RCZ 1.6THP Timing Chain Replacement Peugeot MINI BMW

[Dedra1]

Hi RZers

Just had funny/insulting phone call to garage to get quote for timing chain replacement cost.
I was looking for a specialist to replace timing chain in Ayrshire....there are a couple of garages I use but they seemed a bit unsure
of the job...though they said they could do it...…..
So I looked for somebody who perhaps does these chains on a regular basis.....Ayrshire BMW & MINI "Specialists" popped up on inter web
Just the job....so I thought....they must have done a good few MINI & BMW 1 series chains,......RCZ engine is the SAME (more or less)
it should be relatively easy for them as they have the experience......
I was shot done in flames.....WE DONT DO PEUGEOTS....ENGINE IS TOO DIFFERENT....
Doh!!!
Well, what can I say......
My BMW 5 series wont be going near them either.
The search goes on for a real specialist in PEUGEOT (don't mention BMW & MINI) timing chain replacement
Anyone know of such a place in Ayrshire?
My local garage has quoted 6 or 8 hours for the job. Seems a bit long but I'm not sure......how long does it take to change timing chain In RCZ?
Just watched a video, in real time, & it took about 1/2 hour but he had the engine out!!! Oh wait a minute, that was for a MINI......completely different
I realise getting access & removing pipes etc adds time....

Cheers

 

[Bobby D]

I loved that Mini timing chain video, such a nice guy. If you watch it to the end he has to do the whole job all over again as he does not tighten the crank pulley tight enough which goes right back to your point about finding someone who actually knows what they are doing!! Good luck - perhaps YOU will be our expert one day!!

 

[Ian J.]

Just had my timing chain done and yes it's a long job.
Bill was over £700. But paid for under warranty.

 

[Bobby D]

Well that's a win. How old is you Z? There can't be much warranty left on any of them!!

 

[Ian J.]

2015 model with 30k miles,
Mechanical breakdown warranty I had from the dealer covered it .
Common fault on the 1.6 petrol engines, if the tensioners only need doing its a lot cheaper ,

 

[Bobby D]

That's good to hear, I'm tempted to change my tensioner anyway. Has anyone else done this.

 

[Dedra1]

Thanks for replies...".Eric the repair guy" video on timing chain change in MINI is great,,,, wonder if he would fly over to Ayrshire to do my RCZ?
I suspect timing chain change in RCZ is not as long or as difficult as garages like to make out (for expert, proper mechanic)
I had a good look at access to my RCZ timing chain area & there is plenty of room to manoeuvre, so with car up on ramp it would be even easier
So with Eric the car guy taking about 1/2 hour to remove & replace chain, & adding removing inter cooler hoses etc, engine mounts, spark plugs, coils,
rocker cover, fixing locking tool etc, and of course removing Dipstick....then maybe 2 1/2 to 3 hours might be correct time for job.
Tensioner is cheap to buy (£30 ebay) & just unscrews out the back of the engine (relatively easy to get at), however I don't know whether you can just
take the old one out & screw a new one back in or if something else needs to be done as well to keep timing OK.
Anyone know?
Also, anyone out there give us the time for replacing timing chain? Not the dodgy manufacturer/garage time...
Also still looking for reliable garage/mechanic to give quote for timing chain change in Ayrshire.
All the best folks

 

[Pedro]

Thanks for replies...".Eric the repair guy" video on timing chain change in MINI is great,,,, wonder if he would fly over to Ayrshire to do my RCZ?
I suspect timing chain change in RCZ is not as long or as difficult as garages like to make out (for expert, proper mechanic)
I had a good look at access to my RCZ timing chain area & there is plenty of room to manoeuvre, so with car up on ramp it would be even easier
So with Eric the car guy taking about 1/2 hour to remove & replace chain, & adding removing inter cooler hoses etc, engine mounts, spark plugs, coils,
rocker cover, fixing locking tool etc, and of course removing Dipstick....then maybe 2 1/2 to 3 hours might be correct time for job.
Tensioner is cheap to buy (£30 ebay) & just unscrews out the back of the engine (relatively easy to get at), however I don't know whether you can just
take the old one out & screw a new one back in or if something else needs to be done as well to keep timing OK.
Anyone know?
Also, anyone out there give us the time for replacing timing chain? Not the dodgy manufacturer/garage time...
Also still looking for reliable garage/mechanic to give quote for timing chain change in Ayrshire.
All the best folks

Thanks for replies...".Eric the repair guy" video on timing chain change in MINI is great,,,, wonder if he would fly over to Ayrshire to do my RCZ?
I suspect timing chain change in RCZ is not as long or as difficult as garages like to make out (for expert, proper mechanic)
I had a good look at access to my RCZ timing chain area & there is plenty of room to manoeuvre, so with car up on ramp it would be even easier
So with Eric the car guy taking about 1/2 hour to remove & replace chain, & adding removing inter cooler hoses etc, engine mounts, spark plugs, coils,
rocker cover, fixing locking tool etc, and of course removing Dipstick....then maybe 2 1/2 to 3 hours might be correct time for job.
Tensioner is cheap to buy (£30 ebay) & just unscrews out the back of the engine (relatively easy to get at), however I don't know whether you can just
take the old one out & screw a new one back in or if something else needs to be done as well to keep timing OK.
Anyone know?
Also, anyone out there give us the time for replacing timing chain? Not the dodgy manufacturer/garage time...
Also still looking for reliable garage/mechanic to give quote for timing chain change in Ayrshire.
All the best folks

