A real job from our Edmonton shop
BMW N20 rebuild + timing chain — 2016 X3 xDrive28i
2016 BMW X3 xDrive28i · 2.0L N20 Turbo
What came in
A 2016 X3 with the N20's known weak point: the timing chain. The plastic guides go brittle, the chain wears and can jump — and on this interference engine that means bent valves and a destroyed engine in a heartbeat.
What we found
The 2.0T needed to be gone through, and the timing chain done properly — the part of the job where a shortcut wrecks the engine.
What we did
Rebuilt the engine and did the timing job to spec: camshafts held with the correct BMW locking fixtures (the black bridge in the photo), new chain, guides and tensioner, everything set to spec before it came back together.
The outcome
Done right, the N20 is a good engine. This is the kind of European work a lot of general shops send out — we did it in-house, which keeps the cost sane and the whole job under our control.
Photos from the job
Our own bays, our own bench — no stock photography.
The background on this failure
BMW N20 / N26 Timing Chain Failure: Symptoms, Costs, and What to Do About It
Read the full guide — symptoms, causes and what it costs →More jobs from our bays
See every job →
Got a job like this one?
Engine or transmission trouble — call (780) 482-2424 for a straight answer, or send us the details.