I don:t usually post comments. I was doing an N12, and the Valvetronic springs were giving me stress to insert behind the rockers. Having seen the fortunate people with a specific tool from across the pond made me wonder if I could source such a tool...... One sacrificed screwdriver and on long extension through the springs to pivot the screwdriver.... 15 mins to finish all 4. Thank you so much for sharing this video. Top Man!
Beautiful tip. Saved me money buying the special tool, and time waiting for it to show up. I wish prosperity and good luck upon you and your family for ever after.
Your tip and a aluminum rod did the trick for me. I used a cutoff wheel to cut a notch into the end of the rod. I rounded the tip and extended the notch down the sides. It's a little more involved than your cutout, but i wanted to use something softer than steel yet sturdy. 20 to 24" long was ideal Thank you for sharing this and inspiring / helping people for years to come.
Thank God for this video. I was struggling. Tried the two benches and a block method didn't work .....this is so much better . You just cured my headache sir i thank thee
Just about to tackle one of these and saw the price of the special tool now I'm a stickler for proper tooling but then i looked at the procedure and thought...surely there's a way round that, its only engaging a spring..let me have a quick look on TH-cam and there we are 😄😄 great quick clear and informative video 👍👏
Great video. Thanks for the explanation. I'll be making that tool today. I saw how you had a little trouble with it slipping off of your special tool so I think when I make mine I'm going to file a groove into the back of the hook part to keep it from slipping off a bit better. Thanks again for the great video.
That's clever. Last time I undid the top bolts and reinstalled with a bar through the springs and two 8 ring spanners. Took 3 people to do it properly without cross threading the retaining spring bolt :)
Hi, thank you for sharing. Would you say for a valve steam seal replacement on the N12, the big springs of the VVT don’t need to be unscrewed? I somehow don’t want to open the 4 bolts at the top of the springs… With your notched screwdriver, can the tension of the springs be reduced enough for valve stem seals replacement? Or is it necessary to also completely demount the VVT shaft to be able to replace the valve stem seals on intake side?
You don’t need to undo those bolts on top of the springs no, once you have used the “tool” to take the tension off , there will still be spring pressure and it will try to fling the bits everywhere but it’s fine to leave the bolts on top.
Thank you for sharing it. How can i remove the springs.? Also with this Tool? Remove the spring Out and then loosen the screws on the top ? Is there a Video available where you remove the springs? Thanks
When you remove the assembly the springs will pop out, (they will ping the rockers as you release them so be careful), but you could use the tool to release most of the tension if you needed to.
So I am understanding. You are seating the VVT spring before dropping the rockers and cam shaft into place, and then carefully fitting everything down on top of the VVT spring? My son and I are about to do valve seals and timeing chain on his 2010 N12 motor.
You need to bolt down the cam down 1st and leave the springs until it is all tightened down, basically you want to lay the cam and vvt spring assembly down onto The rockers and tighten it up then do the springs last.
Great video, I need a question answered if i may, I have a 2009 base cooper, non s model, No compression on cyl 1. Engine has a rattle when running, Have looked and valves are not broken, bent? maybe? Could a failure in the vvl cause a valve to stick open? And would it make noise. just about to pull the head, it appears to have a burnt valve, but that doesnt explain the rattle? any help would be apprectiated. Also if you pull the spark plugs out there is no rattle? crazy i know .
Hello there, this is going to sound ridiculous, however I have a mini in the workshop (non s like yours), which had an issue and when looked into the problem was inside cylinder number 1… when the valves were looked at the number one cylinder had one valve that was lower down that the rest with the camshaft removed… suspecting a bent valve I removed the head, only to find that the valve seat had come out of the head and somehow was wedged at a funny angle… I have never seen it before, only quick solution was a new head, now your rattling could well be a similar symptom to what this one had, as the valve was not heigh enough it would rattle the lifter against the cam…. Grab all the lifters and give them a wiggle, you should not have “play” between the lifter and the cam. If you have then you may have a similar issue!
Would it be better to leave a small hook section on the bottom so the spring can be moved back and forth with the driver and side side? Once in place just push the driver forward and then pull it out? Just curious, as I'm about to embark on this journey soon..
@@Chris_CDB yeah, I was just curious if you think it would be better or worse. You did the work already. Do you think it would cause problems and get stuck a lot or do you think it would have made it easier? If you're not sure or can't say I'll try it and report back.