I think there is a website called "Whocanfixmycar.com" enter reg no/ postcode etc & they will do the rest to find a mechanic garage etc As for the Chain replacement it may vary on where its being done I would imagine possibly around 5 or even 6 hrs on average depending on whose doing the work
As for the tensioner you will need to "Lock up" the timing as you are taking the tension off the chain & they can & been known to jump a couple of teeth when the jobs been done wrong so its vital to make sure the chain does not move at any cost !

 

[Ian J.]

Thanks for replies...".Eric the repair guy" video on timing chain change in MINI is great,,,, wonder if he would fly over to Ayrshire to do my RCZ?
I suspect timing chain change in RCZ is not as long or as difficult as garages like to make out (for expert, proper mechanic)
I had a good look at access to my RCZ timing chain area & there is plenty of room to manoeuvre, so with car up on ramp it would be even easier
So with Eric the car guy taking about 1/2 hour to remove & replace chain, & adding removing inter cooler hoses etc, engine mounts, spark plugs, coils,
rocker cover, fixing locking tool etc, and of course removing Dipstick....then maybe 2 1/2 to 3 hours might be correct time for job.
Tensioner is cheap to buy (£30 ebay) & just unscrews out the back of the engine (relatively easy to get at), however I don't know whether you can just
take the old one out & screw a new one back in or if something else needs to be done as well to keep timing OK.
Anyone know?
Also, anyone out there give us the time for replacing timing chain? Not the dodgy manufacturer/garage time...
Also still looking for reliable garage/mechanic to give quote for timing chain change in Ayrshire.
All the best folks

The garage who changed my timing chain did the whole kit including the plastic guides which can fail and told me it was an 8/9 hour job , just the tensioners replacement would have been 2/3 hours.

 

[neilgsxr69]

My local Peugeot dealer replaced my whole timing kit in the day and you shouldn’t be paying more than £600 all in.

 

[Dedra1]

Thanks for replies. Thought the tensioner change might require timing lock up. We need to find positive proof of hours taken to change timing chain
to stop people getting ripped off.

My local garage quoted max £400 for job....he was not sure if it would take 6 or 8 hours....however he usually quotes for double the time an actual job takes.
(just labour, as I take parts to him)
For recent wheel bearing job he did for instance, I was doing other work on RZ at same time & saw the time he took to do one side, about half the time he charged me for.
So I still suspect that the timing chain work does not take as long, or is as complicated ( to proper mechanic) as garages like to make out,
As I have said before, a lot garages seem to say & charge whatever they feel like and nobody stops them......they need far more controls
We had the recent pensions/financial scams & I think the motor industry (manufacturers/garages) are just as bad...ripping people off £thousands......
Councils & especially VOSA/ Department of transport need to do MUCH more in the way of "mystery shopping" ie sending fake customers in to garages with known faults & seeing what garages say & do.... with garages heavily fined/lots of publicity if they scam.
Government needs to investigate manufacturers car software MUCH more, looking for not just emission cheats But built in faults that occur at certain times
during cars life. Software to that means you MUST go to them.....
Instead of cars flashing up weird warning lights why does the car not tell you EXACTLY what fault is......easy to do......
Also & importantly, THE TIME FOR EACH JOB ON A CAR MUST ADVERTISED & MADE AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY.
However we cannot let the manufacturers give these times....they are well known LIARS.....the times must worked out independently by Government.
ALL garages MUST display their charges per hour
And anything else you folks can think of....
We need to contact our MPs & get the ball rolling........
cheers

 

[tm2204]

That's good to hear, I'm tempted to change my tensioner anyway. Has anyone else done this.

The tensioner failing seems to be the 'House of Cards' for the whole timing system collapsing

Tensioner change is a cheap fix and good preventative maintenance along with regular oil changes and keeping the oil level topped up to the max

 

[Pedro]

Thanks for replies. Thought the tensioner change might require timing lock up. We need to find positive proof of hours taken to change timing chain
to stop people getting ripped off.

