[bmwpower603]

I have just renewed the valve cover gaskets on my 2011 X5 M, along with many other things. And I noticed while I was in there; that the timing chain looked really cheap, and when I went to touch it. It felt light as a feather.. I replaced bank 2 vcg first, and in doing so I wanted to check and see how the chain felt, as far as tightness.

The drivers side chain that sits in the cam gears felt like I could wiggle it, and very slightly move it up. I didn’t move up much at all, but enough that the other came up off the cam gear. Now when I did the passenger side Vcg. I also checked the chain on the cam gear. And it was tight. Couldn’t move it at all.

I’ve been around German cars my while life. Pulled v8 s4 engines to do the chains and guides. And I’ve never seen such chains that are on this vehicle.

Does anyone know if this is normal to have that tiny bit of movement. I know it’s hard to make a judgment just off how it felt; without actually turning / rotating the crank to check different positions. So I know there will be certain spots in the chain that become more loose or more tight.

Anyone experienced enough with these to know?

I don’t mind replacing the timing chains, for peace of mind. But I was told by a bmw engineer that I’ll never have to do anything to the engine internals. As long as the oil is kept up with, and it’s regularly maintained.