Replacing the valve guide seals on the Prince engine is only half the solution to the oil burning problem. You really need to replace the piston rings as well. PSA/BMW in their wisdom decided to build the Prince engine with a one piece oil control ring which fails quite early in the life of the engine causing the 1 litre per 800/1000 miles of oil consumption. You can guarantee by the time the valve guide seals need replacing the oil consumption will be through the roof and the rings are shot. So better to remove the head, do the rings and cam chain at the same time. Bigger job, more money but the engine will last a long time after that level of intervention.
I have done a HUGE amount of these engines over the years and to be honest I have only seen the valve stem seals cause the issue, once they have been done it has solved the issue for all of the engines I have done the job too. I have never had to do the rings on any. Besides the cost of the job to basically strip the engine down and replace the rings ect would basically be on par with fitting a refurbished engine anyway.
I don:t usually post comments. I was doing an N12, and the Valvetronic springs were giving me stress to insert behind the rockers. Having seen the fortunate people with a specific tool from across the pond made me wonder if I could source such a tool...... One sacrificed screwdriver and on long extension through the springs to pivot the screwdriver.... 15 mins to finish all 4. Thank you so much for sharing this video. Top Man!
Thanks for saving us from special BMW tool bandits
Beautiful tip. Saved me money buying the special tool, and time waiting for it to show up. I wish prosperity and good luck upon you and your family for ever after.
Thanks
Your tip and a aluminum rod did the trick for me. I used a cutoff wheel to cut a notch into the end of the rod. I rounded the tip and extended the notch down the sides.
It's a little more involved than your cutout, but i wanted to use something softer than steel yet sturdy. 20 to 24" long was ideal
Thank you for sharing this and inspiring / helping people for years to come.
No problem, yea you can utilise anything really that fits down the back!
Great tip, works like a dream and costs less than an apple. Thanks for sharing this with the world.
🤣.. thanks for slagging off the other video because it didn’t show what you were after…. Yet this one does.. 🤣
Genius. I had to do the same on a Citroën C4 120Vti. I made a similar tool to what you made and it worked like a charm. Thank you for the idea 👍
Thank God for this video. I was struggling. Tried the two benches and a block method didn't work .....this is so much better . You just cured my headache sir i thank thee
No problem, glad It helped!
Just about to tackle one of these and saw the price of the special tool now I'm a stickler for proper tooling but then i looked at the procedure and thought...surely there's a way round that, its only engaging a spring..let me have a quick look on TH-cam and there we are 😄😄 great quick clear and informative video 👍👏
Great video. Thanks for the explanation. I'll be making that tool today. I saw how you had a little trouble with it slipping off of your special tool so I think when I make mine I'm going to file a groove into the back of the hook part to keep it from slipping off a bit better. Thanks again for the great video.
Did a small hook on the driver mod work? I was thinking to do the same thing.
Brilliant - made it cost effective for me to do the job on an older BMW mini. Many thanks :-)
Great news
Wow!!!! Thank you. This has to be the best video on TH-cam that correctly explains a good process. This has saved me tons of headaches.
Thanks.
No problems, it is just a guide if you are strapped for the tools.
Mate thank you very much your screw driver mod saved me a lot of time and money..Ken Harris
Genius!! Saved us a ton of time and even more aggravation. Thanks !!
No problem, glad it is helping! The special tools are just priced too much for the once only use.
That's clever. Last time I undid the top bolts and reinstalled with a bar through the springs and two 8 ring spanners. Took 3 people to do it properly without cross threading the retaining spring bolt :)
Yea it is definitely a pain to do if you undo the spring bolt, I learnt the hard way too years ago!
Damn!! Well played
Thank you for this. I made one last night to do this job. Cheers /John
Hi, thank you for sharing. Would you say for a valve steam seal replacement on the N12, the big springs of the VVT don’t need to be unscrewed? I somehow don’t want to open the 4 bolts at the top of the springs… With your notched screwdriver, can the tension of the springs be reduced enough for valve stem seals replacement? Or is it necessary to also completely demount the VVT shaft to be able to replace the valve stem seals on intake side?
You don’t need to undo those bolts on top of the springs no, once you have used the “tool” to take the tension off , there will still be spring pressure and it will try to fling the bits everywhere but it’s fine to leave the bolts on top.