My local garage quoted max £400 for job....he was not sure if it would take 6 or 8 hours....however he usually quotes for double the time an actual job takes.
(just labour, as I take parts to him)
For recent wheel bearing job he did for instance, I was doing other work on RZ at same time & saw the time he took to do one side, about half the time he charged me for.
So I still suspect that the timing chain work does not take as long, or is as complicated ( to proper mechanic) as garages like to make out,
As I have said before, a lot garages seem to say & charge whatever they feel like and nobody stops them......they need far more controls
We had the recent pensions/financial scams & I think the motor industry (manufacturers/garages) are just as bad...ripping people off £thousands......
Councils & especially VOSA/ Department of transport need to do MUCH more in the way of "mystery shopping" ie sending fake customers in to garages with known faults & seeing what garages say & do.... with garages heavily fined/lots of publicity if they scam.
Government needs to investigate manufacturers car software MUCH more, looking for not just emission cheats But built in faults that occur at certain times
during cars life. Software to that means you MUST go to them.....
Instead of cars flashing up weird warning lights why does the car not tell you EXACTLY what fault is......easy to do......
Also & importantly, THE TIME FOR EACH JOB ON A CAR MUST ADVERTISED & MADE AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY.
However we cannot let the manufacturers give these times....they are well known LIARS.....the times must worked out independently by Government.
ALL garages MUST display their charges per hour
And anything else you folks can think of....
We need to contact our MPs & get the ball rolling........
cheers

Car manufacturers only see a Dealer involved lifespan on all new vehicles of around 5 yrs after that most of those variants have been superseded by even more technically advanced models including Electric cars & that is probably why they are little concerned about the motorist buying a brand new car & then its in & out of the Garage in the 1st six or 12 months for generically inherent built in defects this is why most of the dealers are now sourcing parts outside of their remits with the makers I know a Peugeot garage near me which buys parts online but not primarily from PSA (I was told that by the parts manger!) that is because its quicker to source OEM parts & gets the repair done cheaper but whether they pass those cost savings onto the customer is another story I always swore I wold never buy a new car & always went for one at 12/2 yrs old that way a good portion of the faults have been ironed out under warranty

 

[Dedra1]

Very important to change oil & filter regularly & something that is easy to do., especially if you get an electric pump that you can use
to take oil out the dipstick (cheap at around £15 from Ebay, Lidel etc)
I think my RZ is leaking oil from the tensioner so will replace that for sure.
Funny how manufacturers are claiming (lying as usual) that they can make safe, reliable self driving cars when can't make normal electrical systems work properly.....
I would like to see cars simplified significantly. Get rid of turbos, emissions systems & just make large capacity (or small) highly efficient engines with minimal electronics.
Clean up the FUEL, the source of the pollution. Petrol can be oxygenated to make it way less harmful to atmosphere. I 'm sure science can find a way to clean up diesel
BEFORE it has to go into our engines.
Also governments & manufacturers must stop the RIDICULOUS self driving car development, they have watched too many SciFi films
If people dont want to/can't drive..... GET A BUS or TAXI.
Stop this manic pursuit of self driving vehicles which will destroy milions of jobs for lorry drivers, taxis etc if they follow it through.
That is their objective, to robotise Lorry deliveries, taxis etc. Save the billionaires money. Put even more people on the scrap heap......
However, even with all my RZs faults I'm still using it every day....it 's driving very well, with plenty of power (for 1.6T). Great car
that seems to be underated.
Any timing chain changing experts in Ayrshire?
all the best & sorry for rants...

 

[Ian J.]

Very important to change oil & filter regularly & something that is easy to do., especially if you get an electric pump that you can use
to take oil out the dipstick (cheap at around £15 from Ebay, Lidel etc)
I think my RZ is leaking oil from the tensioner so will replace that for sure.
Funny how manufacturers are claiming (lying as usual) that they can make safe, reliable self driving cars when can't make normal electrical systems work properly.....
I would like to see cars simplified significantly. Get rid of turbos, emissions systems & just make large capacity (or small) highly efficient engines with minimal electronics.
Clean up the FUEL, the source of the pollution. Petrol can be oxygenated to make it way less harmful to atmosphere. I 'm sure science can find a way to clean up diesel
BEFORE it has to go into our engines.
Also governments & manufacturers must stop the RIDICULOUS self driving car development, they have watched too many SciFi films
If people dont want to/can't drive..... GET A BUS or TAXI.
Stop this manic pursuit of self driving vehicles which will destroy milions of jobs for lorry drivers, taxis etc if they follow it through.
That is their objective, to robotise Lorry deliveries, taxis etc. Save the billionaires money. Put even more people on the scrap heap......
However, even with all my RZs faults I'm still using it every day....it 's driving very well, with plenty of power (for 1.6T). Great car
that seems to be underated.
Any timing chain changing experts in Ayrshire?
all the best & sorry for rants...

totally agree
Cars these days are way too complicated and there are too many things to go wrong
The only people who benefit are the manufacturers and dealers not the customers

 

[French Letter]

The Prince THP200 engine from 2015 on, is the most reliable. Nice piece of work with that magic cylinder head from BMW.

However, I changed the chain on my 207cc Sport at 100,000 kilometres (60K miles).

The original chain on the Prince engine was too narrow, so stretched easily. There were revised parts from 2013 on.

I'll get the RCZ done at 100,000 K, now on 60,000 kilometres.

However, it is essential to have VERY regular engine oil changes to protect the chain.
I do my oil changes every 3,500 miles, with the oil filter every other time.