wise man one told me this "you look after the oil, and the bearings will look after themselves"


I seem to remember someone saying a similar thing about his Broom.;)

I change my oil and filter about every 7500 to 8000 miles, which in my case equates to about 12 months.

Diesel oil becomes dirty very quickly, which means it's doing it's job. The filter removes the big bits, but the oil goes black because it's carrying soot.

I reckon 8k miles is enough, it has a tuff life inside any engine. The guys that have already answered know their stuff, I'm glad my thoughts are on similar lines as the more knowledgeable than myself.