Had exactly same problem 10 days ago it was my airflow meter !!!! I took it to the Peugeot dealer and at once the code came on ! I thought the same like u but was simple as that !! But u need to plug it in to read codes modern cars need that otherwise u will spend time and money - just go to the dealer for a quote - u don’t have to fix it there just pay to make u a quote


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Hi, thanks for the reply and good advice. I'm still worried about the cams now I've seen them, any thoughts about them?

 

If memory serves crank turns 4 times to 1 turn of the cams, so turn the crank until the flats of the cams are in the up position (the position that the locking tool will fit) the crank hole should now be in the correct position so you can check with a mirror/bent bit of wire if you dont have the tool.
If all lines up then your cam timing is ok, you can see in pic how the cam lock sits on the cam flats

 

Thanks for the reply. The post is very useful because it seems to confirm my understanding that it should be possible for both cams to have the 3 flats in the same position ie. 1 each side and 1 on top with the flywheel in the correct position. Having turned the engine many times this is never the case. At best the inlet is OK ( centre flat pointing up ) but the exhaust is about 90 deg too late ( centre flat is at 3 o'clock ).
The way it is at the moment the lobes of both cams are running almost in phase so all the valves in any one cylinder are opening and closing at the same time. That cant work can it? There has to be a lag between inlet and exhaust. Its as if say the exhaust has slipped about 90 deg ( chain or vanos problem? ). Any ideas?

 

If you wipe the oil of the camshafts you should see a faint printed/pressed label on each shaft, they should be in the up position when the crank hole is correct.
If they will all not set up pretty close i am guessing you may have valve damage,probably because of a slipping cam/sprocket gear as they are press fit and not keyed.
see if you can get the labels in the up position within 4 turns of the crank, if not pressure test next.

 

you can see the labels in this article MINI R56 Engine Timing Calibration - 2006-2013 Cooper - All Models

 

I've looked for those cam markings before because I've seem them on Youtube videos but didnt realise they where so feint. After cleaning I can now see them so thanks for the advice. Now with the crank in position the inlet cam has the print in up position and the flats are also to the sides and up but the exhaust is lagging about 90 deg behind. As both cams turn in sync via the chain the're never going to match up ( unless the cam sprockets move ) or I'm missing something. I realise the cam sprockets are just interference fit but can they just slip or is it likely caused by another fault? I'm guessing your right about bent valves. I'm waiting for a compression tester to arrive for more clues.

 

the cam sprockets/dephasers do move under a spring and hydraulic pressure but doubt this is the problem, you will need to set the timing before pressure testing but think 90deg is to far and a sprocket has slipped.
When you spin the engine on the key does it sound like its turning over to fast?

 

It's a while since I tried to start the engine but I dont remember it sounding odd. Then again it used to start very quickly so I dont have much to compare it with. Not sure of my facts but think I read somewhere that cam sprocket/dephasers have a range of about 40 deg. so I would agree slippage is more likely. Can the sprocket fixing bolts just lose some tensile strength? Unfortunately the Post is very slow at the moment, which to be fair I cant complain about under the circumstances, so not sure when I'll get the compression tester and an E14 socket which I believe is needed. May be a good idea to order a new bolt too.

 

The E14 socket arrived so I reset the sprocket and did a compression test. There is little variation between the cylinders but the readings were too low. Think its down to not having the right thread adapter so I had to use the rubber cone attachment. Anyway the engine starts, runs and sounds OK but I cant give it a real test because of a bad oil leak from the vacuum pump housing, which since its driven by the culprit cam is I guess a related fault. I also dont yet have new torx bolts for the sprockets so dont want to push my luck. Seems possible I may have got away with the valves but too early to be sure at the moment.

 

fingers crossed, and good idea to use new bolts, i have some here somwhere which i got from peugeot for a simular job but didnt need to release the cams in the end, let me know if you get stuck getting them.

 

I ordered new bolts from Peugeot yesterday morning and collected them this morning but thanks very much for the offer, much appreciated.
A couple of hours ago I had a look at the vacuum pump to see where it was leaking oil and discovered that it could well be the culprit of the engine failure. The rotor plate in the pump is bent around the rotor, that would take some force, which was probably enough to cause the sprocket to slip. The two vanes which normally sit on the ends of the rotor plate were just lying there. Despite the leak the pump was quite well filled with oil so now I'm wondering why the pump could suffer such a failure.
I've just found this youtube vid on the subject.
youtube.com/watch?v=8CJX8RSjzZA

 

Timing chains are really common for stretching changed them at 20000 miles before you also need to use the proper locking tools to get it timed up right otherwise csn put faults in csm timing sensor
There is a modified chain tensioner for them aswell

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Vacuum pumps do seize on this engine and makes the timing chain jump rather than the sprocket slipping normally breaks the plastic chain guides and snaps off the top one

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Thanks for your posts. Cant be sure because so far I've left the chain and guides in place but no sign of damage other than the pump so I thought slippage was more likely.

 

May have had a chain replaced already a d bolts not torqued up correctly so may have just slipped they have modified the upper chain guide as whdn chain stretched slightly the chain slap snapped them off

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May have had a chain replaced already a d bolts not torqued up correctly so may have just slipped they have modified the upper chain guide as whdn chain stretched slightly the chain slap snapped them off

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From memory the bolt should be tightened to 20Nm + 180 deg but I was surprised how easy it was to slacken off, so very possible.