BMW M20 Engine: Front Timing Marks [Front Timing Cover]

Here is a great diagram someone (not me) has made to show the front timing marks for the M20 engine series. Handy. 

M40 engine timing marks HERE.

BMW M40 Engine - how to check timing, where the marks are located

This must be one of the hardest bits of info to find in the whole world of BMW, but there is a great post on BMW Werks on how to do it [https://www.bimmerwerkz.com/threads/m40-motor-timing-info.59059/].

QUICK TIMING CHECK GUIDE:

** Only if crank pulley has NOT been separated from crankshaft! **

1. Remove the distributor / timing cover at the front of the engine.

2. Check the timing mark on the crank pulley. This is an arrow cast into the block which should line up with the sprocket tooth to the right of the gap in the teeth, as in pic below.

3. Check the timing mark on the camshaft pulley. This is a notch/line mark in the pulley and should line up with the right-angle notch in the cylinder head, as in pic below. If this looks good, your timing is fine.

Thanks again to xdrian on BMW Works for making these pics and sharing this secret!

E60: Cracked lower timing-case - engine finished.

Yeah well that's torn it. Literally, torn it open. After all that effing about with the sump removal, finding the right piston and drilling off those snapped head bolts, I find a whopping great crack in the lower timing-case!

I wonder what caused this? Vibration from the swirl-flap doing its dance? High crankcase pressure from the dodgy piston? Who knows, but we can safely say that's where the oil leak was coming from!

It's a big enough job as it is to replace that single damaged piston, but to swap the lower timing-case as well involves stripping the entire front of the car, getting all the pulleys off and fully removing the crankshaft. Hmm, a lot of work and a lot more cost, this definitely calls for a replacement engine... Watch this space!!