@ thanks a lot for your reply!
Absolutely Brilliant.
Very helpful. For disassembly, do you remove the cam first, then remove the spring + assembly as one piece, then the arms etc?
Can just us a heavy flat screw drive to get them out, then they some have tension against the camshaft
Thanx from the States!
No problem at all.
This is awesome! Thank you!
Your welcome!
Thank you for sharing it. How can i remove the springs.? Also with this Tool? Remove the spring Out and then loosen the screws on the top ? Is there a Video available where you remove the springs? Thanks
When you remove the assembly the springs will pop out, (they will ping the rockers as you release them so be careful), but you could use the tool to release most of the tension if you needed to.
So I am understanding. You are seating the VVT spring before dropping the rockers and cam shaft into place, and then carefully fitting everything down on top of the VVT spring? My son and I are about to do valve seals and timeing chain on his 2010 N12 motor.
You need to bolt down the cam down 1st and leave the springs until it is all tightened down, basically you want to lay the cam and vvt spring assembly down onto
The rockers and tighten it up then do the springs last.
Great video, I need a question answered if i may, I have a 2009 base cooper, non s model, No compression on cyl 1. Engine has a rattle when running, Have looked and valves are not broken, bent? maybe? Could a failure in the vvl cause a valve to stick open? And would it make noise. just about to pull the head, it appears to have a burnt valve, but that doesnt explain the rattle? any help would be apprectiated. Also if you pull the spark plugs out there is no rattle? crazy i know .
Hello there, this is going to sound ridiculous, however I have a mini in the workshop (non s like yours), which had an issue and when looked into the problem was inside cylinder number 1… when the valves were looked at the number one cylinder had one valve that was lower down that the rest with the camshaft removed… suspecting a bent valve I removed the head, only to find that the valve seat had come out of the head and somehow was wedged at a funny angle… I have never seen it before, only quick solution was a new head, now your rattling could well be a similar symptom to what this one had, as the valve was not heigh enough it would rattle the lifter against the cam…. Grab all the lifters and give them a wiggle, you should not have “play” between the lifter and the cam. If you have then you may have a similar issue!
Would it be better to leave a small hook section on the bottom so the spring can be moved back and forth with the driver and side side? Once in place just push the driver forward and then pull it out? Just curious, as I'm about to embark on this journey soon..
You can design the tool however you see fit… you can see what you’re trying to achieve!
@@Chris_CDB yeah, I was just curious if you think it would be better or worse. You did the work already. Do you think it would cause problems and get stuck a lot or do you think it would have made it easier? If you're not sure or can't say I'll try it and report back.
Thanks so much i just disassembly everything as you did and gonna make same as you thanks
Thanks work great
I don't think that you need locking tools to do this either as long as the chains still on etc
You 100 percent DO need the locking kit, you will never get the cam in the correct place if you don’t lock it via the tools.
@Chris_CDB I've not had to remove the chain as the eccentric shaft is a seperate entity its not timed etc I've not locked anything yet
Good job, thanks a lot !
Nice men I did all today ☺️☺️☺️
Never showed how to install springs..jus what to do with the legs
Always one!..
Wow lol. This is brilliant
Replacing the valve guide seals on the Prince engine is only half the solution to the oil burning problem. You really need to replace the piston rings as well. PSA/BMW in their wisdom decided to build the Prince engine with a one piece oil control ring which fails quite early in the life of the engine causing the 1 litre per 800/1000 miles of oil consumption. You can guarantee by the time the valve guide seals need replacing the oil consumption will be through the roof and the rings are shot. So better to remove the head, do the rings and cam chain at the same time. Bigger job, more money but the engine will last a long time after that level of intervention.
I have done a HUGE amount of these engines over the years and to be honest I have only seen the valve stem seals cause the issue, once they have been done it has solved the issue for all of the engines I have done the job too. I have never had to do the rings on any. Besides the cost of the job to basically strip the engine down and replace the rings ect would basically be on par with fitting a refurbished engine anyway.
Thanks
No problem!
😊 super slimme mens
Isn't your modified screwdriver a "Special Tool" :)
Yes,..
But one you can make at home without spending money!
красавчек
Save ton of money from buying Bmw "special tool'. Thanks.
No problem, saves time and money on the job
Thanks